13.0

When the fishes were cooked, he looked to her direction to call out for her when he stopped himself and stared in awe as the waters glow as if thousands of lighting underneath it. He saw her mumbling in closed eyes before she stopped and gasped for an air. The waters then returned to its natural state.

Daira opened her eyes and found Jihn staring directly at her. She grinned at him. "Self healing."

"It's cook." he said.

"Great."

In a moment, they shared food in silence until the afternoon light waned into succumbing into a night.

Both decided to encamp for the night in the river banks, letting the falls resounded their ears. Daira had allowed a light between them using the luminescence of the stone she picked. Her head bowed down to the documents again with a marker. Jihn was sure she wasn't reading it but making another doodles again.

"Hey..." she called out to him.

Jihn only raised his brows in waiting for her other words.

"Thank you for coming back for me." she said.

Jihn only nodded and went back to staring at the sky. He notice her serious demeanor after she ate her food. He was right. Daira was a little different when she's hungry.

"Okay goodnight." she said and placed down her documents in the ground.

"Make a fire. You're cold." he suggested again. He always did every night.

"It draws attention-,"

"I'll protect you." he turned to her.

"I can't risk your safety when you're with me too. I realized I can barely resist those who captured me." she said.

"Don't protect me. I' m much stronger than you." he said.

Daira remained staring at his eyes, seeing how he was so sure of his words. She just nodded to him with a smile. "I will make a fire when I can't stand the cold."

"You're so stubborn." he just said.

Daira smiled again, turning away from him. "Goodnight, Jihn."

Now laid on the hard ground, Daira had no indication of discomfort on her sleep while she pillowed her folded arm to her head. Jihn looked at her sleeping figure before he stood up and strode towards her. He sat beside her before he picked up the documents again. He snorted upon seeing the additional doddle in there and some words.

My protector.

Daira had been so in love with any bodies of waters. However, upon reaching the top of the mountain, where the dark waters is, she swore to herself not to take a dip on the stinking water.

The crescent moon shone above them as they walked carefully around the waters.

"Right there." Jihn pointed towards the single lily in the middle of the pond where there placed the yellow rock surrounded with green vines of the lily.

"Is it the gem?" she asked in whisper tone.

"Yes. Now go get it." he said.

"Wait. I'll cast a spell to get it."

Jihn shook his head. "No spell. Dragons are highly sensitive of any kinds of manipulations. If you do that, hydra will wake up from its slumber."

"How do you expect me to get it?"

"You need to swim for it, missy." he smirked.

"In the water? Have you not notice it? It stink." she said with wide eyes.

"I know."

"You're so annoying." she said.

"Don't even think about ordering me to get it. Only a woman can cross that water without waking up the one sleeping under it."

"Sleeping under it? Y-you mean hydra is...is...." Daira looked down the waters and saw it bubbles every once and a while.

"Yes. Under the water, hydra is sleeping like a baby."

"Said someone who swore to protect me." she grumbled.

"Well, unless you want to wake him up, I'll be happy to swim towards the gem. I can't disobey you if you order me." Jihn said while readying himself to go instead.

"Alright. Alright." she said. "Watch my back. Understood?"

"Crystal." he said with a fake pleasant face while she only rolled her eyes to him.

Daira winced when she dragged her feet to the waters and let her bare feet in contact to the water which looked greasy in upclose. She looked at the single lily at the center of the water.

"A hundred yards. I can make it there in five minutes with slow and gentle swim." she muttered as she progressed into the deep. "Don't wake the dragon. Don't wake the dragon. That's easy. Its like singing alphabet song."

Daira ignored the progress of the foul smell surrounding her as she got nearer to the center. "A little more. Just a little." she mumbled, trying so hard not to make any slapping sound when she swum.

Stopping over in front of the lily pod, her brows furrowed feeling it seemed to easy to access the stone. She shook her head for the troubling thoughts on her mind before she reached to get the yellow gem. It was hard, unwrapping the vines carefully from its hold on the gem while trying not to drown at the same time. When she was on the last one, Daira snapped it broke, making a very brief vibration underneath the waters.

Jihn unwrapped his shoulders across his chest as he saw the waters created a slight vibration. He then stepped closer to the water while his eyes trained towards Daira who raised the stone with a smiling face.

He gestured her to comeback in the land faster while he roamed his eyes around. Daira began to swim back towards the bank.

"Faster." Jihn said in hushed tone but Daira sensed his panic while he looked around.

When she was about to quicken her pace, nervousness shot her system, feeling something wrapped around her ankle.

"Jihn-!" she screamed but her words muffled under the water after she was pulled down with something.

"Daira!" he called out when she suddenly disappeared from the water surface. He then saw a part of the water were bubbling up and he knew it was her. Without much thought of anything, Jihn dived to the water and located Daira under the water, struggling into freeing herself from the vine on her ankle.