A Comforting Hand

"Woah!" Aisha screamed in fright.

The hand looked like a dead woman's hand, with its whitish cast and cold temperature. And it was about to drag her with it underwater.

She was just emotionally unstable as she witnessed the horrifying state of her land when this gruesome extremity frighteningly shot up in the water.

"Stay back!" King Leandro immediately pulled her away.

Then he immediately slew the dreadful hand with his sword. The chopped hand flew to the grass beside Aisha, terrifying her all the more.

"Are you all right?" King Leandro quickly went to her side and helped her to stand. Concern was written all over his face.

"Yes," Aisha answered him as she dusted her tunic.

"What is that thing?" She continued to ask in bafflement as she watched it wiggle as if it was suffocating out of the water. Then it eventually died, leaving a lifeless form behind.

King Leandro returned his sword to its sheath as he responded. "They were Nagaes who were living inside Lake Visum. They must have thought that you're an enemy. They haven't sensed your blood yet."

Aisha nodded as she understood. Somehow she was already getting herself familiar with Gaean people.

"So far, I could see that most Gaeans were very protective of their homes. Maybe it was the reason why it didn't suffer from Mother Nature's revenge," She uttered as she recalled the vision that she just saw.

Recalling the purpose of her desire to get near the waters, she went to it again. But this time she stood a little far from the lake. But enough to get a clear view.

No matter how hard she tried to look, she couldn't find any moving individual or even animals in the chaotic world.

"You're absolutely correct. That is why you should not be reckless if you want to survive here in Gaea, my lady. Almost all the people here could sense that you are an outsider. That is why I ask you to stay in the Castle - " King Leandro stopped midway.

He must have realized that he would just admonish her again. He just took a deep breath.

Then he spoke again, "This was the world that you're risking your life to get back to. Do you still want to go back?"

Aisha heaved out a long sigh. Deep inside, she knew that it was a hopeless case. Was she in denial then?

She sniffed and wiped her nose as her eyes turned blurry. Should she just accept the fact that she alone survived that hapless strategy?

"You know, our world may not be as beautiful as this land. But it is our safe place. Folks work hard to survive and provide for their children. Now it was completely useless. Everything that they worked so hard for was now gone underwater," she said in a quivering voice.

She gazed at the waters of the Lake Visum which was now turning back to its natural beauty. The vision of her world being submerged underneath it.

King Leandro drew near her. She felt the warmth of his masculine hand on her back as he spoke, "I understand where you're coming from. I wouldn't want to see Gaea in that state either."

Aisha swiveled to face him. She wanted to ask if he had any idea how it happened. Or if they have something to do with it.

But as he talked, she felt like they were just on equal ground.

He has a colossal height compared to her, a king in every angle and decree.

But they both wanted to preserve their own home. Hers, being destroyed, though.

The King gazed at every part of her face admiringly, making Aisha feel butterflies in her stomach.

He was not touching her or anything. But his smoldering gaze comforts her, like a warm fireplace in the winter seasons of her life.

"Now that you've seen it with your own eyes, I hope you will never try to escape again. Because I will not be as merciful next time," King Leandro said tenderly as he lifted his finger to remove a strand of her silky black hair away from her reddened face.

His heartwarming gesture made her head bobbed up and down. Her pink lips curled into a smile. "Thank you, your Majesty. You are indeed a good King," She couldn't help but utter sincerely.

Her statement seemed to bother the King, as his face suddenly transformed. It was as if he was surprised to hear it from her.

"I am just obeying orders from the Great Theos. It is He who is good and just," With a swift motion, he turned around and walked away.

Aisha scratched her head as he tried to figure it out. "Did I just hit a button?" But she shrugged it off as she followed him.

She thought he would return to Draco. But King Leandro walked towards the woods.

"Wait, can you show me how to do that chant? Please?" She babbled as she tried to imitate him while following him inside the forest.

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"What to do if you find yourself stuck in a crack in the ground underneath a giant boulder you can't move, with no hope of rescue. Consider how lucky you are that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn't been good to you so far, which given your current circumstances seems more likely, consider how lucky you are that it won't be troubling you much longer."

― Douglas Adams, The Original Hitchhiker Radio Scripts