The Last Flowers Ch 11

~

~*~:~*#S#*~:~*~

Sarielle held Ellowyn's hand as they walked through the woods. Willow and Flora led the way, talking the whole time. The two were obviously close, which was lovely for Willow as she had more of a big sister relationship with the other nymphs. It would be nice for her to have someone more her equal.

"How old is she?" Sarielle whispered.

Ellowyn made a thinking face. "Hmm, I think she's got four winters on Rozenwild, so eleven more than me."

"Is Willow one of her lovers?"

The nymph nodded.

"Are you?"

She giggled. "No, I've slept with both of them, but not often."

Sarielle should have guessed that really. Ellowyn had mentioned the tribe's fondness of orgies and spontaneous unions.

The group drifted towards a dead nymph up ahead. Her girlfriend's grasp tensed and her step faltered. Sarielle couldn't bear to see her get upset again. Ellowyn had already cried so much for her sisters.

She pulled gently on her hand. "Let's keep going, get a head start on the search."

So far they'd concentrated their efforts in the south, maybe because there was more chance of finding someone alive out there. Flora wanted to search to the east of the town, along the gorge where she'd been, but there were areas to the west they'd yet to explore too. That's where Ellowyn suggested they go. None of them wanted to face the possibility the missing nymph had fled north and been cut down by the elhuvens' axe-happy relatives.

Ellowyn was in good spirits and chatted away, unable to contain her excitement over Flora's appearance.

"I do think her and Abelia are a bit of an odd pairing. Abelia's so anxious and uptight and Flora's placid and carefree. Too much so at times. She never gets anything done." She giggled. "Hey! Maybe they'll be good for each other that way."

"I think Flora might be good for everyone. Did you see Hevani? She was smiling when we left. That spiritual thing must have been really therapeutic for her."

Sarielle sometimes forgot that Ellowyn was a creature of the Stygian forest, the otherworldly forbidden lands. She hadn't realised until today just how powerful the dainty nymphs were. She imagined they would be quite an intimidating adversary.

When Ellowyn ran out of things to say she switched to humming. Sarielle had never been into this part of the forest. It was all unfamiliar, but no longer scary.

A note faded in Ellowyn's throat and she cocked her head. She nudged Sarielle, veering to the right. Her steps grew quicker and eventually she broke into a run. Sarielle raced alongside her.

Choked by tears, Ellowyn slowed to a halt. "She's alive." She crushed her in a hug. "Oh, Sae, she's alive."

Sarielle patted her back while she wept. "It's all right." She chuckled. "It's a big relief, isn't it?"

Ellowyn nodded and wiped her eyes.

"Come on then. Finish crying and we'll go meet her."

They walked while Ellowyn got herself together, but her excitement didn't let that happen for long. As soon as she could breathe, she took off.

"Slow down! "Sarielle yelled, trying to keep up. "Should I even be running?"

The nymph zoomed back and circled around her. "It's fine. She won't fall out. Come on!" She pulled Sarielle up a hill and dragged her down the other side into waist deep shrubs. "There she is!"

In a bed of ferns a pale grey tree arched back, bent branches aloft. A sparse dusting of leaves occupied her twigs, and where Sae imagined her ear might be, a single tiny blossom lay open in wait.

Ellowyn looked about to tackle the tree, but slowed and gently wrapped her in a warm hug.

Still panting, Sarielle waded through the ferns. "Who is she?"

"Her name is Laceleaf." She stood back. "This is Sarielle. She's an elhuven. There's a bunch of them." The smile disappeared and she glanced at Sarielle.

"We're one short," Sarielle said flatly.

Ellowyn was clearly disappointed, but trying hard not to show it. "Well, Laceleaf looks okay. She even has a flower out. And we can keep her sustained until one of the younger girls..."

Sarielle made a face. Laceleaf had waited so long already. And she saw how much it tormented Ellowyn to see Amaranth stuck as she was. She blew out a breath. "I have an idea."

***

Sarielle's bare feet made only whispers in the grass. Having watched her target from the tree line, she'd snuck into the village and stalked her from behind her family's shed. On tiptoe, she peered in the window. The woman was emptying potatoes from her basket and had her back to the door.

"Evadne," Sarielle hissed, coming in behind her.

The elhuven jumped and put a hand to her heart. She scowled when she saw who it was. "I'm not allowed speak to sinners."

"No need to speak. Just come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Please?" She grabbed her hand and tugged.

