Chapter 51: JACOBS POV.

"Ummm... guys," I said, my voice sounding a bit muffled in the quiet of the room.

It was really hard for me to find any way to get comfortable, and sleeping was starting to feel like an impossible task.

We were all laying on the soft sea bed that served as Artria’s sleeping area, but the space felt way too crowded.

Right now, Persephone and Artria were laying so close to me that I could barely move an inch without bumping into one of them.

Persephone was practically sleeping while hugging my left hand. She held onto it tightly, like she was afraid I would disappear if she let go even for a second.

On my other side, Artria was just as close, and she had some of her body resting on mine. I felt pinned down between the two of them.

Both of them didn’t reply to my voice. The only sound in the room was the gentle movement of the water and their steady breathing.

’Are they already asleep?’ I wondered. I looked from one to the other, trying to see if their eyes were closed.

It hadn’t been very long since we had all finally gone to bed. After Persephone’s return earlier today, the village had thrown a small celebration.

There was plenty of food, music, and everyone was cheering. It was a lot of fun, but it was also draining.

After everything that had happened at the reef and the long swim back, I was a bit tired and in need of some well-deserved rest.

I shifted my tail slightly, trying to find a spot that wasn’t covered by a tail or an arm.

’There’s more than enough room on this sea bed, so why can’t the both of them sleep on their own sides...’ I groaned inwardly.

The bed was actually quite large, but for some reason, they both felt the need to crowd right into the middle where I was.

At this rate, I wouldn’t get enough sleep to function the next day. Every time I tried to roll over, Persephone would squeeze my hand tighter, or Artria would shift and rest more of her weight on my chest.

I stared up at the ceiling of the house, watching the faint glow of the moss.

I had worked so hard to fix things between them. convincing Persephone to come back, and talking to Artria to make sure she would let her sister stay.

To think I brought them back together only to be the one suffering in the end.

I had imagined a peaceful reunion where they would talk and I could finally relax, but this was not what I had in mind.

’Maybe I was a bit too hasty when I rejected Garin’s offer to share a room with his family...’ I thought.

Garin had been so nice about it, offering me a place where I could actually have some space.

I had turned him down because I thought it was important for the three of us to stay together to build trust.

Now, with a face full of hair and a numb arm, I was starting to regret that choice.

’Tomorrow, I should ask to take that room for myself.’ I let out a tired breath and finally closed my eyes, hoping that maybe I could drift off despite the lack of space.

The next day, the morning had arrived and I had dark bags beneath my eyes.

I felt like I had been hit by a runaway whale.

My neck was stiff, and my arm was still tingly from being hugged all night.

Throughout last night, I hadn’t gotten a single wink of sleep.

Every time I had almost fallen into a deep sleep, one of them would move or mumble in their sleep, snapping me back to reality.

It was a long, frustrating night of staring at the dark walls and waiting for the sun to rise.

Moreover, both of them were still sleeping at my sides.

The morning light was filtering through the entrance, lighting up the room, but they hadn’t moved an inch.

At this point, I wondered whether they were simply too reluctant to get up. They looked so comfortable while I felt like a piece of coral that had been stepped on.

Their breathing was still slow and deep, showing no signs that they were going to wake up anytime soon.

I needed to clear my head. I felt sluggish and grumpy, and I knew that staying in that bed would only make it worse.

I let out a sigh and slowly started to wiggle my way out from between them. It was a slow process.

I had to gently uncurl Persephone’s fingers from my hand and slide out from under Artria without shaking the bed too much. I moved as slow as a snail, making sure not to wake them as I left the bed.

Eventually, I was free. I swam a few feet away and stretched my sore muscles. I stood at the door for a moment, pausing to look back at the room, stealing a brief glance at the both of them.

’They sure look peaceful though,’ I thought to myself. Despite the lack of sleep and the frustration of the night, seeing them laying there without fighting or arguing made me feel a little better.

I smiled a bit, feeling like maybe my plan to bring them together wasn’t a total failure after all, before swimming out into the cool morning water.

I swam around the village for a bit to energize myself. The fresh current felt good against my skin and helped wake me up.

The village was already starting to come to life. Throughout my morning swim, I happened to run into some of the villagers who were starting their daily chores.

I thanked them along the way as they waved or shouted "good morning" to me. Their kindness made the morning feel a bit brighter.

Afterwards, once I felt a little more awake, I returned back to Artria’s home. The water inside was still and quiet.

"Oh? You’re finally awake," I said the moment I saw Artria. She was no longer laying down but was sitting upright on the bed.

She looked a bit disheveled, with her hair floating wildly around her head. Persephone wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and her side of the bed was empty.

’ I wonder where she went.’ I thought to myself.

Artria didn’t answer right away. She was staring at the wall with a strange, thoughtful expression.

"Is something the matter?" I asked on noticing the troubled look on her face. I wondered if she and Persephone had already had a fight while I was out.

"It’s nothing," Artria quickly dismissed my doubt. She shook her head and looked at me, forcing her expression to change into something more pleasant.

"Are you by any chance hungry? I could make you something to eat," she said. She sounded a bit eager, almost like she was trying to keep herself busy so she wouldn’t have to think about whatever was bothering her.

I raised a brow, skeptical. Artria usually wasn’t this quick to offer to cook, especially so early in the morning when she usually liked to take her time waking up. I was about to ask her again what was wrong.

But before I could say a word, Persephone, who I’d been wondering where she went, suddenly swam inside.

"If it’s not too much, I’d like to be the one to prepare breakfast today," she said as she swam close to me. She had a bright smile on her face, looking much more energetic than Artria did.

She then turned to glance at Artria and said, "I hope it’s ok with you, sister."

Artria’s expression looked rigid for a moment. Her jaw tightened, and her eyes narrowed just a tiny bit.

Or perhaps it was my imagination, and she was just still tired from the night before.

She didn’t look very happy about the offer, but she didn’t say no right away. She then turned to glance at me, her eyes searching my face.

I figured she wanted to know what I thought about Persephone cooking. Honestly, I thought it was a good sign that Persephone wanted to contribute to the household.

It was a step toward them living like a normal family. So, I merely nodded at Artria, giving her an encouraging look.

"Alright, since you’re insisting, I guess we could give it a try," Artria said. Her voice was flat, and she didn’t look nearly as excited as Persephone did.

It was clear she was only agreeing because I seemed okay with it.

"Yes!" Persephone said, looking genuinely happy. She swam over toward Artria and pulled her sister into a quick hug. "I’ll definitely try my best, sister."

Persephone looked so full of energy, while Artria looked like she wanted to be anywhere else. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Seeing the stiff look on Artria’s face as she was being hugged, I felt the urge to laugh a bit.

It was such a strange sight, the "scary" sister being overly affectionate and the "nice" sister looking like she was being squeezed by an octopus.

I kept my voice low to avoid irritating her, but a small chuckle escaped anyway. This living arrangement was definitely going to be interesting.