Chapter 300: A Morning Swim

 

  The warmth of the approaching summer was still dormant in the early hours of the day. The sun had yet to rise, though faint traces of light stretched across the sky, signaling the imminent dawn. The early morning air was crisp and the breeze brushed the skin with a soft nip.

  The Katag villa lay quiet, but not asleep, the household servants had been awake for several hours. They rushed about the hallways, carrying out their duties in silence.

  The villa’s courtyard was large and mostly empty, save for a pool and a garden of flowers that lined the edges of the lawn. Lord Krall had ordered the pool to be built a few years ago for his children. Famed artisans from all over Undergrowth had come to work on the project. The result was an oval pit covered in smooth black stones, with streaks of gold etched throughout the bottom. The crystal clear water floating above it all gave the gold a shimmering effect when the light touched the pool’s surface.

  Yet despite all the pool’s beauty, most of Lord Krall’s children rarely swam in the pool. Most of them preferred to spend their leisure time strolling through the city, visiting one luxurious establishment or another. 

  Like her siblings, Tauri enjoyed watching a play at the theater or sampling the culinary delights of renowned chefs. But unlike her siblings, she enjoyed the simple quiet of the early dawn.

  Tauri sat at the edge of the pool, her feet swishing in the water in a slow soothing pattern. She took a deep breath and sighed in contentment. It was nice to soak her feet in the water for a few minutes after a morning run.

  “What are you doing?” a voice asked from behind her.

  Tauri could recognize that impertinent voice from anywhere. She craned her neck back and looked up at the blue goblin.

  “I could ask you the same thing,” she said. “Aren’t you usually busy eating Nana’s food in the kitchen right about now?”

  “I was,” Stryg raised the half-eaten loaf in his hand and took another bite.

  “And what are you doing here now?”

  “Uh-uh. Your turn. Why are you here? Don’t you usually run in the mornings?”

  “I already did,” Tauri turned her neck and looked pointedly at the pair of muddy boots next to her. 

  “I see…”

  “My turn. What are you up to now? Taking a stroll through the grounds?”

  Stryg finished the last piece of bread and swallowed, “...I was looking for you.”

  “Me? Why?”

  “...I wanted to say thanks… For yesterday. At the interview. I didn’t really want to be there. Some of the questions were hard to answer… I didn’t know what to say. But you answered instead and things sort of just worked out. So… thank you, I appreciated it.”

  “Oh…” Tauri muttered. She was surprised by Stryg’s sincere demeanor. He was usually so cheeky and borderline insufferable. “Well, don’t worry about it. Those Stemme siblings were asking rude questions and trying to get whatever personal information they could out of you. Don’t stress about it, you didn’t need to answer any of their annoying questions.” She winked, “That’s what I was there for; to stop them from being so damn nosy.”

  “That’s good to hear,” he smiled half-heartedly. 

  “Mm.” Tauri closed her eyes, placed her hands on the ground, and leaned back. Her legs moved up and down, her feet gently splashing in the water.

  “What are you doing now?” he asked curiously.

  “Just relaxing, enjoying our one day off from all the stress of those duels.”

  He furrowed his brow, “You like getting your feet wet?”

  “It’s soothing, yeah.”

  Stryg crouched next to her at the edge of the pool and with slow hesitation he touched the water with the tip of his forefinger. “Hmm…” he muttered uncertainly. 

  Tauri cracked an eye open and looked at him funnily, “Care to join me?” 

  Stryg stared at the water for a moment then shook his head, “No thanks, I don’t like the water very much.”

  “Come on, not you too. What is it with people disliking  pools?”

  “I don’t have anything against pools per se. It’s just…”

  “Just what?”

  “...I don’t know how to swim,” he mumbled.

  Tauri leaned back with laughter, “You can’t swim!?”

  Stryg blushed and glared at her, “S-So what!? A lot of people can’t swim!”

  “No, it’s just -hehe- sorry, it’s just,” Tauri wiped a tear from her eye, “You’re an Ebon Aspirant. You can wield all these colors of magic, but you can’t do what a lot of kids learn when they're like 5 or 6. It’s funny, ridiculous even.”

  “I’ll bite you,” Stryg said with quiet anger.

  “What?”

  He hissed.

  Tauri raised her hands in mock surrender, “Calm down, you little savage. Look, swimming isn't that hard. If you’re so self-conscious about it, I can teach you.”

  “Huh? You’ll teach me how to swim?” Stryg’s eyes widened.

  “Yeah, sure, it’s not hard,” she shrugged. “You could probably pick up the basics in a couple of hours.”

  “Okay, so what do I do?” he asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.

  “Well, first you gotta stop acting so damn scared of the water.”

  “I’m not scared,” he frowned.

  She sent him a deadpan glance, “You keep looking at the water like it’s a pit of vipers. The first step in learning how to swim is to not be scared. This is what you gotta do, get in the pool and relax your muscles. Do that and you’ll float easily.”

