Chapter 10 - [The Rains Touch]
1682 Words
Queen Nixie walked over to her chamber after having a large argument with the captain of the Navy ship they were supposed to board.
He had said that it was too stormy out for them to leave and that they would have to wait for the storm to pass before they left the Caspian port.
She knew her daughter was in danger and she didn’t want to waste time.
And as the storm blew over Caspian, she felt the terror rising. She walked out to the balcony of her bedroom and stood in the rain. She could feel him. She could smell him too, smell him in the wet, humid air.
Nereus wasn’t dead.
She herself found it hard to believe. She had watched her King kill him, she had watched as his blood soaked the dagger that she had given her husband and had watched as his body dried up as the suns bright rays hit him.
But somehow, he was back.
She had lived for twenty-six years assuming he was dead. Only a small part of her thought that there was a possibility that he was alive. And that was the part that forced her to keep her children locked away from her past. But now all of her was sure that he was alive, every single piece of her soul.
She stared out at the sea, thinking deeply of how he could have been revived, but then she felt something.
Queen Nixie’s eyes suddenly widened.
She could feel his hands on her.
She looked down at her body, which was soaked by the rain, but saw no one. However, she still felt him. She felt his hands touch her waist and move to her hips and down along her thighs.
She stepped back into her bedroom, as fear and disgust overwhelmed her.
After removing all her clothes, she quickly dried herself and her shaking hands calmed as she felt his touch disappear.
“You can’t escape me.” She heard.
She immediately turned around and covered herself with her robes.
“You know that.”
It was a whisper, but it was clear.
“Show yourself.” Queen Nixie demanded.
She sensed his amusement.
“Even after twenty-six years, you are still as beautiful as ever.” She heard him say. “Such lovely eyes, such smooth skin, such a beautiful body and very soft lips.”
Queen Nixie glared. “I told you to show yourself.”
“How am I to show myself when I am everywhere.” He said with a hint of a chuckle. Suddenly, she heard water splashing.
She turned around and looked out at the balcony. Her eyes widened as the raindrops pulled together and formed a figure with no details. It was the watery figure of a man, a man with no face.
“Are you satisfied, my queen?” He asked.
“I am not your queen, Nereus.” She said.
The faceless figure began to walk over to her, leaving wet footsteps on the rug when he entered the room. “We are forever connected, Nixie.”
Queen Nixie stepped back.
“Ahh, yes. There was something else I had to tell you, my Queen.” He said.
Queen Nixie glared at him, not saying a word.
“Your daughter… she has grown up to be such a beauty.” He said.
Queen Nixie’s eyes widened.
“When seeing her as a child, I thought she would grow up to be grotesque. But I was terribly wrong.”
“Leave her alone!” Queen Nixie whispered.
“Nixie, oh Nixie.” He chuckled. “Tell me, my Queen. Will you betray your family to join me? To be by my side?”
“I will never betray my family!” She spat. “Not for anyone, especially not for you!”
He laughed. “I knew all along that this would be your answer.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“So faithful you are…” Nereus said, ignoring her question. “So faithful you are to the human man. I still don’t understand why you love him so… why you chose him over me.”
“My husband is a better man than you will ever be.”
“Ha.” Nereus laughed. “I knew your feelings for him would not have changed… which is why I have chosen to ruin you before I kill him.”
“You will not succeed!”
“Are you sure?” Again, she felt his amusement. “What would you say if I told you that I already have your daughter wrapped around my fingers?”
Queen Nixie stopped breathing.
“What would you say if I told you that I kissed her in her sleep every night since her fourteenth year of life?”
Nixie placed her hand over her mouth.
“What if I told you that I was in almost every dream that she has dreamed since she was a child?”
“You… you vile creature!” Nixie whispered. “Leave my daughter alone!”
“Why do you think she has been trying to escape the castle to swim in the ocean since she was so young? Why do you think she enjoys getting soaked in the rain?”
Nixie felt the tears stream down her cheeks.
“She loves to feel me touch her skin, Nixie.” He said. “She is in love with me.”
Nixie slammed her hands into the figure, only slightly surprised by the fact that her hands sank into the water.
“Leave my daughter be! She has nothing to do with this!” Nixie yelled.
Nereus stepped back. “I have moved on Nixie, just as you had told me to, years ago.” He said. “And your daughter will be my bride.”
“She will not!” Nixie screamed. “I will not let that happen!”
“It has already started.” He said. “She, herself, will be the one who revives me from this… unattractive… state.”
“No!”
“And I will kill your husband. And your son. And you.” He said. “But I will keep your daughter. She will do me well.”
“Nixie?” There was a knocking at the door. “What’s wrong, my love? Why are you yelling?”
Nixie turned and looked at the door, fearing what would happen if her husband came in.
“I think it will be joyous news to your husband.” Nereus said. “To know that I will not compete with him for your love anymore.”
The door opened and Nixie screamed as the figure in front of her exploded, splashing cold, hate filled water everywhere.
She collapsed onto the floor.
Her husband ran towards her and kneeled by her side. “My love, what happened?” He asked.
Tears filled Nixie’s eyes as she wrapped her arms around her husband and sobbed against his chest.
“Nerina is in danger. She is in terrible danger.” Nixie said between sobs.
“My dearest…”
Nixie told her husband everything and watched as his face exposed his multiple changes in emotion, from shock to anger to hatred to fear and finally, to pure dread.
Nerina sighed as she leaned back against the same crate that the captain was leaning against.
Both of them ignored the fact that their shoulders were touching.
“You know,” Nerina started, “whenever it rains… I feel like someone is kissing me… It feels a little nice.”
The captain raised his eyebrow. “You are aroused by rain?”
Nerina’s cheeks went pink. “Not aroused.” She said. “I didn’t say that.”
“Well that’s what it sounded like.”
Nerina rolled her eyes. “Well, I didn’t say that.”
The captain chuckled.
He couldn’t really relate to her because that’s not what he felt when the rain touched his skin. It didn’t feel like someone was kissing him. It just felt like drops of cool water.
When he lifted his head again, he felt the rain stop.
The storm was over.
They sat there for a moment though, together, but soon, Edward got up. “It is late, we should go to sleep now.”
Nerina looked up at him and then nodded as she got up.
They began to walk towards the cabins together, side by side, but for some reason, that felt strange to the both of them. So Nerina began to walk a little faster as the captain slowed down.
The captain watched her walk ahead for a moment. “You should slow down.” He said. “The deck is slippery when it is wet.”
She turned around quickly, a little too quickly, twirling on one foot. And of course, that wasn’t a very good idea.
There was a squeak as her foot slipped and she fell forward.
The captain ran towards her, almost slipping himself, but caught her before she hit the ground.
He looked at her. “I told you.”
Her eyes were shut tightly for a moment but then she opened them quickly and looked at him. Her gaze, for some reason, made the captains heart skip a beat.
He looked away immediately and lifted her back onto her feet. “Walk slowly.” He repeated before he turned around and left without her.
Nerina stood there for a moment and watched as the captain disappeared into the darkness.
Her heart was racing.
For some reason, she could still feel his hands around her waist and against her back, and she could feel her cheeks begin to burn.
And that feeling remained with her for the rest of the night.
- Writer
