AN:Posted on tumblr for Mythological creatures AU.
Hi guys! So, most of you probably don't know that about me but I'm from Poland and for Mythological creatures AU I've decided to introduce you to something from Slavic folklore. I've written a drabble of Caroline as a rusalka which is a Slavic water spirit/nymph living in streams and lakes.
Undetermined time and place.
Klaus was wandering through the forest, bow in his hand, watching out for the boar he had been tracking since midday.
He heard the rustling of leaves on the ground and then a pearl sound of female's laugh resonating among the trees.
He caught a glimpse of blond sunshine hair but it disappeared as swiftly as it came to his attention.
His interest peaked, he decided to follow the voice and ran in the direction he thought it was coming from. However, each time he felt he was close, the girl slid away from his reach. And then she started to sing, the melody so divine it surged through him, leaving him calm and relaxed. Before he could even realize it, Klaus found himself near the forest stream.
And there she was. A creature so captivating she surely was not out of this world. She was sitting on the rock beside the stream, busy eating raspberries, her lips coloured rouge from the juice.
Klaus approached quietly to hide behind the nearest tree, afraid that the girl would flee as soon as she took notice of his presence. Appreciating her immense beauty, he took her all in. She had a fair skin, almost to the point of being transparent, long, sunny blonde tresses of her hair surrounding her face with the bluest of eyes, her body clad in a long white shift.
"I know you're there, you know," the playful voice interrupted his train of thoughts.
He carefully took a step towards her but she sprang to her feet instantly and gracefully jumped across the stream.
"Who are you?" Klaus inquired, fascinated with the girl.
"That is something for you to find out, hunter." Giggling, she raced along the stream but then turned around to Klaus and teased. "Catch me!"
He chased after her, enchanted by the soft melody of her voice but the moment the distance between them shortened, she would speed up and run out of his reach.
After a while, they reached the small waterfall at the spring of the stream and he spotted the girl sitting at the waterside, dipping her bare feet in the water and smiling brightly at him.
"Have I earned the honour of knowing your name now, my fair lady?" Klaus asked again, surely in a way that was supposed to be humble.
"You may know my name as soon as you tell me yours, hunter," she spoke, eyes gleaming with mischief.
"Niklaus, my lady."
"Niklaus…" The girl sang in response, his name softly rolling off her tongue, the way she accentuated "l" spreading warmth across his body.
"I like it very much," she crooned as she stood up in one swift move, ready to slip away from him once more.
"Wait!" Klaus let out helplessly, prepared to run after her if need be. He was far too intrigued at this moment by this mesmerizing creature, he had never met a girl like her.
"You promised me your name."
"I did no such thing." These were her last words before she jumped into the depths of the stream. Klaus gasped, perplexed and in disbelief of what he had just witnessed.
What happened with the girl? Who was she? What was she?
Echo of her voice reverberated through the trees, his inner speculations coming to an end.
Find me here tomorrow. Maybe then I'll tell you.
Klaus did find her the next day. And the day after that. In fact, over the passing month, he had been spending more and more time with the mysterious beauty, sometimes at cost of fulfilling his duties. He did not mind, though. He could handle his father, put up with his insults and overcome the sear of his whip. Yet, he found he could not last without her. Her presence was illuminating, the sound of her laugh and the pure joy of life surrounding her was intoxicating.
He would come to the waterfall everyday to meet with her. They took long walks across the forest and he would stop every now and then to pick up flowers that she would later plait in her hair, her smile the loveliest reward.
Sometimes, she would be in a teasing mood and make him chase her through the woods, joyous that he put up with her antics, even seemed charmed with them.
And he was. She was an enchantress and he desired to be forever under her spell.
Eventually, she did reveal her name to him. Caroline. That day he felt as if he softened his way into her heart but she was wild and impossible to tame. They spent all this time together but she was always reluctant to disclose anything more about herself.
There was something sad about Caroline as well. On occasion, Klaus could catch a glint of sorrow dimming her bright eyes, a shadow of melancholy in her voice. A long time had passed before he worked up the courage to ask her about it and he regretted it momentarily.
"The time we've spent together was the most wonderful. But I think you should not come back tomorrow," she answered, dropping her gaze and fumbling with her fingers nervously. They were sitting on the rocks near her waterfall, the night almost upon them.
