The Forest Nymph Pt. 01

A small smile crossed Serenity's lips. "That's the heart of a poet that I've come to know. What about you, what is your most amazing and memorable sight?"

Felix let out a loud huff as he tried to decide, with his gaze drifting to every corner of the tree chamber. "I'm not sure. I've seen my friends saved by the gods and the greatest battles of the war change tides over and over again in less than an hour. But probably the one thing that I'll always remember was a very simple anomaly that I found, one that helped me hold onto hope. It was after one of our battles with the Greeks, and we had pushed them out of a nearby village and back to their bases on the shore. As we helped to rebuild the town and strengthen it for the next attack, I came across a temple of Apollo, surrounded by the murdered villagers that had prayed for protection unto their dying breath. There were few women in the area, as those that hadn't been raped and killed were taken back by the Greeks to be held as slaves.

Looking at the bodies of those innocent people, I wondered if there was really a hope of winning this war. I wondered if there was such a thing as peace and if it could be achieved. I began to lose hope and doubt entered my mind, doubt that I would live to see the day when Troy could stand without the fear of attack from jealous kingdoms. I wondered if I would ever be able to watch my siblings grow up, see my brother find himself a wife and raise a son, attend my sisters' weddings when they became adults, and even start a family of my own.

This doubt would not leave, and I found myself so distraught that I could barely stand. I sat down on a broken wall around the temple, trying to catch my breath and regain my mental bearings. As I reached for my wineskin, I looked down and saw something remarkable. Growing right out of the middle of a solid stone brick was a white flower, full of life as it basked in the sun. In a place where life could not exist like the depths of a stone, one beautiful flower had managed to find a home and grow.

Staring at that flower, I had a life-saving realization. No matter what had happened, life was able to continue on. The people around me had been killed, but life in itself could never be crushed. And like life, neither would my love for my family and the drive to protect them. I wanted to take that flower and carry it with me as a good luck charm, but I decided it would be best to let the miracle continue as long as possible. I left that stone there, carrying the flower only in memory."

"Like I said before, that's the heart of a poet that I've come to know," Serenity cooed with soft admiration in her voice.

Felix smiled and laid his head back down, pulling the nymph close. As the storm progressed, the roaring cracks of thunder became fewer in number, allowing the two dozers to drift into a deep sleep.

Felix and Serenity were walking through one of the meadows that pierced the canopy of the forest. Felix was now strong enough to walk moderate distances, but only with the nymph's care. Serenity was clinging to Felix's arm, helping him maintain his balance with each trembling step.

"Serenity, there is something I've been meaning to ask you..." Felix began.

The nymph raised her head from his shoulder and looked at him.

"What started the war between Greece and Troy? I knew it had something to do with Queen Helen of Sparta, but that is all I know. You have the gift of Outsight and have witnessed all of history, do you know what was the true source of the war?"

Serenity gave a sigh at the question and Felix could sense dread in her tone. Was there something she did not want him to know?

"Let's find a place to sit."

Serenity and Felix stepped into the shade of a nearby tree and lied down by its roots. Serenity took several deep breaths before she spoke. "The seeds of war were first planted at the wedding between the sea-goddess Thetis and the warrior Peleus, who were actually the parents of the fighter Achilles."

Felix's eyes widened in astonishment, as he thought back to the times he had faced Achilles in the battlefield. 'So, there was divine blood in him after all...'

"The wedding was attended by all the gods of Olympus. However, Eris, the goddess of discord, was banned from the wedding. Furious for being rejected, she sought vengeance and decided to turn the guests on each other. Inscribing the words "for the fairest" on one of her golden apples, she threw it into the wedding. Immediately, there was an argument among the goddesses Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena, over who was the fairest and who deserved the apple.

Not wanting to get involved in the goddesses' squabble, Zeus suggested they choose a mortal to decide whom the apple should go to. The mortal they picked was Paris, the prince of Troy. The goddesses each bribed him in their desperation to get the apple; Athena offered to make him a legendary hero or general, Hera offered to make him the ruler of the richest and most powerful kingdom, and Aphrodite offered him the love of the most beautiful mortal, Helen of Sparta. Paris picked Aphrodite and gave her the apple.

