The sound of dripping water echoed around me, followed by the soft splash of our footsteps as we shuffled further in. We had only walked for five minutes or so, yet the entire atmosphere had already shifted. The walls had smoothed out, almost as if they had been polished with running water.

  Small stalactites hanging from the ceiling, occasionally released water droplets that would land on my hair with a quiet plink. The ankle deep water was crystal clear, and I could see straight to the bottom in most places.

  It was surprisingly well lit for being so deep underground. A soft green glow emanated from colonies of bioluminescent algae growing in large niches along the wall. I'd heard about bioluminescence back in my old world, but I'd never actually seen any firsthand before. Gems embedded in the rock wall caught the faint light and scattered it, turning the tunnel into a living emerald prism.

  The air was fresh, like the clean air of a forest— probably from all the algae producing so much oxygen. However, it was much cooler in here— cold enough that if someone had offered a jacket to borrow, I would've taken it in an instant. The subtle current tugging at my feet reminded me that it was leading us deeper, beckoning us onward.

  "It's actually beautiful down here..." I breathed.

  "I totally agree," Caelin said with a nod. "If we weren't in the middle of a trial I'd love to just soak it all in for a bit."

  As I looked around the cave, our eyes locked for a moment. Silence filled the space between us. The shifting light of the algae made Caelin's features stand out. He stood tall and confident, with a proud posture of someone who carried their strength naturally. I quickly averted my eyes, though they may have lingered a little too long.

  A soft drop of water falling echoed in the background.

  "You know, Selas got one thing right about you. You truly do have beautiful eyes... they remind me of shimmering green stars."

  My breath caught in my throat. For a second, I forgot how to breathe. I could feel the heat rushing to my face, spreading across my cheeks all the way to my ears. I quickly turned away, pretending to look at the glowing algae, but it was really just to hide how red my face probably was.

  * Why's it so hot all of a sudden? The tightness in my chest, the butterflies in my stomach...oh no...I just hit every anime cliche! *

  I hated to admit it, but the way I was feeling and the way my body was reacting right now...I was definitely a girl and I definitely found guys attractive now. And at this moment, Caelin was looking quite charming.

  His genuine compliment made my head spin. What I wanted to say was 'do you mean that?', but what came out was, "Woahh...haha...what are you sayin' that for all of a sudden? We're in the middle of a trial...we probably shouldn't be getting distracted right now...dummy..."

  * Oh gosh...did you really just say 'dummy'? *

  "Oh...uh, sorry. Y— you're right though...we need to stay focussed. I'm sure we haven't even seen the worst of this trial yet..."

  I kicked myself internally as I watched him shrink back a little bit.

  "No, no! I'm the one who should be sorry- I...really appreciate the compliment. I just was a little caught off guard that's all. To be completely honest...

  * I can't believe I'm saying this... *

  "The light down here makes you look really nice too..." I said, looking away to hide my embarrassment. I reached out with one arm and gave him a playful push.

  Yeah. I was flirting. With a dude. But I couldn't help it.

  "You think so?" He said, blooming back to high spirits. "The atmosphere down here is just so nice I—"

  His words were cut short as a deep, resonant boom rolled through the cavern. The sound didn't just echo, it moved through the ground beneath us. The shallow water shook with the vibration, a vibration so strong I could feel it move up my legs to my chest. We both froze in place.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "...What was that?" I whispered.

  Caelin's smile had vanished. "I don't know..." he whispered back. "Whatever it was, it didn't sound good..."

  We stood frozen, listening for another ten seconds or so.

  boooom.

  Another rumble echoed through the tunnels. The water trembled around my ankles, making little swirls as the current reversed towards us.

  * Oh boy...*

  Another ten seconds passed.

  boooooooom.

  A third rumble shook the cave, causing little bits of dust and pebbles to fall from the ceiling. A deep, bubbling-gurgle echoed towards us from ahead. The water receded ever so slightly before it quickly started to rise.

  Shin deep— thigh deep— then suddenly a surge of chest deep water came roaring towards us.

  "Mae—!" Caelin yelled as he reached for me.

  "Cae— !" I barely managed before the wave of cold water slammed into us.

