205 Danger In The Water

CHAPTER 205 

'I would get my hands on that pestering elf and make him pay.'

Lorelei thought to herself, before packing her things and shifting her gaze back to Bayard.

"That is why we must capture her first and subdue her before she becomes any stronger. I needn't remind you, your majesty, of the consequences of her finding her mother and teaming up with the fairy queen against all races."

"True. Last time she fought single-handedly against everyone and now, she has a daughter more powerful than her."

"Time is ticking. You have kingdom affairs to handle. I have her, to catch."

Lorelei picked her bag, ready to leave him there, but Bayard caught her hand in time and prevented her from going.

"And your wound and pain?" he asked, his gaze darting to her injured leg and back up to her face.

"Nothing I can't handle." She pulled her hand away from his and walked towards the door, "For the meantime, I won't be available, don't look for me. I need to see her and I would be fine."

Before he could ask, "Who?" she opened a portal and went in.

"Lorelei…You will never change."

******

~THE VALLEY OF LOST SOULS~

Not too far from the valley, a cave was situated to the left, near some big rocks and a few trees.

By the time they got to the cave, Astrid and Jareth along with the little white Tiger Phoenix beast, sat down to catch their breaths and relax.

It had been one heck of a day for them and Astrid had still not gotten used to using her powers excessively yet.

Jareth managed to find some dry woods nearby and set them up to make a fire. Snow moved in to lend a helping hand and spat out flames on the woods, causing it to burn and light up the whole cave.

The river was somehow connected and flowed at the side of the cave, going down to the big ocean.

Astrid left first to take a bath and wash herself clean, leaving Jareth and Snow to tend other things.

Far off in the river from where she bathed, two figures swam in the water watching her closely, their tails moving in sync with their bodies. 

One wore a strapless blue bra that matched her hair and her tail while the other wore a neck strap light green bra, having the same colour with her hair and tails. 

"She must be the one. She is finally out of that damned forest," the first mermaid whispered to the other, careful not to make a noise and risk been caught.

"Let's hurry and report the case to the Princess," the second mermaid whispered back ready to make a swim for it. 

But before she could swim away, the blue-haired mermaid held unto her hand, preventing her from moving. 

"What is it, Naida?" The green-haired girl asked, her brows furrowed into a frown at the interruption. 

"Where do you think you are going to, Coralia?"

"Do you think before you arrive she wouldn't have gone? Send the signal and let's attack her now that she is defenceless," Naid4a suggested. 

"Are you stupid? Do you know how powerful she is? She is a hybrid, damn it. We can't fight her alone," Coralia emphasized her point. 

"Yes, we can. From the Intel that had been gathered previously, she hasn't unlocked her mermaid powers. So for now, she is just a lowly sorceress and a puny fairy. Think about it, you know I am right. It is either now or we lose her. Okay, what do we do when the elf accompanying her, arrives?"

"Hasn't he left her already? I heard Princess Marin and General Doris talking about it. They parted ways already and should be heading in the north direction..."

The moment Coralia said the last words, her gaze drifted away from Nadia to the direction where Astrid was. 

She was in a daze when the realization hit her. Astrid was supposed to journey up north and that would have taken her some days to go round the Valley of lost souls before she could continue her journey.

But somehow, she was here, at the other side of the valley and within the span of a day. 

Three probabilities ran through Coralia's mind. One, it was either she used a magic spell and somehow teleported herself to the other side of the valley. 

The second would be that she used her powers to increase her movement and arrived sooner than expected. 

And the third would be the strangest. She entered into the valley and succeeded in walking through it without being lost. 

It was either one of these things that could have been the outcome, still while one proved almost impossible, the other two seemed feasible. 

'If it was the second, then she should have encountered Princess Marin and the mermaids either way and be captured by now. On the other hand, if it was the first, then that would explain how she got here unscathed and unharmed.' Coralia thought. 

"What is it, Coralia? You seem troubled." Nadia couldn't help but ask when she noticed the strange look on Coralia's face. 

"No. Don't you find it strange that she is here and not heading in the direction where Princess Marin and the others are?"

Naida was about speaking but stopped to think about what Coralia said. She placed a finger to her lips and wrapped the other hand under her hand to support the hand touching her chin. 

"You are right. All the more reason why we cannot leave her and go call for back up. We must act first. Send the signal and act."

"Alright, I agree with you. I would send the signal now," Coralia gave her a nod and turned her back to her. 

Naida released her grip on Coralia's hand and waited for her to give the signal. 

She rubbed her palms against each other, then separated them a fraction. After some seconds, a bright green light began to shine and dance on her fingertips. 

Within a minute, it mixed with the water and formed a green water ball in between her hands. 

She moved her hands back a bit, her body tilting back with her movement and then she pushed forward, propelling the green water ball out into the distance. 

"Good. Now time to attack."

Naida announced the moment Coralia turned her head sideways to look at her. 

"Alright. We attack together using the divine water swirl and seal her in the spiral water cage."

Nadia gave a nod, signifying that she understood and the two mermaids swam closer to where Astrid was, cloaking their movements with the water current. 

Astrid who was oblivious to the danger lurking in the water, played away, enjoying a good swim as the water currents tickled her body. 

"Ahh... It's so nice against my skin. It feels like I am melting and becoming one with the water. I wish I could stay in it longer and enjoy the feel of the ripples on her body." 

She whispered to herself, as though she was making a silent wish no other person could hear. 

'I might as well just do so.'

Relaxing further on her back in the water, she began to do backstrokes and moved her legs against the water, floating on her back. 

'Simply ecstatic. I wish they could enjoy it too. The way the water kisses my skin seems so familiar to how he does it.'

Her mind betrayed her, taking her down memory lane to the intimate moments Jareth and herself shared. 

Soon she felt something like electric current wash through her body, making her feel hot inside. 

In a matter of seconds, her face flushed as she found herself yearning for his touch. 

"Ummm... Ohh..." She moaned into the night sky, enjoying the feeling her thoughts could give her. 

Her moment of bliss was doomed to come to an early shot when suddenly she heard a voice. 

"Astrid! Astriddd!!"

Her eyes shot open at that instant, ending whatever fantasy she was having and made her swim straight. 

She was no longer relaxing like she did and quickly dipped her whole body in the water, leaving only her head as soon as she caught sight of a figure approaching. 

"Astrid! Astri..." Jareth stopped calling her name when he noticed something in the water. 

She hadn't told him she was going for a bath, she only said she was going to clean her face. So when she didn't arrive on time, he got worried and came out to search for her. 

Good thing he came, because the mermaids were about launching their attacks on her when they saw his figure approach. 

"There you are, you had me worried. I thought something bad had happened to you," Jareth said to her in a soft voice, portraying his concern for her. 

"Wait, the elf is here."