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With a quick closing of the door behind him, he strode out onto the pavement that lead down toward the village. The moonlight reflected off his eyes, giving them an animal-like feel. He could also see just as well as one. His eyes moved to a little path that led out of the village, and he took it once they arrived to it. Venturing out of the limits of the living always seemed to relax him and clear his mind. He stopped, though, for a moment.

"I'm going to the lake that is out here, that won't bother your 'second' ability will it?" he asked, wanting to make sure she would be fine.

Zalia walked along with him, halting when he did as well. For a moment she was going to ask what was wrong, but then he spoke. She listened to him and then shook her head slightly. "No, I'll be fine." She rubbed at her arm and went quiet again, rather ashamed about her second ability. After all, it was how her father had brought her up. It wasn't bad enough that she was a half-blood, but she turned into a pathetic creature when she was stressed too.

Zalia would just walk along with him and stay quiet.

"It really is a pretty sight," he said, continuing his pace now. "And on a night like tonight, we should be able to see the moon flowers out. They only open their petals when the moon is bright in the sky." He raised his hand in the air, indicating that this moon might just be bright enough for them to catch a glimpse of the rare flowers. He brought his hand down and onto Zalia's shoulder farthest from him, pulling her closer. "I hope the night air isn't too cold for you. If you need my coat, just let me know." For the moment, it seemed Alezander was back to his old self.

Zalia listened to him, honestly a little excited to see it now that he was talking about it. "That sounds nice." She shifted slightly as they walked, thinking about flowers now. When his hand rested on her shoulder her cheeks turned a bit pink, especially when she was tugged closer to him. "Alright, thank you." She was glad that he was back to his old self, really. She was worried that her almost-intrusion might have set his mood off for the rest of the night.

He walked quietly for most of the way there, until he saw a break in the treeline to their right. He took Zalia's hand and pulled her through it, making sure she was careful not to trip over anything. On the other side of the trees was a large, sparkling lake, the moonlight making it seem like diamonds were on the water's surface. And scattered all around the bank, like he had said, were small, seemingly glowing flowers. They littered the ground almost making it appear like glowing snow.

"Good, this is the best time to see them, especially when there are so many," he said, looking down at the blossoms. "A flower that can only bloom when there is light in the darkness."

Zalia blinked in surprise as she was tugged forward, and when she saw the scene she honestly gasped. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the beautiful clearing. The lake and the flowers...it was mesmerizing. "Wow..it's so beautiful." She let go of his hand and crept closer, kneeling down and running a finger along one of the flower's petals. "So smooth..." She smiled and bent over to sniff it. "It smells amazing." She sat back and looked around again.

"I feel like I'm in a fairytale."

Alezander closed his eyes and smiled, giving a moment's laugh. "If you say so," he said, looking out over the lake. "Though I would agree with you if there were animals gathering around, a fairy god-mother, and a Prince Charming to go with it." He recalled the stories he was often told as a child, thinking that he would like to live such a life. "This is pretty close, though." He knelt down beside her, touching the surface of the water and sending a ripple outward. He had touched where his reflection might have been.

Zalia listened to him and turned her eyes to the water. "I see a Prince Charming." she murmured under her breath. She watched him as he touched the water. Unlike him, she had a reflection. She looked at it now, for a moment or two, before pulling away from the water. Honestly, she didn't like looking at herself.

"This place feels so special. So unique. Magical."

He nodded his head in agreement, as he stood back up as well. "No one from the village comes here. They have a legend saying that a young woman died here; murdered while waiting to elope with her lover. Her body sank into the lake and the lake spirits revived her, turning her into a water goddess. But she is vengeful and kills anyone that comes near her lake." He laughed a bit, finding it all ridiculous. "So I like to think of this place as my own private lake. I'm the only one who will admire its beauty."

Zalia shivered as she heard the tale. "That sounds scary." She trailed her fingers along the water, listening to him. "Yes. It's beautiful." She stared deep into the water, losing herself in thought. Her fingers created rippling little patterns as her mind wandered to nothing in particular. And then a voice came to her ears, and her ears only. A familiar voice.

Lean over.

Zalia felt chills run through her body. Her father's voice. But her body felt frozen in place. Just lean a little further. Or are you scared? Pathetic. I always knew you were a weakling. Zalia flinched slightly, the words of the voice cutting through her heart like a knife. Lean over.

She started to lean slightly, looking into the water. Farther. She obliged, the swirling of the water captivating her. Without a single warning, the edge of the lake slipped beneath her legs and she pitched into the water with a loud splash.

