by Sam Bennett
They took off at a hasty but cautious pace, with Zara scouting the best path ahead of them and Taisiya using her refined hearing to listen for any sign of the queen’s evil doers.
They were deep in the forest—so deep they had passed the glen that was, much to Taisiya’s chagrin, burnt to the ground as well. The bubbling sound of a river soon came in to earshot, and it distracted Taisiya from hearing someone watching them through the trees.
Zara suggested that they take a small respite and get some water. Despite the fact they had only been travelling a couple of hours, they both were getting a bit famished. Once they had stopped and satiated their thirst, they checked the map.
“Let’s see…it looks like we are here,” Taisiya said, pointing to a blue line on the map. “If we follow this river, we will end up near the harbor soon enough.”
“Yes,” Zara said, “but if we cross through here, we will get there faster. See?”
Taisiya had seen what he was referring to, but she was a bit hesitant. “Zara,” she huffed, “that part of the map isn’t as detailed as others, no?”
He shook his head, and she continued. “It would be better and safer to stay along the river than to go into basically uncharted territory.”
A twig snapped behind them on the forest floor, but the two were engrossed in their argument and didn’t notice. The figure that had been watching them at a distance dared to move closer.
“We don’t have all the time in the world, Taisiya!” Zara fumed.
Taisiya’s eyes turned red with rage. “What good would it do us at all if we are killed before we even get there?!”
Zara tossed the map up in the air and threw his hands up. “Women!” He rolled his eyes.
Taisiya glowered at him and shot him a look of pure venom. Zara then screamed in pain and collapsed on the riverbank, clutching his thigh. His breathing became heavy, and he screamed. “Get it off!”
Forgetting their row, Taisiya dropped to her knees and began fumbling through the pocket of his tunic where he was so desperately clutching in pain. Then she felt it – scorching hot to the touch. She pulled back her hand in pain, but then bit her lip and reached in once again, withdrawing the compass Zara had found.
She tossed the compass to the floor of the forest and then plunged her hand in the water, letting out a cathartic moan. Zara, too, let out a sigh of relief and then turned to see what Taisiya had pulled out of his pocket.
The compass was going berserk. It trembled and jittered back and forth, its needle spinning around and around with great fervor. Then, without a moment’s notice, it stopped. Taisiya and Zara looked up dubiously in the direction the needle pointed towards. There, before them was a woman.
Zara felt his mouth go dry, and he looked at Taisiya for help. She had her eyes in a deadlock with this mysterious woman. How had she not noticed her before? Her skin was as pale as ivory, and she wore a dress that matched her skin tone. She had long, flowing hair that was a glowing orange. Nothing about the woman was very good camouflage in the forest.
She met Taisiya’s gaze and neither of the two looked away for quite some time. Taisiya slowly stood up and held out her hand to halt the woman from coming any closer. A smile crept upon the mysterious woman’s face at that, revealing a full set of pearly white teeth. She broke the stare off to close her eyes and curtsey politely.
Taisiya surveyed the woman up and down, still uneasy to let her come any closer. “Who are you?” she called out to the woman, “and are you friends with the queen?”
A melodious laugh rang out from the woman’s lips. “No, darling,” she said, her voice as sweet as honey. “I am no friend to whomever you call Queen.”
With a flourish of her hand, the woman beckoned Zara’s compass, and a gust of wind swept it up and delivered it over to her. “Where did you get this?” She asked, looking it over in her hands.
“You’re a nymph,” Zara said, his jaw dropping.
The woman ignored him, speaking only to Taisiya. She repeated, “Where did you get this?”
“He found it,” Taisiya said, pointing to Zara. “It was in an old book. One that Queen Adrasteia ordered to be destroyed.”
A thin smile appeared on the nymph’s face. “I can see why.” No matter which way she turned the compass in her hands, the needle stayed pointing directly at her. “This is no ordinary compass.”
“We know,” Zara said, “it—”
The nymph interrupted him. “It’s a Nymph Compass. Very few of these exist. If I’m not mistaken,” she said, rubbing her finger over the ruby, “this was the very first one ever made.”
