The heat was beginning to wade, and the sun was making its way slowly to the other side of the world as if its own heat effected it to move as sluggishly as I was.
It was my first day of my journey through the forest and I was quite honestly already sick of it. Before I left I was warned several times of the so-called dangers I would be facing. Yet I was nearly fifteen hours in and saw absolutely no sign of this danger.
The only dangers I should be worried about are the possibilities that I would kill the entire forest with my stench. I have been unable to find a water source to bathe in.
As I made my way between the trees
I began to sing a pirate song to stifle the boredom.
"Well up spoke the captain of our gallant ship, and a fine spoken man was he
'This fishy mermaid has warned me of our doom. We shall sink to the bottom of the sea'
Well up spoke the mate of our gallant ship, and a dashing young man was he
He says 'I have a wife in Brooklyn by the sea and tonight a widow she will be'
Well up spoke the boatswain of our gallant ship and the spawn of the devil was he
He says 'Man the capstan round, boys, haul on the lines. You'll work right to the bottom of-'"
A sound stopped me in my tracks.
"Pearl..."
I froze. This wasn't possible. I whipped my head around, but couldn't find the source of my name.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward; it must be the wind.
"Darling, come here..." My breath hitched. A whisper seemed to weave through the trees infectiously dividing and repeating the same words over.
"Come here Pearl..."
Laughter rang through the forest. Not an evil laughter, but one of a woman.
A woman that was my dead mother.
I ran through the trees trying to get as far as I could from the sound but it seemed to surround me. I was beginning to lose my breath, gasping for air.
"Pearl, you can't escape..."
"No!" I screamed, tears beginning to form and spill over and onto my cheeks. "Please! No!" The wind stung against my eyes as I pushed on, furthering myself into the forest.
And then I heard it faintly, the rush of a river.
I followed the sound still running, my hair flowing, now loose from its tie.
Finally I reached the river and jumped in, the whispers fading in the distance as the current pulled me under, my head hitting the bottom of the river making lose consciousness.
I awoke facing the sky and coughing up water, my clothes torn and soiled from the muddy river bottom.
The moon was up and the were stars winking at me, but something was off. I slowly sat up, propping myself on my elbows. I looked around until I met a pair of eyes extremely close to my own.
"You're awake."
"By God!" I yelled, toppling backwards in surprise.
"No need to have a stroke, sweetheart." The voice belonged to a lean, and very wet man. His hair was dark blonde, disheveled and dripping, yet he had a mischevious glint in his eyes that seemed to set a fire in him.
My eyes grew wide as I realized what he was.
"Uh oh," He said, smiling. "Seems like you, missy, have caught on. Quite the smart one are you?"
He then leaned over, his arms entrapping me to the ground and whispered into my ear. "Don't worry, I have no intention of seducing you until you drown."
Suddenly filled with rage I put my head on his chest and pushed hard until I was sitting up.
"Well lucky me then, hm? Maybe I wanted to drown! What business is it of yours, Nix?" I replied fervently.
"Darling, sweet love, take a moment before you do something..." He leaned in once again and annunciated each syllable in a low tone, "Unthinkable."
I leaned back and tilted my chin up proudly, "I would never do something so rash!"
He tilted his head and smiled once more, my heart fluttered. "Rash? Rash like turning the Prince of Esla into a frog?"
My cheeks turned red and I spoke quietly with urgence. "How do you know that? No one but the Royal Court knows."
His eyes darted to the forest, only a few feet away from the river bank. They suddenly changed from light grey to an empty abyss of black. He looked back to me, "Hush, Pearl."
I looked at him about to argue then realized he was not the type of man, or Nix I suppose, to trick me. He then reached the water, and skimmed it with his hand. The water that was rushing a moment ago had become serene. The Nix once again looked at me and nodded towards the water.
I nodded back, then slowly slipped back into the water until only my eyes were showing. He handed me a small orb that I put to my mouth, allowing me to breathe underwater, and I fully went under.
It felt as if I had been watching fish go by for an eternity until he came back. I rose above the water as he gave me his hand to help me out.
"Thank you," I tried to hand him back the orb but he shook his head.
"Keep it, you may need it soon."
I furrowed my eyebrows then looked straight into his eyes.
They were gold.
"Ah, so you can see the color in my eyes, can you? I knew it!"
"Knew what?"
"Only people who have some kind of power within them can see the color change. Your bloodline obviously consists of extremely strong power, that's the only you could possibly identify me so easily."
I looked down then nodded. "Right then, so how is it exactly that you know who I am?"
He leaned down once again until he stared my straight in the eyes. "Pearl, I have been waiting for you to chance upon me since I was born."
I met his stare, "Well if you have such a need for me, then I believe you should tell me what went on not too long ago".
He chuckled, "Of course, these lips can only be sealed and unsealed by you, Pearl".
"Well I demand you unseal them."
"Good, but on one condition only," his eyes burned brighter as he finished his sentence, whispering, "You'll have to owe me a kiss".
I looked away from him and out onto the water. I met his eyes once more, determined. "Consider it done."
He broke into a grin, the beauty of his face grew stronger and the river began to flow rapidly once again.
"Good, now I can tell you that I found the Prince."