She was jerked out of her almost daydream state, struggling to surface. She tried concentrating so she could change into a dolphin, but something brushed against her leg. She screamed, the noise muffled as all her bubbles of air went up to the surface. The floor of the lake wasn't too far from her and so she dove down, aiming to push off of it with her feet and propell herself to the surface. But as she pressed her feet down into the sand, she realized her error.

Weeds tangled her feet up. She started panicking. She felt the tingling on her body from her fear and stress, but she knew by the burning in her lungs that the change wouldn't take place soon enough. She'd given up all her air with the scream and now had nothing left.

Alezander had been watching her as she seemed mesmerized by the water. It seemed a bit odd to him, and he knew something was wrong just a moment too late. She had already fallen into the water.

He hurriedly threw off his coat, kicked off his shoes and took a mouthful of oxygen before diving in. He could see Zalia, her hair wrapping around her as she struggled against the weeds on the bottom of the lake. He reached out his hand to her struggling ones, and pulled himself down closer to her. She looked like she was about to pass out from lack of oxygen, most likely due to the bubbles he had seen rise to the surface, and her flailing about.

He moved his face to hers, pressing his lips against her own, hoping she would take the air in his mouth, before he began to pull away at the weeds.

Zalia breathed in the air from his mouth desperately, holding it in this time, determined not to let the precious oxygen be wasted again. When he finally freed her legs from the weeds she swam to the surface as fast as she could, which really wasn't all that fast. Her body ached from trying to move so frantically under the pressure of the water. She gasped for breath the moment she was out of the water, barely managing to stay up. She swam towards the edge and pulled herself up, gulping in air as she lay on the ground, part of her legs still in the water. She was exhausted.

A few seconds later, Alezander surfaced nearby, and he tread the water for a bit. "If you wanted to swim, you should have just said so," he joked, making his way toward the land. He grabbed the grass and pulled himself up, looking down at her. His clothes and hair were clinging to his body, and it seemed he had lost an earring while down there. He wouldn't find it a big loss, though, since he had plenty more sets to replace it.

Zalia didn't laugh, unfortunately. That voice. Her father's voice. She shivered and shifted a little, hiding her head under her arms. She was so far away from him and yet he was still influencing everything she did. She coughed softly and focused on taking steady breaths. She was scared. Terrified that she would hear his voice again.

"I'm sorry.."

"For what?" he asked, looking down at her back. "I enjoyed the swim." He smiled, but understood soon that she was in no joking mood. "Should I ask why you decided the water looked so appealing? You know you can tell me anything. Was it... him?" He remembered her talking about her father, and the kind of control he had over her. And the way she looked just before falling in the water reminded him of the look she had when she had been telling her story.

Zalia was quiet, up until he said that word. Him. The meaning was so obvious to her and it made her whimper and curl up a bit more. She was shivering, but whether it was from fear or the cold was unknown. She didn't answer him, she just curled up some more and tried to hide within herself. Maybe he would listen to whatever she said. But whether she could actually talk about it or not was debateable. She was having trouble just getting steady breaths at the moment. Her face was wet, but even she didn't know if it was from their 'swim' or from tears.

Alezander waited a moment, before letting out a small sigh. He knew to give her some time to talk, if she chose to do so. He wouldn't pry this time though. He stood up, wringing the water from his shirt and pants the best he could, before shaking some water from his hair. He made his way over to his jacket, picking it up and placing it over Zalia. It would at least keep her warm while she laid there.

Zalia said nothing, just stayed quiet. When the jacket was placed on her she tugged it closer around herself. She was cold, that was true. It would be five whole minutes before she said something. "I wanna go home."

She had whispered it, but home obviously meant his house. She felt it was such a shame, because the place was so beautiful and they hadn't spent much time there. But Zalia was too scared that she would start hearing his voice again.

He stood silently, crossing his arms as he looked out over the lake. He made his way over to a small patch of the flowers, picked a few, and held them lightly in his hand. They stayed open and glowing, which he had hoped they would do. He knelt down by Zalia, placing the flowers in her hair, before scooping her up in his arms.

"Then home we shall go," he said, replying now to what she had said.

Zalia flinched slightly upon the first touch, but she relaxed as she usually did. Flowers in her hair. She could smell them and feel them. It made her cheeks turn pink. Whens he was picked up she held the coat close around herself and leaned her head against his chest, eyes closed.

She would stay this way, still and silent, until they reached the house and he put her down. She felt like a pampered child. But...it was a nice feeling.