Her skin had already regained its healthy grey tint and when I called out to her, she turned over on her leaf with a radiant smile. [The water is nice! Come and play with me!]

For the umpteenth time, I found myself wondering if the dark fae was an idiot.

Couldn't she see, this was all just a ploy to get my scales?

However, I was the true fool.

So focused was I on the dark fae, that I failed to notice how close the Nymph had gotten, until something squishy pressed against my scales.

[Do you not like my gift?] The Nymph asked, her face flushed with a vibrant rosy hue and her bright ruby eyes shining.

She wasn't speaking, but my attention was drawn towards her plump rosy lips that seemed to move according to the words.

Was I charmed or was I simply attracted to her?

«You're being charmed.» Sensei scolded. «Snap out of it.»

Okay…that was a relief.

I shifted away from her, eager to put some distance between us as I thought of ways to get out of this particular rosy problem.

[It's...not a bad gift.] I nervously laughed.

[Hmm, then why won't you get in?] The Nymph humorously mused.

Wherever I moved, she followed, continuing to drape herself against me. It was like she was playing an evil game of cat and mouse. Her fingers trailed along the lowered spines of my scales with interest, and as I stared into Nymph's mischievous eyes, I realised I'd been played.

She must've long realised I had lied and created a stream in the forest, with the intent of trapping me somehow. And now she was waiting to see how I would react. How crafty!

I could easily raise my stingers to skewer through her body, in particular, her head that was resting against my scales. But If I did that, all chances of friendship with her would be gone. And I wasn't sure I could get out of this forest alive after that.

Anyway, since she had taken the time to set all of this up, it would be rude not to participate.

[Aren't you forgetting something important though?] I asked. [Where's the rainbow fish?]

Fortunately or unfortunately, I still remembered all the details of my stupid lie.

The Nymph looked up at the mention of fish, gesturing to one of the spirits in the water to fetch something. Meanwhile, I panicked because she looked extremely pleased with herself.

Don't tell me rainbow fish actually exist?

[It took a long time to find.] She spoke. [But I'm sure this is what you meant.]

She held up something huge, slimy, and covered in brightly coloured scales. It was not a fish, but a huge frog-like creature with a bloated stomach that dwarfed her size. It croaked loudly and as it struggled to be free of her grip, and I felt myself twitch.

She looked comical, holding up such a large frog in her hands. And I struggled to hold in my laughter.

[So? What do you think?] The Nymph asked. [Did I find the right fish?]

At this point I was trying very hard to keep a straight face, but Sensei on the other hand let out a dry chuckle, perhaps at the hilarious Nymph or at my misery.

[It's the right colour, but that's not a fish.] I replied.

[It's not?] The Nymph exclaimed in shock, just as the creature wiggled out of her hands, jumping right back in the water before she could catch it, and this left the Nymph looking rather disappointed.

With her catch on the loose, the Nymph ordered the spirits to catch it and soon the water was filled with turmoil as the many spirits all raced after the creature. The dark fae's leaf got upturned in the process and she fell into the water, causing her to sputter for air.

Serves her right!

I took the opportunity to distance myself once more from the Nymph, but unfortunately, her sharp eyes noticed my subtle movements. She pressed against my scales even more, cornering me between the back of the large tree and the raised seat.

With both of her arms outstretched, and I found myself unable to look elsewhere aside from her bewitching eyes.

[Does it matter what type of creature it is?] The Nymph argued. [Its 'rainbow' coloured and swims in water. You should still be able to shed.]

I screamed internally, the effect of her charm all the more obvious now.

I could feel my temperature rising up and my body wilting under the pressure of her gaze.

"Help." I sobbed, but Sensei wasn't helping much. At all.

«You brought this on yourself.» He said. «Just tell her the truth.»

"But…"

An ungodly squeal came out of me as something tickled my underbelly. Part of her long hair had draped down to settle in bundles around my body, and the water dripping off them was especially sensitive to my feverish skin.