“How do you know?” Taisiya said.
“A very long time ago, there was a land of nymphs. All of the nymphs were happy just practicing their craft but one little enchantress. She sought out love, and made it her goal to find a man.
“One day, humans found their way to the nymphs’ land, and their mortal souls were almost burned at the stake if it had not been for the love struck nymph falling for their leader. She convinced her sisters to spare the humans lives and let the humans freely visit their territory.
“In private, she met with her beau and seduced him. They were madly in love, but he was a sailor and had his life at sea. At great pain to her self, the nymph drained some of her own power and captured it in this very ruby. The power within the stone would seek to find itself back inside a nymph, and as a result, would guide her lover back to her whenever he needed to see her.”
“That’s very romantic,” Taisiya said.
“Alas,” the nymph went on, “it all ends in tragedy. As decades passed, the compass fell in to the wrong hands. It found its way into the grip of those that were scared of nymphs. They used the compass as a means to hunt us and kill us. The symbol of everlasting love became a terrifying icon of death.”
“Was that when the schism occurred?” Zara asked.
The nymph turned to face Zara, suddenly interested in what he had to say. “You know about the schism?”
“We’ve read about it,” he replied, “now answer me.”
“Yes,” she replied curtly, “with humans now hunting us, some nymphs took to defending themselves at any cost. All because of this…” She tightened her grip around the compass.
“You said that it was one of very few…meaning there are more?” Taisiya asked.
“Indeed,” the nymph nodded. “If you know of the schism, I trust you will know that some of the good nymphs fled the island. Some of us made compasses similar to this one so that if we needed to find our way home, we could. Many of those who ran away didn’t exactly know what they were running toward…it could have been worse here among humans.”
“So, you are a good nymph?” Zara asked hopefully.
The wind rustled some leaves on the forest floor as the nymph gave a wry chuckle. “Don’t let my appearance fool you,” she warned, “I’m more of a…fallen nymph, if you will. Generally speaking, I’ll use my divine abilities only for good…but it is not above me to kill to protect myself.”
Taisiya nodded. “You sound smart. What’s your name?”
The nymph smiled at the compliment, but was not so willing to give up her name. “Not so fast,” she said. She cracked her fingers and, as she did, the ground trembled ever so slightly. She held up the Nymph Compass. “Just what are you doing with this?”
Zara went to speak but the nymph held up her hands to silence him. A blast of wind knocked the breath right out of Zara. “Silence!” the nymph scowled, “I am speaking to the girl.”
Taisiya gulped, but answered, “We are on our way to your homeland. Adrasteia has taken my family hostage and burnt our hometown to the ground. We were hoping that some of your fellow nymphs might help us find a way to overthrow her.”
The nymph cocked an eyebrow in contemplation. After a moment’s thought, she spoke. “My name is Lahara. I live a little ways deeper in these woods by myself. For generations, my family has lived in undisturbed bliss away from humans and other nymp
hs. When I felt the sheer power in this Nymph Compass, I had the urge to come see what was behind it.”
“Fair enough,” Taisiya nodded, “now…may we have it back?”
Lahara tossed the compass back in the direction of Zara. It did a dance in the air above his head, going higher and higher as he jumped to reach it. The nymph snickered, amused. She let the compass float down low enough for Zara to snatch it.
“Neither of you will last a minute around full-blooded evil nymphs,” Lahara mused. She ventured closer to Zara and Taisiya, feeling she had earned their trust. Zara still was uneasy, and as she came close enough and put her cold hands on his chest, he shuddered.
“He is strong,” Lahara said to Taisiya. “It’s a shame that my powers are stronger.” She ran her fingers over his chest once more, and this time she stopped his heart from beating momentarily. His face went pale before she loosened her grip.
“We’ll take our chances,” Taisiya said. “It seems that most nymphs know better than to mess with me.”
Lahara scoffed, but nodded. “I don’t fear you,” she remarked, “but I do see something in you that I’m sure scares the dark ones.”
