Nathan sighed as he ran a hand through his short sandy hair. He had been studying with Egbert to be a great wizard for over a year now. Egbert, he thought, what kind of wizard name is Egbert anyway? He tossed the book to his feet and laid back on the soft pillowing grass. He had learned a great deal in a year, but still nothing of the great magics that would allow him to set out on his own.
He put an arm over his eyes to shelter them from the warm rays overhead. It was early fall and while the nights were cold, causing the turning of the leaves; the days were still quite wonderful. He sighed as he reviewed his situation. Yes, he could cast easy spells now. He could bring about a better crop for a farmer. He could cast simple healing spells: Things most hedge witches were capable of doing. He could feel power in that center within boiling for something more powerful; longing to be cast out into the world. Such simple spells hardly met this need.
The sound of something splashing like a large boulder hitting the small cove of water echoed over the nearby waterfall. Nathan sat up quickly and looked about. The ripples of whatever had hit the water still shimmered out from the middle. He looked towards the falls suspiciously.
The falls were magical if rumors were to be believed. Nathan could not deny that even being here made one somewhat uneasy, nor could he deny that he had found some strange things along the water's edge. Flowers that did not grow in the area, small creatures of unusual natures unknown to both him and Egbert, then there was the color. The waterfall spilled out in the most beautiful purple flow. It was hard to describe to others. It seemed to pulse with life though few things lived in the pool that it spilled into. In fact, there were rarely fish at all and when there were, they were best left be.
There were many rumors about this waterfall, so many that Egbert had decided to build his house here. The townspeople were afraid of the area, and as such avoided the woods around it by a great distance. This suited the old wizard just fine as fewer came calling to bother him in his studies.
Egbert had warned Nathan to stay out of the sands that surrounded the pool unless specifically picking up a new specimen. While the old wizard would not confirm that there was magic from the strange water, he had shared with Nathan that it was better to be safe as he could not explain its color or the strange things that occasionally sprang from it.
Nathan looked about but could see nothing to account for the ripples. He glanced up at the top of the falls. There was a smaller pool up where the water cascaded down. The water came from a cave about a third of the way down the cliff. The smaller pool was fed from water welling out of a hole, as best he could tell, before it fell over the edges to the pool before him.
Nathan sighed and picked up his book once more. A treatise on the every day uses of porcupine spines could not be a more boring tome for such a warm day. However, it was his assigned reading for the day. Egbert liked to take his afternoon nap and would send Nathan off to read so that he was undisturbed.
Nathan was lulled into a sleepy mind-numbed state as the book rambled on about how the boiling of the spines could be used to create a slight numbing water, good for sore throats and easing of minor burns. He had preferred the chapter when they could be shoved into ideal locations like needles to block pain. This chapter could not have been drier than if Egbert had dictated it himself. The sun was warm on his back and more than once his eyes fluttered shut.
One such moment brought him to a start as he dropped the book from his lap as he began to doze. As he pulled it back to him, he got the distinct feeling that he was being watched. Carefully, so as not to alert whoever was close by to his awareness, he glanced up through his unruly bangs.
What he saw made him blink a time or two to ensure he was not dreaming. There, through his strands of hair was a young woman. She was standing on a strip of beach near where the falls fell freely, and more astoundingly, she was naked except for her long dripping hair.
Surely she had not come from the falls, he thought. Yet there she was dripping and naked. He carefully raised his head till their eyes met. She seemed unaware of her vulnerable state as she stared at him with large eyes. The color of her hair, darkened by water, was not discernible. She looked about to turn when he put the book down beside him.
Nathan stood very slowly with his hands out so as not to startle the poor thing. She must have been through some trauma and fallen from the cliff above. The hole where the water coursed through could not have expelled such a beauty. He carefully picked up his cloak off the ground and held it out to her. He did not move as he knew that if she had been traumatized, a male would have been the last one she probably wanted to see.
Slowly she approached him, and Nathan dropped his eyes respectfully. As she had made no effort to hide herself, he had seen no signs of cut or bruising that such a fall might have created. When he saw her feet before him, yet the cloak had not been taken from his hands. He raised his eyes in confusion.
Those eyes brought a gasp from his lips. They were lined in black, despite the water dripping from her hair. The grey depths searched his own eyes curiously. They were soft, dove like… No not dove… he thought. He had seen such eyes before, but he could not place them. Her lips were a warm rose color, and her skin was flawless as she stood only an arm's reach away from him.
Nathan moved and the girl started back a few feet. He held open the cloak. "All is well, child. I mean you know harm," he whispered to the lovely creature. "Here, let me cover you. You must be chilled."
She looked at the cloak then him curiously. Slowly she approached him. She flinched as he swung the cloak about her, those wide eyes watching him much like a doe about to spring back into the forest.
