Kawaii-Cherri: I think that's a new record for quickest review! I am not complaining in any way. I'm hoping my concept is interesting enough to keep people around and not too far out the left field. I'm all for a sunshine farmer and a gloomy boy, which he is. Always. Also... yes. I'm not going to lie, Abigail doesn't come off well in this and I'm not going to apologise for it. This fiction will fail the Bechdel test. It's all about boy chat. Enjoy!

Chapter two: Discovery

With a yelp, Elspeth opened the hatch to the chicken hutch. The birds came out frantically, clucking and flapping their wings. Elspeth nearly had a heart attack but held her ground as she tried to look at the animals with love. 'Okay, okay, keep your flapping to a minimum,' she said as she tried to gingerly step around the flock of hens towards the duck hutch. For some reason, ducks were more tolerable compared to chickens though she still didn't like to get too close. She freed the ducks and plastered herself against the fence as they happily waddled out towards the pond. Elspeth leaned back over the fence and picked up the bucket of feed and began to scatter it far away from herself. She had picked up the eggs the day before and so she only had a brief look around the pens. Although she wasn't comfortable with the birds, she didn't mind if there were a couple hatchlings around. 'Yummy, yummy, yummy, here's some food for your tummies!' She sang happily as the birds pecked at a distance. Yoba, I hope I get used to these silly things soon, she thought as she watched the birds. Elspeth appreciated that they were cute and essentially harmless; as much as any domesticated creature was, but there was just something about how chaotic and frantic birds were that scared the crap out of her.

Once her chores were done, she gathered everything she needed for a day's fishing. Elspeth wasn't great at fishing but she was improving every time. Carrying her rods over her shoulder, she took the back road towards the mountain lake. The sun was only just rising and the air was crisp and fresh. Elspeth inhaled deeply and smiled, today is going to be a good fucking day! She thought happily to herself. Before becoming to town, Elspeth had her own dreams of being on stage. Singing was her passion; she had spent years and years training. It wasn't that she had given up on her dreams of performing, it was just that it had taken a back seat for a little while. Her sister, Kiora had made Elspeth promise to not sacrifice her own desires to preserve memories. Elspeth had decided that she could do both; she could set up a successful business with the land their grandfather had given them and later, she could perform. Her singing career didn't have to be fruitful or lucrative, especially if the farm was earning good income.

As she walked she began to sing. Beautiful songs that her mother used to sing to them; they were both comforting and melancholy. It didn't take long to get to the lake and set up, her rod lines dangling into the water. She had learned from Willy that excessive noise or shadows would hinder and scare fish, so she made sure that she was far back from the bank and as quiet as possible. Elspeth was her own worst enemy as she couldn't help but hum to herself as she waited for the fish to take the bait. As per Willy's advice, she had scattered a little bait on the surface to encourage feeding. There was rustling nearby and she lifted her head from where she had been watching the lake surface. 'Ah, Linus, good morning,' she said in a loud whisper.

The older man appeared from the brush and grinned largely at her. 'Ah, Elspeth. The ray of sunshine on my day. How are you this morning, my dear?' He asks as he comes closer. Linus had spotted her setup and so he knew to be quiet. 'How is the fishing? Any bites?'

Elspeth looked in her cooler. 'I've caught a couple of trout. They're not bad. A meal for one as it were. I'm after a larger catch though as Robin wants to cook for the family. I don't really want to give her a lot of work to do with smaller fishies,' she said, honestly. Linus praised her skill and sat next to her, offering her some of the berries that he had been foraging. 'No thanks, I'm not a massive fan,' Elspeth admitted. She didn't really like any berries, not even strawberries. Vegetables were preferred though there were times when she craved an orange.

Linus didn't take offense at her refusal; Elspeth had helped him over the year, especially when he lost his basket and struggled for a couple of days without it. She had found it and given it back. They sat in the slightly cool breeze and Linus looked over at Elspeth, dressed in jeans and a short sleeve top. 'Are you going to be warm enough, my dear?' He was used to the weather but didn't want her to be uncomfortable.

She looked down at herself, 'hmm?' Elspeth said in questioning before realising. 'Oh, yes. I'm fine. I'm sitting on a hoodie, should I get cold, I'll just pull it on,' she assures. A rod twitches and they both still before it ceases and they relax again.

'Tell me, my dear. Have you heard of legendary fish?' He asks as he looks at the water.

'What? No! There are legendary fish? What do you mean? As in, fish that are abnormal or like… magical?' Elspeth asked, curiously and her eyes lit up with excitement. She almost bobbed with joy and Linus raised his hands and pressed a finger to his lips to calm her down. Elspeth winced and nodded as she forced herself to be quiet.