"How can you say that?" Klaus managed to articulate, devastated. He reached out and delicately raised her chin so she would look at him.
"Sweetheart, please, talk to me."
"I've grown so accustomed to you, to us spending days together that I forgot that it cannot last. That you will leave me one day."
"Caroline, I will never leave you," he pledged whole-heartedly.
"You may be sure of it now. Just how I am sure that it is inevitable that you will change your mind. A man's heart is a fickle thing and their affection wavers as leaves in the wind. Men want me for my beauty but in the end, they always stray. You will stray too." As she let out the last sentence, her voice trembling, Caroline stood up and turned to disappear.
Klaus caught up with her, grabbed her by the hand and pulled into his warm embrace.
"Caroline, my wish is to never part ways with you. I promise you, I will only ever be yours," he bored his eyes into hers, palming her cheeks and caressing it gently with his thumb. Unconsciously, she leaned into his touch, desperate to believe him.
"But…" He didn't let her finish.
"Only yours," he vowed and lowered his head, capturing her lips. The kiss started slow, his lips moving languidly against her mouth. It was a sweet torture, kissing Caroline, one he was deprived of so far. Cautious not to scare her away, he gradually deepened the kiss, his tongue darting out to taste her. Soon, their mouth melted together, tongues interlacing in a sensual dance.
Caroline gasped for air and he took a step back, scared he had gone too far but not a moment passed and she was kissing him with all her might, intertwining her fingers through his curls.
"Only mine," she whispered, her lips a breath away from his and then she escaped yet again.
She always runs away from me, he thought as the darkness of the night descended the forest.
Klaus sought her out every day after that night, in vain. Caroline was nowhere to be found.
Weeks have passed while he was spending his days wandering through the woods, calling for her. Then, as he was retiring home one evening, strolling along the stream, his steps heavy, the sound of water splashing broke him out of his gloom thoughts.
What he saw was an ethereal creature rising out of the water, a woman with hair like a halo around her angel face, skin like silver, shimmering with a subtle glow, eyes dark and menacing. She was hauntingly beautiful, her long tresses covering her breasts and the water drops streaming down her bare body reflecting the moonlight.
"Come with me," the creature whispered, luring him closer and Klaus only stopped at the brink of water.
"Take one more step," she said.
"Come to me." Her voice was seductive and Klaus couldn't help himself as he cast a lustful stare her way. Momentarily though, he recalled Caroline's lively smile and the guilt crushed him like a wave. But the woman was relentless with her tempting ways.
"Why do you wander so helplessly? Why your features so filled with gloom? Leave your sorrows, leave the one you cry for so and come, be merry with me."
At that, Klaus neared the water but was able to hold back again at the last moment. Just then, he noticed how the woman's stance wavered as he was close to giving in and saw a glint of something familiar in her eyes. Without thinking, he jumped into the water and powered through the rough tides encompassing the woman's figure.
When he was close, he could see her demeanor visibly shifted to a resigned one, anger simmering under. And now Klaus knew for sure. He locked his arms around her stiffened body and murmured, full of hope.
"Caroline."
She faced him quickly, startled.
"How did you know? How could you recognize me? No one ever did," she whispered, vulnerability of her tone making him curse all the men she had known before him.
"I just know. I see you. I've always seen you." His reply came as he gently tucked a loose curl behind her ear.
She beamed at him, a hint of blue emerging in her eyes. They kissed, hungry for each other, the gentle sounds of night in the woods encompassing them. Caroline bit his lower lip playfully and pressed into his body, sending him a sultry look.
"Will you stay with me?" she asked, still slightly apprehensive about his answer. "You won't be able to come back, you know."
"I do not care for that, Caroline. My happiness is sealed with yours, I cannot be without you anymore." Letting out the words in a strangled voice, Klaus went on to capture her lips in yet another searing kiss, as if he craved to devour her.
As they kissed, the tides of the stream engulfed around them, hiding them from human sight and soon, it was as if they had faded in the depths of the water.
No one had seen the hunter nor the girl since that night. Only from time to time, a passer-by roaming the woods could hear a faint female laugh echoing among the space, and another one of a man, merging blissfully together.
AN: So how did you like it? I know it was something a little different. Share your opinion with me :)