"What is your name?" He asked as he carefully pulled the cloak closed to hide her nakedness. It was more for his sake now more than hers as she did not seem to mind her unclothed state. He had felt himself swell with desire as little had been hidden from his discerning masculine eye.
She touched her lips and opened her mouth. The only sound she made was a strange coughing bark, like one with a bad cold. She touched her throat then her lips and coughed again.
Nathan stepped back, eyeing the young woman. She had not bothered to hold the cloak closed as he had let it go. He forced his eyes to remain on her lovely face. "You cannot speak?" He asked.
She shook her head no and smiled at him. Nathan frowned. Obviously she was ill then. Maybe she had been coming to Egbert for help. "We should get you up to the house. Egbert will know how to help you." He offered her his hand.
The young woman slowly put her small hand in his. They were soft, unlike a farmwife's. He noted the even manicure. A lady of quality than for it was clear she had never done work with that hand. He smiled at her with reassurance. "Come, we will get you some healing and perhaps Egbert has a gown about or can make you one. The gods know he hides much from me." Nathan started for the house. As he went to pull the young woman with him, she pulled back.
She looked down at the sand then the grass that he stood upon. She pulled her hand free and drew a line where the sand ended. She pointed to his side of the line then hers as she shook her head. Nathan frowned.
"You cannot leave the pool?" he asked with surprise. He ran a hand through his hair again then placed both hands on his hips. "I suppose I can fetch Egbert and bring him to you."
The young woman began to make all kinds of motions and frightened sounds, the coughing bark growing worse. She would put her finger to her lips as if saying quiet and point to her and the pool repeatedly.
This was quite astonishing, he thought. A naked young woman falls from the sky. She does not want him to tell Egbert and she will not leave the pool. Maybe the gods had sent him a nymph for the hours of boredom he often suffered. No, there must be some other explanation. Egbert had told him repeatedly if anything seemed to go to be true, then magic was afoot, and bad things were sure to follow.
He put up his hands to calm her. Finally, grabbing her arms covered by the cloak. "Shhh child. Alright. For now I will say nothing. But, I can assure you that this is a secret not long kept. Egbert does come to check the pool for new specimens now and then. He is sure to notice a female lurking about." As he spoke, she threw himself against his chest and hugged him tightly.
Shifting uncomfortably, he stroked her head, some of her hair was beginning to dry now. He could tell that it was some shade of dark rich red. "Shhh it is okay. What to do with you?" He should tell Egbert, that was all there was to it. He took a deep breath. He would tell Egbert tonight he decided.
As she pulled back, she gazed up at him with large eyes and he added. For now, well Egbert was napping so no harm would come from comforting the poor lass for now. He was not sure how her arms ended up around his neck nor how her lips became so close to his as she gazed into his eyes. He blinked not remembering her putting them there. Her young hard body had dampened his own clothing, and he could feel the suppleness of her against him. She could hardly be missing his own arousal at having a naked young woman press herself so closely to him.
Without thinking, Nathan laid his lips on her. She smelled like the ocean on a warm afternoon. The smell of salt, beach flowers and those small wild strawberries filled his senses. Her lips parted, their velvet cushions yielding as a young man's hunger pulled her closer. His hands had done a fair bit of wandering before sense and reason thrust their way into that glorious long kiss.
He thrust her away from him. "I am so sorry, miss. I … don't know what came over me. I …" He flustered at his own lack of restraint.
She put a small finger to his and pulled him down to sit on the sand with her. Having been properly silenced, he did as she bid. When they were both seated, she placed the book back into his hands and tapped it.
"You wish me to read to you?" He thought that a curious request after their passionate kiss just moments before. She nodded excitedly, and he found he could not deny her. "I assure you," he offered as he opened the page. "It is not exactly exciting."
He found his place and began to read aloud. He put a bit of inflection into it now and then, but really it was the most boring piece that Egbert had ever given him. Yet for some reason, she hung on his every word. Motioning him to continue whenever he would grow weary of the task, she sat close by leaning upon him.
It was not until he noticed the long shadows of late afternoon that he jumped up with alarm. "Master Egbert will be angry. I must get back." He looked down at her. "Come with me."
The maiden shook her head. He stared at her with wonder. As he had read, she had threaded wildfires into her rich red hair. It covered her nakedness where the cloak did not.
"Will you be here when I return?" He found himself hopeful that she would somehow stay in this small magical alcove. He breathed out the breath that he had been holding when she nodded. "I will return tomorrow. I will bring some food and I will try to find something more appropriate than that cloak."
