by Sam Bennett
CHAPTER NINE –
THE SEA NYMPH’S TRIAL
With her two companions sleeping, Lahara took some time to appreciate the beautiful horizon. As the stars were beginning to twinkle in the night sky, their reflection bounded to and fro off the water along the side of the ship. The travellers were sailing at a steadfast pace, and as the picturesque likeness of the sky in the water entranced Lahara, she was soon startled to alertness as a ripple in the water further from the ship’s edges led her to believe there was more in the water than she had thought.
She waited anxiously, and sure enough the wave appeared again a few moments later. Lahara locked her gaze trying to focus on what was beneath the water. She gasped as the reflection of the stars blurred and two piercing blue eyes came into focus. Up from the depths of the water rose a young girl with fair hair and pale, ivory skin.
Draped around her neck was a necklace of fine pearls. An exquisitely crafted top decorated in all sorts of beautiful gems from under the water covered her. As the girl locked eyes with Lahara, she pursed her lips and took the initiative to speak first. “Who are you?” she spoke simply.
Lahara cleared her throat and spoke with authority. “I am Lahara, Nymph of Earth. I come back to my motherland with two mortals who have accompanied me on my journey here. They have proven their undeniable allegiance to me, and as a token of their loyalty I granted them permission to journey on to our island with me. They seek help that only our sisters can provide. Who are you?”
The girl in the water cocked an eyebrow and pondered what Lahara had to say before speaking. “Are these travellers male?”
“One, yes.” Lahara replied.
The nymph in the water floated back in disgust. “As a protector of the shores of our home, you cannot expect me to allow you to bring a man onto our land. You know how that ends, don’t you?”
“I assure you,” Lahara said calmly, “his heart already knows of true love; he does not come here to find a companion in one of our sisters.”
The other nymph narrowed her eyes. “Why are they here then?”
Lahara sighed and hoped she got her message across clearly. Her fellow nymphs could be very tricky to persuade, especially after the schism. “Long, long ago, after the terrible division of our sisters, when those who sought not to use their blessings against humans left the island, with them left a Nymph of Darkness who sought power that even our sisters could not provide her.”
The water nymph now seemed to be taking Lahara more seriously. “You speak of Adrasteia, Nymph of Darkness?” When Lahara nodded, the nymph continued. “The most powerful of our sisters have foretold many horrible deeds that will occur because of her. Greed and lust will never satiate her, and they believe she will one day come back to destroy our land.”
“I have brought two warriors who I believe will be strong enough to stop her before that happens,” Lahara said.
The water nymph’s eyes lit up in excitement. “Tell me,” she beckoned, “the profession of your two companions.”
Lahara bit her lip in thought. “The male was once Adrasteia’s advisor, and after being disillusioned and noticing her evil ways, he is now seeking to put an end to her. The girl has no profession…she is an adventurer at heart, and I know that if you see her, you will see lightness emanating from her. Her passion and drive to stop Adrasteia are pure.”
A huge grin appeared on the water nymph’s face.
She squealed in delight, “The sisters said that the beginning of the demise of Adrasteia would be when her own followers turned against her. May I meet your companions?”
“As you can see,” Lahara gestured to the night sky above, “it is late. They are sleeping. You also have not told me who you are…forgive me for being leery.”
“My name is Eione the Sea Nymph. The other sea nymphs and I protect the waters and beaches of Ethnymphai…we have seen your ship coming towards the island for some time now. I was sent to cause a distraction and send you off course, but I am glad I got close enough to get a better look at you first.”
Now that the two nymphs had connected, Eione seemed much less abrasive and entirely giddy. She dove under the water, popping back up a good distance away. “Follow me!” she shouted to Lahara.
Lahara gave Eione a thumbs-up and darted off to helm the ship in her direction. Eione guided Lahara safely into a cove. The deep water got shallower and eventually the ship reached land.
