Oceanum Collis

•Chapter 35• Distraction

"Can I trust you to distract them? Both of them?" Serena questioned. Misty nodded in response. "Trust me," Asher spoke up. He folded his arms over his chest as he looked at Misty. "She's done it before," Asher added. Serena gave a slight nod. "Good." She said. The she-elf turned to the mermaid. "Help her in any way possible. Asher and I will gather the supplies." She said. Valeria folded her arms over her chest. "Why can't I come?" She questioned. Of course, she wanted to come. This didn't surprise her. Hades Serena stepped closer to her friend. "Your feelings for him might distract you. We need you to be focused." She whispered. Valeria nodded, knowing her friend was right. "Alright," She spoke, "but be careful." She whispered back. Serena nodded and turned to the werewolf. "Let's go." She said. Valeria and Misty watched as the two disappeared into the tree. Misty turned to the mermaid standing next to her. "So," she started. She pointed at the tree. "Can you climb in one of those?" She asked. Valeria chuckled quietly. "Of course, I can climb a tree." She replied. "I just assumed that..." The young werewolf started. She let out a sigh and a chuckle. "Well, I mean, you don't seem to have been on land a lot in your life," Misty said. Valeria furrowed her eyebrows. She seemed slightly offended. Misty noticed and quickly moved on from this conversation. "Alright, you can sit up there, where no one can see you. When I give you a sign you snap some twigs. That's all. Alright?" Misty spoke. Valeria nodded. As she walked toward the tree she pouted a little. "I'm doing great compared to other mermaids." She said to herself. "You are, you are!" Misty called out to her as she walked away. Valeria smirked proudly and pulled herself up into the tree.

The werewolf and she-elf reached a steep slope that lead down to a small pond that held fresh water. Asher held out his hand. "Ladies first." He smiled. Serena rolled her eyes. "Then what are you waiting for?" She asked him. She gently pushed his hand aside and made her way down the slope. Asher rolled his eyes and followed the princess down. "I didn't know good girls lied to their daddies, by the way. Do we have a bad influence on you?" He asked her. His sentence contained a slight chuckle. Serena ignored him. The last time Asher and she were alone things kind of got out of hand. They both went too far. Serena should've known where her place was. "How are you doing?" Orlando asked her. Serena nodded in response. Orlando gently rubbed her back. "I'll get you some water." He tells her. He stood up and left the elf and werewolf by the fire. Serena looked up at the young werewolf sitting on the other side of the fire. "You should be more trusting." She tells him. Asher pointed his finger at Serena. "It's dark magic." He said. "It's a way of healing for us elves."Serena's hand turned back to normal as she spoke, clearing all the wounds from her skin. "You're evil," Asher said. "At least I don't have fleas." Serena snapped at him. "And I'm not the princess who will bring death upon us all." Asher barked at her. Serena jumped up from her seat. She pulled out her dagger, holding it up against Asher's throat. He chuckled at her. "Brave Princess." He said. He rested his hands on her waist. "I've got to be honest with you. I thought we lost you there."He tells her. Serena pressed the dagger into the skin of his neck. "And since when do you care about me?" She asked. Asher shrugged. "You're not all bad." he admitted, "You've got some good qualities that I missed." He added. Asher glared at the princess. He started to get a bit closer to her as they walked. "Serena?"He said. The she-elf glanced over her shoulder. "Just keep walking." She tells him sternly. She didn't want to think about it anymore. She tried to focus. Maybe taking Valeria with her would've been a better idea. She would've distracted him, broke the silence, done something else! Something so Serena would be able to concentrate. Only seconds before they could reach the pond, Asher grabbed Serena's arm and yanked her toward him. "Why are you being so quiet?" He asked her. "I'm not." She barked at him. "You are." He tells her calmly.

Serena let out a sigh. "We don't have time for this." She said sternly. "I don't care," Asher tells her. He gently pushes her against one of the trees. "What's wrong with you? Ever since you came back you seem off." He pointed out. Serena bit the inside of her cheek and her bottom lip. "This can't all be the cutting you open and beating you up." He said, "Did he do something else to you?" He asked. Serena shook her head. "No." She answered simply. "Are you sure? I won't tell your brother or anything." He assured her. Serena pushed herself away from the tree, standing only inches apart from Asher's face. "Nothing's wrong. And don't pretend to care for me." She said harshly. She removed his hand from her arm. Asherglared at her annoyedly when she made her way to the small pond. "We have to get back as quickly as possible," Serena said. But Asher wasn't going to let this go. He rushed after her, a little too quickly, making him trip over his feet. Because Serena bend down to fill up the water bottles when Asher bumped into her. Together they fell into the water. When their heads popped up from the water, Asher laughed. But Serena didn't seem very pleased. She glared at him. "Idiot!" She exclaimed. Asher swam over to her. "Oh, come on, princess, it's  just water." He said. Serena felt his arms snake around her waist. "We can spare a few minutes." He tells her. Serena looked at him. Not speaking a word. She was left speechless as she glanced into his brown orbs.

"Misty, what do you want?" Remus asked her. The young werewolf pointed her finger towards the dark forest. "Humans. They're here." She spoke. The elven king's eyes widened. "What?" He said. "I don't smell them," Remus replied. He has fallen for her tricks before. He wasn't going to do it again. He sensed something was up. Misty rolled her eyes at her leader. "They're here, I saw them myself!" She replied. She then looked down at her feet. "Besides, your nose isn't all that it used to be." She said quietly. Remus glared at her. "What did you just say?" He asked her as he raised his eyebrows. Misty glanced over her shoulder, making her eyes lt up slightly, signing to Valeria that was still hiding up in the tree. The mermaid reached out to snap a few twigs, loud enough for the two leaders to hear them. "Maybe we should check it out," Callodir said. Remus sighed and nodded. He looked at Misty. "You stay here." He ordered. "Yes, sir," Misty replied.