Valri's P.O.V.
          I allowed them to lead me out of the room, though my mind was in turmoil. What's going to happen to her? They roughly 'escorted' me out the doors. I stalked away from the castle, wanting to be nowhere but back at my swamp. I sighed. I looked back at the castle, still worried about Jazmine. The King will not allow her to be harmed, right? Shaking my head, I tore my gaze away and continued to walk.                
                                 •••
        Reaching the swamp, I dove into the water, enjoying the cool sensation. It helped calm my nerves a bit. I climbed out into my small cove, seeing Mystal busily moving around.
       "Mystal? May I ask you a question?" Mystal turned, beckoning me over to his personal cove, the one he did all his work in. Everyone always wanted to know what kind of work he did, but no one ever found out. He was very good at keeping his secrets to himself. I swam over, sitting on a rock in front of him. I held my tail nervously.
      "What is it, miss?"
      "Just call me Valri, please. I don't deserve any titles."
      "Then what is it, Miss Valri?" I shook my head, knowing I wasn't going to get through to him.
      "You know my sister, Jazmine."
      "A charming girl, yes. I remember when she was last here. I've heard she's grown much since that time, though."
      Valri nodded slowly in response. "She was summoned, by the King. I brought her there, but they made me leave before letting her out. I-I'm worried about her."
      "If I remember correctly, Jazmine is a very strong and level-headed young woman. I'm sure she can take care of herself, even around the King and his Wizard goons." He nodded once and went back to his work, dark green tail swishing busily. I swam through the water, not going immediately to my cove. I just wanted to swim, to clear my head of what I'd done. What did I do? The wrong thing, as usual. I jumped out at my little rock home and laid on my bed. I covered my face with my hand. Forget, forget, forget, forget. I felt like crying. Why was I so weak? I heard voices coming closer. I listened hard, not moving a muscle.
        "Are you really going there?" It was a male voice.
        "No, this is all an elaborate prank." Another male voice replied dryly. "I'm going, and you can't stop me." It sounded like someone walking on one of the few rock paths we have set up. Why aren't they swimming? I didn't even notice someone enter the cave until they knocked lightly on the wall.
       "Valri? You awake?" It was a male voice, the same one from earlier. My heart leaped when I recognized it. Thom?! What is he doing here?! I got up, trying not to run as fast as my heart was beating.
"Thom? What are you doing here?" I whispered quickly. He smiled.
"I came to see you. And, to get away from Dracibelle and Ginne. They're getting worse every day." He rolled his eyes, laughing quietly. I wanted to kiss him so bad. Instead I laughed with him.
       "But you shouldn't be here. If the King or the Wizards saw you... Both of us would be in danger. Possibly even more people." I flinched inwardly. I wished we could stay here forever, together. He sighed, taking my hand in his.
      "It'll be worth it." He answered, after a moment of thought. I looked down.
"I'm sorry. I can't do this. They'll kill us." Pain wrenching my heart, I stepped back. My hand slipped from his.
"I understand, but-"
"You have to leave." He turned away and I heard his heels clicking on the wet stone. The beat of my tears matched the beat of his footsteps - click, click, click, click, c l i c k, c l i c k...
I curled up on the floor, not having the emotional energy to go to my bed. What have I become? A selfish beast, that is only worried about her own life. Why do I do this? Always hurting the people around me because of my stupid selfish acts. First Jazmine, then Thom... Who could be next? I laid there and cried until I fell asleep in the uncomfortable position on the floor.
A dark scaled lizard man came to check on the girl next door. She had seemed upset earlier, and he wanted to see if she was alright. Mystal found Valri curled up in a ball with a puddle of tears by her head. She looked asleep, so he picked her up gently and laid her on her bed. He wondered what could be wrong, but didn't want to go delving into her mind without her permission. Especially when she was asleep. He swam back to his cove and resumed his work, visions of a young, happy lizard girl swarming his thoughts. Valri. If only you knew... But I could never tell you. I promised them that. And I don't break promises.
To anyone looking into Mystal's cove in the late afternoon, he would have appeared to be working. But what they didn't know was that he was very good at pretending to do important work - while actually doing nothing. It seemed more inconspicuous that way. He smiled to himself as the last of the suns rays shone onto the rock, bathing it in a beautiful orange glow. His black eyes reflected the light as he went over and sat by the entrance, watching the water churn slowly in the slight breeze.
A/N
Art by Jirka Väätäinen. His work is AMAZING. You should all look him up and see his art.
Ugh you guys have no idea how many times I read this chapter over just to find spots where I could add words. I wanted to get to 1,000 but you know...
Five, four, three, two, one!