The Mate of the Naga Prince

Chapter 15: It's Going to Be Okay

Three days passed by with no sign of Arthur. Magi kept her promise of sending Coral to check up on me. The eager and energetic Lamia helped me climb back into the burrow, where I spent constantly reading and re-reading my Velveteen Rabbit book and sleeping, just waiting for Arthur to return home. I let out a soft sigh as I set down my book. 'Where are you, Arthur?' I think to myself, walking to the edge of the burrow. "Hia, Scarlet!" A cheery voice shouts suddenly. I cry out in surprise, falling backwards. Coral giggles loudly as she enters the burrow, helping me stand up. "Hi Coral." I say softly, walking back to the entrance. "Still no sign of Arthur?" She asks. I weakly shake my head, scanning over the luscious forest for any sign of my lovable snake. "Magi and I are still searching for him, but he has an insane amount of territory." She explains, slithering up next to me. I remain silent as I gently hug myself. "Okay, what's the matter?" She asks. I sigh slightly, looking down my feet. "I can't help but feel this is my fault somehow." I say softly. "What?! How can you think this is your fault?!" She shouts. "Because if I hadn't come here, my dad would have never found us." I reply. "And if you hadn't come here, Arthur would have never found his mate, and you would have never have found yours. Every relationship has it's problems, even here in the forest." She reassures. I sigh again, leaning against her. "Do you think I could help with the search?" "Are you sure?" I nod my head. "I want to find Arthur." "Alright, but you have to promise me to be safe." I nod again. "I will." I reassure her. She gives me an uneasy look before gently wrapping her tail around my torso and carrying me to the ground below. Once she lets go, we say our goodbyes and go our separate ways. I head towards the creek separating Arthur's territory and Lucas' old territory. Bad memories begin to flood my mind, but I push them out of my head as I press onward. 'Come on Arthur... Where are you?' I ask myself. As I continue to walk further into Lucas' old territory, I notice a quick flash of blue within a nearby brush. "Arthur?" I call out, walking towards the movement. I move the underbrush aside, quickly spotting a familiar blue tail slithering deeper into the forest. "Arthur, wait!" I call out, chasing after my clearly distressed mate. Arthur stops his movement and turns to look at me. "Scarlet?" He asks softly. "Where have you been?" I ask, walking up beside him. He quickly tilts his head down in shame, turning away from me. "I'm sorry. I never meant for you to see me angry." He says, his voice remaining low, and quiet. I sigh and reach up, cupping my hand around his cheek. "Just don't leave me again, okay? I was worried you got hurt, or worse." He smiles slightly. "I'm the scariest thing in this forest, baby. Most animals know not to try and challenge me." I giggle softly at his comment before wrapping my arms around him in a hug. "Promise not to run off on me again?" I ask. "Promise." He smiles, hugging me back. I wrap my arms around his neck, and pull him into a deep kiss, which he gladly returns. "C'mon. Let's go home." I smile.

Once we reached the oak tree, Arthur helps me climb back into our burrow. Once we were inside, he quickly spots my childhood book sitting against the wall. "What's that story about, love?" He asks, picking it up curiously. "It's about a stuffed rabbit, who wants to learn the meaning of love. One day, his owner gets scarlett fever, and has to burn anything he's touched, including the rabbit. So, to save the rabbit, a fairy comes down and turns him into a real rabbit and takes him to a field to live with other rabbits." I explain, picking up the small mess of clothes I had made while waiting for Arthur to return home. As I clean, he begins to examine the book, flipping from page to page, looking at the cartoony pictures. "Do you... think you could read it to me?" He asks softly. I glance up at him, noticing the mild embarrassment in his eyes. "Can you not read?" I ask him. He gives me a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck. "We don't get too many human books here in the forest, so I struggle to read the human language." He explains. I giggle softly, walking up and gently grabbing the book from him. "Alright, get comfortable. I'll read it to you." I smile. Arthur returns the smile before gently wrapping me in his coils, leaving the book and my arms uncovered, and curling up against the far corner of the room, pressing me against his chest. I flip to the first page of the children's story and begin to read.

That's when the screaming began.