“And what is that?” Taisiya asked. She was losing her patience.
Lahara could sense this. She replied simply, “Light.”
Taisiya glared at Lahara. “Indeed. Now, let us be on our way.”
All too ready to leave, Zara went to turn. Lahara wasn’t so eager for the humans to leave. With a snap of her fingers the river water jumped up, forming an impassable wall. “I can’t let you leave,” she said. “The good nymph in me would never send two humans off to their death at the hands of my evil sisters.”
“I don’t care what your conscience says,” Taisiya spat. “We will be leaving now.”
Zara hid behind Taisiya and placed a hand on her hip. He whispered in her ear, “Please, Taisiya, don’t make this worse.”
He may have whispered, but Lahara still heard every word. She spoke up to him, “Don’t worry, dear, I appreciate her tenacity. As a matter of fact, I’ll only let you leave on one condition: I come with you.”
Taisiya narrowed her eyes, “What’s the catch?”
Lahara’s eyes flickered with life. “No catch,” she said, “It’s just been so long since I’ve gotten out of this forest.”
“Am I honestly supposed to believe you will protect us against your nymph sisters?” Taisiya snarled. Zara anxiously tightened his grip around her hip.
The nymph shrugged her shoulders. “No.”
“Then why in the world should we let you come along?” Taisiya growled, bewildered.
Lahara traipsed over to Taisiya and whispered in her ear. “On our way there, I will teach you how to use the power of us nymphs to protect yourself against any evildoers. I’m sure they’ll treat you more nicely if you bring a lost nymph back to them, as well. Having me come along with you is priceless.”
The nymph brought up many good points. Taisiya mulled them over. “I don’t want to learn to be like a nymph, though.”
Lahara rolled her eyes. “That’s the same as saying you don’t want to overthrow the queen, dearie. In fact…come with me.” Lahara cracked a finger at Zara’s hand around Taisiya’s hip and he winced back in pain. The nymph grabbed Taisiya’s hand and pulled her back into the forest where she had been hiding and watching them.
Once they were out of Zara’s view, the nymph pointed up to the sky and as she did so, it became dark all around them. Taisiya gulped and watched in stunned silence as Lahara paced in front of her with a glowing ball of light in her hands.
“The boy should not see the powers dark nymphs use any sooner than he has to,” Lahara explained. The glowing orb of light in her hands grew bigger, hovering above them. Lahara bowed before it, and Taisiya lost her focus as the darkness took over.
Despite it being pitch black, Taisiya could hear the leaves rustling wildly and felt the wind bring a cold chill to her skin. The ball of light then faded to black, and with a weak whimper, Lahara succumbed to her power and fell to the forest floor.
Taisiya gasped but not at the fallen nymph. There was now an image of her parents where the light had been glowing just seconds before. The sound of silence was deafening until a familiar voice boomed from the image.
“Where is she?!” the voice of Queen Adrasteia roared, while the image of Taisiya’s parents showed their obvious distress.
“We don’t know! She told us to wait for her in the glen, but she never came!” Taisiya’s father whimpered.
Suddenly, Taisiya’s parents disappeared from view as the queen turned around to speak to one of the guards of the prison cell. “I am done with them,” she hissed, pausing to survey the entire cell quickly.
“What, your majesty?” the guard dared to ask. It was Nathaniel.
“There is evil afoot…” The queen scowled. Her brow furrowed deep in thought and soon after the picture faded away and with it, all the darkness in the forest.
Taisiya stood staring at the faded image, desperate for it to come back. She blinked and came back to reality when the lifeless form of Lahara began to stir.
The nymph slowly picked herself up, clutching her head in pain. Her breath was labored as she asked, “Did it work?”
Taisiya bent down to help her up. “I think so,” she stammered, “You’re saying I can learn to do that?”
Lahara let out a weak chuckle. “Maybe some day you will be able to eavesdrop on commoners, yes. I doubt either of us will ever find the strength in us to invade that terrible nymph’s mind.”