  “Is it really that simple?” Stryg asked doubtfully.

  “Yeah, so long as you don’t thrash about you’ll be fine.” She nudged his shoulder, “Come on, you’re a ruthless Sylvan goblin, right? No little wimpy pool is gonna stop you.”

  Stryg took a deep breath and nodded to himself, “Okay, yeah, I got this.”

  He stood up, spread his arms wide, turned his back to the pool, and let himself go. He fell into the pool with a large splash. He fought the urge to thrash about like a madman and tried his best to stay still. 

  Tauri watched in silent confusion as his body sank straight down to the bottom of the pool.

  The pool trembled and began to swirl into a vortex. A funnel of water shot out and splashed into the ground, and dropped Stryg unceremoniously next to the pool. Water dripped from his soaked clothes as he pushed himself to his knees and hands and coughed up water with a grimace.

  Tauri winced and reached her hand out, “Uh… Stryg…?”

  His head shot up at her voice, “Liar! I would have drowned if I hadn’t cast a torrent spell!”

  “I-I… I wasn’t lying, you should have floated!” Tauri said anxiously. She furrowed her brow, “Unless…”

  “Unless what?” he seethed.

  “Unless you’re carrying something terribly heavy under those soaked clothes. Are you carrying any hidden weapons or armor?”

  “Does it look like I’m carrying weapons?!” Stryg lifted his shirt. There was nothing but his bare blue skin.

  “Huh, maybe some enchanted daggers on your thigh or something?” Tauri muttered off-handedly.

  “I don’t need to be hauling around some stupid heavy weapons! I am the weapon!” he bared his teeth.

  Tauri’s eyes widened, “Wait a sec. How much do you weigh exactly?”

  “I don’t know,” he mumbled. “Something like….”

  “What was that? I can’t hear you.”

  Stryg scratched his ear and sighed, “I got myself weighed a few weeks ago back in Hollow Shade.”

  “And? How much did you weigh?” Tauri looked him up and down.

  “I don’t remember. Feli said it was something like 500 pounds.”

  She blinked, “Pardon…?”

  “She said I was only a little over 500, so it’s not that much,” he fidgeted.

  “You’re 500 fucking pounds! Oh my gods!” Tauri screamed.

  He crossed his arms, “I’m not fat.”

  “No, you’re a goddamn boulder!” Tauri shook her head, “How!? HOW!?”

  “I don’t know, I eat a lot I guess,” Stryg shrugged stiffly.

  “Eh? Are you kidding me?” She clapped her hands together and took a deep breath, “You know what? Nevermind. I don’t have the mental capacity to deal with this right now. It’s supposed to be my day off.”

  She turned around and walked away.

  “Hey! Where are you going! What about teaching me how to swim!?” Stryg called out.

  “Not today.”

  “So you’re going back on your word? Where’s the honor in that, Katag?”

  Tauri turned around and groaned, “Ugh, look, you can be the best swimmer in the world but you’re still going to sink like a stone if you weigh a quarter ton.”

  “So the problem is my weight then?”

  “Stryg, there are many problems with you,” she said dryly.

  “Would this help?” he asked, then channeled orange mana into his body. His veins darkened with agility magic. 

  “Huh, an agility spell solely focused on lessening your weight?” she asked.

  “Yup. No need for any extra speed, right?”

  “Yeah, I guess… Hm, we can work with this, I suppose,” she said reluctantly. “Okay, this time will start on the shallow end. Oh, and take off your shirt, it’ll be harder to swim with your clothes on.”

  “Understood,” Stryg nodded. He threw his wet shirt aside and began to unbutton his pants.

  “Wait, wait, wait! Don’t take off your pants!” Tauri yelled in alarm.

  “But I thought you just said…?”

  “I know what I said and having your shirt off is enough. I’ve already seen you naked once, I don’t need to relive that experience.”

  Stryg shrugged, “Alright.”

  “Okay, follow me,” Tauri said and led him to the shallow end of the pool. She waded into the pool until the water reached her waist, then offered him her hand, “Now, hold my hand and don’t use torrent magic this time, I don’t want to get caught in a small whirlpool.”

  Stryg hesitantly dipped his feet in the water and stopped. “What if I fall in too deep?”

  “That’s what I’m here for. I won’t let you drown, now come on.”

  Stryg stared at her skeptically.

  Tauri smirked, “Come on, don’t you trust me?”

  “No,” he said easily.

  “Well, try.”

  Stryg slumped his shoulders and nodded. He reluctantly reached out and grabbed her hand. Without hesitation, Tauri pulled him deeper into the pool until the water reached his neck. She was a few inches taller than him and her feet still reached the bottom, but to her delight, Stryg’s feet were floating, albeit only an inch or two.

  “Good, you’re doing it!” Tauri smiled.

  “I’m swimming?” Stryg asked excitedly.

