Chapter 02

The man did not bother waiting for a reply before he muttered "I know that the only requirements were a girl between the ages of 11 and 23, but that was centuries ago. I didn't think they would actually send me a child in this day and age."

"My apologies," I whispered, my neck and abs burning with the effort to maintain my posture.

"Do not speak unless I ask you to," the man said curtly.

"My apologies," I whispered weakly, but clearly.

Although I was exhausted, I knew I was in the presence of an important person and had to maintain the grace of a lady, maintaining the proper posture and speaking gently and clearly. As he walked across his front yard towards his mansion, I could barely see anything, partially because of the veil, but partially because of my exhaustion.

Finally, a light appeared from what reassembled a doorway, and the man stepped through into his house. He placed me on the couch and waved his hand, I assumed to dismiss his staff. I made sure to sit up straight with my legs tucked neatly together and to the side, my ankles crossed. I could see his silhouette approach me and his hand reach for the veil. The only thought in my mind was I must endure, whatever happens, be obedient and endure it well.

As the veil came off, however, I couldn't hold on any longer. Perhaps it was the exhaustion, or the sudden brightness after taking off the thick veil, but I felt the last bit of my consciousness escape me. I was jolted awake in what felt like less than a second by cold water. I was sinking, deeper and deeper.

Then I was fully awake. I struggled to propel myself upwards, towards the surface. I needed air. With a gasp, I surfaced and saw the silhouette of a tall and lean man against the backdrop of the full moon. He stood there on the surface, arms crossed, watching silently. I treaded water.

As a child of a water sprite deity, water had always felt like a second home to me. Rivers, lakes, marshes, swamps, oceans, none of them ever felt foreign to me. I looked up at him as he stared down at me, his eyes were the only thing I could make out clearly. The colour was definitely something dark, perhaps brown or grey, maybe even black. Yet they shined so brightly that they seemed like a star in the sky from my position below him.

Then, he whistled.

I heard it immediately, the sound of hooves on the water. There was only one creature who would make such a sound. One of the strongest water spirits. One that can run on water or on land and feasted on flesh.

A kelpie, a water horse.

Excitedly, I broke eye contact and maneuvered to face the direction from which came the sound of the hooves. A smile broke out on my face as I saw the majestic creature coming towards me. All lessons on etiquette were forgotten.

Any warnings on the dangers of spirits were gone. The only thing I could do was stare in awe as the beautiful black horse with razor sharp teeth came galloping towards me. I swam towards it.

"What is a creature like you doing in a man-made lake like this?" I asked in the language of the spirits.

"My master has commanded it," the kelpie replied calmly before reaching down and grabbing my heavy dress with his teeth and sweeping me onto his back.

"A wild and freedom loving creature like you, contained in such a small man-made lake?" I questioned, astonished.

"The lake is not that small. And the man feeds me quite regularly," the kelpie bristled.

"You don't like the taste of fish?" I laughed, relaxing onto his back, the exhausting day forgotten and the man far out of mind.

"It's too fishy," the kelpie whined, "and before you ask, small animals like rabbits are too small, and larger animals like deer are too gamey."

Suddenly, reality struck me, and I sat up ramrod straight. I stared straight at the man whose bright eyes calmly looked back at me. I could feel the kelpie's sadness at my reaction through the steady beats that came through his warm back, but I could not relax. Suddenly, all the stories came rushing back into my mind.

The soothsayer's daughter was thrown into a lake and eaten alive. Kelpies are wild and ferocious predators. If you ever encounter one, run and pray for safety for no one can outrun a creature that moves just as quickly on land as in water.

Death at the hands of a kelpie were grotesque. They preferred their food live, so they ate carefully to ensure their prey was alive for as long as possible. People would have to watch in agony as the kelpie ate away at each limb until the kelpie ate their heart or until they bled to death, whichever came first.

"You prefer human flesh."

"Yes," the kelpie admitted slowly, "but those I can converse with are not food."

"But I am your food," I stated confidently, maintaining eye contact with the man on the shore, "the food he brings for you once a year. This year, it's me."

"Then I will wait until next year to eat human flesh. It's not like I can't survive on the fish in this lake," the kelpie stated matter-of-factly.

