Where is this place? What am I doing here? Why am I here? What happened to me? The Life and Death of The Last Water Nymph Chapter 2: The Two Strangers By Shinieris

Infancy

Chapter 2 – The two strangers

Days turns to weeks, weeks turns to months,
Suddenly I was wrenched out from under the waters.
I was thrown onto the ground right next to pond.
Before my blurry eyes, someone’s head got closer as an ear got closer to my mouth.

“She’s dead.”
The man said.

“How can you tell?”
“She’s not breathing.”
“Should we bury her?”

Wait, who are you trying to bury?

I raised my body from the ground.
My muscles, my bones were all stiff.
So I yawned and stretched my body.
As I did that, I heard a cry from the two men.
I looked at them as they sat a distance from me.
“You said she’s dead!”
“Well, she’s not breathing!”
“If she’s not breathing, how can she still be alive? You trying to say she’s an undead?”
“Oh no! If she’s an undead, she must be a powerful one with that appearance. Holy Lance, smite the unholy beings that profane the High Father!”

I wonder what they’re doing. I simply looked at the man in traveller’s robe chanting something weird.

“Fire of Judgement, burn the heretics of your word!”
The man in traveller’s robe chanted again.

I tilted my head a little, not understanding what he was trying to do.

“There’s no effect!”
“Then she’s not an undead. Even a vampire king will suffer some damage.”
“Then what is she?”
“Why don’t you ask her?!”

The man in plate armor and sword at his waist approached. I know how a sword looks like, but I’ve never seen anyone carrying one. Not even Lord Talbot carry a sword around. He waved his hand at me. I waved back. Cautiously, he got within a foot of me.
“Greetings, my name is Shwarze. What is your name?”

I looked at him, and opened my mouth to speak.
“Ahk… oaa… huuk.”
I couldn’t get a single word out.
Could it be, I have become mute?

“Do you understand what I’m saying? Shwarze.”
The swordsman pointed at himself when he said ‘Shwarze’. He repeated it, then pointed at the man in a robe.
“Garulan.”
He repeated the gesture for Shwarze and Garulan. Then he pointed at me, as if asking me to say my name.

“Ahk… hu… hu… ah.”
Words still won’t come out.
“Ahuhuah? That’s you?”
He asked as he pointed at me.

I shook my head, causing the weed in my hair to fall everywhere.
Including on my breasts.
I had forgotten that I wasn’t wearing any clothes.
So in shame, I ran back into the pond and submerged myself.

Through the water, I heard them talk.
“I get it now, she’s a water nymph. A Pegaeae.”
That must be the robed man, Garulan.
“Water nymph? I thought they died off when the last of the fairy queens was killed?”
“That’s the only explanation. She doesn’t breathe, she prefers water and she can’t speak human language.”
“Wait, if she’s the last of the water nymphs, won’t we make a lot of money selling her? We can retire rich!”
“What are you saying? Sure, royalty would pay thousands of gold for her, but the fairies won’t forgive us. They’ll curse our descendants for seven generations!”
“That sounds harsh!”
“Fairies live long, so their grudge lasts long too.”
“So what do we do?”
“Since we’re lost. Nothing we can do. Maybe it’s best to set up camp here?”
“In the water nymph’s sacred grove?”
“Why not? It’s not like we know where to go.”
“Alright, I’ll gather firewood.”

And so Shwarze went off to gather firewood while Garulan took out stuff from his backpack.
I raised my head a little out of the water, letting only my eyes to be above the water level while the rest of my face stayed under.
Garulan gathered some small twigs from his surrounding, then he chanted something and the twigs burst into flames.
He quickly added more twigs to the fire as Shwarze brought dried wood.

Is that magic?
I couldn’t help but raise myself above water.

Garulan noticed me, and he gestured me towards him.
I looked down at my nakedness and shook my head in refusal.
He seemed to think about something, before he took out a large cloth from his backpack and came towards me.
I was afraid of him seeing my nakedness, so I went back underwater.
Garulan instead waited at the edge of the pond, holding the cloth up as if he expected me to take it.
With much hesitation, I got out of the pond slowly, and he wrapped my body in the cloth as he led me to the fire by the hand. It was a thick cloth, and it was warm.
He told me to sit next to the fire as he took another dried twig.
“Spirit of fire, bring warmth where there is none.”
The twig lighted up.

I was excited, so it really was magic!

He gave me a twig and taught me the incantations.
Of course, I couldn’t speak, so nothing happened.
Shwarze laughed as he cooked something inside a small cauldron over the fire.
I was annoyed, so I ignored him and just played with the fire.
Before long, a nice smell tickled my nose.
It was rabbit stew.
When was the last time I’ve had rabbit stew?

Back home, meat was expensive.
My family couldn’t afford meat.
Not even once a week.
Never even once since father’s left leg went limp after the coal mine collapsed and hurt his leg.
Nobody wanted to hire him.
Father had to work at lower wages despite being a miner for years.
As the only boy in the family, I was the only one who could help.
Otherwise mother or Clarise will have to sell their bodies to the miners everynight.
Father said he would rather die than let that happen.

Now that I’m no longer there, will father die to save mother and Clarise?

Shwarze offered me a plate of rabbit stew.
I took it and ate like a glutton.
I had forgotten how good food taste.
I had forgotten the taste of meat.
When was the last time I ate, I wonder?
How long have I been sleeping inside the pond?

