Children of Night and Snow

59. Swimming Pool Adventure

"Lucia, it's just water, it won't actually kill you, that was just a joke," I laughed at my redhead friend who now stood awkwardly on the first step, eyeing the water sceptically. We agreed that our five non swimmer friends will have to start in the shallow waters, but that didn't stop me and the twins from freely jumping from the ledge on the opposite side of the pool.

"You three make it look so easy," she replied just as I jumped at Az' shoulders and pushed him under water, much to almost everyone's horror. Everyone except for Aaron, who was casually leaning against the side of the pool, amused at the sight.

"Freya what did you do?" Demi stared at me, horrified.

"Something she'll regret," Az reappeared from under water, gave them an evil smirk and then grabbed me by my waist and plunged us both so deep under water we could touch the bottom of the deepest part of the pool. For a second I was really glad that I grew up around Sheyla and Olivia who taught me to always be ready to draw and hold my breath in the last second, because otherwise this would really suck. Still the pressure under water was somehow much harder to deal with than it used to be back during my swimming days. I wondered if it was part of gaining all those heightened senses or if it was just the lack of this activity as of late. Either way, I was relieved once we inevitably started rising back to the surface.

"See, I told you they'll be fine," Aaron shrugged once we made it back up. Everyone else was looking at us with skepticism.

"Az just tried to kill my girlfriend, define what it means 'fine' in your vocabulary!" Nolan was not convinced at all.

"For some reason I don't think we are selling this very well," I noted upon seeing their faces.

"What gave you that impression?" Demi asked dryly.

"Alright, alright, let's just take it easy," I swam over to them and raised my hands as a peace gesture, but also to reassure them that I wasn't going to do to them what I did to Az. The five of them warily watched my every move. It was quite a comical sight I had to admit. These people, whom nearly all towered over me, built like the mountains that defined this land, covered in scars and tattoos which were now on full display. They hurt and killed people, stole precious artifacts and did so without an ounce of remorse yet all of them just stood there, holding onto the edge of the pool, scared of water.

"What are you doing?" Devan took a step back as I took one forward towards him.

"Gods, calm down, we are in shallow waters, you'll be fine," I rolled my eyes at him, "first thing you need to do is relax. Panic and fear are your worst enemy when it comes to handling water. Your body will naturally float like this," I said and showed them how I'd just let my body lie in the water. It wasn't salty water so it did take a bit of focus to stay afloat, but to me it was a natural instinct now and to them it hopefully showed what they needed to see.

"If you freak out and start kicking around, that's when you're more likely to hurt yourself or drown. Just hold onto the edge with one hand and try to float like I just did," I told them once I finished. Judging by the way they looked at me, my little example didn't give them any confidence at all.

"Okay, let me try," Connor sighed when none of them seemed eager to move from their positions. I gave him an encouraging smile and watched as he attempted to copy my previous movements. And he was doing well for a while. However the moment his legs began to sink lower than he'd like, he was done.

"Nope, not happening," he said once he regained his footing and next thing I knew, he was heading out of the water.

"Come on guys, we won't laugh at you anymore, we promise," I whined. All five of them were now leaving. Our little fun was over before it could properly begin.

"Let's go to the sauna we saw on the way," Lucia suggested to them, completely ignoring me. I pouted behind them, desperately trying to think of a way to convince them to come back.

"Their loss, let's do some actual swimming since we don't have to babysit," suggested Az, who appeared from under water right next to me.

"Good idea, let's see what you got, Freya," Aaron joined us as well, giving me a daring look.

"Oh you're on," I said. I had no idea just how skilled swimmers the two were, but my years of practice had to count for something. Besides, I was in my element. I have loved water ever since I was a child. I felt safe in it, like nothing could ever happen to me when water was near. While many feared the unpredictable and powerful element, I welcomed it.

Before the twins could say anything else, I disappeared beneath the water surface and pushed myself into a head start. By the time they caught now, I was already half a pool away and gaining speed. I was now even faster than I used to be, since my intense physical training from the past months gave me strength and agility I never had before. Pretty soon I gained over one length of a pool distance and I stopped looking behind me to see where the guys were. It was just me and the chlorinated water all around me, carrying me forward, calming me, soothing me. All my aches were gone and I felt so alive. I never wanted it to end.

I didn't know how long our race lasted, but I won by a significant margin. Twins struggled to admit such shameful defeat while I felt accomplished for once. This was probably the only thing I was the best at. As far as physical activities went anyway. Even Nolan and Devan seemed impressed when they returned from their sauna trip to come and practically pick us up so we made it back to our room before lunch was over.

"You can frown all you want, Aaron, but Freya did kick your ass out there in that swimming pool," Devan chuckled.

"That I did," I said. "I kicked all of your asses today. Not that it was hard since most of you can't swim, but for once I am the badass of the group," I added proudly.

"Let it be known, that today is the day Freya finally came out of her shell and humiliated us all," Connor laughed, raising his glass with water.

"I'll drink to that," I smirked and raised my own glass to a toast. The rest of them, including still grumpy Aaron, followed the suit.

"Personally, I think you've always been a badass," Nolan whispered in my ear after we all took a symbolic sip from our water cups. I gave him a shy smile and my cheeks went a little red at an unexpected compliment. He gave me a sweet kiss and squeezed my hand in return.

***

A little bit of a relaxed chapter today as we head straight for the book finale! We have 13 chapters left to go now. I started posting this book in January. It's unbelievable how time flies. Second book is already very much in progress so the pause between the two shouldn't be too long. In the meantime, do you have any theories? Will our little group make it into Midnight City without any losses?  And if so, what awaits them there? 

-Manon