Saving His Nymph Mate

Chapter 3- Him

Candace Wood ran through the woods. She felt stupid. Her feet barely touched the ground as she silently ran through the trees. The only sign of her there, was a small breeze that shook the green leaves. She stopped and stared at the direction she came.

Candace again chastised herself for being dumb. How could she be so reckless? Her mother warned her about listening to music. She had stopped at the creek for a drink, too occupied listening to her music that she didn’t realize someone had snuck up. Not just someone, a werewolf. She felt the earth tell her of his approach and the breeze testified who it was. At a swift command, the trees shook to distract him while she ran. Her mother taught her better, not to be seen, not to tell.

Only her people and forest life knew about her. And even the nymphs who love to gossip, dance, and entice men were better at hiding than her. And she was the Queen and should set the example for their secrecy. Every time man found out about their existence; it never ended well. The nymphs looked like humans if they chose to, to tempt man. But she could not while in the forest. She had a strong connection to the woods. Only on the asphalt could she look like everyone else.

“Ugh,” she twirled in frustration. How could she be so dumb? She took the headphones off and threw them to the ground; she heard the rustling of the trees.

“Stop laughing at me. I know I made a mistake.” Candace twisted to look at the birds, who began immediately gossiping about the situation. “Now don’t you get started. You always make it sound worse than it is.’’

She stopped and let them continue to chit-chat. She was annoyed and going to ignore them until her face blushed.

“No! I don’t like him.” She grimaced with disgust and said, “I could never love a werewolf.”

The chattering continued until she got angry. “Enough!”

The birds stopped chattering at her command. Candace walked away towards her house. Once out of sight, she heard the birds begin anew with their gossiping. There was nothing else to do.

Candace was nearing the trail that led back to her house when a green nymph appeared at her side.

“Candace? You spoke to a werewolf?” Her shock shone through her expression.

“No Beth.” Candace rolled her eyes, gossiping birds. Beth was Candace’s best friend and a tree nymph, which is why she didn’t care for formality. Looking over at Beth, she noticed the nymph looked older. Despite her being several hundreds of years older than Candace, they looked to be the same age.

“But I heard it from the birds that landed on my tree. They were all excited about it. A werewolf saw you and he pounced on you.” Her eyes grew enormous with excitement and anticipation.

Gossiping birds was all Candace could think.

“No, Beth.” she stated again.

Beth grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop. With hands on her hips, she looked at Candace straight on. Her green eyes were waiting for an explanation. Candace looked again at her dark brown hair that held several braids, entertained with leaves. Her green form was slender, like her tree she grew from, with arms embellished with brown bracelets made from tree roots. Her dark green dress swayed as she bounced foot to foot, waiting for an answer.

Meeting her gaze, she said, “a werewolf saw me. But we didn’t talk. I never even turned around.”

“You typically aren’t that careless. What were you doing to be caught so unaware? You ought to have been cautious.” Beth's proper grammar came out when she got animated.

“I know, I know.” She rubbed her hands down her face in frustration. “I was listening to music and not paying attention.” For the hundredth time, Candace chastised herself for being reckless.

She raised her eyebrows and gave Candace a patronizing look. “Hmm, I do believe I remember your mother warning you against that.”

“Yes, yes, I know.” She waved her arms and kept walking.

“Candace.” Beth reached for her arm again, turning her towards Beth, who had gigantic eyes. “I have new gossip.”

“What?” Candace tried to sound nonchalant, but couldn’t deny that she enjoyed listening to the forest gossip.

“A wolf pack walked by my tree today and they were making the most interesting plans. They were discussing where the clans were going to meet. Do you know why they do?” Again, her eyes went wide with excitement.

Candace shook her head. She knew every several years they met. Never did she care enough to know why.

“To find their one true love!” Beth squealed. Candace considered Beth for a moment. For a spirit hundreds of years old, she acted like a teenager, which was probably why Candace felt comfortable with her, since she was only eighteen. She knew that nymphs were notorious for their love of romance.

“Yes, and so what?” Candace continued walking.

Beth let out a huff. “Don’t you think it would be cool to see what happens?”

