Ocean's Secret |on hold|

15 | Like The Turquoise Waves

Hi Everyone! Finally, an update!! I hope you can remember what's been happening since my updates are few and so far between, but just skim the last one if you need to :)
Song above is Helium Balloon by Adam Young.
Enjoy,
~ Emmy

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The sun was warm as it cast its rays directly downwards, neither too hot nor too cool, yet Kallum still needed to wipe the sweat from his brow and gulp down a large drink of cold water.

"Saving some for me?" a gruff voice called from over his shoulder.

Kallum laughed and stepped aside as Lamont came over to the wooden barrel of water that sat on a sturdy bench. They stood together on the side of the dusty street, the large and well-muscled governor looking twice as hot and bothered as Kallum felt, and slurping noisily on the big tin mug.

All morning they had been working hard in the village of Tarsus, clearing and knocking down burnt timber rubble and unsteady structures, preparing the town for rebuilding. Kallum had heard many stories from the frightened residents about how their homes had been destroyed by the mysterious fire-breathing creature. No one had been seriously hurt, for which they were thankful, and they assured Kallum when he voiced his concerns that they would be brave and recover quickly. He didn't doubt that, but he couldn't help but wonder at the resilience that shone in their otherwise troubled eyes. Every man, woman, and child pitched in to help clean up the wreckage, and Kallum was honoured to once again be a part of their ranks, helping the inhabitants of this beautiful land in their time of need.

Well, most of it was beautiful. Looking at his soot-blackened hands, dirt-covered boots and trousers and the dusty smears on Lamont's scruffy face, you wouldn't think so!

And then there was Meredee to think about. It had been a few days since he'd come here and he still hadn't learned anything of her whereabouts. With this dangerous creature on the loose, he had even more reason to worry and lose sleep while thinking about Meredee, somewhere in this vast and unknown land. They had also heard news this morning of another village being razed by the mysterious enemy. Most of the Cyrian army were even now searching for it, hunting it. But nothing had been found yet besides a few unidentifiable tracks in the nearby forest.

Kallum had tried talking to Cyrus last night about Meredee, sure that he knew more than he was letting on, but the elderly man had been rather worn out and tired after a long day of meetings and negotiations, not just about the new threat but also the peace agreements with Tiritia. So Kallum had to swallow back his frustrations and help with the immediate tasks at hand.

"You want to help me pull down that barn?" Lamont wiped his mouth with his dirty sleeve, shaking the drops of water from his beard, and motioned to a tilting shed in the nearby field.

"I would, but Roakin just asked me to head back to the mansion and get the extra crate of saws and axes. He said they should have arrived from the port by now," Kallum replied. He was glad for the task that required a nice hike through the forest beside Whale Lake, not that he minded the manual labour here at the village, but he'd been surrounded by black for two days and he sure would love to see a different colour. Maybe even go for a swim in the lake to wash off the soot.

And going back to the mansion would give him a chance to talk to Cyrus again, so he hoped the kind elderly man would be feeling better today.