After arriving in Sparta for a diplomatic mission, Paris won the heart of Helen and she left with him for Troy. Furious from this insult, King Menelaus of Sparta summoned the forces of all of his allies, each of which had sworn oaths to defend Helen's marriage in order to be eligible suitors before she married the king. With a vast army, Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon waged war against the city of Troy."

Felix's hands were clenched and he was growling through his gritted teeth. "The war was started because of the stupidity of the prince of my city and the arrogant pride of the goddesses?"

With sadness in her eyes, Serenity continued to speak. "During the war, the gods repeatedly intervened in the war. At least half of them helped the Greeks, due to the belief that Troy was destined to fall. Athena herself was responsible for the death of Hector and the interruption of the peace established after Menelaus defeated Paris, all because Paris did not give her the apple."

Shocking Serenity, Felix got to his feet and stormed off into the meadow, where he gave a lion-like roar of anger while shaking his fists at the sky. "I studied you, I prayed to you, I worshipped you, and you are the ones that destroyed my city! You could have stopped the war or prevented it, but you allowed it to happen and you allowed everything I love to be taken away from me! You let it all burn for the sake of your pride and entertainment! You should have killed me when you had the chance, because now I'm going to get my revenge, even if I have to destroy Mt. Olympus with my own two hands!"

Serenity rushed over and wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to calm him down. "Stop it, Felix! Don't anger the gods and tempt fate!"

"It is because of them that my home was destroyed and my family was killed! Gods or not, I will make them pay for their selfishness!" he yelled with all the pain of the war flooding through him once again.

He then gagged in agony and fell to his knee, gripping his leg to try and ease the pain ravaging him. His muscles were not ready for the quick movement he had made or the strain his emotions were inflicting on his body, and the combination had just caused multiple still-recovering tendons to snap, crippling him. Felix gave another roar of frustration and helplessness, gripping his leg so tightly that blood trickled down his ankle from his nails digging into his skin.

Serenity crouched beside him, holding him with her forehead pressed against the back of his neck. "Let it go, Felix. Please just let it go. I know you're angry, but you'll kill yourself if you cling to all this hatred."

"How can I let it go? How can I just forget about my family and Troy and let the ones who are guilty get away with it?! HOW CAN I ACCEPT THIS PAIN AND NOT FIGHT BACK?!"

"I'm not asking you to accept the pain; I'm asking you to open your heart and let there be inner peace as well. I didn't want to answer your question because I knew you would get angry and all the progress you've made towards being at peace would be lost. If you let vengeance fill your heart and resign yourself to die in the futile attempt to achieve it, there will be no going back."

"I have to avenge my family, I have to avenge Troy, and if Nemesis herself will not punish the gods for their sins, then I will!" Felix countered, trying to stand up but falling back to his knees.

"You can't leave and die in the name of vengeance, you have to stay here and live! I don't care about being alone anymore! I just want you to be happy and alive! I want to do whatever I can to make you happy and I couldn't bear it if you left me! That is why I want you to stay. But if leaving here is want you want to do and will bring you solace, I will not stop you. Just promise me that if you'll leave, you won't die in the name of vengeance, but live long with peace in your heart.

I just want you to be happy, Felix! Live long and be happy! That's all I ever wanted!"

Felix lay on the moss bed, looking out at the nearby creek. Serenity was beside him with her hands on the area in his leg where his tendons had snapped. Her palms and fingers were glowing with a green radiance, and she was using her hands to send the healing energy deep beneath the flesh to repair the cords.

Once the tendons were reformed, she removed her hands and sighed. "There, you can walk again, but you still need to heal so that they won't just break like they did before."

"Thank you," Felix said, but without looking at her.

Serenity had a sad hue in her eyes, but mixed it with a tinge of determination as she took a deep breath.

Felix turned in surprise as she sat on his lap, facing him.