Candace knew what she really was asking. Nymphs couldn’t stray far from their designated places. They couldn’t afford to leave their trees unprotected because that was their life source. But they could leave for a time if the queen gave them permission and gave them a small portion of her own life source to sustain them as they leave their area.

“You cannot go, Beth. It’s too dangerous. There would be so many wolves. How would you hide? You wouldn’t have your tree near you to call yourself to it.” Candace slowed her steps as she neared the opening of the forest close to her home.

“My Lady, please.” She grabbed both of Candace’s hands. “Besides, if you accompany me, then you can hide me. I could be tethered to your life source for awhile.”

Candace widened her eyes and said, “you want me to go too?”

“Well, of course! Come too? Please. Can’t keep me hangin’.”

Candace looked at her friend curiously while asking, “'Can’t keep me hangin’? And where did you learn that?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Some teenagers camped out here.”

Candace nodded and remembered hearing about those campers before she calmly said, “I won’t go.”

“Please Candace, you are the most chill out of all the queens of the past. Bless their souls.”

Candace tilted her head at her use of the modern language. She didn’t know if being the most chill was good or bad. Thinking of her mother, she hoped she wasn’t a disappointment.

Beth spoke, “just once! Just to see what it’s like. It’s hard knowing things are happening, and I can’t experience any of them.”

Until now, Candace didn’t realize how hard it would be to be a nymph. They were stuck in one area of the forest.

Candace’s sympathy grew. “Fine, we can go. But you will do as I say, and we will keep ourselves hidden. Above all, we will keep this between us.”

Beth nodded and smiled. She lunged towards Candace and hugged her.

Candace continued her walk toward her father’s house, sighing as she did, wondering if she was about to make another careless mistake.

**********

“Please don’t patronize me. Dad, mother left all the time.”

“Yes, but I don’t remember her doing it as often as you do.” He helped pile the dishes into the dishwasher.

She turned her blue eyes up at him, pleading with her father. “This one won’t be as long. Just one week.”

“You took off for two weeks, and just got home less than a week ago. Why? What are you trying to find?” His voice rose with curiosity and annoyance. “Even though you have responsibilities to the forest, you still have to live in this human world.”

Candace stared at her dad.

“As much as the forest?! Do you understand who I am? Do you not understand how much of the forest relies on me?” Saying those words, she felt her anxiety rise at the weight of her responsibilities.

Sternly, her father, Tyler Wood, spoke. “Do not think me ignorant, Candace. I stood by your mother’s side as she upheld these responsibilities longer than you have been alive. I am trying to teach you to have balance. You are a human being as much as you are a nymph. You have responsibilities here. Have you even looked at these college offers? Have you even thought about what you will do this fall?”

Candace quickly glanced at the stacks of papers on the counter. She had several letters from colleges she hadn’t even opened. She didn’t even know if she was accepted or not. The only reason she even applied was because her high school advisor took her into her room twice a week to complete college applications and scholarships. Mrs. Sanders was determined to have Candace not miss any deadlines. She never knew why the woman was adamant about her future. They laughed and talked, but Candace never felt like she was someone special. She never had great grades or was the star athlete.

Remembering her mother, always telling her that even though the world may never know her true value; she was a princess destined to become queen. And in the eyes of life outside the cobblestones and bricks, she felt her value. She felt her mother’s words about her individual worth coming true. Despite what society saw of her, she was much more than sports and grades; she was a queen.

“... you will figure it out once you get there.”

Candace quickly turned towards her father, trying to disguise the fact her thoughts once again made her fade from reality. However, the moment her father looked at her, she knew he had caught her.

“I know you didn’t listen to me, Candace.”

A sheepish smile crossed her face as she grabbed her braid to fiddle with the brown strands of hair. “I’m sorry. It’s just I don’t know what I want to do. I don’t want to spend money on my education when I don’t even know what to do.” She glanced again at the stack of letters.

He huffed, “you got to do something.”

“I am. I am heading out for a week into the woods.” Candace grinned when her father threw up his hands and walked away.

Feeling guilty that she was being difficult. She walked closer to her father and said, “dad.”

He stopped and turned around. “What?”

She picked at the edge of the counter where it was chipping. “I’ll make you a deal.” She looked up at him. “I’ll start thinking about the college offers while I'm gone.”

