Ting had been born of a small but pure stream in this forest. Most of its days were spent playing tricks upon the many types of wildlife.
It didn't like to show its true form to dwellers of the forest. Of course, other spirits could see it. It did not know how to hide itself from them just yet.
One day as it was floating around enjoying another wonderful day new visitors visited his small stream. This spirit was relatively new, so it asked the other spirits what the visitors were.
"It is an elf and a human!" a dryad, who loved gossiping about everyone in the forest, said.
"What is an elf?" the young water spirit asked.
"Elves are the descendants of the old spirit," the dryad replied while watching the visitors with interest.
"The old spirit?" the small water spirit asked.
The dryad huffed and turned towards the water spirit.
"Do you not listen to anything old spirit Lila tells us? The old spirit is the one who the world first birthed. Remember?"
The dryad put her hands on her hips and glared down at the little water spirit. The water spirit scratched its head and floated over to the tree closest to the stream in an effort to put space between it and the dryad.
"Ok, then, what is a human?"
The dryad looked even more annoyed.
"Humans are one of those races that came after."
The water spirit wanted to ask more, but it decided it better not push its luck with the dryad. It peeked from behind the tree and stared at the two new playthings that had entered its territory.
The water spirit watched them make a camp and became interested in the blue haired girl who came to wash her clothes in his small stream.
It carefully tested to see if she could see it by darting in front of her, but it seemed that she was also not able to see it.
Soon the elf came to help the human carry the strange bundles of cloth back to their camp. It did not seem as interested in the elf.
'Elves were the ones who were more susceptible to spirits, right?'
The spirit scratched its head and tried to remember the stories the old spirit Lila would often ramble on about.
'Now I remember!'
It excitedly raised its arms up and cheered. Elves were the ones that used to live alongside the spirits.
'I guess Lila's stories were useful,' it thought as it resumed its observation on the odd pair.
The elf seemed to have strayed to his stream and was washing himself while the human stared at the location in a daze.
The water spirit rubbed its hands together and decided that it was now time to work its magic. The elf seemed to like the human so it decided that it would give him a gift.
The water spirit was still considered a child in spirit standards, but it was capable of creating some magic.
'It is the perfect chance to practice my magic on something larger than a rabbit!'
The water spirit snuck up to the human girl and poured some magic into its palms. The water spirit touched the human girl's forehead and watched as she walked slowly into the forest towards the elf.
The spirit began to laugh so hard it was visibly shaking as it floated in the location the girl had just left.
Whack!
"And what do you think you are doing?!" A flower spirit was floating over the water spirit with her hands on her hips.
The water spirit rubbed its head where the flower spirit had hit him.
"I was just having some fun, Lila. You didn't have to hit me," he complained to the flower spirit.
"It is one thing to play pranks on small wildlife and another to cast spells on humans and elves."
Lila looked down at the water spirit and became red in the face as she began to lecture the small water spirit.
The water spirit drooped and waited for her lecture to be over. It had long learned that sitting quietly as Lila lectured was easier then the lecture it would get if it attempted to escape.
"Now I hope you have learned the importance of staying out of the other races business!" Lila flicked the water spirit's forehead and marched off to another part of the forest.
The water spirit let out a sigh of relief and quickly hurried to where the human and elf were. When it arrived it immediately became confused.
Why was the human upset? It looked towards the elf and he seemed to be unaware of the situation happening just a few feet in front of him.
'What do I do?' the small spirit wondered. It looked around frantically until it remembered the dryad was nearby.
"Dryad! Dryad!" it called, looking helpless.
"What do you want this time?" the dryad yawned as it appeared out of a nearby tree.
"I think I broke the human," the spirit explained.
"A simple charm spell won't break a human. Oh, I see." The dryad looked at the situation and smiled.
'Why is the dryad smiling?' the little water spirit thought.
It looked confused as the dryad started making giggling sounds.
'Did I break the dryad, too?' the spirit thought.
"You should just leave them be. Things should work themselves out in time," the dryad finally answered the little water spirit.
"However, if you feel especially bad for those two you can always give them a small blessing."
"A blessing?" the little water spirit asked.
"Yes, you leave a mark of your true essence upon them." The dryad put her palm on her cheek and sighed.
"Oh, that thing grandma Lila said we should only do for those we love?" the little water spirit asked.
"Love? Oh, well you can do it for those you have grown attached to or to repay a debt." The dryad looked dreamily at the two.
"Are you sure that it is ok to leave that human crying like that?"
"Oh, it is just a phase. She will work out her feelings soon enough."
"If you say so. Thank you for explaining things to me."
The spirit still felt confused, but it felt like maybe it had done something wrong. It quietly floated over to the human who was now curled on her side and patted her head.
A small bit of the pure energy that had created it flew into the human girl. The small water spirit smiled and wished her well.
The energy flowed into the girl and for a brief moment her core shone brightly to the water spirit. The water spirit felt stiff as foreign memories flooded into its consciousness.
Memories of a sad life caused the water spirit to shed a few tears. It stroked the cheek of the human girl and quietly floated back to the small stream from which it was born.
'Perhaps listening to old Lila's stories once more would be good.'
******
If you are not reading this on WebNovel then this is stolen content. Say no to piracy : )!
=> Link to original: https://www.webnovel.com/book/a-noble-daughter's-reprisal_23144276006366005