Captivated x Captured

Ari's mouth gaped, words lost with what he is seeing. If the expression 'cat-got-your-tongue' had a face, Arikyer would have been the perfect model.

Bodies of sybaritic proportions, locks of wavy silky smooth hair dancing in the soft breeze, laughter that echoed sweet melodies; the nymphs were a sight to behold.

They emerged from everywhere and started to congregate in a little pool of forest spring water, walking on their toes as if floating – hovering more like it – above the ground. Their foot almost touching the damp leaves on the woodland, but not quite as much as butterflies fluttering around. Gingerly, one by one they dipped their bodies into the water and played naked and unbothered by the cold breeze of the tropics.

They looked like stunning renaissance paintings come to life, their supple plump skin glowing in the filtered rays of sun that escaped the canopy's loving shade. Ari tried to count how many nymphs there were, one, two, three… seven… ten. He had never seen anything like it.

Nymphs were known to be social beings that possessed eternal youth and were believed to have been nearly extinct due to human's destroying their natural habitats. The spectacular beauties practically breathe harmony with nature and their lives are interconnected with most natural exquisites of the earth. When you destroy the object their life force is connected with, a nymph almost all the time is instantly destroyed along, their existence ceasing as their safe haven gets defiled.

Deforestation, illegal mining, smog, and noise pollution were to blame, to mention some - if not all.

This island must be a sanctuary for the last of the nymphs, Ari deduced.

Humans nowadays believe nymphs as minor deities of nature but they are just Faeys who were entrusted with guarding the earth, over-seeing the growth of every living being. During the times humans and Faey had lived together and Queen Tiana was ruler of all, the nymphs would keep the queen's court company and start merry-making; dancing and singing and doing all sorts of exuberance.

But as lovely and enchanting as they are, nymphs have a tendency to over-exhaust humans when they are too elated during a dance. This was the truth behind the human legend telling fairies dancing in circles of fungus to never ending tunes of a magical wooden flute – they were actually nymphs who were too innocent to understand the human physiology and capacity for enervation.

As Ari was bent down the damp forest floor, focused on the happenings before him, an insect came crawling from beneath the mulch. Sir Arthur who was quietly sitting beside Ari, being the curious cat he is, caught sight of the creeping critter. An uncontrollable urge to stalk and pounce settled in him, his blue and gold eyes locked on the target. Curling one paw and preparing to launch an attack, the cat swiftly pounced and grabbed the tiny bug with its claws.

Little did they know that the crawling insect was in fact a sprite that was emerging from his sweet slumber. Pounced on and nearly killed by a playful cat, the provoked tiny faey flashed miniscule fangs and bit the poor cat on his paws, digging deep and making Sir Arthur shriek in pain as blood gushed from the bite mark.

The nymphs' giggles and laughter died as they heard the noise from where Ari and Sir Arthur were hidden.

"Shit!" Ari silently cursed the blasted cat and prayed for a miracle that he wouldn't ire the ladies.

Nymphs weren't fond of being 'observed' when they take baths. The worst thing they could do was to turn him into a rock and throw him at the bottom of the spring, never to resurface and see the sun shine.

'Arikyer du ali acce, du.' He heard one of the nymphs say in a melodic, almost hypnotic voice.

Did she just speak his name?

Ari stood up – there was no use to hiding now – and saw who spoke to him. She was smiling puckishly, speaking in Silver-tongue; a language dead to the Faeys. She was fairly the tallest of the nymphs, her skin a dark shade of red oak, a contrast to the waves of mint and dark green of her crowning glory. She looked like the embodiment of a grand tree, wise and beautiful through the ages.

Ari felt confused.

Only few of the living First Faeys such as Queen Tiana and a handful of the Faey Courts knows how to speak in Silver-tongue. For an average Faey, it would take decades to learn the language, even Ari struggles with the language to this day and he had been studying for over one century!

'Morgianna, de elfhein luke decadyenta,' another nymph said while taking a scrutinizing up-and-down of Ari – her sky blue eyes almost piercing his soul.

'Sey, de elfhein zu decadyenta, sey.' A third one replied nodding her head in apparent amusement, her golden curls bouncing like hoops.

Ari understood only a handful of the words they said.

'Forward'

'Elfen'

'Decadent'

A chorus of 'Sey' followed and the nymphs started to flock Ari. Sir Arthur hissed at the sudden giggles and fast-paced tip toes of the nymphs, arched his body and dashed towards the opposite direction as fast as he could, his puffed black fur sticking in all directions.

A fourth nymph started to sing in Silver-tongue and they gathered in a circle with Ari at the middle. Not long afterwards the rest hummed and sang, a wooden flute played by a fifth nymph.

Maybe it was the way their voices sounded to him, or the sweetness in their giggles and the sensuous swaying of their curves that froze Ari where he stood. He felt languid, the song gradually turning from a lullaby to a steady crescendo, almost making his heart burst from his ribcage.

Morgianna the tree nymph, he assumed, stepped forward and touched his chest. Ari was cold, but when she trailed her fingertips down towards his abdomen, stomach, down to his happy trail, a wave of hot desire invaded his chest and down below.

He was slowly losing his concentration. Why was he here again? He believes he ought to find someone.

The nymph grabbed his head and Ari's eyes met hers, soft beige with peculiar patterns like that of tree rings. She gazed down on him and suddenly her lips crushed on him. It was forceful, yet oddly satisfying.

There was something wrong with this, his last sliver of consciousness told him.

Morgianna deepened the kiss and Ari drowned in its sweetness.

The women of nature continued their song in a steady rhythm, smiling wickedly at their successful capture.

Tonight, they shall be merry.

Tonight, they shall feast.