Beneath The Water (Complete)

Twenty-Nine

With everyone running off for one reason or other, I finally decided to give up on warming up by the fire and walked down to the riverside. The island we were on was about 5 kilometres long and only half a kilometre wide. Smaller rivers meandered through the island which brought a unique life to the island. The island only had smaller animals and the rivers were filled with spawning fish. The trees were centuries old and the roots went directly into the water. Their leaves were different than what I had seen for the last year and a half. The coniferous trees had darker pines which were ranges from a evergreen to sangria red. It was the deciduous trees which lightened up the scenery. Like Earth, most were shades of green, but others had white, yellow, orange, or even periwinkle leaves.

I headed to the riverbank and relaxed on the warm sand as I sat down and quickly laid back. Kane had managed to find me a change of clothes, but the second I was alone I had removed the dress and I only wore the red bandeau and my underwear. The beaming sun warmed my entire body better than the fire ever could as I closed my eyes.

Time passed differently laying on the beach. I couldn't tell if hours or mear minutes passed and I didn't care. The sun recharged my body and spirit and for the first time, I didn't worry about anything. My heart didn't ache if I thought about my people and I didn't worry for Maya or Kane. It felt like the rays were intertwining with my very DNA which warmed me and gave me a strength I had long forgotten I had. I was at peace.

Of course, my peace never lasted long. "Lee? Leena!" I let out a long breath as I heard my name and slowly sat up. I never had a chance to call back before Kane and Mylo stumbled onto me.

I froze as Kane's eyes wandering over my body lustfully. His hands clenched into fists and he bit his lip. I reached a shaking hand out to my discarded dress and hesitantly attempted to cover myself. Mylo glanced between the two of us and it wasn't until I slowly pushed myself away from Kane that he clapped Kane's back. "Alright, why don't you head on back and I'll help her out?"

Kane's eyes never left me, he was completely hypnotized. "She's glowing, don't you wonder what that feels like? Why don't we ju-"

Mylo grabbed him by the collar of the shirt and spun him around before shoving him to the ground. The jolt of the landing and the fact that Mylo was now blocking me from his view was enough to snap Kane out of it. He shook his head and groaned as he placed a hand to his forehead. "Sorry, ya, ya, good idea," he grumbled as he slowly stood up. He never looked back or questioned if Mylo would be okay as he stumbled off like a drunk.

It wasn't until Kane was gone from view that Mylo finally turned around and sighed. "You okay Sugar?" He asked gently.

"You are not enthralled?" I was perplexed as I stared up at him.

The corner of Mylo's lips turned up as he let out a breathy laugh, "No, I'm not." He admitted as he knelt down to my level, "Maya is if you're really that self-conscious about it." No words came to my mind as I blinked, "It's a story for another time. Get dressed. Ethan wants to have a meeting with a few of us to come up with a plan."

With the black fabric clutched against my chest, I nodded and slid the dress back on. "Meeting?" I asked as I stood up and tied the string around my waist to define it. Mylo opened his mouth to reply and I waved him off, my long sleeves trailing after my movement. "No, tell me why you were not affected by me?" I changed my mind instead. It was unusual, it had never actually happened to me before.

Mylo was now laughing as he strolled over to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. He glanced down at me and I tilted my head back to stare up at him. "Don't sound so offended, you're still gorgeous and if I could be hypnotized by anyone, it'd definitely be you." My cheeks reddened and I glanced down, I hadn't been fishing for a compliment. "Aye, don't be like that," he objected as he reached forward and gently grabbed my chin.

I quickly jerked away from his touch and wanted out of his arms, but he didn't loosen his grasp there. "Please don't," I whispered.

The smile quickly changed to a frown and he let me go, raising his hands above his head. "How many people have hurt you when they touched you for you to be so afraid?"

"All of them." It may have been a slight overstatement, but it was hard to remember the good experiences over the bad.

"Not me, never me," he promised as he reached a hand out and held it into the air. "It's a long story, but I can't feel like that about anyone, ever. An old family curse to ensure that I'll always be alone."

Now I was the one frowning. I glanced at his face to see how guilty it looked and I finally closed my eyes and rested my cheek on his hand. "I am sorry, I know how it feels to be isolated," I mumbled as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me.

I wanted to ask more, but I knew it wasn't my business. He'd tell me when he was ready. We stayed in each others embrace until he kissed the top of my head and pulled back. "I ain't completely alone. I got Maya and now I got everyone here." He smiled as he ran his thumb along my cheek, "And now you got me. You don't always need to be alone, so guarded." I had never considered myself a guarded person, more a brutally honest one with trust issues. Either way, I did understand what he was talking about. "Come on, Ethan really does need us for a meeting."

"Do you know what for?"

Mylo shrugged as he started to walk back towards camp. "He came for the stroll to check up on you and pick my brain; he wants to make a battle plan."

"Battle plan?" I echoed.

Glancing back at me when I didn't start walking, he offered me his hand. "That's what he said," he replied and grinned when I took his it, intertwining his fingers with mine.