He tipped his head, wishing she could speak. "I can't keep calling you child ... not after that kiss." He smiled and she shyly returned it, her eyes soft and warm as they met his own. "I know. Your eyes remind me of a seal's. I will call you Cealsie. Will that sit well with you?" He smiled happily when she nodded avidly.
"Right then. I will see you tomorrow, Cealsie." He gave her one last long look than forced himself to turn away. Egbert was going to kill him.
*********************
True to Nathan's prediction, Egbert had been furious with how much of the day had slipped away. He had taken that irritation out on Nathan well into the night. Nathan had been forced to all sorts of tasks that he knew full well Egbert could see done by magic.
He had chopped firewood well into the late evening. More than once he had felt eyes on him, and so he had taken off his shirt. He was fairly sure the maiden had slipped away from the pool despite her insistence she remain, and was hidden close watching him. He was a strong young man and had no problems putting on quite the show of chopping wood. He did not know if she had been there, but it did make the task a little less tedious to think so.
The next morning, Egbert decided that they must be off to town. Nathan worked hard to excuse himself from this tedious task of going to market. He had promised Cealsie that he would return and a trip to town would mean that they would not be back for many hours. Despite his attempts, Egbert would not be swayed. Forced to carry all the bags of herbs and other strange woodland things that Egbert sold in town, Nathan tried instead of hurrying them along. This also failed.
Nathan had never been so swift in town to see to the tasks that he had been assigned. Usually he would drag his feet, spending as much time as he could in the ale house. He would smile at every blushing young maiden who would dare to give him a glance. Living with a mad old wizard had done a lot to dampen such interludes in the past, but today Nathan was in a hurry to get back.
Their errands were quickly seen to, a fact that seemed to improve Egbert's mood to a reasonable state. He was chatting with an unusual good nature on the different ways that one could change the weather as they headed home. Normally this would have held Nathan's attention but all he could think of is that he was late to bring Cealsie food and a blanket. Would she think he had abandoned her and set off on her own? Would she have disappeared magically back to where ever she had sprang from?
It was out of such thoughts that Nathan was startled as he nearly ran into a wagon in sideways in the road. They were near where the road ran along the ocean's edge. The driftwood of high tides lay close to the road here and once in a great while, the sea even tossed such pieces up on the road itself.
The wagon was full of a family's goods. It stood in the middle of the road, with horses munching on the grass they could reach from the road's edge. As Egbert and Nathan moved about the wagon, they found the body of an older man. His throat had been slashed, but weapon had been used was unclear.
As he had Egbert looked around, it quickly became clear that the wagon had not been robbed. There should be a woman and a child or two based on the contents. Nathan and Egbert spread out, searing farther afield for the rest of the family. Clearly a brigand had set upon them, but where were the rest. Nathan called out in case they were in hiding, and he could hear Egbert doing the same.
As he cast about, Nathan found foot prints in the sand. He called for Egbert who came hurrying over. The salty breeze was slowly covering the tracks with grains of sand, but one could still make out the deep prints of at least two barefoot men, one of a woman or smaller man and two children. Nathan followed the prints down to the water and stared at them in confusion. They seemed to disappear into the small waves that danced in and out along the shore.
Egbert joined him where the water and the tracks met. "Nathan, run home and get my staff. Leave the goods hear and go as fast as you can. I suspect that evil magic is afoot and I cannot cast what I must without my staff. I will ready everything while I wait." The old man's quavering tones were unusually strong and commanding.
Nathan nodded and took off at a run. Finally, he was going to see Egbert do some real magic. It took him nearly an hour to reach the house. He took a couple of drinks from the water bucket and grabbed Egbert's staff. He rushed back out onto the porch, his intent to run back just as hard.
Cealsie stood in the path. Her soft eyes were sad and looked as if she had been crying. Nathan came to a sliding halt, nearly barreling into her.
"Cealsie..." He glanced wildly about. "I… I know I am late. I will be back as soon as I can. I promise. Even if I have to sneak out after Egbert goes to sleep."
She shook her head wildly and pointed to towards the distance where the pool lay. Even from here, the soft song of the waterfall could be heard. She looked at him and held out her hand.
"I can't, Cealsie. I must get this staff to Egbert." He really wanted to go with her, but he knew something horrible had happened to that family.
Her lips began to tremble, and her eyes filled with tears. She pointed to her eyes, then toward the pool, then Nathan.
"You wish to show me something," he guessed. He licked his lips as he considered. Cealsie nodded avidly and took a couple of steps and looked back at him. She still wore his cloak and her small dainty feet showed beneath its length, made for a man and not a smaller woman.
If he ran the whole way back, he could spare a couple quick moments. He sighed and began to follow her. "Okay, just for a moment then I will have to go and return later. Do you understand?"
Cealsie just nodded her head and hurriedly led the way. She did not turn back to look as she quickly led him down the path to the pool and up over the rise that looked over it.
