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Scarlett held her breath, listening as her friends searched for her. Since their game of tag had very few rules, it'd become a game of hide and seek as well, and anywhere was fair game for hiding, including the pool. This was by far the best place to hide, but Scarlett did hope someone found her soon; she was starting to run out of air. She could just make out someone shouting that they hadn't yet checked the pool, and she told herself to hold on just a little bit longer.
A head soon appeared in the water above her, and she heard a bubbly squeal before the head vanished. Thus caught, Scarlett surfaced, spitting out the mouthful of water she'd accidentally swallowed on her way to the surface. "Nice find," she said, giggling as she got her breath back.
Ishan grinned at her. The same age as her, with fire red hair and green eyes, Ishan was in fact a forest elf, sent to be one of her playmates, there being so few human girls for her to hang out with. In fact, all of Scarlett's playmates were elves from the various tribes inhabiting the lands outside Isonor, and all of them had promised she'd be able to visit their lands one day. "You've got the lungs of a fish," he said, helping her out of the pool. "How long were you hiding in the pool for?"
"Not long," Scarlett said, grabbing a towel and drying herself off. "I ran out of places to hide, and figured the pool had to be the one spot no one else'd think of hiding. It's a good thing you spotted me; I swallowed half the pool coming up."
"Then I'd have had to give you mouth to mouth," Ishan teased, and Scarlett turned as red as her hair. She liked Ishan a lot, and suspected he might feel the same way about her. If she was going to be married to anyone, she'd have definitely preferred Ishan over the other suitors her father had planned for her. Ishan was the nicest out of the boys she'd grown up with, and she thought it'd be nice to be married to an elf, rather than a human boy. But human children were a rarity in Isonor, save for Sajan, who'd been born a few months before here. She didn't see much of Sajan, but she knew that, just like her, he was a treasured child, being one of two human children who'd lived past birth thanks to the disease which had killed well over two thirds of all the women and children in Isonor. Scarlett's father had stressed to her how important it was for her to marry the right man to make sure she gave birth to a child who had the same genes as her, the genes which had allowed her to live past her own birth.
She brought herself out of her reverie and smiled at Ishan. "I'd like that," she said shyly, "but you wouldn't have to wait till I'd almost passed out if you really wanted to kiss me."
Ishan grinned again. "You read my mind," he said, leaning forward and gently pushing a damp lock of hair out of Scarlett's eyes. "It ought to be illegal for you to read me so well."
"Call it a gift," Scarlett said, but before she or Ishan could take the chance that had landed so neatly in their laps, her father's voice called from the back door, peremptory and very cross. 108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrJZcDRYLr
"Scarlett!"
Scarlett sighed. Her father was not in a good mood, and she got up reluctantly. "I guess we'll have to take a raincheck on that," she said glumly.
Ishan kissed her on the cheek. "If you're not grounded, leave your light on tonight," he suggested, and Scarlett nodded, thrilling to the feel of his lips on her skin despite the sudden dread that tugged at her gut. Ishan didn't live too far away, thankfully, but as Scarlett made her nervous way to the house, she felt suddenly as if he were on the other side of the world, and she gulped as she stepped inside. For no reason that she could name, she felt as if she were walking to her own doom, and her father's set face didn't help that sensation any. God, what have I done this time?
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