Sacred Lands

A week had passed since Faye had been taken to the sacred land. Faye got used to sleeping in the same bed as Naois and reading him stories as she watched him fall asleep. Faye would eat breakfast and lunch with Naois and they would have longer and more complex conversations at the table. Even going out to explore more of the garden, by the second week Faye had her room. She was placed in the palace’s tower, so she had her little palace to overlook everything, while Naois lived in the actual palace.

Sometimes Faye would stay in Naois’ room and sleep in there as she read the stories he wanted her to read. Naois had formed a platonic need to share a bed, he would build Faye her little nest of pillows as she readied for the night. During the nights where she didn’t sleep in Naois’ room, she would be staying up in the tower drawing the landscape and the terrariums littered across the room.

Each day came with something new to their “routine”, no day was ever planned when it came to the two. They wouldn’t only explore the water gardens, but the village ruins, and the ruins in the pool area where Faye bathes. Everywhere the pair went Faye always brought a notebook along with her to draw everything that she saw, sometimes Naois would ask to try sketching with her, because he found he liked the way her face scrunched as she took notes. He wouldn’t draw the plants, however, he chooses to draw the little creatures that were in the fields, but sometimes would draw miniature sketches of Faye, for practice, and nothing else.

~XXX~

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into four almost five months which seemed to flow by, like water from a river. Faye hadn’t even asked to return home and Naois hasn’t even acknowledged the fact that she would have to go home at some point.

One day the weather was particularly poor Faye wished to learn more about him, the land, and the terrariums. Naois slithered after her as she entered the tower as she sat down on her bed. When Naois came into the room, he picked up a terrarium to study it.

“I haven’t even realized that there were so many terrariums in this tower. All of them are so detailed and beautiful. Do you like studying them?” Naois looked back toward Faye and saw her rapidly sketching in her notebook, “What are you sketching now? Surely you’ve drawn every terrarium in this part of the tower.” Naois asked, voice full of curiosity.

Faye looked up and flipped her notebook to show Naois, “I’m drawing you. Do you like it?” Naois leaned down to clearly see the drawing, nodding his head as he did a mental check.

“Everything is right, except for two things!” Faye turned her notebook around and looked at Naois in confusion, scratching her head on what was missing, “You don’t know what's wrong with it? Look at my mouth.” Naois gave a smile with his tongue sticking out and Faye gasped. His tongue was wide as a human, but was black and forked at the end like a Western diamondback rattlesnake. Faye thought Naois had canines as she did, so she made them as small as hers, but upon looking closely they were fangs. Faye wanted to touch his tongue and fangs to see what they felt like and take notes on him, to really understand how his body worked.

Faye placed the notebook on her bed and walked up to Naois and squished his cheeks and pulled at them. He tried to speak and ask why she was pressing and pulling at his face when she just stopped and wrote some notes in her notebook. The naga opened and closed his mouth to return the feeling to his mouth as he watched write down some notes, and wiped his hands on the black cloth hanging from his waist.

“Hey Naois what’s under that black cloth?” Faye asked looking up once more. Naois looked at her like she had ten heads, like it was the simplest answer ever.

“It’s where my mating piece is. Same as a human’s genitals if I’m not mistaken.” Naois said preparing to show Faye, but she held the notebook to her face, burning red from embarrassment.

“No, no, you don’t have to show me!” She screeched, slightly peeking from behind her book to see if he was covered, and luckily his black cloth was back in place and she breathed a sigh of relief. “When I asked, I didn’t mean for you to show me!” she exclaimed at Naois. He only shrugged with a sheepish smile.

It was silent between them, only hearing the rain from outside the tower’s window, “Have you ever danced in the rain”, Faye asked looking out the tower’s window.

“No. What’s dancing?” Naois asked as Faye jumped up from her bed.

“Follow after me and you’ll see!” She was excited, she didn’t know why, but she was excited as she ran down the tower’s stairs and waited at the bottom for Naois.

Naois was confused about why she was so excited, but followed after her. Faye ran into the rain and started spinning, as Naois looked at her it seemed like time was slowing down around her, and seemed like the rain wasn’t even touching her as she continued to spin and twirl in the rain, “Come!” She yelled over the pouring rain so Naois could hear her. He was hesitant to join, but decided that it looked like too much fun to pass up.

He slithered into the rainy area and was pulled down by Faye and she explained where his hands should go and just follow her pace and lead, it took Naois a few moments to understand and follow along, soon joining in Faye’s laughter as he spun her around in the rain, her hair was sticking to her face and Naois used his darkened knuckle to brush aside the hair that had fallen. Faye did the same thing with his long black hair, brushed it behind his ears, and saw that they were pointed.

Faye started rubbing his ear and he looked like he was biting his lip, trying to hold back something. She kept rubbing his ear until, he shrieked. Faye and Naois just stare at one another neither knowing what to say or do. Naois' face was bright red, and trying to form words, but his brain was failing.

"Why did you shrieked?" Faye asked trying not to laugh, but was currently failing and ended up snickering until she was holding her stomach from the laughing episode she was having.

"Snakes do it when they get petted* so, I guess that's why. Stop laughing! It's your fault I shrieked! Faye!" She only laughed harder with this new set of information and she ended up on the floor just laughing up at the sky. Naois shrugged, if you can't beat 'em, might as well join 'em! So he joined his companion on the ground and started chuckling thinking that it was kind of funny that he pretty much just shrieked in Faye's face.

Faye just kept adding on to their laughter and soon Naois had to hold his stomach in laughter. Naois decided that could get used to spending his time outside when there were rainy days.

*I looked up a lot of snake facts for this book and that was one of the things I found, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to embarrass Naois