"Serenity, what are you—"

She placed her finger on his lips and silenced him. Before speaking, she wrapped her fingers around his hand and clutched it tightly against her chest. "There is nothing I can do to stop you if you truly want to leave. I can't keep you here as a prisoner or force you to forget about vengeance. My words can only go so far, so you must decide. But if you will leave me in your pursuit to kill the gods, then I ask that you do me one favor..." She opened his hand and pressed it against her throat. "Kill me first, take my life."

The air was ripped from Felix's lungs by her words and the unfathomable sadness they carried. Felix stared at his fingers, which she had pressed around her throat, forcefully putting her life in his hands. She leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his with her long silky hair hanging down and forming a canopy that almost sealed their faces in tiny world of their own, where they could do nothing but stare into each other's eyes with their lips only a few inches apart.

"I've waited so long for you, I've waited so long to have someone here with me. I don't want to live if I have to be alone again, my heart cannot withstand the pain of losing you. I told you not to forsake your life to escape your pain, but I must confess that not even I cannot follow those words, as I would rather die than be without you. Let it be now or let it be when you are fully healed, but if you really want to leave and face the gods, then let me escape the pain of your departure through the final sleep."

Her every breath was filled with emotions and tears ran down her face like melted silver.

Felix's whole body trembled under the crushing sorrow in her voice and the horrible guilt of even facing such a request. In his heart burned the desire to avenge his family and city, but every fraction of a second that passed by in which he stared at Serenity's beautiful face smothered the flames of anger, leaving only cold embers, stewing in a pool of empathy. Vengeance or Serenity, the choice had to be made, and Felix knew that it had to be made now. Taking a deep breath, Felix let the anger and pain in his aching heart slip away, abandoning his desire for vengeance. After taking another deep breath, he moved his hand from Serenity's throat and placed both hands on her cheeks. The nymph's eyes opened and she gasped as Felix kissed her on the forehead.

"I will never leave you and I will never harm you, I swear."

With a warm smile on her face, Serenity wrapped her arms around Felix's neck and Felix held her slender body, both hugging each other tighter than ever in their lives.

Serenity's eyes flicked open and she gave a tired yawn while stretching every muscle in her body. As soon as she reached outwards, she knew that Felix was no longer in the bed with her. Like a cat hearing the pitter-patter of a nearby mouse, Serenity perked up to the sound of deep breathing just outside. Giving another yawn, she climbed out of the chamber and looked around. Hanging from the branch of a nearby tree, Felix was panting as he did chin-ups with his back to her. A warm smile on her lips, Serenity stood up and plucked one of the fruits from the tree of her bedchamber and bit into it. She walked over to Felix with the juices of the fruit running down her chin, watching him try to regain his strength. She stood behind Felix, nibbling on the fruit while he continued to work the atrophy out of his arms, unaware of her.

Holding the large half-eaten pear in her teeth, Serenity jumped up onto the branch, swinging on and over it like an acrobat. Felix pulled himself up onto the tree limb and smiled as she showed off, before finally coming to a stop and offering him the fruit.

"Thank you," he said before digging into its sweet flesh.

"So I see you have almost completely recovered."

"Not quite, my legs are still hurting, but I'm at least strong enough to get some real exercise. I'm hoping that working out will help me recover faster, plus, even though I'm going to spend the rest of my life here, I don't want all of my muscles to become as weak as a baby steer's."

The last sentence brought a particularly happy smile to Serenity's beautiful face, and she expressed these warm emotions by kissing Felix on the cheek and making his face turn red.

The day proved to be a very restless one, as Felix took advantage of his progress in recovery to regain his strength in as many muscles as he could. While he worked, Serenity would sit beside him and they would talk as usual, or she would even join the routine and compete with him, just for the look on his face of when she would beat him. The day was finished with a long walk around the forest, with Serenity holding his hand and leaning her head on his shoulder.

'One more day...' he thought to himself, feeling only the occasional tinges of soreness as he walked. 'Just one more day until I am fully healed.'

"Tell me, Felix, what kind of poetry did you wish to write?" Serenity asked.

Night had fallen, and Felix and Serenity were in their tree chamber, having dinner. As usual, the meal consisted of the large pear-like fruits that overflowed from the trees. They were sitting on opposite sides of the chamber with a pile of fruits in their laps and the blanket over their legs. Gorging himself on the soft wet skin of the giant berry, Felix couldn't imagine himself ever getting tired or used to the sweet addictive taste. He didn't even miss meat or bread when he had such a perfect substitute.

