monstrosity, Tilula found this part of his person not at all monstrous. So strange was the effect of Indri's stare, that she immediately pushed away from him to regain her composure. And it was only then that she noticed the flower behind her ear was gone.
"What a pity," she said when she saw where her flower was - floating among the lily pads in the water. "My flower. You worked so hard to get it."
Indri sighed and, for a moment regretted letting go of Tilula so easily. For he'd felt it the moment he was once again able to hold her. I felt it? it must be? I think? "It's no loss. I would have been more concerned if you should have fallen in."
"Is you concern for my safety?" Tilula teased once she was finally able to breathe normally.
At that, Indri smiled. He simply had to restrain himself. Any feelings for Tilula would go unnoticed, and was best kept hidden. The world would not accept it. She would not accept it.
"No," he said seriously. "My concern is for the water."
Tilula knew he was bluffing, and for the first time the both of them laughed.
--
"There's no sense in sitting there all night. Come and eat by the fire where it's warm."
Taruk sighed heavily and looked at his friend's face, illuminated by the campfire they'd made a while earlier. It had been a week since his daughter stepped into Indri's gardens. And now he was still just as worried and nervous.
"If you were in my place, with your daughter in the clutches of the prince of frogs, you would not feel disposed to hunger also," he said. "I swear, if that beast has done anything to my daughter, or so much as harmed a hair on her head, I will drag him from the premises of the forest and behead him myself."
His friend chuckled, which annoyed Taruk to no end.
"Big words form a man whose actions caused all this." Anif raised the bowl of soup he'd prepared for him to see. "Come, Taruk. There's naught we can do in the meantime."
The merchant took a while to decide what to do, and then finally consented to his friend's offer. He took a clean bowl from among the ones they had, and started spooning soup into it with a ladle. Then he sat beside the fire and wearily sipped his dinner. "I don't know how I'd overlooked her. She is wise, pure and all things a man would want in a wife. Diligent too. She is past the age of matrimony, you know."
His friend chuckled again, and even slapped him on the back. "I should say not. My own daughter wed at five-and-twenty, and even then was not inclined to the idea. She detested the man I chose for her. Luckily, she came to her senses and learned to care for her husband."
"I would give my daughter anything her heart desires, even her choice of husband, so long as I see her walk out of those hedges alive," Taruk declared casually.
"That seems like a dangerous, hasty decision, my friend."
"Nevertheless, it will ease the guilt within my heart. We've set her aside for so long, my wife and I, that I fear it may be too late to make amends."
Taruk gazed towards the forest path that led to Indri's residence. Indri's hedge was just a walk away. His daughter was close by. But he could nothing except wait at the man's gates 'til the time her daughter walked out of them.
--
One week, Tilula had been in Indri's mansion. And she was having the time of her life. If Indri and she were not walking around the gardens or listening to the musical notes that the sprites' instruments were making, they were either reading in his vast library or playing in the orchard.
Much like they were doing now.
"Hah! I won again!" Tilula said as she caught the pear that one of the sprites had thrown at them. Whoever caught the most pears and stocked it in their basket won. And Indri was several pears short compared to her. "You really are bad at this game."
"I would have done better were it not for these abominable hands," Indri complained half-heartedly. He was panting heavily, but there was also a wide grin on his face. He'd been amazed by the speed at which Tilula was able to run. No wonder she was able to catch up with her father's party.
"At least you have hands. Some people aren't so lucky." she said.
Indri walked towards her and took hold of her elbow, gaining her attention. He was also surprised with how much wisdom her pretty head contained. She was truly someone any person would be proud of to have as a friend. "Your sympathy knows no bounds, little flower."
But Tilula was not listening, so excited was she by this new game they'd devised to pick fruits faster. Already she was waving for her teammate, a cute little boy-sprite, to prepare throwing another set of fruits from the tree boughs. "Hurry up! I'm determined to beat you thrice. In fact I'm aching to win this."
The game continued and, once again, Tilula was caught up in it. Her attention was so focused on catching the next pear that her foot, quick though it was, tripped over a root that arched from the ground. Pain zinged from the top of her foot and through her leg as she fell on hands and knees close to her basket.