The cove itself seemed to be the passageway to the main island of Ethnymphai, but it was just as grand as any city center. A beautiful waterfall cascaded down at the entrance of the cove (getting the ship and Lahara a bit drenched as they entered.) All sorts of aquatic plants and wildlife were growing inside the cove, and there were plenty of smooth rocks on which the sea nymphs could rest. As the travellers docked, the cove was mostly empty, save for Eione and one other sea nymph that was resting on a rock, brushing her hair and watching the ship carefully.
Eione swam into the more shallow waters to meet Lahara as she debarked. Lahara saw her beckoning and quickly joined the sea nymph away from her sister’s prying eyes and ears. “Over there is my sister Nereid,” Eione grinned cleverly. “She sent me off to distract you because she didn’t feel like it. She’s going to be so jealous when she finds out I found our saviors. Everyone is always going on about how much prettier and smarter she is…this ought to teach her.”
Lahara gave a little chuckle, appreciating Eione’s vivacity. She nodded in understanding. “I’ll definitely make you out to be the hero for guiding us here.”
“Oh, thank you!” Eione grinned and swam off to the area of the cove where Nereid was waiting.
All of the commotion on the shore and under the water had brought Zara out of his slumber. As Lahara got safely onto the shore to acquaint herself with Eione and Nereid, Zara stumbled out on to the deck of the ship and noticed how different his surroundings were.
His jaw dropped in wonderment, and he turned on his heels to go wake up Taisiya. She had been sleeping for some time now, but was still startled when Zara started shaking her awake in bed. She didn’t even have time to fully open her eyes before Zara had her hand in his and was dragging her out to see where they had arrived.
Just as Zara had done before her, Taisiya found her jaw dropping in disbelief. She turned to Zara and grinned. “We made it!”
Taisiya threw her arms around Zara in a joyful embrace. As she pulled away, she noticed a dopey grin on his face. Paying no mind, she ran to the edge of the ship and looked out at the shore ahead where Lahara, Nereid, and Eione were conversing. “Zara, look!”
Zara followed Taisiya and joined her in watching the three nymphs. They seemed deep in a conversation until one of the nymphs, Nereid, caught sight of them on the ship’s deck. She screamed in a coquettishly joyful voice and jumped off the rock she had been lounging on and into the water.
Nereid left Lahara and Eione wondering what had happened as she hastily swam over to the edge of the ship. She floated in the water coyly in front of Zara, waving to him and giggling. Zara looked over to Taisiya for help, but she shrugged her shoulders.
Of the three nymphs, Nereid was, in Zara’s opinion, the strangest looking. She had long, sea-green hair that was done up in a bun with a seashell tying it together. What could be seen of her hair was very thick, and from certain angles it looked as if seaweed were growing from her head. Her skin was a pale white that seemed to be lightly tinted with green as well. Most striking of all about Nereid were her piercing green eyes; she had thick, arched eyebrows that brought all the focus on them and drew even more attention to her eyes with a deep hue of green eye shadow. While she might not be considered attractive to a human, it was obvious that this nymph took her appearance very seriously.
“Hello, Zzzzzzzara!” Nereid called, speaking his name slowly and savoring every letter. “I’ve heard so much about you…but no one told me how handsome you would be.”
Zara grinned. “Aw, shucks.”
“Zara,
my darling, will you come join me for a swim? I’ll show you all around my cove.” Nereid batted her eyelashes at him, gaining a smirk from Zara and a glower from Taisiya.
“It’s not your cove!” Eione scowled, leaving Lahara on the shore and swimming over to join her sister. “It belongs to our mother, actually, she oversees its upkeep and all…”
“Oh, shut up, Eione!” Nereid scoffed, splashing water in Eione’s face and smiling at Zara. “Now about that swim, Zara?”
“I’m here too, you know…” Taisiya mumbled. The nymphs didn’t hear her, but Zara did. He chuckled lightly.
“Don’t swim with Nereid.” Eione scowled. “I’m the fastest swimmer of all the sea nymphs. Do you think you can outswim me?”
Nereid rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I wish I could drown you.” She splashed some more water at Eione.
“And what would mother say about that?!” Eione splashed back.
“Ladies, calm down,” Zara gleamed, “can’t we all enjoy a nice swim together?” He looked over at Taisiya for approval.