Evadne fought her hold. Sarielle tried to pull her, but ended up wrestling her to the ground, surprising herself with her strength. Or what little seedling had given her more likely.

"Help," Evadne wailed pitifully. Sarielle's weight on her back meant it was weak, but she was never going to get her out of here without someone hearing.

"Shh. I'm not going to hurt you."

"I'm going to tell my father about this."

"Your father no longer scares me." Sarielle undid the girl's apron and ripped the ties off. She used one to gag her and once she'd rolled her over, tied the other around her wrists. "Quickly now, before someone sees."

Evadne obediently got up and walked with her. She went with little protest, though she did give the occasional resistant tug on Sarielle's arm. Every second it took to walk back to the forest was nerve-racking, but they appeared to go unnoticed.

"I want you to meet Ellowyn, the nymph I rescued."

"Buh beenna whorrh," Evadne mumbled through her gag.

"Yep, by being a whore." She led her towards the nymph. "This is Evadne, the girl who hates me because we got caught fucking."

Ellowyn ran over to meet them, all smiles, but it soon turned into a look of horror. "Why is she gagged?"

"She wouldn't shut up." Sarielle untied the fabric and it fell away.

Evadne turned on her. "You're going to burn in hell with all the other immoral whores."

Sarielle rolled her eyes. "See what I mean?" She looked back at her ex-friend. "Hey, Evadne, remember when I stuck my fingers inside you? Remember how good it felt?"

She sneered. "You disgust me."

Sarielle smirked. "Remember how you put yours in me?"

She bunched her mouth up, but didn't say anything else. Sarielle took her arm and led her further into the forest.

Ellowyn pranced alongside them. "You can't bring her here if she doesn't want it!"

"I'm trying to help her. I'll take her back if she wants. I just want to show her what it's like. I respected the other women's choice to stay. But Evadne hasn't made a decision for herself in years. Force is the only language she understands."

She shook her head. "I don't think Willow will like this."

~

~*~:~*#L#*~:~*~

It had been a long time since Laceleaf had felt a sister, so it was a delightful surprise when a perky little blonde bounded over to her with vivacious energy. Laceleaf braced for her exuberant attack, but Ellowyn reined herself in at the last moment and gave her a more respectful embrace. There was something else with her, a mate it must be for the nymph to be in this form. Ellowyn told her it was an elhuven, a hardy sort of creature not usually found around these parts. The two of them debated her predicament without letting Laceleaf know enough for her to make sense of it all.

"I'm going to the town to get someone," Sarielle said.

Ellowyn went to stop her. "But..."

She put her hand on her belly. "Don't worry. If they lock me up you can get the others and break me out."

"Be careful," she sang out as the girl hurried off.

Laceleaf noticed how big her breasts were and realised what they were worried about.

'Oh, Ellowyn! That girl has your seed, doesn't she?'

The news was so marvellous, she didn't hear the first part of what Ellowyn was saying. The nymph sat down and filled her in on the happenings she'd missed. When she'd finished the rushed story, Ellowyn ran off after Sarielle.

Sometime later, they came back bringing a third woman. She was short, with a round face and big brown eyes. Straight, golden blonde hair hung to just past her shoulders and a pink and yellow bauble hung from her right ear. Laceleaf frowned at the bindings on her wrists. She looked to Ellowyn for explanation, but the nymph was very uncertain.

"Evadne, this is Laceleaf. She's one of the nymphs I told you about, the ones who need saving. I thought we could keep her company for a while," Sarielle explained.

The elhuven wasn't impressed. "That's a tree."

Sarielle groaned. "We've been over this."

Ellowyn took a breath and slowly turned into a tree. After a few seconds she changed back, grinning with pride.

"Forbidden creature." Evadne stared at her in wonder, maintaining a starry look about her.

"You are in their woods, so it's not such a surprise, is it?" Sarielle said.

All Evadne had for them was a bitter glare.

Sarielle gave her shoulder a gentle push. "Sit for a minute. I need to talk to Ellowyn."

Evadne plopped onto the ground and Sarielle wrapped cloth around Laceleaf's trunk.

'Why are you tying her to me?'

What in all gardens was going on? Had they just kidnapped this woman?!

"I know you hate me, but please let me help you. I'll take you to meet Amaranth in a minute, and the other girls. Be nice to Laceleaf while we're gone, okay?"

She left with Ellowyn while the new elhuven spluttered all manner of grotesque things.

"You will burn, you slave to temptation. You who suckle from the serpent and lie with a thousand men. You giver of sins, your inner flesh splayed for the taking to demon and man alike."

