Worth It

Ren finally said, "I don't care if you want a drink or not. Come on, the well is this way." She said "Ok." And she turned around with him. But she couldn't walk with him; she lost consciousness before she made the third step. The Elf caught her just before she hit the ground and hurriedly carried her towards the old flowing well. The man at the vegetable stand nearby couldn't help but notice his worried face when he looked at her. The man shook his head and sighed dully. "Sirens sure do have a strong hold on their victims." 

  Ren set Pearl by the well, borrowed a cup from a lady at a stand, and collected some water. He barely managed to get her to take three sips. The sun had almost completely drained her energy to the point where she couldn't keep her eyes open or even lift her head on her own. A drink wasn't going to help her. He couldn't go back for the lake; they had gone so far, it would be pitch dark by the time they reached the lake. And he didn't know if she could last that long. Sirens can die from dehydration much faster than Humans.

  Ren returned the cup, then he started asking around for the location of the nearest river. Because people knew who he was helping, every person he talked to lied and said they didn't know. When he reached the man at the vegetable stand, the man repeated what he had heard before: "Sorry. I don't know." 

  The Elf finally got tired of this answer and said, "Of course you know! You're just not telling me." The man looked away and said, "I don't talk to strangers." It took a moment for Ren to figure out whether or not the man was serious. "Don't act stupid. You work at a stand." The man grumbled, "And you're working for your own suffering." Ren said, "Excuse me?" The vegetable seller finally looked him in the eye and said, "I suggest you leave her alone, young man. You know dang well what a siren would want from you. The longer you stay with her, the more you endanger yourself." 

  The Elf sighed. "I am taking her home because she felt that it wasn't safe for her to go back home alone. But I can't take her home if she dies. Please. Where is the nearest river, lake, or pond." The man let out a longer, quieter sigh. "Whatever. You're not my problem." He turned around and pointed west. "Keep heading west, and you'll find Wolfwood River." Ren said his thanks, then he returned to Pearl. He scooped her up, let her head rest on his shoulder, and carried her west. The man at the vegetable stand shook his head again. "There goes a good man, wasting his life for a blue devil."

Sure enough, west took him to Wolfwood River. The river was cool, and it had an easygoing flow. He gently set her in the river to soak. Ren sat by the river and looked at the sky. The late-summer sheet of blue was completely cloudless. The only thing in the sky was the relentless sun. He sighed and let his stare fall back to Pearl. 'You're a lot of trouble, sweetheart.' She never saw his smile. 'But the trouble's worth it.'

In the late afternoon, Pearl opened her eyes to see water flowing just above her face. She sat up and looked around until she saw Ren asleep by the river. When she kept searching the area, she couldn't find the village. She grew worried and attempted to wake the Elf up. She nudged his shoulder repeatedly and said "Ren? Ren?" until he woke up. The second he revealed his hazel eyes, she asked, "Ren, where are we?" All he said was, "Huh?" So Pearl asked again, "Where are we?" He sat up and said as he stretched, "Wolfwood River." She asked, "Wolfwood River? Where's the village?" He answered casually, "It's east from here. Just a little ways."

  She tried to recollect what had happened before she found herself in a river, then her heart sunk a little. "Did- ...you didn't carry me all the way over here.. did you…" Her heart sunk deeper when he replied, "Yeah. You didn't expect me to let you die, did you?" She answered quietly, "I'm sorry for causing so much trouble…" Ren just shrugged and said, "It's not like you were planning on getting dehydrated." Pearl sighed. "Ok." 

  While Ren stood up while Pearl walked out of the river. She asked him, "Should we camp here?" He judged the position of the sun, then said, "I think we can make it a few more miles. I assume you want to get back to your home soon?" Her bright green eyes dulled a bit as she looked a little ways down. "Yeah… home…" His voice couldn't hide his confusion when he asked, "Don't you want to go home?" Her face lit up some as she reassured, "Yes- of course I do. I'm just a little tired." He then said, "We can camp here if you want." She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I'll just sleep well tonight."

  Ren didn't completely believe her, but he decided not to pry any further and said, "Alright." He started to move towards the town, then he stopped.

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Thank you to those who actually bother to read this!

I just wanted a place to share my stories because not a lot of people I know like reading.

Again, Thank You So Much!!! ♥️♥️♥️

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