"Then you can starve," the man said in his same smooth voice, breaking eye contact to look at his horse.

The kelpie didn't respond. He simply trotted over to shore with me on his back and laid down gently on land. With a flick of his beautiful head, he gestured that I should get off.

"Not much meat on you anyways, you wouldn't fill me even if I ate you," the kelpie said to me as though he were trying to reassure me.

I shivered. The water was cold, and it was a bit windy out here, but I knew that the shiver was from fear. We were sent here as food for the kelpie. That was our role.

And I failed to fulfil it, all because I opened my big mouth. If only I hadn't spoken, I could have fulfilled my duty obediently. Although painful, at least then I knew what would happen to me. Now, I had no clue.

The man's eyes glowed for a second and then sighed before asking, "How old are you?"

"T-twelve," I said, cursing myself for stuttering. I already spoke without permission earlier. This was my second mistake in one day. No, I corrected myself, it was my third. I also fainted earlier.

He swore under his breath and turned to walk away. Without any instructions, I didn't move from my position on the kelpie. As he disappeared from sight, I slouched onto the kelpie's back, clinging onto his warmth.

"What's your name?" I asked it weakly. I already made so many mistakes, I may as well satisfy my curiosity if I was to be punished anyways.

Feeling my shiver, the kelpie slid me gently off his back before transforming into a handsome young man and scooping me into his lap and hugging me to try to warm me up. I was too surprised to react. I knew that spirits could change their shape, but I'd never heard of a kelpie taking human form.

"Caelan," he replied, shaking me from my stupor.

I hadn't been hugged since I was seven. All my parents' attention had been on Sophia. I was wet, cold and afraid, and he was warm, dry, and strong. After such a stressful day, my first hug in five years was extremely comforting.

I couldn't help but melt into his arms and cry. He didn't say a word, simply hugging me tighter and petting my head. That was the scene his master walked into when he came out with a towel. I quickly dried my tears and tried to sit up properly, but Caelan held on tight, not letting me go. When the man reached for me, Caelan even bore his teeth at his master and growled.

"Alright, have it your way. She was for you anyways. I always tell you not to play with your food…"

At the word food, Caelan growled and said, "she is not food."

The man clicked his teeth and handed Caelan the towel.

"Whatever she is, she'll be a sick one if she doesn't take a warm bath and dry off properly," the man said, sounding amused.

Caelan lifted me with ease as he stood up and took the towel from his master. He draped it on my body, providing me with some protection against the wind as he trudged past his master and towards the mansion. It was obvious that Caelan was just as familiar with the mansion as he was with his lake because he found the bathroom with no difficulty and lowered me gently into the warm bath.

"Humans bathe without clothes," the man called from outside the door, sounding thoroughly amused, "if you insist on keeping her as a pet, at least figure out how to take care of her."

I felt my face flush at the word "pet." Keeping a human as a pet. That was a novelty to me. I closed my eyes, slipping under the warm water. With my eyes closed, I felt rippled on the surface above me. When I rose for air, I was surprised to find a layer of white bubbles on the surface. The kelpie was still mixing the water to make more.

Seeing my head pop up, he reached into the water and started to try removing the thick traditional Eastern wedding dress. I then understood that the bubbles were to respect my privacy. I quickly helped him to take off the sopping wet dress. Seeing that I was undressing myself, he quickly retracted his hands and sat by the tub.

"What are you called?" he asked.

"Lilia."

"Lily, a beautiful flower, just like you," he smiled.

I didn't correct him.

His master then called for him, and he left and returned with a white fabric object in his hand.

"Humans need clothes," he said sheepishly, raising the white thing to show me.

"And you, how are you dressed?" I asked, with the sudden realisation that he was indeed dressed in a black long-sleeve shirt and black pants. With the sudden realisation that my question may have been inappropriate, I blushed again and quickly apologized.

Caelan simply chuckled and replied, "as long as my hide is in good condition, I will be dressed however I please in human form. The only thing is, my clothes will be the same colour as the hairs on my hide. So I will always be dressed in black."

Seeing that Caelan was not upset, I relaxed. The water was warm, and the day had been extremely exhausting. Having finally relaxed, I drifted to sleep before I knew it.