She cocked an eyebrow at him but remained silent as the two sea nymphs fought over if they both could share Zara’s attention long enough for a swim around the cove. They eventually came to an agreement that they would rather both swim with him than have neither show Zara around the cove. He flashed the nymphs and Taisiya a debonair smile and beckoned Taisiya to lead the way off the ship. “Going for a swim sounds good, no?”
Taisiya flashed Zara a fake grin in return and sarcastically replied, “Oh, yes. A marvelous idea!” She gave a fake flourish in her step and pranced behind him. As he was looking over the side at Eione and Nereid, he was completely unsuspecting as Taisiya snuck up behind him and pushed him overboard. He tumbled headfirst into the water between the two nymphs, who scrambled away in horror.
After Zara got his balance in the water, they swam back to coddle him and make sure he was all right while throwing verbal abuse at Taisiya for having done such a horrible thing to him. Nereid held his head in her arms and carefully rubbed the water out of his eyes as she cooed and made over him like a little baby. Eione had more adult matters on her mind, insisting Zara take off his drenched clothes so that he didn’t freeze to death in the water. He smirked and obliged, stripping off to his shorts and then darting off in the water in the direction of the waterfall. The sea nymphs followed after him, a bundle of giggles and titters over who would show him what.
Taisiya thought to herself that she was lucky that water couldn’t be set on fire, for surely her emotions now were as fiery as they were when the ship’s mast had caught flame. She carefully got off the ship and met Lahara on the shore. Lahara explained to Taisiya that most of the other sea nymphs were sleeping at this time (although both the girls agreed they would probably soon be awake from all the commotion Eione and Nereid were causing), but Eione had told her they could rest on the shores for the night and meet their mother, Aitia, in the morning.
They made their way deeper onto shore and rested on some of the rocks, which were surprisingly smooth and comfortable. Lahara sat with Taisiya and began braiding the girl’s hair as they talked about arriving on the island.
“I’m nervous,” Taisiya admitted. “So far it seems like these nymphs prefer Zara to me. It’s like I don’t even exist.”
“Don’t you remember how much I disliked Zara at first?” Lahara reminded Taisiya. “They are reckless young nymphs who probably have never seen a man in their life. His handsomeness only furthers their adoration for him. I assure you, though, Eione was very cautious of even allowing a ship with a man onboard anywhere near the island.”
Taisiya sighed. “But what about me? Will they like me? What about the other nymphs? You know, I don’t really even care if they like me…I just care if they will help me.”
“I have a feeling,” Lahara said calmly, “that the nymphs and you share a common goal. I’m sure they will ultimately help you, it may just take a bit of persuading.”
“They won’t hurt us, will they? The more powerful nymphs?” Taisiya asked.
“If they were going to hurt you, you would be dead by now,” Lahara grimly assured her. “Trust me, we would not have made it this far if they had any ill will toward us in their hearts.”
“I’m glad you found us in the woods, Lahara,” Taisiya said, smiling. “I don’t know where I would be without you.”
“Not on this shore, I can tell you that!” A timid, squeaky voice rang out. Lahara and Taisiya turned around to the direction it was coming from.
A much older sea nymph had swum up to the shallow end of the waters and was watching them. Her hair was short and gray and her face showed signs of age. Eione, Nereid, and Zara were making their way back to the shore when the sea nymphs spotted the scene.
“That’s mother,” Nereid whispered to Zara. They started swimming at a much more cautious pace.
“Should I be scared?” he asked seriously.
Eione bit her lip, not sure how to answer his question. “Mother is very wise, and she wouldn’t hurt a soul. She’s also…paranoid, I must warn you. Very paranoid.”
“I see,” Zara mumbled.
As the mother nymph came into better view, she did not seem intimidating at all. She was half the size of her daughters and seemed very frail. Nereid tried to stop Zara from swimming too closely to her, but she was too late. The old nymph had spotted him.
She turned her gaze from Taisiya and Lahara and spotted the man in her waters. Her eyes lit up with rage and she shook her fist at Zara and her daughters. They could feel the water begin to boil around them as a wave sprung up and smacked Zara in the face. “A man!” Old Aitia howled, “You girls bring a man into my waters!” She tossed her hands up and slowly got off her rock.
