Blue Nymph: An Adult Fantasy Romance Tale

The Blue Nymph

Eden Redd

The Blue Nymph © copyright 2015
Eden Redd

All Rights Reserved

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Excerpt from the book

The nymph sat at the bottom of her pond, hand gently caressing fish as they swam by. The internal storm had not lessened and she grew more and more annoyed. Thoughts of Aiden’s handsome face floated into her mind’s eye and try as she might, they would not go away. Spending so much time away from her sisters and the world of man, the nymph had a time of great peace. Now her natural urges pushed, whispering in her ear, delightful needs and wicked wanting. It was enough to drive her mad.

Seeing him planting the seeds of those delicious pears showed a kind spirit even if a monster lurked behind his rugged features.

Shafts of sunlight penetrated the gloomy forest morning. Golden bars of warmth brought out deep browns and greens as the forest stirred from its long night. Animals emerged from their dens and the misty morning faded as the beginning to the day brought new breath to a new day.

A pond woke with fish jumping to catch meaty insects. Dragonflies hovered at the edges among tall reeds to capture small prey attempting to take flight. The buzzing was added to the symphony of birds chirping and gentle trickles of animals coming to the pond to drink. Despite the morning glow and songs of the forest, a gentle calm blanketed the area like a silky blanket on a cool day.

Ripples appeared at the edge of the nearly still pond. Something blue broke the surface, followed by oval eyes, a little nose and full lips. Casually rising from her sleep, Ilara let out a yawn as the rest of her body emerged from her private pond and home. Water dripped down her smooth nude body as her arms went up and stretched. Yellow light bathed her body in warmth as she stepped to the water’s edge, turned and sat down. A dragonfly landed on her shoulder, iridescent blues and greens running along its segmented body. Wings buzzed as the insect began drinking a drop of water off of Ilara’s shoulder.

“Good morning little one, how are we today?” The nymph smiled.

The dragonfly turned, buzzed a little song and flew off.

“Enjoy the rest of your day.” Ilara beamed.

Stretching again, the nymph let out a longer yawn and then let her hands fall behind her. Propping herself up, she gazed at the magnificent morning as nature continued her morning dance. The calm seeped into her muscles and bones and she sighed her approval. It was these mornings where the nymph thought it could go on forever and she wouldn’t mind.

Standing up, the nymph began her morning routine. Walking, she stepped into the forest at the pond’s edge and went about looking for food and maybe some pretty leaves for her cave. The current ones had started to decay so she would need some new ones to brighten it up. A thought curled around her mind and her eyes grew wider. Maybe she would find some flowers blooming? Wouldn’t that be a treat for her hair and mossy bed.

With renewed vigor, the nymph skipped into the forest to find pretty treasures for her underwater home. Deep green moss covered trees as she moved further into the shadowy forest. There wasn’t much light so a coolness greeted her exposed skin. The nymph carried on, eyes drinking in her home away from home. Birds chirped high in the trees but as Ilara moved further in, they directed their song to her. Humming, the nymph returned their song and birds chirped and danced on thin little branches.

Pointed ears took in sounds and song. The ground underneath her bare feet was firm and cool to her toes. Stepping onto thick tree roots, she jumped from one to the other, playing her little game of root hopping. It was a standard morning ritual and one she would likely never forget.

The trees let out quiet happy sighs as Ilara greeted them with a pat of her delicate hands. They swayed to the gentle breeze, leaves and branches rustling their contentment. The glorious morning continued with a happy smile on the nymph as she hopped off a thick root and back on firm soil.

As suddenly as she touched the ground, the forest became silent. The nymph froze in her tracks, ears poking through blue hair, listening for any sound. The forest became as quiet as a tomb. An unnerving shiver ran up and down the nymph’s spine as she became as rigid as one of her tree friends.

The snap of a twig echoed through the trees.

Ilara turned and sprinted back the way she came. Moving with lightning speed, she darted and jumped over tree roots for her pond. The forest became a blur at the corner of her eyes. A painful memory struck her mind and heart as she burst from the trees and jumped. Midair, she could feel the scar on her shoulder throb with terror and fear. Hands out and pointed, the nymph slipped into the water without a splash and barely a ripple. Down deep she dived, fish moving aside as their friend swam to the bottom and clutched at a tall thin rock.

