The nymph
Mark had lived his entire childhood dreaming of nymphs. He heard about these mystical creatures from his grandfather and ever since, all he could think about were those gorgeous creatures of the lakes around the Aeru Valley. It was no secret that nymph were easily enticed to fall in love, and Mark was determined from a young age that he would meet one and make her his bride.
His parents thought it was preposterous of course, they scolded him on how he would shirk his studies and friends to do nothing but watch the river out by their house, endlessly daydreaming of his beauty in waiting. It was Mark's poor old grandpa who got the edge of the stick, though. Mark's parents got angry at him filling Mark's head with such whimsy.
"Yes, there are faeries!" They said.
"Yes, we know there are nymphs out there.."
"but we will not have our son giving up his whole life in the useless pursuit of a creature he will never find!...Dad you have to stop giving him such false hope... What would people think if they knew our son was constantly dreaming of the day he can marry a..... fishwoman."
Fishwoman indeed...Gramps got no sympathy from mom and dad...he had wasted his whole life in pursuit of the nymphs and by the time he was older, he had given up and settled down with grandma. He would tell me all the time about how he "almost had her" and I would listen for hours upon hours of his stories about these beautiful creatures.
Oh, yeah it is me... Mark Despro, I can't stand 3rd person narrators, so I'll be telling the story from here on out. I'm roughly 25 now and in a predicament id never have expected when I was 10. See, mom and dad tried to force Grampa's stories out of my head, but I wouldn't have it. on my 18th birthday I left home, bought a small boat, and began my search for my life mate. I wouldn't listen to my parents shunning anymore. I had done my studies, made a life for myself, and had my own life now. There was nothing they could say anymore and on that first day on the Aeru river, my dreams were never so close to reality. Nor were they so doomed to fail.
I set sail on the sixth day of my 18th year, and for 4 months, I searched endlessly. It is a long river I tell you, leading out into the sea, but I knew better than to look there for nymphs. They're frightfully shy and tend to avoid the dangers of the deep sea as opposed to the shallow river ways. There was no way I could fail if I stayed on the mainstream river ways; after all, the boats today are much more durable and easy to maintain than those in Gramps' day. I heard he didn't have much more than sticks and rope.
Well by the fourth month my hope was as strong as ever and I was ever vigilant looking for my calling. I stayed close to the boarder from the river to the sea because I knew that was where the fish come in after spawning season and those gorgeous nymphs would be hungry. I caught many a fish to eat, and even more to use as bait. I scoured every fishing spot waiting to see if one would catch a nymph for me to release, but in 3 more months, nothing happened. I knew they existed, but it seemed more and more like myth as time went on. The faeries of the woodlands close to the riverbed loved to play tricks on me at night, casting shadows onto the water and keeping me alert throughout the night believing I was close to one of those green goddesses.
It wasn't for another year before the storm hit. That's right, I was on this wild goose chase for about 19 months before things got interesting, just sit and listen. The rainy season came and my little tugboat turned out not to be as sturdy as Gramps' pile of sticks. The storm raged across all of Aeru, but the front blowing in from the sea was the origin. I was hit hardest. As the water flooded my tiny boat I worked my cliche bucket to bail myself out as fast as I could, I was soaking and the lightning seemed to be getting closer. I looked over and I swear I saw her... the most gorgeous being I could have hoped for. Her luscious blue eyes hid the fear she felt in the storm. She was fleeing away form the spot I was just sailing in. I swear, the brave little thing she was in the deep part of the sea. I couldn't believe all my dreams were coming true. there was no way the faeries were tricking me this time. It was about that time that lightning struck the tree closest to the river bed as I was trying to hit land and I was thrown out to the river and washed into the sea when the tree hit my boat. In a blink, my shy maiden was lost to me.
I woke up about a day and a half later on the opposite end of Aeru, towards the wetlands, but still completely oblivious to my surroundings. I stumbled around a little before I got my bearings and figured I must have been washed too far away from the village to signal for help. I would have to find my own way home. I am no slouch, you see. I tore off the left arm of my ripped shirt and moved on. No sooner had I taken my first step than I heard a large snap behind me. I whipped around in time to see the silhouette of a damp tail fleeing into the marsh and tall grass. My beloved... She saved me, she followed me, my nymph. I took off after her. The shy little devil ran even further, diving into the water only to hop right out and disappear into the woods of the riverbed, I only got a couple glimpses, but that form and body, I knew it was her. I chased her into the forest like woodlands of Aeru. I knew it would not be long before she would seek out water again so I threw off my torn shoes to follow her, knowing id be back in the water in no time. What do I know.
After 4 days I had almost lost hope. She must have disappeared back to the water by now. there is no way shes still in the woods. For 4 days I tracked my nymph through this same 3 mile area. back to the woods and back to the marsh, the faeries were scarce lately I assumed they had finished their fun with me, but it only meant my nymph was real. Come morning the 5th day I headed back to the marsh to take one final look. I waited for 5 hours by the river and looked out, hoping to see my beloved waiting for me, wanting so badly for my search to be over. Not from exhaustion, but for sheer want of my beautiful bride to be. The smile on grandpa's face, disproving my parents. All that I had dreamed since I was little becoming a reality and then I heard it.
The faintest little giggle reached my ear and I turned, seeing a little rustle in the grassy marsh... I wasn't letting it get away again. I dove and pounced my love, landing carefully to embrace the warm soft skin of my darling nymph I had waited so long to find. I lay there a good few minutes, out of breath form days of exhausting chase, dehydrated from hours of staring into nothing and finally, after a young man's lifetime of searching for my beloved, I was finally looking into the luscious purple eyes of my blue skinned beauty...
As I looked down in what can only be described as pure confusion, I gazed into the eyes of what was...not my nymph. I was met with another giggle and a long, long, LONG, tongue curled about in a soft kiss on my cheek. The gorgeous naked reptile that I was so sure was my beautiful amphibian was holding onto me as tightly as I was to her, still having not let go since my initial shock. I knew what I had done, and I had done it alright. I had attracted a basilisk.
The basilisk only smiled and pulled me close. It was another one of Gramps' old stories. The basilisk is attracted to stamina...and I had just chased one for almost 5 days. I was hers. I thought to myself, about everything I had seen...It was the basilisk that was taking a refreshing swim in the storm that night, they are pretty confident. It was her that I had chased into the woods. It was her eating all the faeries and it was her I had found in the marsh. Folks, I know it's fickle, but it isn't the smartest idea to chase a girl for 5 days only to say "Sorry, thought you were something else." I don't care WHAT her species is... and before I knew it, we were mating. It was the most intense experience of my life...
Oh...you're waiting for me to laborate...well, good luck with that one...
I have known the touch of a woman, and then the touch of a basilisk, and to be honest, I am now only satisfied with the latter. I wont say that I gave up my search that day, for in truth, I had found what I was looking for. My basilisk is still with me and loves me deeply, we've bonded over these last 2 years and I don't think ill be taking any trips to sea anytime soon.