"What?" he asked, pulling off the last scrap from the core.

"You told me that you wanted to become a poet before you joined the Trojan army, what kind of poetry did you want to create?"

Finishing one of the fruits, she tossed it out of the chamber, where it was snatched up by a group of squirrels.

Felix looked up at the interwoven branches that formed the roof of the chamber. "When I was young, I experimented with several different kinds, but I never knew what I wanted to focus on when I became an adult. When I was a soldier, I spent much of my time between battles returning to poetry. Much of it was about fighting and the war, ballads, and epic tales of real and fictional heroes of Troy. But my favorite subjects were mythology, which I studied endlessly, and even love stories."

"Did anyone ever write any poems about you? You said you were a war hero."

Felix chuckled and looked outside at the moon and stars. "There were a few. One of them was written by my younger sisters, as a gift for me for my twenty-fifth birthday, just a few months ago."

Just as Serenity was about to lose her smile, Felix gained one. "Thank you, Serenity. Thank you for taking care of me. Thank you so much for all of your help. I am truly beginning to feel at peace with what happened. It will take time to fully recover from my trauma, but thanks to you, I've come farther than I ever thought possible, and I look forward to the day when I can put my past behind me and look to the future with you by my side."

At Felix's words, Serenity's eyes seemed to sparkle and her smile became so soft and tender, no words conceived by man could ever describe it.

"You are welcome, Felix, you are most welcome," she said with a tone that sounded like she was about to cry tears of joy. She then chuckled.

"What is it?"

"I remember when you told me that because of the war in Troy, no one dared fall in love for fear of losing whoever they cared about."

"What about it?"

Serenity chuckled again. "If no one was falling in love, then how did you get the experience in which to write your love stories?"

Felix gave a soft laugh and hummed before answering, choosing his words carefully. "I just wrote about... what I always dreamed it would be like."

He looked back at Serenity and was at awe from the smile on her face and her indescribable beauty. The warmth and care in her eyes was like a miracle itself. Felix and Serenity stared into each other's eyes for several silent moments, and outside, it was as if the entire forest was as still and quiet as they were.

"I imagine our dreams were very similar," the nymph whispered.

Then like a cat seeking a warm place in which to doze, she crawled across the tiny den to Felix, where she moved under the blanket and curled up beside him. With a tired smile on his face, he wrapped his arm around her and kissed her on the forehead, then lied back before they both fell asleep.

The rain pounded the forest in a relentless torrent, forcing every leaf and blade of grass into submission under the weight of each drop. Serenity and Felix were curled up in their tree chamber, dry and warm. With a dull yawn, Felix held out his hand into the open and felt the rain. Unlike with the previous storm, this rain was incredibly warm to the touch, much warmer than he had ever felt, and every drop seemed like it was as large as a grape.

"I think I'm fully healed."

"Then will you dance with me?" Serenity asked with a tender smile.

"Now? In the rain?"

"When it's raining is my absolute favorite time to dance. The rain is one of my favorite aspects of nature. No matter how bad things may be, when the rain begins to pour, all the sadness and grief in the world is washed away. It's just so pure and soothing, and when I dance, I feel like I can release my soul and let the rain wash it the way it washes the land."

Felix gained a small smile. "Very well, let's go out."

With the same smile, Serenity stood up and grasped his hand, pulling him to his feet. They stepped out into the rain, becoming soaked as the drops drummed on their bodies. They moved out into the creek and began the sequence of poetry in motion to the rhythm of Serenity's soft hum, with the nymph guiding his movements and Felix enjoying the chance to stretch his muscles. True to what Serenity described, a new sensation infatuated Felix's senses as the rain fell down on them in warm sheets, one that he had never experienced before. To him, it felt like his soul was leaving its physical form and floating up into the sky above them, letting him look down on their bodies from a bird's eye view. His limbs seemed to move without his directions as he forsook his human body for a transcended existence, as naught but a glimmer of light or a wisp of steam floating in the air.