A single hand cupped itself beneath her armpit and hauled her body up with impressive strength, blessing her with breath and waking her. She coughed, but her face was swiftly buried in warm skin, muffling her as to not give away their escape.
"Shh shh, calm down, love. I got ya. Took a little bath there, did ya? Planned on getting baptized?" He chuckled, trying to laugh away her fears.
She shivered against his chest, her throat burning from the water she had coughed out of her lungs. "I slip-ped."
"I know, I know. But look!" He knocked against something dense. "We made it halfway!"
She turned up to the wall accusingly. If it weren't there, they could have escaped with ease.
"Hey, hey look at me!" She grudgingly focused back on the boy, dreading what she knew he would say next. "I can still stand, and I don't think the water will be much deeper. Do ya want to try swimmin’, or would ya rather I carried ya like how I had offered before?" His tone was laced with an ounce of cockiness, but it was a proposal she couldn't refuse in her shaken state.
"Carry me." she stammered, tightening her hold around him.
She felt a laugh rumble deep in his chest. "Ok then, take in a good one. Ready? One, two," she inhaled deeply, regretting everything and having second thoughts. "Three!"
Too late for second thoughts.
He plunged underneath the water, and they were submerged once again. She could feel the boy wade into the tunnel beneath the wall before the water completely darkened.
She suddenly tensed and her heart began to pound against her chest again. She could feel her ears pop as a scream budded against her lips, just waiting to be let free. She shut her eyes, ramming her face against the boy's warm chest, her own chest feeling as though it could cave in on itself from lack of air.
That feeling shot a wave of panic throughout her entire body, and her heart thumped into overdrive. What if she slipped out of his grasp? What if she was left behind in this rut? What if nobody came to save her? Her thoughts imploded, throwing up scenario after scenario of how wrong this swim could go, filling itself with poisonous doubt. Every passing second that went by without resurfacing from the water, her mind whispered louder and louder "You're going to die! You're going to die! You're going to die!!"
The boy held tighter to the girl in his care, his tight grip reassuring her that we were going to be fine. Reassuring her that fresh air was only a few seconds away. Reassuring her that he wasn't going to abandoned her here. Reassuring her that everything was going to be okay.
The voice in her head quieted and her pulse slowed. All she could think about was the priest boy. His calm stare was forever engraved into her memory. She wondered: if it were his arms she was wound up in, would she be as terrified as she was?
Of course she would be. His friend, the girl with the sharp eyes and even sharper dagger, was terrifying enough.
Suddenly, the water lit up and the boy forced the two out into the air. They were panting, looking around frantically for signs of any guard catching on to them.
The dark fields were motionless, meaning they were in the clear.
He automatically began shaking the wetness from his locks, his breath heavy as he made his way to the edge of the river and set the shaking girl on the land.
She thanked him, her chest aching from how weighted her breath felt. Exhausted from the sheer number of near-death experiences she had in this day alone, she lied back and shut her eyes, focusing on her breathing.
She could hear the boy drag himself out of the water, but his breathing was much more controlled than her own. He didn't take to lying down, in much better physical shape than she first assumed.
Between her heavy panting, she could feel a nudge at her calf. "Didn't drown. Good job, snake girl."
"Senayra."
He paused, confused. "I'm sorry, is that Animan for something?"
"Yes! It's my name."
"Senayra?"
She propped herself up on her elbows, looking up at the boy. "Senayra Polinau."
He raised a brow, water trickling down his smiling face as he answered, "Del'rod Thervesen."
*The author's depiction of Senayra Polinau*625Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8Xz9KfuVr
625Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuIN6XonHv