  The water was so frigid it took the wind right out of me. We both were thrown back in the direction we came from, tumbling under the torrent of water we were caught in. My shoulder hit a stone, causing me to gasp and lose what little air I had left.

  I clawed for anything to grab a hold of. Luckily there was a slow spot in the current, and I managed to grab hold of a smooth indentation along the wall. I pulled myself towards it, finding that the pressure from the water was less there. A couple seconds later, the water level receded, and I was able to catch my breath. I sat there, coughing up water and gasping for air.

  "Caelin!" I called once I was able to speak again.

  "I'm— !" He coughed. "I'm okay! Somehow anyway..."

  Holding my shoulder, I twisted around to find him. He was maybe fifteen feet behind me and had managed to wedge himself against one of the niches lined with that glowing algae. I looked around and found that I had pulled myself into one as well.

  "What was that?" I asked,

  "I have no idea," he said with a confused look. He was pretty shaken as well. "Are you alright?"

  "Yeah, I think I'm-OW!" I yelped, as pain shot through my shoulder. "On second thought, I might have hit something pretty hard..."

  He stood up and sloshed over to me. "Where does it hurt?" he asked with concern.

  I winced and looked at my shoulder, lowering my dress just a little to get a look at it. Right at the base of my shoulder was a nice, deep purple bruise forming. It hurt just looking at it.

  "Oh look, I took damage," I muttered with a shaky laugh.

  "That's more than just a little damage!" Caelin said, his voice tight with worry.

  Before I could reply, I heard some faint sputtering and felt something tickling the back of my neck.

  A moment later, Rose popped out, soaked and thoroughly disoriented. She shivered and shook her head, sending small droplets of water flying as she climbed onto my good shoulder.

  "Rose!" we exclaimed in unison.

  "You snuck her in?" Caelin asked, half surprised, and half amused.

  "She snuck herself in," I said with a laugh. "I can never tell when she's going to show up. She comes and goes as she pleases, and I'm sure she's not very pleased at the moment either."

  She gave me a pouty look, wringing out a couple more small drops of water from her hair.

  "Don't look at me like that!" I said playfully. "You knew there was going to be danger if you came with me!"

  She sighed, shivered again, then nodded, realizing she signed herself up for this.

  "Well, she must really like you if she's followed you this far," Caelin said with a grin.

  Her wings looked soaked, and I couldn't imagine her flying any time soon. I scooped her up with my good arm and held her close to my chest, trying to warm her up. She nuzzled in a little bit, seeming to welcome whatever warmth she could get.

  She quickly took notice of the bruise on my exposed shoulder and let out a small gasp as she scrambled up my arm. Without hesitation, she held out her little arms. A moment later and a familiar green energy emanated out of her hands.

  The pain quickly started to fade, and I watched with renewed amazement as the purple bruise slowly faded away until my shoulder looked good as new.

  "That will never cease to amaze me, Rose. Thank you" I said, brushing my cheek against her.

  She leaned into it a little bit, like a cat does when you're petting the right spot.

  "You know, how come you always show up when someone gets hurt?" I teased gently.

  She just shrugged, and climbed back down onto my chest, which thanks to my new body, provided the perfect platform for her to rest on. Normally she preferred resting on my shoulders, but at the moment must have been pretty cold and wanted to absorb whatever warmth she could.

  "I still don't know how you managed to befriend a petal fairy..." Caelin said, shaking his head.

  "That makes two of us," I nodded in agreement, stepping back into the water.

  I quickly noticed our current situation had changed.

  "Uhh...Cae, we better get a move on," I said with a tinge of worry.

  The water was no longer only ankle deep and instead stopped just below my knee.

  "The water level rose after... whatever that was. If that happens again, we could be in trouble," I said.

  "You're right," Caelin replied with a nod. "I didn't even notice when I came over to you."

  The current pulling us deeper was stronger than before, or at least, much more noticeable with the increased water level. It tugged at the back of my calves, threatening to sweep me off my feet if I wasn't careful.

  "Let's boogie then," I said with forced confidence.

  "...boogie?"

  "Let's carry on..." I muttered with an embarrassed sigh. I took the lead, only so that he didn't have to see me blushing... again.

  The glow from the algae shimmered faintly ahead of us as we stepped further into the tunnel, the sound of dripping water guiding us onward.