Vanessa 1976
"You want me?" Shock wasn't the right word for what I was feeling. This was insanity! The hands of god wanted me to join them? No, I refused to believe any of this. "I'm not stupid. You're trying to make me believe you, so I'll help you willingly."
"If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have waited this long after Romulus's death to come and talk to you. I could've contacted you months ago." Was this man even mentally stable? One minute he acted one way, the next another. I could barely keep up with his mood swings. "If I wanted your services, then it would've been easier to manipulate you when you were at the height of your grief. Not now when you have a chip on your shoulder."
"It's not real!" I keep telling him that, but I don't even believe it. Part of me knows he's not lying. Humans talk about the fae's inability to lie, which makes them expert tricksters and con artists. There's some truth to it. It's not that they can't lie; they don't.
"Valkyrae, are you determined to deny what you already know?" Pressing myself more into the trees, I watch him go from pleasant to judgmental and cold. "You're a smart girl. Even Romulus didn't give you enough credit. So, the question is, are you willing to come out of denial and risk knowing what's the truth?"
"No!"
Honestly? I wasn't ready to walk down this path. I was afraid of it and what it could mean for me. Maybe this is naive, but the bubble I lived in always felt comforting and safe. At the end of the day, I was all bark with no bite, and following Romulus down this road felt like I'd need to sharpen my claws. Something I didn't think I was capable of doing. After all, I was a coward.
Someone senses my desire to run because I hear whispering in my thoughts. It's similar to the language of trees but easier to understand. There are at least twenty or so of them, showing me what I need to do to get away from the elf. Without looking at Derek, I turn and run, not bothering to look if he's following me. It's reckless since he's just as quick as I am, but I can't do this anymore. Whatever he's really after, I don't want to give it to him, and I'm scared that he won't take no for an answer. The whole time I'm running, I expect someone to grab me or push me to the ground, but the trees keep throwing branches behind me, and their roots shift, disturbing the earth.
Suddenly, hands reach out from one of the trees and roughly pull me towards it, causing me to lose footing and collapse into them. I struggle against the person, but another hand covers my mouth before I'm lifted off the ground by a bulky man who smells like damp fur. He throws me over his shoulder, and someone climbs on the other side, keeping my mouth covered. The man runs in a different direction, moving faster than someone his size should before we're out of the trees and in an open grass park area. The sun is so bright that I can't see for a moment before I readjust to the light.
"You're safe," a sweet melodic voice tries to calm me while I struggle against the man. "It's alright. You asked for our help."
The voice was coming from the person on the man's other shoulder. Turning slightly, I see a beautiful, petite woman who slowly moves her hand away. She smiles warmly at me before climbing off her large companion. The man's so big, she's barely half his size, but she doesn't seem afraid of him.
"Come on, you big bull set her down." The girl giggles, tugging at my now-torn skirt. "It's okay."
The man sets me down as she commands and takes a step back. Now that I get a good look at him, I'm shocked to see how ginormous he is. I look like a child standing beside him, yet it fills his entire face when he smiles. His hair was long and a lighter shade of blonde than mine, framing his face with thick ringlets. His eyes were a dark soulful brown that showed his serene, gentle nature.
"A minotaur," I whisper, unable to hide my surprise to see one of their kind here. Minotaurs were rare to find. They preferred to live away from other Entit'a because they feared being eaten by those of us with more predatory natures. After all, they were cows.
"Yes," You wouldn't expect his voice to be as soft and melodic as it was. On the contrary, I thought his voice would sound rough and broken. "I'd expect a dragon to know."
"Don't be like that, Georgie. She hasn't done anything." The girl wraps her arms around him, giving me a warm smile. "I'm Coral. This is my mate, George."
"I'm Vanessa," glancing around me. I notice that we're in a group of twenty or thirty people. All of the men look different, but most of the women have similar features. Petite, lithe bodies with delicate faces. I could feel magic from them, and they pulled at me like the trees. "You're nymphs."
"Yes, we are." Letting go of George, Coral takes my hand and walks me across the grass to where several nymphs are handing out food. "I hope you don't mind. We're vegetarians."
"I heard your voices." I've never met a nymph before. They rarely interact with others because they don't travel far from their homes. They don't even have a seat in the royal courts because of it.
"Our brothers and sisters felt your cries for help. So, we did." Another nymph hands Coral some clothes and holds them out for me. "Here, change into these."
"Your brothers and sisters? You mean the trees?" I take the clothes, aware there's nowhere to change, but no one seems to care.
"Yes, they told us an elf girl was in trouble. So George and I went to investigate, and we found you." Then, motioning for me to change, Coral grabs a plate and pours fruit salad and some other dishes that smell divine. "Go on, you're safe here. We're inside the protective lines."
It might seem strange that they're being so kind, but nymphs are powerful, according to my father. Elves are connected to nature because we were born to care for and protect it. Nymphs were nature, so their magic was raw and reflected the aspects of what they were born to. Because of that, even a dragon is careful around a nymph. She'll always be welcoming and show you kindness... until you cross the line, and then you'll find out why you don't mess with nature.
I change into the flowy dress they gave me, and Coral takes me to sit down with George while her sisters and their companions play instruments and sing. To humans, they'd assume we were a group of hippies, but no one comes to tell us to leave. Instead, I felt their happiness, and it was a strange sensation. Like hearing the same words in two languages at once, but it doesn't hurt me. They had no cares in the world because they were where they wanted to be.
"Thank you for helping me." Finally, I managed to speak after listening to the music, my nerves settling. "I'm grateful."
"There's no need for that. You needed us." Coral smiles before taking another grape and feeding it to George. She was sitting in his lap, seeming utterly unphased by his size. "Stay as long as you like."
"I don't know if I should." How strange is this? I don't know anyone here, but I feel like I do because they're sentient trees! "It's probably not safe."
"Your friend won't be able to come in." George lies back, pulling Coral with him.
"Protective circles can be broken."
"Not ours." He smirks at me, rubbing his mate's back. How did they make that work? Did Coral live in the trees and George sleep in the park? I didn't know anything about a relationship like this. Not the mixed races, the fact Coral was tied to this place and could never move away. "They might hurt you for helping me."
"I'd like to see them try." He scoffs. His serenity is replaced with aggression. His eyes turned red, and his nostrils flared. "It would be a mistake on their part."
"Calm down, baby." Coral rubs George's chest, distracting his anger. I could see where humans got the idea that minotaurs were aggressive. In that split second, I saw how violent George could become. "He gets upset when someone threatens our home."
The more she rubs on him, the calmer he becomes until his eyes change back to brown. The scent of cinnamon fills the air, and without trying, I know it's Coral doing it. The smell forced my body to relax more, pushing all my worries to the back of my mind. A natural high envelops me, washing away all my feelings that weren't positive. The elf in me embraced the sensation, but the dragon and vampire instincts don't let me drown in it. Warning that I'll drown in the madness if I don't focus.
Was this why we didn't invite nymphs to live with us? Because my father knew the danger, was there in their magic?
Still, my heart doesn't want to question it more. The feeling of being carefree is addictive, and I'm tempted. No words had to be spoken to understand the silent message they were sending me. I could stay here forever with them. Never feel pain or sadness, and all they'd ask in return was for me to be what I was and help them grow and thrive. It was so simple, my power for the gift of escape.
A lifetime to forget or remember.