Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Misunderstanding (II)

"Since we're here, let's go see Bolbe. It's been a long time since we were all together," Melia suggested.

They had spent the night in Goldmi's village, and today they had to return. However, the dryad had improvised a visit.

"But..." Liodon wanted to refuse.

The problem was that he couldn't find any arguments to do so. He couldn't confess to his mother and sister that it hurt him too much to go see her. Liodon looked at his father, but he shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head.

Melingor, for his part, didn't object. He knew the nymph, and he liked her. As long as she didn't throw him into the water with the complicity of his wife.

Ted didn't have any problem either, despite having also fallen into the water more than once. In fact, as a child he loved it.

As for Mideltya, she was curious. She had heard about the limnad more than once, and she wanted to meet her.

Therefore, Melia led them through Origins and Sources, with the help of her sisters. They were watching expectantly and curiously. Melia hadn't told them the reason, but she had hinted that they shouldn't miss a detail.

The dryad knew that if she kept it completely from her sisters, she would have to listen to their complaints for months. If she suggested watching it without telling them why, it would even have the opposite effect.

Bolbe sighed. The visit of Melia and her family would have excited her if it weren't for the presence of Liodon. She wanted to see him more than anything, but she also feared doing so. The limnad loved him, but she knew that he didn't reciprocate her love, so it was terribly painful to be with him. She didn't know what to say to him, how to look at him.

She took a deep breath. They were almost there, so she had to control her emotions. Bolbe had practice, although she knew that afterward she would probably go cry in her hiding place. There, none of her sisters could see her.

The limnad opened the door to her Origin, which, although it contained plants, had water as its essence. Her guests entered through it.

"Bolbe! It's been a long time since we've seen each other in person!" the dryad greeted enthusiastically.

"Melia! Too long!" she greeted her back, from the heart.

They loved each other very much, although she was somewhat surprised by Melia's attitude. Normally, the dryad would have thrown herself into her arms. Nonetheless, she didn't give it any importance. She thought it was probably because Eldi was holding her hand.

Bolbe tried not to look at Liodon, but she couldn't help it. However, she looked away toward the other guests as soon as she did, as soon as their eyes met. The limnad couldn't stand it. Neither could he.

"I brought you a gift!" the dryad continued.

"A gift?" Bolbe asked curiously. She was wondering why her friend seemed so elated.

"You're going to love it! Eldi?" Melia asked.

"I'm sorry," the high human apologized, before pushing his son hard.

Lidia's leg made her brother trip. He lost his balance and was thrown forward.

"Aaaahhh!" he shouted, taken completely by surprise.

"What...?!" the limnad was surprised too.

However, she had no choice but to react and catch him in flight, since he had been thrown against her. She couldn't allow him to get hurt. Although, with his level, it was practically impossible.

For a moment, the two of them stood still. She was hugging him, so their bodies were stuck together. They didn't know how to react. Even less did they expect that some plants would surround them, as if it were a prison.

"Do you remember that time I asked you if you liked someone?" Lidia then asked.

"What're you talking about!? What does all this mean!?" Bolbe panicked.

She wanted to escape, to let him go, at the same time she didn't want to let him go for anything in the world. Besides, the limnad didn't want Lidia to continue talking about it. It was a secret that Liodon couldn't hear. As for the plants that surrounded them, they were rather a strange decoration that she didn't understand.

He, for his part, was totally confused and embarrassed. He didn't know what to do either.

"I asked you if you liked Liodon, and you denied it, although..." Lidia continued.

"Shut up! Don't go on!" the nymph shouted, out of her mind, in panic.

In fact, she could easily free herself from the prison. That was her Origin, where she was most powerful, and she was surrounded by water. However, Bolbe was too stunned, so it took her a while to start mobilizing her power.

"You know, Liodon was there. He had gone there to confess his love to you, and he heard everything, but only up to that moment..." Lidia continued.

At that moment, the limnad was petrified, and she wasn't the only one. She felt betrayed by her friend, but even more surprised by the revelation. Unconsciously, Bolbe looked at Liodon, who was red, between embarrassed and also feeling betrayed. He hadn't expected that his father had revealed his secret.

"The worst thing is that he left after hearing you deny it. He couldn't see that you were red, embarrassed. Liodon couldn't hear how you ended up confessing that you loved him, he didn't know that at first you had only denied it out of shyness. He thought that you loved someone else. You also believed that he loved someone else. Both of you thought that you weren't reciprocated. All these years..." she continued explaining.

However, halfway through they had stopped listening to her. The golden eyes were fixed on the blue ones. Incredulous. Stunned.

At that moment, Bolbe was unable to suppress her emotions. Her arms tightened around Liodon and her lips took her beloved's with desperation, with longing, with passion.

His mind went blank for a few moments. Nonetheless, his body responded before his mind. He embraced her without being aware of what he was doing.

When they separated, they stared at each other for a while, still in disbelief, both with tears in their eyes.

"I love you, I've always loved you," she confessed.

"Is it really not a dream? Can I really love you?" he confessed too.

She smiled. He smiled back. Then, they realized they weren't alone. They blushed, but didn't look at the smiling spectators. To Liodon's surprise, Bolbe kissed him again, but there was something else in that kiss, a blessing.

When his beloved immediately dragged him to the bottom of the lake, he realized he could breathe underwater. He let her guide him into a cave that was entered almost from the bottom, and then the path went up. Finally, they came out of the water, and found themselves in a room with stone walls. They were inside an air bubble, whose oxygen was renewed through the water and Bolbe's power.

"Where'are we?" he asked, surprised.

"It's my hiding place. They can't see us or find us here," she explained, as she was getting closer to him.

"But... They're waiting outside..." Liodon seemed hesitant.

"They've set a trap for us, so it doesn't matter if they wait. Anyway, I don't think they will," she accused them, although there was great gratitude in her words.

Liodon swallowed for a moment, although he couldn't help but get lost in the blue eyes of his beloved. He would never be able to escape from them again, nor she from the golden ones that didn't dare to blink.