When I was done with my portion, Shwarze poured more rabbit stew.
He offered it to me again with a smile.
I ate, of course.
It was very good.

Then I noticed that Shwarze wasn’t eating.
He simply watched me eat.

Am I eating his portion?
Won’t he go hungry?
What if he die?
What if he hasn’t eaten for a week?

I was afraid that he would drop dead in front of me.
So I gave back the plate with unfinished rabbit stew without a word.
But he pushed it back to me and told me to finish it at least.
He laughed.

So I finished the rabbit stew on the plate and handed him the plate.
Then he poured more of the stew onto the plate and ate.
I simply sat next to the fire watching them eat as I licked the remains of the stew from my fingers.
It was good.
I have never tasted a stew that good.
At home, it was all watered down rat stew and nettle soup.
We couldn’t afford anything better.
At best, we would get some fish if father managed to catch some after working at the coal mine.

After they cleaned out the couldron, Shwarze went to wash the dishes.
At my spring.
I was horrified, so I pushed him away.
Shwarze looked confused as he laid on the grass.
I remained between him and my spring.

“I think she doesn’t want you to dirty her pond, Shwarze.”
Garulan spoke.
I nodded twice.

“Then where would I wash these?”
Shwarze asked pointing at the dirty cauldron and plates in his hand.
Come to think of it, where did he get the water for the stew?
Did he take the water from my pond?

“Perhaps… the lady of the pond would be willing to help fill this pot with water? We need to wash the dishes or it will attract all kinds of wild beasts because of the smell. Don’t worry, we will wash it away from your pond.”
Garulan handed me a pot.
It was a crudely made iron pot, the one we had at home was of much better quality.
Nevertheless, I took the pot and submerged it under the surface, filling it with the pond’s water.
I returned the pot to Garulan.

“I think she can understand human words. She just can’t speak it.”
Garulan remarked.

I nodded.
Shwarze sighed but he made no complain as he went some distance away from my spring and used the water inside the pot to clean the cauldron and plates.
Then they hanged it to dry and went to sleep beside the fire.
I took off the cloth around my body and went back to sleep inside my pond.
It was much more comfortable.

The next morning, they called me from the edge of the pond.
I opened my eyes and raised my head above the water’s surface.
They asked me if I knew the way out of the forest.
I shook my head.
They looked disappointed.
But they weren’t mad at me.
Maybe they already suspected that I didn’t know.

Garulan asked me to refill the pot again.
I did so with half my body still submerged and put it on the edge of the pond.
He thanked me and they both proceeded to cook something.
Is it stew again, I wonder.
Without realizing it, I had already left the pool.
When I noticed my naked body, I quickly grabbed the cloth that I dropped yesterday night.
I sat next to the fire, watching Shwarze drop carrots and some kind of sweet smelling herb into the cauldron.

I wonder if it’s rabbit again.

It didn’t take long.
Shwarze ladled some of the stew and tasted it.
With a grin, he declared that the stew was ready.
He ladled a plate of rabbit stew and offered it to me.
Of course, I accepted it and ate my fill while he put some onto Garulan’s plate.
I finished mine quickly, then returned the plate back to Shwarze.
He ladled more and offered it to me again.
I shook my head in refusal.

Then he asked me if it tasted bad.
He asked me if I didn’t like it.
I shook my head.
He offered it to me again.
I took it and resumed eating.
I noticed he was watching me.
Was it the way I ate, I wonder?
Did I eat like a savage, I wonder.

Garulan declared that he was done and thanked Shwarze for the wonderful meal.
Then he handed his plate to Shwarze and Shwarze poured some stew onto the plate before he joined me.
He kept asking if I wanted more.
I nodded, and he would add more onto my plate.

Meanwhile, Garulan went to my spring with his backpack.
He turned to me and asked for permission to take some water for their journey back.
Of course, I nodded.
There is no need to be greedy.
The pool will still be there even if they drink their fill.
But why did he put the water into bottles?
Why so many bottles?

Once we were done and they started stowing their stuff, they asked me if I at least knew a way out of the meadow.
I was about to shake my head when I saw a fairy flitting about not far from me.
I chased after the fairy, wanting to ask how to get home.
I want to see mother, father and Clarise again.

“Hey, wait for us!”
Garulan called.
“Leave it! Just follow her!”
Shwarze said as he followed close behind me.

I didn’t care about them.
I simply chased after the fairy.
I didn’t even question why the route was so straight,
As if the trees and the bushes moved aside to make way for us.
I simply chased after the fairy.
Shwarze chased after me.
Garulan chased after Shwarze.

Before long, we came upon a clearing.
In front of me, large patches of farmland stretched as far as the eye could see.
The fairy then turned towards me and as if the wind spoke, I heard,
“Go chase your destiny, kree”
With that, she went ‘poof’.

I panicked.
I didn’t want to chase my destiny. I wanted to go home.
I ran back into the forest.
But the bushed blocked my way.
I pushed past the bushes.
But the trees blocked my way.
I pushed past the trees.
But there was no way to advance.
In front of me, was a big rock.
There was no path.
I could no longer go back.

*As always, your comments and feedbacks are greatly appreciated. Praises helps me write faster and constructive criticisms helps me write better. Thanks for reading.