“How did you do that?” Taisiya asked as Lahara dusted herself off.
Lahara scratched a few leaves out of her hair. “I summoned all of the dark energy I could muster. The power that comes from darkness is quite powerful, but it still took more than I could bear to break into the mind of that woman. You have quite a powerful opponent.”
Taisiya nodded. “That’s for sure…but are there things nymphs do that don’t take up so much of your energy? Ones that we could use, say, in a fight?”
Lahara nodded. Zara was coming back into view, so she became rather tightlipped. “All in due time,” she whispered to Taisiya.
“We’re back!” Taisiya called out. She had expected Zara to be panicked and nervously awaiting her return, but instead he was wading his feet in the river water nonchalantly.
He turned at the sound of her voice and smiled. “I missed you.” He got up and went over to give her a hug.
“That’s it?” Taisiya asked skeptically, “you weren’t scared at all?”
Zara raised an eyebrow. “Scared? No. Maybe a little nervous…but I know you can handle yourself.”
“But the darkness…and…and…” Taisiya stammered. Lahara shook her head to silence the girl. It was obvious that what they had been doing had stayed close to them, unnoticeable to anyone at a distance.
Zara gave Taisiya a quizzical look but decided it was best not to ask questions. Instead, he gave a polite nod to Lahara, accepting the fact that she was more than likely going to be accompanying them from here on out whether he liked it or not.
There was something in the eyes of the nymph that put his stomach in knots. He could see there was a definite darkness to her; it scared him how she reminded him of Adrasteia. Lahara’s lily-white façade was, in his opinion, just that – a façade. If there was one thing he learned about nymphs from Adrasteia, it was that looks could be deceiving. The most charming and beautiful looking nymph could have a frightening and ugly soul.
Nonetheless, Zara and Taisiya followed as Lahara led them deeper into the uncharted territory of the forest. Eventually, they arrived at a little nook that held a small cottage. The nymph warned them to stay outside as she disappeared inside. She came out a couple minutes later donning a warm black coat and carrying what Zara and Taisiya presumed were guidebooks.
Zara took the Nymph Compass out of his pocket and was sad to see that it still would point only at Lahara. The nymph notice
d his aggravation and said softly, “Don’t worry, I know the way.”
With that, she plucked the compass from his hands and stored it away among her things for safekeeping. Zara grumbled to himself but followed along as Lahara led the way. The quaint view of her little cottage soon disappeared and the quiet flow of the river came bubbling back into earshot.
“You know it would be much faster if we cut through the woods instead of taking the river,” Zara protested.
Lahara’s lips pursed as she tried to hold back her laughter. “Silly boy,” she cooed, “my way will get us there much faster.”
“What’s your plan?” Taisiya asked.
The nymph explained herself. “I am still a little weak from earlier today,” she said, giving Taisiya a knowing glance. “However, I’m doing well enough to use some of my powers. It shouldn’t be too hard to build us a raft and use get the wind going to make sure we go along at a nice speed. We’ll make our way to the end of the river where there is a nice little harbor, and from there we can acquire a boat better suited to our needs.”
“Great!” Taisiya said. “This is all working out much better than I had anticipated.”
Zara rolled his eyes and bit his tongue. Lahara went to work putting on a grand show as she conjured up a raft. She waved her arms grandiosely, and the leaves across the riverbank danced to life in the wind. They swirled around in the air, joining together and sticking to some mud that she raised from the waterside. Before their very eyes, a sturdy makeshift earthen raft appeared.
It stayed hovering inches above the flowing water. Lahara kept one hand doing a sweeping gesture towards the raft and used the other to point to the wagon filled with their belongings. “Let’s see if it’s resilient enough. Mister Biceps, will you be ever so kind?”
Zara’s eyes glazed over, but he went and picked up the wagon anyway. This was no small task—all the heavy tomes, armor and food packed on the top added up to be quite a challenge. He didn’t quite understand why she wasn’t smart enough to levitate the stupid wagon herself, but once he began lifting the load and saw Taisiya watching him longingly, he forgot about it.