Looking up, the nymph cowered by her safety stone. The surface was bright from sunlight and fish swam but nothing else moved. Time marched on and the young nymph held on for dear life to her stone. As she began to relax, she let out an underwater laugh. She was being silly. That twig could have been broken by Old Bear as he wandered the forest. The silly bear has been acting odd with his old age and grumpier than usual.

Ilara slowly let go of her safety stone and let her body rise to the surface. Head and eyes floated above the water line to peek around. At first everything seemed normal. No sign of Old Bear or anything else. Turning, the nymph heard another twig snap. Eye opening wider, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

A young man had dropped his back at the forest edge next to her pond. Next he dropped a staff he was carrying and took in a deep breath. Ilara couldn’t believe she was seeing a man. It had been years since she last saw a human and it was a frightful experience. It was enough for her to hide farther into the forest, away from her sisters. No humans come out this far. Why was this man here, now?

The man wore a travelling robe. His hair was long and tied back. Broad shoulders moved as he fished into his pack and pulled out rods and sheets. Ilara couldn’t take her eyes off of him as he worked. He had scruffy hair on his chin and along his jawbone. Bright eyes looked around calmly as he began assembling something.

Ilara’s first instinct was to dive under and wait for as long as it took for him to leave. Instead she treaded water, watching the man assemble a simple tent. Long forgotten urges welled up as she watched the man work. It had been so long since she had seen one in the flesh. Her fears made her keep her distance but she noticed this human didn’t carry a bow and arrows. It was enough to ease her tension but only a drop.

The man finished building his tent. He reached into his pack and took out a small axe. Ilara stared as he went to a small tree and began chopping at it. The sudden cries of the young tree were enough to cause Ilara to look away in sorrow. When the final chop sliced through, the tree became silent and Ilara wished it a good journey to the next life.

The man chopped the downed tree into sections and carried them over to his camp site. Building a fire pit with rocks, he placed the large logs in the middle and dusted off his hands.

“Now maybe some fish for meals.” The man said to no one in particular.

Ilara’s eyes bulged as the man reached into his pack and pulled out fishing string, hook and a jar filled with writhing worms. The nymph slipped under and her heart beat with worry. Floating in the gloom of the pond, she waited. It wasn’t long before the man’s fishing line was cast in and it bobbed. Along the line was a small stick tied to it so it could keep the line and hook afloat.

Fish moved in to investigate, eyeing the worm wriggling on the hook. One fish moved in closer. Ilara shook her head, trying to tell him not to take the bait. The fish eyed her and then the worm. Hunger won out and the fish bit the swaying worm. A tug and a pull and the fish was hauled up, hooked on the line.

Ilara’s fear turned into a storming fury. She had runaway to be as far away from man as possible and now one has set up camp and eating her friends. Hands clenched, she kicked her legs and swam to the surface. Silently breaking the water, she watched as the man smiled and pulled up the fish he caught. Letting the fish flop on land, the man used the back of his axe and brought it down with a wet crunch.

Ilara clutched at her chest as the man went to the water’s edge and cast his line in once again. Fear and rage swirled. She was unsure what to do next. If she showed herself, he might hurt her. If she didn’t do anything, he may stay longer and hurt more of her friends. This could not continue.

“You can do this.” Ilara mouthed under the water’s surface.

Ilara moved to the water’s edge and picked up a large stone from the mud. Hiding among the reeds, she moved silently a little ways from the man. Keeping down, she watched for her moment to strike. She would bash him in the head. Then she would have to try and drag him off and let the worms eat him. The nymph had never taken a life but this was the only way she could think of. Men don’t listen to reason so they must be stopped at all costs. Despite how much her sisters would talk about how beautiful they were, they were nothing more than monsters. If she didn’t protect her home then it was only a matter of time before other woodland creatures would fall to man’s indifferent wants.

