I feel warm. The sun hits my face and the hot sand warms my feet. “Come on in, the water is great,” someone yells from the waves of the ocean. His voice is alluring in every way; telling me to come closer because he wouldn't even dream of hurting me, so I walk into the ocean. The tide pulls me in further and further into the depths of the sea like a hook reeling in a helpless fish. Finally, I meet the one who called. He is sitting on a rock but I cannot see who he is. The sun is behind him and blocks my view. “Get out of the water! Now! He’s coming!” The unfamiliar man reaches his hand down to me and pulls me onto the rock. The bright blue water darkens as the last drop of water falls from my foot back into the water. The once calm and reassuring waters start to churn with anger and determination to pull me back into its watery arms. It's as if the ocean itself is alive. A dark figure is below the surface of the water, coming closer to my position on the rock. A head emerges from the still churning water and he puts his hand out as if offering a casual handshake. Instead of my hand he grabs my leg and pulls me deep into the water. As soon as I touch the water everything turns back to normal. From the blue skies with seagulls flying through, to the calm, clear water, everything had changed. It was the same things but in a more menacing way, as if the birds are singing the wrong sonr or the sky isn't the right shade of blue. I could feel his hand wrap tighter around my leg and I was running out of air fast. What's the point in fighting anymore? I let the water take me and I embrace the darkness.
Suddenly light shines in my eyes, and I am in an unfamiliar room. My leg is twisted in a bed sheet and I stumble to the window. The sight before me brings my current situation crashing down to me. The three princes and me, a “princess”. What was that creaking noise? “You up yet?” Someone asks. I answer by opening the door.
All the guys stand before my door except Sho. I can see Sho working on a computer in the room across from mine. All the guys are in casual clothing and Jake takes my hand and leads me to the dresser in Sho’s room. He opens the dresser and picks out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. “Put these on then meet us outside in 5 minutes,” Jake said as he walked outside with Adam.
I glance out the window to see the guys talking and laughing. Adam looks so cute when he laughs. They move forward and wait in the shade of the tall tree on the edge of the woods. I quickly throw on the t-shirt and shorts Jake gave me. He has some sense of humor to give me a shirt that is practically see-through but I think it will be fine since we are going to the beach. Jake and Adam had towels so we must be going swimming. I don't want them to wait too long so I run down the stairs to the front door, "Bye Sho!" I shout up to Sho.
I quickly run across the pebbled drive. The guys were standing by a large tree and a small, barely visible dirt path entwines between the trees and shrubs. Adam and Jake are waiting for me at the dirt path. Adam is blushing slightly as he looks at my outfit and Jake is smiling a little too wide. “Are we going to the ocean?” I ask them. “No, we are going somewhere better,” Jake said.
Leaves are bright green and shimmering in the sun. Adam tosses me a towel and tells me to follow him. Jake walks close to my side and his arm is pressed to mine. Adam walks in front of us and leads us through the labyrinth of trees; animals run through trees and bushes, pushing their way to see the visitors to their home. We eventually come to a large rock and I see that they have an outdoor bath on their land.
Jake takes of his shirt right in front of me and Adam does the same. They both have muscular bodies they start to unbutton their shorts when they seem to realize I am a girl. Adam escorts me to the changing room and gives me two of the four cloths.
I quickly take off my clothes and tie the first cloth around my waist and the second around my chest. I hear a splash and another one follows not long after. Slowly, I walk out of the changing room and onto the large rock face. The rock has a huge dip in the middle that is connected to an underground hot spring, which is why we have outdoor baths like this one.
A little bolder now, my feet move even farther from the shadow of the building towards the bath. Adam and Jake both have their backs to me and are splashing each other with the warm water. Once my feet feel the warm water I cannot stop myself from going deeper and deeper.
The warm water creeps up my back and relaxes my body. Adam notices me and waves, I shrink deeper into the water as if to hide my flaming cheeks, at the same time Jake splashes Adam with water. Adam is coughing for a little bit then turns quickly to get Jake back. My first time at an outdoor bath is so much fun.
