Country of Countrymen [Yandere! Males! X F! Reader] | under editing

Zᴀᴄʜᴀʀɪᴀꜱ ᴀɴᴅ Zꜱᴀʀ

            Quickly, they made it to the bridge. They did not have time to drop the news in the Fortress or to the Palace. Not even a second to say a word to each other as they hurried to the Other Side.

Nicolai left her to walk, and she followed after him. As [F/n] peered into the river, Annette was reflected back in a blurry image. "Hi mom." She smiled sheepishly. "It's been so long since I talked to you."

"I'm upset," Annette confessed, her bright blue eyes conveying her emotion. However, she smiled. "What have you been doing?"

"Some stuff," [F/n] answered vaguely as she glanced over at Nicolai, who stood crossing his arms beside her. The look of impatience on him told her that time he was mentally counting down their time. "Look, mom, we're closer to reviving you, so just sit patiently there." She finished with an excited giggle, reaching her finger into the water's surface.

Annette reached back until both had touched each other. She pulled [F/n] in.

Meanwhile, Nicolai just walked into the rivers. But before he submerged himself in, he saw [F/n]'s face under the water, smiling as she lost her breath. He felt a stab of nervousness that she might be drowning, causing him to reach out to her. Yet when he held her, he could not touch her.

"[F/n]!" Out of panic, he submerged himself in and swam for her. Unfortunately, she was gone. Nicolai looked around but was unable to see clearly. Seconds later, he rose from the water, feeling nauseous.

"Nicolai, what took you so long? Come on, let's go!"

Blue eyes blinked, realization sinking in as he slowly got to land, dripping wet. His eyes never left her as they walked through the forest, with [F/n] slightly shivering. "You drowned in the river," he pointed out, brow knitted.

"I was; it's how I get to the Other Side." She turned to face him as she walked, her hair sticking close to her head. "So what are we gonna look for?" Crossing her arms over her chest, she shuddered for warmth.

Immediately, he looked away, not wanting to see through her eager soul. "It's a specific type of sand."

"What kind of sand?" She inquired inquisitively, flustered by his lack of details.

A pump of indecision worried Nicolai whether he should tell her. It was an agitating feeling, for he never liked to keep secrets; he was a person of blunt remarks. Sticking to that attitude, he solidified his decision. "Normals become sand after death, but it takes time," he began, which confused her. "Do you have a relative that had passed since?"

"We do... but they're buried away from her. Did Lyrah say that it has to be a relative of mine?"

"Yes," he answered, "somehow. What about an urn of a relative's ashes, do you keep one?"

She ransacked her memory, raising her eyes skyward as she recalled. "I think there's one, in my gramps' room─"

"Whose?" His eyes drilled into hers, burning with the desire for a response.

Somehow, his visage scared her, so she turned away. "I don't know. I never asked." After a short pause as they trudged over dead leaves, they heard the honking and quacking of birds from nearby. An old house stood beside a poultry farm as the evening heat beat down the path. "We're here."

Both of their attentions were on the quiet house, the animals screaming for food and them just staring for a while. To resume their momentum, Nicolai broke out of his reverie first and pulled her arm. Without an exchange of words, they sneaked around the property and entered through the kitchen.