Once he was sure that she was settled he began to tell her about the special fish of the town. 'Rumours say that there are five in total. There's one that's said to reside here in this lake. Simply called, the Legend. The king of all fish! They say he can't be caught!' Linus said with a flourish of his hands. Elspeth hung on every word and her eyes were wide. 'There's a chance he's in the weeds right now, watching us,' he says as he turns her attention to the water once more.

'Wow,' Elspeth said in a hushed wonder. 'I wonder what it would be like to catch it,' she said to herself.

Linus smiles and stands up, 'good fishing, my dear,' he said to her softly.

Elspeth clicked her fingers and reached down into her cooler. 'Oh, Linus. Please, take one of the fish. It'll make a good dinner,' she said as she held it up. It was already prepped for eating and she didn't want it to go to waste. She had planned on eating the other for her evening meal. He tried to refuse but Elspeth didn't relent and was only satisfied when he had wrapped the fish and put it into his basket. 'See you later, Linus,' she said to him as he smiled at her. Elspeth liked Linus, he was a gentle soul, enjoying nature and the simple life. She always had time for him.

She waved as he left and was left to ponder with her thoughts about the legendary fish. If I could catch one of those… I wonder if I could get an aquarium. Or put it in one of my ponds. Perhaps I could breed them! She thought to herself as she became lost in thought. Her twitching line brought her back to reality and she grabbed the rod, jerking it back and setting the hook. 'Oh, Yoba!' She swore as she felt the pull. 'Oh, you're a big bastard aren't you?' She grunted as she leaned back to gain resistance. It took about fifteen minutes but she managed to land the large trout. It was the perfect size for Robin and her family. 'Fuck yeah!' She said while breathing heavily. Elspeth grinned to herself. 'Sorry, fishy, but you're going to be dinner tonight,' she said, proud. It was the biggest fish she had ever caught. 'Oooh, Robin is going to be happy with you,' she grinned.

After dealing with the fish, Elspeth began to pack up. While she enjoyed fishing, catching her quarry early meant that she could take the rest of the day easy and perhaps complete some home improvements that she had been trying to find time to do. She dismantled one rod and the began to wind in the other line. Annoyingly, it seemed to be caught and Elspeth rolled her eyes. 'Oh, Yoba. You're sent to test me,' she mutters as she begins to pull off her shoes and socks. The mountain lake was clear of rubbish and litter and she intended to keep it that way. The option of cutting the line wasn't going to be a possibility. Elspeth rolled her jeans up past her knees and she gingerly stepped into the water, following the line as it went into deeper water.

'Ugh, looks like I'm going to get wet,' she mutters. With a skilled arm, she threw her phone onto her hoodie and checks her other pockets. Clothes would dry eventually but electronics were a different matter. Once Elspeth knew she was in the all clear, she began to carefully step into the deeper water. The mud and clay slid between her toes and made her stomach roll. 'That's disgusting,' she moans as she continues to walk, feeling the small, smooth pebbles and water plants around her feet. Occasionally, she pulled on the line but it felt truly stuck, as if wedged in wood or between rocks. With a sigh, Elspeth pulled her hair into a messy bun and dove into the water, following the line. It was dark but she could see enough to spot that the bobber and hook had indeed gotten wedged in a fallen branch. Small fish scattered as she came close and thanks to all her years of training, her breath retention was high. Elspeth wasn't concerned about running out of oxygen, once she had worked the hook free it would only be couple of seconds to the surface with a good push from the bottom of the lake.

Come on, you little bugger, she thought as she fiddled with the rotting wood and the smooth metal hook. A flick of motion caught her eye and she paused to look just further on from the branch. There was a fin, larger than anything she had seen before. Dark in colour and it had marks of bioluminescent down the outside edge. The Legend! Elspeth thought in excitement. Just catching sight of it made her heart race. Slowly, she reached out with a hand, wanting to simply touch the creature. Just one side of the tail fin was longer than her entire arm, that's insane, she thought as she got closer. I didn't think there could be anything that large in this lake- her thoughts were cut off as she touched the tail. It jerked quickly away from her and within a second, she was surrounded by a cloud of bubbles as it swam away into the darker, deeper waters.

Elspeth blinked and floated for a moment, looking at her hand. There was a strange residue on her fingers and her skin felt tingly. Looking around, there was no sign of it at all but she was sure that she had seen and touched something. The ache in her chest reminded her of her current dilemma and she returned to the hook, freeing it from the branch and winding up the line as she swam back to shallower water. She burst from the lake, scaring the life out of Demetrius who had come out for a walk and spotted her things left by the water bank.

'Ahhh!' He yelped, a hand on his chest.