[What are you doing?!] I cried out.

The Nymph moved even closer until she was right against my face, making it impossible to look away. [Admit you lied, serpent. Do you know how hard it was to find that creature? We searched everywhere – I've never had to work that hard!]

Hahh. She sounded really upset.

[Alright. I admit I lied. It was wrong of me to try to trick you.]

I couldn't stand the pressure anymore and I confessed, just so she would stop using her charm on me.

The Nymph drew back to give me a once over, and I quickly felt the effect of her charm reduce.

I flopped to the ground, feeling as if my stamina had been drained to zero.

What a horrible skill!

[I thought you would never admit it.] The Nymph huffed triumphantly, leaving me to wilt like a leaf as she dipped her toes into the stream.

I slithered over to the water's edge to see the Nymph's kiss, and after realising the sapling had grown to cover a quarter of my horn, I solemnly swore to never lie again.

The chip in my horn still hadn't regenerated and I cursed Sensei's blasted penalty.

How much longer did I have to suffer?

[What news do you have of my kin?] The Nymph asked with a cheery smile.

Ah, yes. Her little quest.

[I haven't gone yet.] I admitted. [You didn't give me any directions and I don't know which way to go.]

The nymph raised a single brow, before pointing to the drenched dark fae who had been rescued by one of the spirits. [Didn't she tell you where to find them?]

I scowled at the dark fae. Was she supposed to?

In her defence, there had been too much going on and perhaps she got distracted, what with being eaten and nearly dying.

I explained as much to the Nymph whose face paled in shock.

[She likely forgot.] I covered for her. [She can barely remember to use her magic to defend herself.]

The Nymph stared at the dark fae who was busy having a water fight with the spirits. [She revealed her powers to you? She must trust you quite well then.]

I gave her a nervous laugh - It's not like she willingly did it.

[But why can't she control it properly?] I asked tentatively. [It's almost like she's afraid of her own magic.]

[Dark fairies are very rare amongst her kind.] The nymph explained. [That's because most of them die quite young. I welcome them here because they are shunned everywhere else because of their dangerous, and sometimes unpredictable magic.

[By the time she came here, she was already afraid of hurting others with her magic so she unconsciously blocked herself from not using them – which is why it is so difficult for her to control.]

I already guessed as much, but it was nice to hear it from her directly. [So you're basically each other's family.]

[Family?] The Nymph asked.

[Like you are with the rest of the spirits.] I explained. [You've adopted her, so you're linked to each other.]

The Nymph was thoughtful. [You could say so. The tree spirits are children born from my saplings, and those children also grow up to produce more saplings, and the cycle continues, as long as the forest is calm and the creatures are plentiful.]

Oh, that was interesting.

That meant whenever a creature was infected, whichever tree infected them would have a child.

So in the grand scheme of things, the forest of spirits was actually all of her grandchildren.

[Is the one you are trying to reach, also one of your saplings?] I asked.

It made sense from what she described, although it didn't explain how this sapling had gotten so far away from her.

The Nymph's delicate brows creased as she nodded, before going on to tell the tale of herself as a rebellious young Veladrys who charmed a mortal, and the spirit that was born from their union, back when she was not yet a Nymph.

Hearing this made me blush, apparently it wasn't always the case for Veladrys to reproduce using saplings.

In the event of an elf or mortal wandering into their forest, sometimes the result of such a union was normally a mix of both creatures.

As a child they were more mortal than spirit and shared a tree with their parent, until they were old enough to choose a tree for themselves.

In this case she ended up having a rather rebellious daughter who picked out a tree as far away from her mother as possible, to form her own forest.

Unable to keep her near, the Nymph reluctantly agreed to let her go, but they always used the fae's they rescued to exchange messages across the divide. It was such a tear jerking story that I felt sympathetic towards her.

Well...aside from the poor mortal who likely became fertilizer so that this tale could occur.