Laceleaf retracted her flower.

'Good heather! Will someone wash this girl's mouth out with salt?'

The hateful murmurings continued. It was any wonder she could still find things to say. Where had she learned all that?

The whole time she tugged on her bindings, rubbing the cloth back and forth and flaking Laceleaf's delicate bark away.

'Ow, ow! Don't do that. What is wrong with you? You're hurting me.'

Why had they attached this dreadful thing to her?

At last they came back and discovered the damage it was causing. Sarielle reprimanded it and tied it to another tree. Then she came over to pat her.

"Oh, Laceleaf. I'm so sorry. I didn't think she'd be such a brat."

'You're only forgiven because you're germinating.'

"You should send her back." Ellowyn sniffled. "She can't come to the grove spouting crap like that. It would piss Rose off. And that would be very bad."

'Yes, you should. Take it away.'

She stroked Ellowyn's hair. "If we leave her here for a few hours she might calm down."

'Hours! Are you trying to torture me?'

Ellowyn nodded and walked over to Evadne. She knelt by her feet. "It's your choice whether you wish to stay with us or not. We just want you to be happy." She released a puff of invisible pollen to pacify the girl. Not enough to make her moan, just enough to make her stiffen.

'Ellowyn, really. That's not going to warm her up any.'

After they left, she muttered a few things to herself. Then her tone changed and she spoke louder. "Forgive my impure thoughts." Her bent legs parted and Laceleaf could see under her skirt where a damp patch stained her bloomers.

She smirked.

'How's that pureness going now?'

Evadne settled down after that, only giving her the occasional curious glance, before bowing her head, but Laceleaf was still relieved when they came and took her away.

~

~*~:~*#S#*~:~*~

Sarielle felt horrible about what she'd done to Evadne, but she had to, didn't she? Yes, she was horrible now, but at one time Evadne had been special to her. She wanted to save her and she could think of no other way.

"You think what I did was wrong, don't you?" she asked Ellowyn.

The nymph thought about her answer. "We're not like this. If someone's not interested in us, we let them go."

"I'm not making her fuck Amaranth or Laceleaf. I'm only trying to shake her out of the spell she's under. You don't know what they did to her." She wiped a tear from her eye before it could fall. "They made her like that."

They taught her to turn all the confusion inside herself into hate. Maybe it was seeing Evadne begging not only for forgiveness, but for punishment that had made Sarielle more resistant. She'd watched Evadne humiliate herself, turn herself into something pathetic, a lesser being, and it horrified her. She promised herself she was never going to be like that.

Sarielle shook her head. "They've crushed her spirit so much I barely recognise her." She met Ellowyn's eyes. "How could I leave her in that place?"

The nymph was close to tears. "I can't imagine how you possibly could. Let us show her somewhere nicer."

They walked back through the ferns. Evadne was no longer spewing hate, but she didn't look happy.

Ellowyn gasped and let out a whimper. "Look what you've done!" She untied Evadne's wrists and stroked the raw patch where her struggling had rubbed Laceleaf's bark.

Sarielle pulled Evadne away. "How could you hurt her? She's sick." She dragged her to another tree and tied her to that instead. "Stay here and think about what you've done," she said firmly, mimicking the patriarch.

Evadne did at least look remorseful, or that was simply her learned reaction to being told off.

Sarielle felt horrible. What was she turning into? Look what she'd done to Evadne. And now poor Laceleaf must detest the both of them. She'd made such a terrible mess of things.

"I'm sorry, Elle. I didn't know she'd do that."

Ellowyn hugged her. "I know. I wouldn't have let you do it otherwise. I thought she'd be nice like your other friends."

"I don't think Evadne meant to hurt her."

Ellowyn stroked her hair. "Are you thirsty? I'm getting kind of full."

They didn't leave Evadne alone for hours, just for a few minutes while Ellowyn gave Sae a feed. The woman was sitting quietly at the base of her tree when they got back. This time she hadn't worn the bark away. She let Sarielle untie her without fuss and walked beside her, if slightly behind, like a well-trained dog.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"Back to our camp, where we've been staying. We're inviting you to join us. You don't have to stay and you don't have to have sex with anyone. But Evadne..." She stopped so she could look her in the eye. "You can't tell the villagers anything that could bring us harm. If they catch us, they'll lock us up. They'll hurt us. Hevani's father will beat her. Do you understand?"

She swallowed and nodded.