She grinned at him sheepishly and brushed her wet fringe out her face. 'Yoba, I'm sorry, Demetrius. My line was caught and I didn't want to cut the hook free,' she explains holding up the coil of line as evidence.

He breathed heavily and held out a hand to help her from the water. 'At least you're safe,' he said as he looked her over. 'I saw your things and thought the worst to be honest. I was just about to go get Marlon to help me look for you,' he added. Elspeth began to repack her things and dismantle the tricky rod. She didn't care that she was dripping wet, she would dry when she got home.

'Sorry, I didn't think I was under for that long. I mean, I probably wouldn't have been but I saw this really strange fish-'

'Strange fish?' He repeated. Demetrius' tone was strained and Elspeth flicked her hair (that had fallen out) over her shoulder as she straightened up to look at him.

'Yeah,' she said tilting her head. 'Linus was telling me about the legendary fish that lives here and when I was down there I saw this massive fin. A tail fin. It was longer than my arm! And that was only half of it! Imagine the size of this thing!' Elspeth babbled in joy. 'When I touched it-'

'You touched it!' Demetrius repeated, his voice full of panic.

'Uh… yeah?' Elspeth said, feeling a ball of concern grow in her chest. 'With this hand. It felt like it left some kind of residue and honestly, my fingers are all tingly,' she admitted as she looked at her palm. When she looked back over at Demetrius, his face was pale and he looked fearful.

Without warning and care that she was soaked, he reached forward and grabbed her by the wrist. 'You need to come to my lab, right now!' He said as he gave her no option but to follow or lose her arm.

'Demetrius!' Elspeth complained but he wasn't hearing it and frog-marched her down the small trail until they reached his house.

'Don't touch anything with that hand,' he commanded.

'My stuff-!'

'It will be fine,' he said bluntly as he opened the door and dragged her inside. He led her to his lab room and sat her down as he frantically searched for something in his drawers. 'Is it beginning to hurt?' He asked as he found what he was looking for.

Elspeth raised a brow and shook her head, 'what? No. It's just a little tingly. Like… pins and needles almost,' she said, trying to explain. Demetrius pulled on a glove and grabbed her wrist as his gloved hand began to apply some sort of salve to her palm and fingers.

He wore an expression of concentration and to Elspeth's confusion, it looked like it was mixed with anger. 'Does it feel any better or worse?' He asked her as he let go of her wrist and peeled off the glove.

She paused as she took a moment to register the feeling in her fingers. 'Just feels kinda numb,' she revealed to him.

Demetrius nodded. 'Good,' he said in a heavy exhale and sat down on the stool opposite her. 'I'm sorry, Elspeth. That must have been very frightening. That wasn't my intention,' he said, apologising. 'It's just that there's… a fish in these waters that has a very toxic secretion,' he explained. 'It's incredibly rare and can be fatal if touched.' He reached over and grabbed a torch. 'I just want to check your pupils. If it lingers on the skin too long then it can be absorbed into your blood stream and then you can become ill,' he said as he lit the torch. Elspeth sat still while he waved the light to and from her eyes, watching her dilation. Satisfied that she was going to be okay, he exhales heavily. 'Looks like you're amazingly lucky, Elspeth,' he said, relieved.

'Wow, seems like I really brushed past death today, huh?' She said looking at her fingers.

He nodded and smiled at her bitterly. 'Try not to go grabbing any more random fish unless you definitely know what it is, alright?' Demetrius laughed, lightly and a little forced.

'Of course, thanks Demetrius,' she said as she stood up. 'I'm sorry, I've left quite a patch of water-'

'Don't worry about it, it'll dry,' he assures. She went to leave and a thought hit him. 'Oh, if it's okay with you, Elspeth. I would like a blood sample. I have some of the toxin stored for research and I can determine its toxicity to you, if you wouldn't mind. To avoid this sort of thing in the future,' he explains.

Elspeth nods. 'Sure, I'll come back later this afternoon once I've gotten changed and bring the fish that Robin asked for as well.' Demetrius agrees on a time and watches her leave. His heart had finally settled on a steady rate and the previous panic and dread he had felt before had started to finally dwindle.

As he began to clear up, he sensed a presence near his door. 'Sebastian,' he said, coldly and indifferent. His step-son entered the lab, his hands in his pockets and hair covering half his face. Before Sebastian could say anything, Demetrius strode past him and shut the lab door so that they wouldn't be overheard. Demetrius looked at the young man, noticing his hunched posture and reluctance to look at him. 'You were almost caught!' Demetrius hissed.

Sebastian's head bowed even lower. 'I know…' he whispered, scolded.

'You could have killed her!'

Boom. Story concept. I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review.

Be well. Stay safe.