He walked back into the kitchen. “Why are you so determined to go back into the forest? What if I tell you I don’t want you to go?”

Panic rose inside her chest. She felt the pull of the forest call to her even now as they spoke. She loved how she felt alive and important. Most of all, deep down, she knew she was searching.

She said, “dad, please. I need to go. There is this pull there. Something is happening inside.”

Her dad tilted his head and got closer to her, “you’re searching. What are you searching for?”

Candace leaned against the marble countertops and began playing with the hem of her blue basketball t-shirt while also crossing her black tennis. Something happened in the forest to her when she was by the stream. A warmth flooded her, and she wanted to go find that feeling again.

“I don’t know. There is something missing. I feel like there is something I need to find. It’s like there is a hole, and to fill it is out there.”

The forest had also been talking to her about a disturbance in it. She had been searching for days about what the disturbance could be, but had yet to find it. “There’s a powerful pull and I can’t help but want to know why. I need this week, and then I promise to sit down, and we can talk college.”

“Sometimes the best way to find what’s hidden is to have the patience to allow it to be revealed to you.” He walked towards Candace and embraced her before saying, “you are so much like your mother.”

Candace sucked in a breath as guilt and grief enveloped her. Despite it being almost three years ago, she still felt the blame for her death. It was her fault that her father became a widower and lost his pragma, his enduring love. A nymph only fell in love once and it was with their pragma. A love that, despite time and distance, always drew two people together, it was a deep connection that endured forever. It was her that tore that away from him. And now he was without his love and she without a mother. Tears threatened her eyes as the guilt continued to take over her.

Softly, Tyler Wood spoke, “One week, be safe. I love you, kiddo.”

She tightened her grip around him. He smelled of pine trees that would always remind her of home. His big arms wrapped around her, promising protection and love. With her frame of five-eight, Candace was still enveloped in his embrace. She couldn’t see any man taking away this connection between daughter and father. One more breath in before she stepped back and grabbed her bag.

As he handed her the stack of letters, he said, “Candace, you promised to think about it.” She took the letters and placed them in her camo-colored backpack.

“Okay, I love you.”

She walked out the door and towards the cafe, two blocks down at the corner of Hillberry Street. As she walked, she placed her headphones on and hummed to music. Further ahead she saw the cafe parking lot filled with cars and a ram blue pickup pull in. A couple of minutes later, she arrived at the cafe and took out her headphones. As she neared the door, a warm sensation filled her. Her heart picked up speed and her body tingled. With her hand on the door handle, she hesitated, wondering what she was feeling.

“Are you going in?”

Candace turned towards the voice behind and quickly smiled. “Yeah, sorry.” She opened the door and allowed the stranger in before she walked in herself. The sensation got stronger. Candace worked to ignore it as she went to the register.

The teenage boy she had gone to school with spoke, “Ah Candace, I got your order.” He pushed a smoothie cup towards her. “Your usual.”

Lightheaded, she mumbled a thank you as she grabbed the smoothie, distracted by what was happening. She turned to face the cafe, wondering what was causing her to feel like a blanket of warmth and love was around her, promising protection. Her eyes scanned the room and stopped on one individual. The world froze and seemed to align itself with a tall, dark-haired man seated at a booth near the door. Her heart stopped as she watched him look down in concentration. In the starkest realization, she knew that man was her pragma.

Her drink slipped from her hands, splattering on the ground. Horrified at what happened, she looked back at the man. Her mind seemed to snap back with clarity. That man was her pragma. How could she deal with something like this right now? She already felt the pressure of the college letters in her backpack and the mounting stress of the forest. Despite how her body tingled, she needed to leave. Her heart picked up pace and her mind became muddled again when he looked up at her. His strong features looked confused then, as if he himself was then enveloped in the same trance she was in.

This can’t happen to her. The forest called to her, providing her with clarity and space to process.

Looking at the smoothie splattered on the ground, she looked at the cashier, watching the whole thing. “I’m… I’m sorry.”

She pushed the door open and sprinted out towards the one place she felt the most secure. As she sprinted, she heard his fast approaching footsteps.