Nathan followed her down, now curious what had the young woman so worked up. She dropped his cloak in the sand as she hurriedly led the way to the waterfall.
Nathan laid Egbert's staff beside the cloak and hurried after her. She slipped behind the falling water, Nathan noted that a few drops still touched her as she disappeared. He paused. He remembered the old wizard's warning about never letting the water touch him. Yet, there was a very excited naked young lady on the other side of it. As if to remind him, she looked out at him curiously.
She did not seem to be harmed by touching it. He considered the water, trying to judge if there were times it fell less over the path Cealsie had taken than others. As if he had been taking too long, Cealsie came out and took his hand and tugged him towards the small opening again.
Nathan frowned than finally let her pull him through. He moved swiftly to let as little water touch him as possible. Though Egbert was an odd old geezer, the wizard had never lied to him.
On the other side, he looked about in surprise. The strange daylight took on the purple of the water. A small alcove was here, just far enough back from the falls to allow a dry hidden alcove. He looked around and realized that it was somewhat furnished. A fresh mat of woven grass was on the floor, covering some other soft material given the raised lumpy nature. There were small tidbits of shells, colored stones and such decorating the small cave.
How long had she been here, he wondered. He looked over to Cealsie who was watching him with the large soft eyes. She looked at him then around the small space as if seeking his approval.
"Yes, it is very nice. No wonder you did not worry about staying here the night," he conceded. "But I must return later. I promise. I will come back to you as swiftly as I can." He had left Egbert alone. He really needed to go.
She nodded in agreement as she moved to him. Her rosy lips pressed gently to hers as her arms snaked about his neck. Her nipples rubbed against his tunic, reminding him that she was a fully grown and quite naked woman. He moaned against her lips than placed his hand upon her slim hips to pull him tightly to her.
He had intended just a kiss. The kiss was intoxicating, heady and it had been so long since he had held a woman that he soon found himself unclothed and panting at her side. When he realized the time that must have passed, he jumped up with concern.
"I have stayed to long. I must, go." He grabbed for his clothing.
Cealsie took his hand, having risen beside him. She tugged him towards the water. When he resisted, she sighed and stepped into the edge of the water as if to show him it would not harm him. When Nathan did not relent, the supple woman approached him again and laid her lips to his.
He groaned and pulled her to him for one last kiss. But each time he would move to pull away, she would claim his lips once more. He knew within minutes that he would have to have her again before he ran to Egbert. How could he resist? The salty freshness of her sweat tasted on his own lips. Step by step, she kissed him till the water fell over his skin.
Nathan blinked in surprise, unsure of how they had come to be in the water. The falls were warm, and he could feel the magic within him well up happily to meet the energetic dance along his skin. His eyes widened in surprise as Cealsie nodded happily.
"Why that old bugger, he has been keeping this all to himself." The falls were wondrous. They fed the magic in his very soul swirling about him. "Well by the gods, he and I are going to have words. He can just wait!" He swept Cealsie to him who gave a barking laugh before his lips claimed her.
As their bodies melded in the water, his footing slipped off the ledge. They swirled about in the eddies of the fall's current as their bodies writhed with young lovers' passions. It was as he opened his mouth to shout out his wonder and release that her lips claimed his with unusual tightness. The water closed over his face as his head tipped back with wonder.
As the passion began to fade, Nathan tried to pull his lips free from hers. They had sank far down and the purple glaze of the sun seemed way off. His lungs burned with the need for air. He attempted to push her off him and found that he could not force her to let go of him. As he breathed his last conscious breath into her lungs, he realized Egbert's warning of things too good to be true.
********************
Egbert arrived at the pool the next day. He looked about with concern, spotting Nathan's cloak. He hurried to it and picked up his staff as he looked around. He spotted the pair of footprints that led off to the falls edge. He followed them and peered into the grotto beyond but did not let the water touch him.
Slowly he turned back, shaking his head sadly. "Ah Nathan, I did try to warn you. Always so impatient, never could wait. You would have been a great wizard one day."
He bent down to retrieve the cloak and noticed a strange lizard in its midst. It was luminous and shimmered of different colors. Its toes glowed with a strange green warmth. Spots of yellow stood out against its nearly translucent skin.
"Well look at you, aren't you an odd fellow," he stared at the lizard and wondered for long moment. "Yes, well we had best be getting you into a cage with the others. I think… I think I shall call you Nathan." Egbert took cloak, staff and lizard and headed back haltingly towards his old house.
A seal in the small pool above watched with large soft eyes as the old wizard carried the little lizard off towards his home. Once he was gone, the small seal turned with a splash and dove down into the small hole that fed the purple falls, disappearing into its dark depths.
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