Daughter of the Naga | Lesbian Story|

Chapter 74

The first bit of the sun started to flare over the sea. Charavan emerged from a bush nearby with a cluster of coconuts in his mouth. He crawled over the sand to us with his enormous body.

"Your mount had been weeping his crocodile tears since you were gone," Sovannmacha told me. "I asked him to fetch a drink for you. Steady now, you must be thirsty."

I realized the thirst was burning through my body as she helped me to sit up again. My muscle grew wobbly and weak. I probably had been unconscious for hours.

Charavan dropped the coconuts by my feet. He opened his powerful jaw and split the juice-filled fruit in half. Sovannmacha retrieved the coconut shell and held it to my dry lips.

I drank the sweetness of the juice as the merqueen took pity to nurse me with it. It was cool like spring water from a mountain cave. Some spilled down my chin and chest. I felt the fever subside and soon I was able to support myself with some strength.

Without another word passing between us, Sovannmacha watched me downing another coconut. Until my stomach was filled that I finally stopped.

I looked back at the mermaid. The heart-wrenching shame rode like eddying tides inside my chest again.

"I wish I could apologize for my mistake, my lady," I said. "But even I had ten tongues to beg for your forgiveness, my foolish act still can't be justified."

"I lay no more blame on you," the mermaid said and dropped her gaze from mine. "It is the gods and not you who are to blame. They who brought about our meeting."

I would protest such a passive notion, but there was a faint voice echoed within me.

You are the instrument. I am the musician.

My mind tried to remember what I had gone through during my state of non-existent, but the memory slid from my grasp like a slippery rock. I looked back at the sea maiden again.

"I was responsible for my wrong-doing, my lady," I said. "All I could give you was my own life."

"I did not want your life," she said with a frown. "If I did, I would never pull that blade out of your person."

"Then I am so sorry, I don't know what else to do," I told her. "And I will leave you if my presence still distresses your mind."

When I began to move away, Sovannmacha wrapped her pale arms around my waist and pulled me back to her. I could feel the thumping sounds from her chest. Her whole body trembled as she held me so close against her.

"Leave me not, O beloved stranger, my betrothed," the merqueen pleaded. "The thought of you going away suddenly pains me. I am bound to you now, I beg you, please stay!"

"Sovannmacha...I..." I tried to say something but words failed me.

"Did the childish love god strike me with his loathsome arrows? Or is it just you who charmed your way to my heart with your love-tricks?" she said. "I have gone mad for you, but now you wish to leave me!"

"No! Sovannmach, it's not so at all!" I said in a panic. My mind was once again overwhelmed by her tears. Though marvelously and divinely beautiful she was, I could not see myself as her life companion. Still, I could not take her honor and flee like a coward.

"Then you shall come with me, dearest one," she said with a hopeful look in her eyes. "To the Batdal City of our oceanic realm."

"But I have a duty waiting for me ashore," I told her. "And my heart has already been promised to someone else."

Sovannmacha pulled away from me and stared at my face in disbelief. Then she turned away and covered her face with her hands before bursting into a broken sob again.

The mermaid's tears tortured me. My arms gingerly wound around the sea queen and pulled her back into my chest. Her bare breasts felt cold and soft against my dried clothes.

"Please, don't cry, my lady, I will visit you again after my quest is over. This I can promise you."

After a while, we pulled away and held each other's gaze. She brought her cold palm to my cheek.

"The Fate has no mercy. There is nothing I can do but accept my misfortune," she said. "I knew you were not evil-hearted, and I shall grant you what you seek from me."

Then she brought her face to me and clasped her soft lips over my mouth. As we kissed, I felt a hot flowing sensation rushing through my body. I let out a sharp gasp, trying to pull away but Sovannmacha wouldn't let me go.

She deepened the kiss until I found myself swallowing something as hot as scorching embers. I wrenched my lips from hers with a gasp.

The burning sensation made me cry and writhe over the sand like I was choking on my own gut. My inside twisted and churned. I wanted to throw up, but Sovannmacha quickly tried to hold my body down, whispering soothingly in my ear.

"It will be over soon, Nikita, trust me!" she said, rubbing my stomach to ease my pain. As soon as she said that, the horrible sensation faded away. Then I was left panting in an aftershock. The merqueen's face hovered over me. She brushed my sand-filled hair away and kissed my forehead.

"What was that?" I whispered faintly.

"My enchanted pearl," Sovannmacha said with a smile. "Bearing its magic, you can now navigate through dangerous waves and easily find the place you wish to venture. But like all gifts, the pearl is not without its limits. Remember that it will only protect you at sea."

"But why? Why would you give this gift to me?" I said, staring up into her glittering eyes. "I have done nothing but take from you. Why must you help this horrible person?"

"Because you're both my joy and my sorrow," she said and laid her head on my chest. Her golden tail flipped over to my legs possessively. "Love is a cruel thing."