  “No, you’re just floating but it's a start. The agility spell is working. You probably weigh only a little over a quarter of your usual weight right now.” Tauri kicked her feet off the black stone floor and pulled Stryg deeper into the water.

  “Don’t let go!” Stryg snapped as the water reached his face.

  “Relax, I’m not going anywhere,” she chuckled wryly. “Now, I want you to try to keep your body straight and put yourself in a horizontal position, but keep your head above water.”

  “Easier said than done,” he muttered, but still listened to what she said.

  “Good, you’re doing good,” she said in a soothing voice. “Okay, now I want you to start pedaling with your legs. Very nice. Now, I’m gonna let go–”

  “Don’t let go!”

  “I’m not leaving, I’m still right here. I’m just gonna let you float on your own for one moment, like this–” Tauri released his hand.

  “Dammit!” Stryg screamed in a panicked voice and began to sink. He clenched his eyes tight as his head fell under. The water rushed into his ears and a feeling of sheer terror enveloped him. He thrashed around, his limbs lashing about. His hand hit something hard and he heard Tauri cry out. The scent of blood mixed into the water and filled his nostrils.

  Stryg’s eyes shot open and he flooded his veins with blue mana. The water surged around the two of them and launched them out of the pool with a powerful wave.

  Stryg jumped to his feet and looked around in alarm. Tauri lay curled on the grass, blood seeping out of her mouth.

  “Shit, shit, shit!” Stryg yelled panickedly. He rushed to her side and pulled her into his arms, “Please be alive, please be alive…”

  “Ugh, shuddap,” she groaned and opened her eyes blearily.

  “Oh, you’re okay,” he sighed with relief.

  “I’m not okay, you idiot!” Tauri growled and pushed him off. “You hit me in my face! I’m bleeding, dammit!” she rubbed her jaw with a painful grimace.

  “I noticed,” Stryg licked her blood off his thumb. “Your lip is cut.”

  “Clarification; you cut my lip,” she glared at him.

  “Then let me fix it.” Stryg channeled white mana into his hand. His fingertips began to glow with a soft white light.

  “What are you doing?” she asked suspiciously.

  “Like you said, I’m an Ebon Aspirant, I can cast healing spells too. It’s best to heal that cut before you lose more blood,” Stryg said and walked towards her.

  She took a step back, “Healing spells are complicated. How do I know you’re actually good at this?”

  “I guess you’re just gonna have to trust me,” he smirked.

  Tauri sighed and sat down without a fuss, “Let’s just get this over with.”

  Stryg knelt next to her and gently placed his hand over her mouth. The soft white light curled around his fingers and flowed over Tauri’s lips, slowly closing the wound.

  Tauri's eyes darted around uneasily, unsure of where to look with Stryg’s face mere inches from her own.

  “The cut’s not too deep. I should be able to heal this up in a minute or two,” he said calmly.

  “You know,” she said in a mildly annoyed voice, “You’re a terrible swimmer.”

  “I know,” he whispered.

  Tauri froze at the soft tone in his voice. She looked at him and stared into his lilac eyes that were so focused on the white spell. His slit pupils were wide, almost ovals.

  “...The others in the Blood Fang Tribe learned how to swim in a river nearby our village when they were kids. But I… I never could.”

  “Why not?”

  “...I wasn’t good at a lot of things as a kid. Honestly, I’m not sure how much has changed since then. I still can’t swim,” he chuckled weakly. “I have my magic and that’s about it.”

  “...Welp, it looks to me like you’re doing a decent job. That’s more than most of us can say, trust me.”

  “You think so?” Stryg looked at her.

  “You’re on your way to becoming the first Ebon Lord in two centuries, so I’d say you’re doing alright,” she grinned. “Though, you could stand to lose a few pounds.”

  “You think I’m fat?”

  She glanced down at his bare chest, the water glistened off his toned muscles. “...Maybe a little bit.”

  “Well, I think you could also lose some…” Stryg’s eyes slowly wandered down. He could clearly see the shape of her modest but perky breasts through her soaked clothes. The wet blouse stuck to her smooth stomach and wide hips. Her black pants hugged her thick thighs so perfectly–

  Stryg stopped himself and quickly looked back up to Tauri’s face. Her amber eyes were already on him, staring into his own.

  “You were saying?” she whispered.

  “I don’t remember…” he mumbled.

  “Is that so?” she whispered. 

  His hand felt pleasantly cold on her face. 

  Her warm breath tickled his face.

  Stryg unwittingly leaned closer.

  “Good morning, Tauri,” Lady Evelyn’s voice echoed strongly.

  Tauri jumped up to her feet, startled. She cleared her throat and straightened her back, “Mother? I didn’t expect to see you here…” her voice trailed off.

  Stryg slowly turned around. Lady Evelyn stood at the other side of the pool. A beautiful young woman stood next to her. She seemed oddly familiar.

  Evelyn smiled in a relaxed yet knowing manner, “And good morning to you, Aspirant. May I introduce you to my lovely daughter, Elena.”