"Tilula! Tilula, are you all right?" Indri rushed to her aid. He knelt beside her and turned her towards him. And when he saw tears of pain upon her lashes, quickly declared their afternoon chores over. "I think we're done playing games for today. You there, get a vial of my water."
The sprite he quickly commanded to fetch medicine obeyed quickly, even as the other sprites crowded around them. Deep inside, Indri was proud of Tilula. She'd made the sprites trust her in a very short amount of time. Now she was as dear to them as the master himself.
But an audience this many was something Indri would not tolerate. One icy glare from him, displayed in all directions, quickly caused the rest of the sprites to disperse.
Tilula must have mistaken his gaze as some hidden anger. Their game was at an end, all because she'd been too careless. And Indri was regretting it. "I'm s-sorry. I s-spoiled all the fun."
"Nonsense. I enjoyed the game while it lasted. Let me see your leg. Where does it hurt?"
"My ankle - ouch!" Tilula gasped as Indri raised her foot a bit, and inspected the ankle that she'd twisted. It made her uncomfortable, both the tingling pain from her foot and the way that Indri carefully handled it. The way he touched her foot and the way he tenderly put it back down made her heart beat just a bit faster.
But before she could push away from him or get on her own two feet, Indri was already lifting her into his arms. He effortlessly carried her through the orchard, leaving their baskets behind. Indri made his way past the back gardens, through the hallways of his mansion, until he reached the bedroom that was designated to her.
And on her bed Tilula was placed.
"Sit still, flower. I have enough medicine to heal this in no time." Indri arranged the pillows behind her, making her as comfortable as possible. Then, just as he tied the bed curtains aside, the sprite he'd ordered to collect healing water knocked on the door.
"Ah! Here it is." Indri collected the vial from the sprite and wasted no time in using a few drops on Tilula's outstretched foot. With his webbed hands he applied the water to her ankle, until the bruising that had begun to form disappeared from sight.
"That feels nice," Tilula said, yawning all the while. "Why do I feel drowsy all of a sudden?"
"The water is being absorbed by your skin, casting its effect on your body." Indri capped the vial once he was finished, and began tucking Tilula into her bed. She looked even prettier when she was sleepy, for the expression on her face became soft and trusting. And the film of tears that had built up from her yawning made her eyes look even lovelier. "You must rest now. I will have the sprites wake you when supper is ready."
"Thank you." Tilula stretched on her bed, heedless of her companion. She'd grown used to Indri being around her all the time. "Indri, why did you ask for me?"
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"When I offered my own life in my father's place, why did you really spare it?"
Indri sat down at the corner of the bed and looked at her. To be honest, even he did not fully remember the reason behind his request anymore. All he knew was
that ever since Tilula lived in his house, he'd been happier. He now fully enjoyed his walks in the gardens, and for once he did not regret going out to hunt, for there was somebody at the house he needed to feed. The flowers in his residence looked more beautiful than they ever did, now that there were new eyes to admire them. And he too felt just a little bit more handsome, all because Tilula had chosen to become his friend.
"Because? I am selfish. I saw how much you love your father, and wanted just a bit of it for myself. I wanted to have a friend, even for just a short time."
Tilula smiled at him, struggling to stay awake even though sleep was beckoning to her. "I am your friend. I will still be your friend beyond the full moon."
"May I ask something of you?" Indri asked as his heart began pounding in his chest.
"What is it?" she whispered.
"A kiss. Just one. Just to know how it would feel like?" Indri could not help it. Just one. Just once.
And before he could stop himself, or try to restrain himself from doing so, he leaned down and brushed Tilula's lips with his. Tilula gasped beneath him, and all of a sudden his senses came back to him.
What was he doing? What in the world had come over him?
He wanted to pull away, but couldn't. The temptation of Tilula was too much. His hands moved from the covers of the bed to frame Tilula's face, and then further to wrap around the girl's body and pull her to him. She was so warm, and so pliant, and so fragrant. Holding Tilula was like