Nimue

In the silence of the grove, Nimue stripped off the travel-stained clothes she wore, and padded out to the edge of the dark pool in the shade of a heavy willow tree. The grass felt soft and warm between her toes and she wiggled them into the green for a moment before stepping into the pool. The water was deliciously cool, and the sensation made her sigh as goosepimples raised across her skin. It felt good to close her eyes and float after the exhausting day.

She turned and looked at the grove around her, at the green branches of the trees waving in the wind and the soft grass underfoot. The summer sun had warmed the air, and the air felt heavy and still. She laid her head back and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of the forest. She heard the frogs and the birds, and the gentle rustle of branches in the breeze. She heard the hiss of the steam rising from the hot spring, and the quiet gurgle of the water rippling around her. 

As she floated she began to relax, and her mind drifted back to the night before, and the man she had met in the woods. How could she have known that she would meet a man like that? She couldn’t remember any man affecting her the way he had. His grey eyes burned with a depth of... something behind them. Knowledge? Experience? Pain? She couldn't quite be certain. Perhaps a combination of all.

Merlyn. That was his name. Merlyn. The name was spoken in a voice that sounded like it came from the forest around her, but she had no idea how that was possible.

She thought about his grey eyes as she floated slowly around the dark pool. Images of him played through her mind: his eyes, the warmth of his hands on her face, the intensity of their bodies as they ground together. She saw him as he had looked when he had been on top of her, those grey eyes staring down into her own. She shivered as her body tingled, and a pleasant warmth spread through her core.

Nimue’s eyes flew open, and she sat up in the pool. He had told her his name was Merlyn, and then he had simply disappeared into the trees as if he was part of them. She didn't know what had happened, but then again she didn't know how he had gotten there. She had left her home several months before, looking for adventure and something to make her feel alive. She had found him the night before, but the mystery of how he had gotten there was beginning to eat away at her.

She sighed and leaned her head back for another moment. She wanted to sit there forever, but she knew that there was no way she could stay in that grove forever. She had a destiny to fulfill, she knew, but until she had found him she had no idea what that destiny was.

Nimue stood and looked up at the sky. The sun was almost disappearing over the hills, and the light that was left would be her last chance to dry her dress. She shook her hair out and then stepped out of the pool. The grass felt cool underfoot, and she shivered a little but the sun was warm enough to dry her dress in a short time.

She lay down on the grass, exhausted, and fell asleep almost immediately. The sun was warm on her body, and she didn't even feel the soft breeze blowing over her as she slept.

Nimue was not sure how long she slept, nor did she care. As far as she was concerned, she had earned a nap. She looked up and saw that the sun was setting. It was quiet, and the woods were unusually still.

She stood slowly and walked back to the large willow tree, where her pack was sitting on the ground. She pulled out a clean tunic and leggings and slid them on, then pulled her hair into a ponytail, letting the rest of the curls fall down her back.

Nimue walked into the trees, her mind still reeling from the events of the day. She was lost in thought as she walked, and she almost ran into a short older man with a long white beard.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there," Nimue said as she stepped out of the way.

"Quite all right, my dear," the man said in a voice that was so deep it almost seemed to echo. "You must be Nimue. I've been expecting you."

"You have?"

"Yes, of course. No one else would be wandering through the woods on a late summer's night." He smiled, and a twinkle appeared in his eyes. "Not that it's all that late, mind you."

"How..."

"You're wondering how I know your name, aren't you? There are some things that time has not diminished. I know things, Nimue. Many, many things."

"What was that thing I met last night?"

"Merlyn?"

"Yes."

"He's not a thing. He's a person. A legend, as a matter of fact. He's been around for hundreds of years. He's lived for hundreds of years. He's seen everything, and been everywhere."

"But how? How is that possible?"

"Time, Nimue. Time is the only thing that can do all of those things, and even time is only a piece of nature."

The sun disappeared behind dark clouds that had not been there a moment before. Nimue looked up at the sky and saw them. They were dark and threatening, and they were closing in on the grove.

"What is that?" Nimue whispered softly.

"That, my dear, is a storm. Perhaps the worst storm the land has ever seen. Only the Druids know what it will bring."

"Druids?"

"Yes, the Druids. The Druids know these things. They've seen all of the troubles that have come and gone, and they've seen the ones that are yet to pass. They know them, and they know how to protect themselves from them. They know, and they learn from their mistakes. They've learned. They know now."

"And I'm supposed to know these things?"

"Yes, you are. You are destined to be one of us, Nimue. And that storm will be yours to protect the people from."

"Storms? I'm going to lull storms? How can I do that?" The wind picked up, and the sky grew darker. The storm was moving closer, and the Druid’s words echoed in her mind.

"There are storms in the sky right now, Nimue. There are storms, and there are storms. There are storms that the people who live in the valleys below see. They see their effects, they see their results, but they do not see the storms themselves. They are unaware of what lies in the clouds, and of what is gathering in the sky.

"And then there are the storms that the Druids see. They see the ones that affect them, but they also see the ones that do not. They know the storms that come and go, that happen sometimes and the storms that will happen once and never again. The storms that will happen every year, and always at the same time. The storms that will come in once place, but never again. The Druids are prepared for the storms that will be."

“How can I do it? I don’t know how to do those things.”

"You will follow the storm. You will follow it to its end, and you will know right where to be and right when to be there. You will know what to do. For now, you must go back to where you were last night. You must find Merlyn, and you must learn from him."

"Learn what?"

"Everything."

Nimue watched as the sky grew darker and darker. She turned to leave, but the Druid grabbed her arm.

"There is one other thing you must know, Nimue."

"What's that?"

“Merlyn is older than the Druids. He has seen more, he has been more places and done more things than any of us. He has seen this world change, and he has seen the way that people live. He is not like any other man you have ever met, nor will you ever meet any other like him again. He has seen it all, and he can tell you everything you need to know. He knows the future, and he can see the past. He will be your teacher, and you will learn to see the storms that are, and the storms that will be.”