Eione and Nereid swam over quickly to plead their case to their mother, and Zara took that time to make a run for the shore. He ran straight over to Taisiya who inspected his face for any severe burns. It was red, but other than that he looked fine. “I can’t tell if your face is red from the boiling water or embarrassment,” she said with a grin.
Zara shivered as the cold air hit him on land. Taisiya took off her shawl and wrapped it around him for warmth. The sea nymphs were still arguing, and it soon appeared that Nereid had enough. She angrily plunged deep under the water and didn’t return. Eione, who was much more subordinate to her mother, obeyed her word and the two nymphs were soon swimming over so that Aitia could get a better look at the humans.
“This is no place for humans,” Aitia spat bitterly. “Are you here to kill us? Entrance us into falling for you? I hope you don’t have plans of breaking one of my daughter’s hearts.”
“No, no!” Zara assured her. “Just…no.”
Aitia chose to ignore her daughter’s shock at Zara’s distaste for sea nymphs. “Good. As for the girl…come closer.”
Taisiya was reluctant to venture closer to the frightening sea nymph, but Zara and Lahara gave her a collective push in the right direction.
“Closer, dearie, my eyesight isn’t what it used to be,” Aitia remarked. Taisiya ventured closer and closer, until she was face to face with the old nymph.
Aitia grabbed Taisiya’s tunic and pulled her closer. “I need to get a good look at you,” she said. “I have bad eyes. Sometimes I even think eels took them out while I was sleeping one night and replaced them with pearls.”
Taisiya gave a frightened smile. “But you have such beautiful blue eyes, ma’am.”
“These blue eyes see potential in you,” Aitia said. “You hold the ability to possess great knowledge.”
“Thank you,” Taisiya said politely.
“I have knowledge on just about everything,” Aitia went on, refusing to loosen her grip and let Taisiya back up. “I consider myself an expert at pretty much all of the natural elements we nymphs can possess. I’d dare say I could shine brighter than some of the Nymphs of Light you’ll meet around here…and ones much younger than me, too. You know how old I am? Nine thousand six hundred
years! I’ve still got a good ways to go, though.”
“That’s…amazing.” Taisiya mumbled.
“Oh, yes. I’m one of the most nurturing nymphs you will ever meet.” She smiled, a toothless smile. “Now, let’s see just how quick of a learner you are.”
And with that, Aitia grabbed Taisiya and pulled her head first under the water, darting off deeper and deeper. Taisiya didn’t even have enough time to grab a breath before she found herself surrounded by the world beneath the water. Deep beneath the surface, homes were carved into the wall of the cove. Even though it was still fairly dark (and even darker underwater), there was light glowing in the dark from most of the houses.
As they went deeper and deeper in the water, Taisiya noticed that the lights moved along with her. The sea nymphs got their nightlights from the glow in the dark fish! She opened her mouth to gasp at the revelation and noticed that she wasn’t drowning. What was going on?
She had no time to think, as Aitia was now pulling her back up toward the surface. Air filled Taisiya’s lungs once more as she found herself on the other end of the cove near the waterfall. Despite being under the water for a reasonable amount of time, she didn’t find herself rubbing her eyes—it was as if they didn’t burn from salt water. She didn’t even need to cough up any water, either.
“What did you do to me?” she asked, a little terrified of Aitia.
The old sea nymph had swum Taisiya into a corner of the cove. “I didn’t do anything,” she said dryly, “that was just a little test.”
Taisiya contorted her face in confusion. “How was that a test?”
Aitia dove under the water and resurfaced directly behind Taisiya and whispered in her ear. “Don’t think I can’t see deep into your core. I know the earth nymph has been teaching you things.”
“Should she not have done that?” Taisiya asked, a little terrified.
“Of course she should have,” was the reply. “I’m just surprised at how well of a job she has done. You’re a very quick learner. Some well-experienced old nymphs even have trouble breathing underwater…mostly the horrid ones that concern themselves with fire and other appalling things. You seem to have mastered it on the spot.”