"I'm sorry I was so rough with you, but I wanted to save you from them too, only you wouldn't let me. I didn't know how else to get you here, to show you how happy and free everyone is. If you don't want to stay, that's fine. But stop echoing everything they've told us and make the choice for yourself. Make sure whatever you decide is what

you

want."

She nodded and hung her head. "I'm sorry I hurt your tree friend."

They came over Amaranth's hill and Sarielle paused to show Evadne. "Amaranth meet Evadne."

One of her red flowers blinked twice.

"Look she's saying hello." Sarielle stared at Evadne expectantly.

She looked at her as if she were crazy. "Hello."

Sarielle noticed Ellowyn's frown and sent her a questioning glance. "Something wrong?"

"Laceleaf didn't have her flower out when we came back."

"What does that mean?"

"We use our flowers to attract. If she put hers away..." She glanced at Evadne. "I don't think she's a good match for her anyway. Amaranth would be much better. If I had to choose someone, it would be Flora. She's so gentle and compassionate."

There wasn't much they could do about that. Abelia had already freed her. There were only two nymphs left.

They left Amaranth to continue to the campsite. Hevani saw them coming down the hill and started jumping up and down.

"Evadne!" She ran over and hugged the girl. "It's nice to see you."

The rest of the elhuvens huddled around.

Kerensa squeezed her arm. "I'm glad you decided to join us."

"I haven't joined you," she spat.

That made them back off.

"She's come to see what it's like so she can decide if she wants to stay," Sarielle explained.

Having not heard her earlier hostility, Willow wandered over and wrapped her arms around Evadne. The elhuven tore violently from her grasp. Rozenwild crept over, a stern look on her face. Ellowyn caught her by the shoulder.

"Easy, Rose."

Willow composed herself. "That was my fault. I shouldn't have assumed she was comfortable with affection. I forget what these girls have been through."

Sarielle made a show of winding the apron ties around her hand and Evadne returned to her compliant state.

"We have something else to tell you," Ellowyn said eagerly. "We found the last nymph!"

A chorus of delighted exclamations echoed the group.

"Who is it?" Dendelyn asked.

"Laceleaf."

The reaction wasn't as happy as Sarielle expected. The nymphs smiled and shared some joy, but it faded quickly. At first she thought maybe they didn't like Laceleaf very much, but she realised that wasn't it. The last survivor could have been a number of nymphs and now they knew for certain who they'd never see again.

"Will you not you take us to her?" Willow asked.

Ellowyn glanced at Evadne. "Why yes."

Willow noticed her fidgeting. "After we've shown our new guest around, that is."

That put the attention back on Evadne and it was clear she didn't like it. She eyed the nymphs warily.

"They won't hurt you." Sarielle pointed to each of the nymphs. "This is Willow, Rozenwild, Dendelyn, and Flora."

The nymphs said quiet hellos, but kept their distance. Sarielle gently took her hand and was surprised by Evadne curling her fingers to strengthen the hold. Together, the elhuvens took her around the orchard and the lovely garden the nymphs had created.

"We can make a new garden together, Evadne," Dendelyn said, coming forward with a bud in her hand. The tiger lily opened up in her palm as she offered it to her. "What's your favourite flower?"

Evadne recoiled at the display, eyes glued to the enchanted flower. The nymph's expression started to falter, so Sarielle took the flower and hooked it behind Evadne's ear.

"Kerensa said you all spend a lot of time in your vegetable gardens. We can make one of those for you to enjoy."

"I hate gardening. It's a chore."

Dendelyn looked offended. Sarielle gave her a pitying look and steered Evadne over to the fire. Flora sat down opposite them and smiled.

"She's not wearing anything under that skirt," Evadne hissed.

"None of them are," Abelia replied.

"Only whores don't wear underwear and the gods don't smile upon whores."

"Half of us aren't either," Kerensa pointed out.

Evadne set her face hard and added attitude to her voice. "That's because you're—"

Sarielle elbowed her in the ribs. "Stop it. Be nice or I'll take your back to your father and you can repent on the floor for so long you get to pray in a puddle of your own pee again."

Evadne glared at a spot on the ground and bunched her lips. It wasn't a memory either of them was going to forget anytime soon. "They want what's best for us, and for the village. We deserved that punishment for our sins, to prevent us from continuing down a path to whoredom."

Sarielle sighed. "No, we didn't, Evadne. I wish you'd see that."

She sneered. "So I can be like you? Living like hobgoblins in the middle of a forest, sleeping on the ground and debasing yourselves with plant witches?"