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"How did you survive this long?" The voice said as Osbert felt hands around his waist, pulling him higher

What? Osbert thought, unable to even open his eyes as he felt the air current on his face. Who?

"Pardon me." The voice said as a soft pair of lips touched his and, within no time, Osbert felt air entering his lungs once again.

He breathed in and out of his mouth as something held his nose close to keep him from breathing in or out through them.

When he finally breathed how much he needed, Osbert opened his eyes a sharp pain coming from his lip, looking at the man in front of him pull away.

"Better?" A pair of heterochromatic eyes looked at him, licking his bloodied lips. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

Jel??? He almost shouted but the man clasped his mouth close in time.

"Don't do that." Jel chuckled, their bodies pressed up against each other. "I can't always give you CPR."

Right. The man nodded at him as the two turned to look at the woman above them still screaming.

"Mine! It's mine!" The woman rejoiced, swallowing the gem down as her wounds healed and her hands came back, bones and everything.

"Incredible." She laughed, looking at her hands.

Osbert's eyes widened looking at Jel whose hands were still on his waist. The gem can do something like that? Why would he give me something so important?

"Can you still hold your breath?" Jel asked, looking at the man who quickly looked away, flustered by him suddenly turning.

Osbert nodded, the man laughing. "Sorry. You will have to hold your breath for a little longer. Unless we take care of her, we won't be able to escape this place."

How did he even get here? Osbert thought, trying to remember if he saw how she appeared but nothing happened.

"Come." Jel pulled him as he began swimming up. It is only then that the woman noticed the two, her eyes widening.

"How-"

"I really beg your pardon," Jel said, hand still on Osbert's waist as he swam to the woman. "I need to ask you for something."

"I don't know how you got in here." The woman backed away. "But I will not give the gem back to you."

"That is alright. I can just give him another one." Jel said pleasantly. "Just let us out. You see, he can't breathe underwater like the both of us and I would rather not see him die."

The woman stared at the two blankly before bursting into a laugh, "You are asking ME to let my preys go? ME? The Goddess of the sea???"

Goddess? Osbert thought, frowning. Is she really? That would explain why she is so powerful.

"Technically, we are in a pond." Jel corrected, still smiling at the woman. "But if you say so. Could you let us out?"

Burning with fury, the woman pointed her fingers at the man. "You dare insult me."

"I really didn't."

"Silence! I will kill you where you stand!" She shouted, hundreds of skeletal hands grabbing the two to drag them down again.

Jel!

"This is inconvenient," Jel said, looking at the skeletal hands before pulling at them, causing them to break.

Huh?

"Huh???" The woman screeched as Jel just shook the hands off him like they were leaves. "You! What are you?!"

"I am a Vampire, for one," Jel said, suddenly noticing the woman in front of him, hands about to dig into his flesh.

Jel! Look o-. Osbert was about to rush to him but the man just dodged her attack as though he anticipated it, somehow.

Am I even needed at this point? Osbert thought, looking annoyed at the man.

"I guess we really can't leave without taking you out," Jel said, furrowing his brows in annoyance. "Shame. I wanted to talk to you for a while."

"You-"

He didn't give her another chance to speak as he shoved his hand into her chest, pulling out the gem connected to her body with nerves protruding from the hole.

Staring at the gem, Jel tried to pull out the nerves but they would not budge.

Laughing, the woman pointed to him, while coughing blood. "You will not be able to kill me now. My soul is bonded to the gem! If you want to kill me, you have to destroy the gem! And you know, a Vampire's gem can never be broken."

Sighing, Jel turned to Osbert, looking apologetic, "Sorry, Osbert."

So that means I'm going to die here?? Osbert thought, looking closely at Jel. No. That isn't what he's apologizing about.

"Don't be sorry." The woman said, swimming to him as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "You could die with your lover. It will be absolutely romantic."

"Why would we die?" Jel asked, looking at the woman, confused.

"You just apologised for failing him, didn't you?" The woman asked moving away from him, surprised.

"Oh no, I was just apologizing that I would have to take his gift back." Jel turned to Osbert, grinning. "I'll give you another one, ok?"

"Wait. Wait." The woman swam to him, trying to pull the gem from his hands. "What are you going to do? Break this?"

"I'll try."

"You won't be able to." The woman laughed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You will just end up dead."

"True," Jel said, looking at the gem in his hands. "Trying to break this gem could cause a surge of power and cause you to burst from the overflow of it."

"Yes!"

"But for that to happen, you have to not be able to contain that amount of power," Jel said, holding the gem in between his index and thumb. "Don't worry about me."

Does Jel mean ... he is more powerful than the magic in that gem? Osbert thought, looking at the tiny thing in his hands. That's not possible. I felt the magic levels of that, it is even more than Lily's.

He is stronger than Lily?

"Wait!" The woman's shout brought Osbert back as he stared at the crushed gem pieces floating in front of the two. "NO! NO!"

Jel swam to Osbert, crashing into him as he quickly wrapped his arms around him, his wings jumping out from behind him and wrapping the two as a large shockwave filled the area, throwing them back.

They must have bumped into something as Osbert felt pressure before he finally lost consciousness.

_____________________

Looking over Osbert's unconscious body, Jel smiled, brushing some of the wet hair out of his face.

They sat in the middle of a muddy place with an empty pond beside them and broken bamboos everywhere.

"Sorry," he said, looking at a scar on Osbert's forehead, just above his eyebrow. "I thought that was enough to protect us. My bad."

"Your majesty!" A little flying Bilby appeared through a small portal, frantic. "What are you doing here? You must rest."

"Gio," Jel said, looking at the creature while he sat on the muddy ground. "How did you find me?"

"I just followed the sound of destruction." The creature said, flapping its tiny wings frantically. "Don't tell me you used your magic."

Jel didn't answer but quickly and guiltily turning away from Gio was enough to show his guilt. "Please rest your majesty. I am begging you."

"I have been resting," Jel said, sighing as he continued to stroke Osbert's hair. "I have not been out of the resting room for the past three weeks."

"You would not stay awake for an hour at a time. Your majesty!" Gio shouted, flying around him. "You overexert yourself. Even coming here-"

"If you say that I shouldn't have come here, I will have to kill you, Gio," Jel said, looking at the creature, smiling blankly.

He is not lying.

Gulping the creature kept silent and watched as Jel continued to stare silently at Osbert.

That shockwave was enough to knock out anyone in a ten-mile radius. No one is going to come for a while.

He touched the cut, raising an eyebrow at the man. How do you keep getting yourself in trouble? What would you have done if the gem didn't sense your distress and call for me?

"I apologise for disturbing you, your majesty," Gio said, trying to say as gently as it could. "You need to rest."

"I know," Jel said, touching the crack that appeared on his side. "Gio, get me little red."

"Ok!" Gio disappeared and appeared once again, holding a red gem, exactly its size as it fell on Jel's open hands. "Here you go! Are you going to heal his wound?"

"No." Jel got to his feet with a little bit of struggle but Osbert held on to his shirt.

"Don't go." He mumbled.

The man only stared before breaking into a smile. He pulled his shirt out of Osbert's hands and placed the gem instead, giving him a peck on the head.

"Don't worry. We'll see each other again soon." With that, he walked away, slightly limping, hand on his side.

Gio looked like it wanted to say something but decided against it, opening an invisible golden door in front of them and they disappeared, not a trace left.