The man whistled a tune as he pulled on the line. Leaning back onto the firm ground, he pulled the hood of his robe over his head and eyes. Ilara knew this was her one and only chance. The nymph stalked forward out of the reeds. Silent as a ghost she crept forward. The forest and pond seemed to hold their breath as she stepped closer and closer to the invader. When she was within a few feet, she lifted her rock high. The man was still, hand pulling at the fishing line a little before settling down.

The nymph’s hand shook but she knew it had to be done. Closing her eyes, she brought the rock down as hard as she could. Mud in between her fingers caused the rock to slip and when her arm was halfway down, the rock slipped completely out of her fingers and went flying over the man’s head. It hit the earth with a thud and rolled off before splashing back into the pond.

The man’s hand was up and pulling back at his hood. Green eyes locked on bright oval blue eyes. Ilara was frozen, unable to move as the man’s own eyes widened in mutual shock.

“Hello.” The man said in a shaky voice.

Ilara yelped and jumped into the water.

“Wait!” The man shouted as the nymph was just about to dive under.

The sound of his voice seemed to snare the nymph. She couldn’t just push it away. Water lapped at her neck but she turned around and gave a hard stare at the man on the pond’s edge.

The man was on his feet and staring back. Ilara’s long blue hair shined in the mid-morning light. Thin water vines wrapped around locks of hair with the occasional leaf tucked in. Beauty and rage joined on her face as she remained where she was.

“Hi. My name is Aiden.” The man smiled.

“Leave this area and never come back.” Ilara said with contempt.

Aiden was rooted to the spot, never taking his eyes off the water nymph. Ilara would have found it unnerving if something didn’t pull at her to stay and gaze at his handsome face.

“It is pretty rude to try and smash my head in without at least telling me your name.” Aiden continued to smile.

The nymph’s eyes looked away for a brief instant before burning her gaze into his eyes “Ilara. Now leave and never come back.”

“Pleased to meet you Ilara, you have a lovely pond.”

Confusion seeped into her eyes. “Thank you.” The nymph said unsure what was actually happening.

“Come up here. I promise I won’t hurt you.” Aiden sat back down.

“Why, so you can smash my head in with your axe?” Ilara huffed.

Aiden looked down at the axe by the dead fish. He picked it up and threw it beyond his tent.

“The axe is gone. Now you can smash my head in whenever you feel like it. I will keep my word and not harm you.”

Ilara looked side to side as if trying to figure out what she would do next. Reluctantly she swam closer to the pond’s edge. Standing up, Aiden stared with wide eyes. Water glistened on her nude body. Breasts bounced, defying gravity’s pull as she stepping onto dry land. Aiden’s eyes fell to her hand as she clutched another large rock.

“I was joking about smashing my head in.”

“If you do anything I will not miss this time.” Ilara growled.

“Fair enough, is this your home?”

“If I tell you, will you leave?”

Aiden let out a small laugh. “You seem to be in a hurry to have me gone. I don’t see any others around so you must not have regular guests.”

“I have all the guests I need. You are not welcome here.”

Aiden eyed the scar on her shoulder. It was whiter than her creamy pale skin. “Did you have a bad experience? Is that why you want me to go?”

Ilara nodded.

Aiden slowly pulled at the top of his robe, exposing his shoulder. Ilara was about to heft her rock and throw it until the man pulled the robe down further, exposing a long crooked scare running down his shoulder.

“I have one too. It is bigger than yours but I’m sure it still reminds you of a terrible experience.”

Ilara let her hand down as she looked at the healed over scar on his tanned skin. Absently the nymph walked over and kneeled down, her other hand reaching out to touch the scar but stopping short.

“It’s okay. You can touch it.” Aiden said with a disarming smile.

Ilara ran delicate fingers over the raised skin. Warmth reached up and swirled to her touch. A musky scent rolled from the man’s skin and the nymph pulled away.

“How did you get your scar?” Aiden asked gently.

Darkness clouded the nymph’s eyes. “An arrow.”

Aiden nodded his head. “Was it an accident? A hunter mistaking you for a wild animal?”

The nymph stood up and took a few steps back. “No. A man wanted me but I was too frightened. I ran and he tried to stop me.”

“I take it you escaped.”