I collapsed to the ground, exhausted and racked with pain. For three days and three nights, I had been running without pause. On the horizon behind me, a pillar of smoke wafted up into the heavens, letting the world know that the city of Troy had been destroyed. On that fateful night, the armies of Greece had broken through our mighty walls and set the city ablaze.
While my body was as dry as sand from thirst and blood loss, I couldn't help but cry in misery and agony. It was only last season that my family celebrated my twentieth birthday, I had reached the league of manhood, but I was unable to protect my parents or my siblings.
I remembered waking up to the sound of our front door being smashed in as the soldiers broke into the city. My father and brother were killed without mercy and I was stabbed in the side, a near fatal blow. I remembered falling to the floor, unable to stand or move as blood poured from my wound. Like savages, the soldiers took turns violating my sisters and my mother in front of me before killing them all and leaving me for dead.
With the fires of the burning buildings illuminating the dark night and smoke tearing at my throat, I staggered out of my home and fled the city, running past the horrors of the soldiers slaughtering my fellow Trojans. I was supposed to be a soldier of Troy, a valiant warrior that ignored all injuries and fought to death for my city and its citizens. But not once had I thought to put on my armor or even lift up a sword. Not once did I think to go into battle to fight for Troy and all the people within its crumbling walls. I just ran, ran like a coward.
Ignoring my burning thirst, the blood oozing from my side, and the rough ground slashing my feet after my sandals broke and fell away, I ran beneath the searing heat of the sun during the day and the pearled scythe-like moon at night, unaware of my surroundings and lacking the knowledge of why I was running at all.
Now I was here, sprawled out on the ground of a forest and unable to take another step, with my only relief coming from the cool night air and soil beneath me leaching away the intense heat burning within my aching body. I was more tired and in more pain than ever in my life, but the only relief I desired was the relief of death. My family was dead and my home was destroyed, what was the point of living? Now I could only hope the ferryman Charon would pity my poor soul and bring me across the river Styx without payment.
As I prayed to the gods for a quick death, the sound of footsteps reached my ears. They were so soft on the forest floor that I wasn't sure if it was truly a person or an animal. All I knew was that I was not alone.
"Please don't help me. Please, just leave me here to die." I murmured with my voice raspy.
The stranger crouched down and placed their hand on my cheek. From just that small touch, I knew it was a woman. She had the softest skin I had ever felt and the tender care that seemed to radiate from her palm and fingers eased my pain and calmed my shaking muscles. The woman leaned forward and her long soft hair brushed against my skin, making me shiver. As her face approached mine, I desperately wished I had the strength to open my eyes and see her face before my death.
"It is not time for you to leave this world, you still have a life to live." She whispered softly in my ear, speaking with the most beautiful voice that had ever blessed my ears.
She wrapped her arms around me and gently rolled me over with my head on her lap. I strained to open my eyes, just to get the slightest glimpse of her. All I saw was a green and blue glow and the silhouette of her long hair. She pressed her fingers against my lips and poured water into my mouth from her cupped palm, quenching my burning thirst. The water that ran down my throat felt like liquid crystal that was as cold as the sea in winter, cooling my aching body and calming the fires of agony within me.
"Sleep, sweet soul. Let your mind and body rest and heal so that you may continue to enjoy the bliss of life." She cooed, brushing her soft hands against my face as my mind fell into warm darkness.
My eyes slowly opened and I gave a soft sigh. My whole body felt like it was bathing in warm wine, and while I was so exhausted that I couldn't move, I did feel more rested than before I fell asleep. I looked around, having only the strength to move my eyes.
I was lying at the base of a tree on a bed of moss, as soft as pillow and covered in a sheet of some mysterious material that was as smooth and flexible of water, but did not feel like it was made of animal skin or a woven material. I was wrapped in a blanket of the same material, and while it was quite thin, it held in more warmth than a thick wool quilt.
Up above me, the branches of the tree were bent down towards the ground and interlaced, forming a tightly knit canopy of wood and leaves, thorough enough to keep even the most persistent rain from leaking through. The canopy was so extensive that it formed two walls with the tree as the third, creating a small egg-shaped bedchamber, almost like an animal den.
It was still night, but the forest seemed different from any forest I had ever seen before. Every tree and leaf seemed to have the faintest of auras, while the stars and moon glowed brighter than ever before. The air was filled with fireflies, further illuminating the forest and constantly moving around the lush fruit that hung from every tree. About twenty paces away was a babbling brook, giving off the soothing sound of water on rock. This place was a true Eden.
My body wasn't so much exhausted now as it was peacefully tired, and every ounce of pain that had racked me before was now gone. While the night air was cool, it was in no way chilly and uncomfortable. The bed of moss I was lying on was incredibly warm and soft, and with the blanket over me, it felt like I was wrapped up in my own bed.
My eyes widened as a figure of light came into view, walking through the shallow brook. The figure approached and the light around them became dimmer and more focused, letting their features be distinguished. It was the woman from before, the woman who had saved me, and she was far more beautiful than I could have possibly imagined.
Her skin was a light greenish-turquoise shade, while her long hair was of a much deeper and more bluish hue. Her eyes glowed like the stars above us and the smile upon her soft lips was more beautiful than a sunrise in Troy. She had the face of a goddess, with features that were illuminated seemingly by the light of the heavens. Her body was quite shapely, with a narrow waist but large round breasts and full hips. She was wearing a dress of the same material as the sheet I was laying on, but it was covering her body so that her smooth thighs and slim belly were exposed, letting me see the tribal-style tattoos on her body.
She stepped out of the creek and walked towards me, with the plants glowing brightly around her with each step of her bare feet. I held my breath as she crouched down beside me with her tender smile, completely hypnotized by her beauty. She placed her soft hand on my cheek and I couldn't help but shiver from her touch.
"You are safe, weary traveler. I am Serenity, the forest nymph, and this is my paradise. Rest and recover without worry or fear." She said sweetly.
Her voice washed over me like warm rain. I tried to respond, but I was too tired to even use my voice. After running for three days without food or rest, my body was still half-dead from exhaustion. Serenity's smile brightened and she stood up, grasping on of the fruits hanging above and plucking it from the branch. She crouched back down and sank her teeth into the fruit. I watched her smooth cheeks contract and inflate as she sucked the juices from the fleshy orb. With her mouth full, she relinquished the fruit and crouched over me.
My heart fluttered as she slowly leaned down and pressed her lips against mine. This was the first time I had ever kissed a woman, and the experience was better than I could have possibly imagined. Her lips were softer than rose petals and were as warm as sunlight after a chilly night. With our lips connected, she transferred the fruit juice from her mouth and into mine. It was the sweetest nectar that I had ever sampled, and the second it touched my tongue, I could feel an addiction to it forming.
Once I had drank it all, she ended the kiss and sucked more juice from the fruit, then resumed transferring it to me. She did this several times with several more fruits, draining them of all liquid and then giving them to me with a soft kiss. Through her efforts, my thirst was quenched, my hunger was removed, my body was resupplied with the nutrients that it had been deprived of, and I gained enough strength to speak.
"What is your name?" The nymph whispered.
"Felix." I said softly, making her smile.
Serenity then moved over to my side and gently lifted the blanket and my bloody tunic to examine my injury. I jerked and writhed in pain from the fabric touching my wound, which had gone all the way through me and nearly tore my organs. While the twin wounds had clotted and were no longer bleeding, the skin around them and the wounds themselves were dark from infection. I would be lucky to last a week before rotting from the inside out.
"Why do the gods despise me so? Everything in my life is ripped away in one fell swoop, but the sweet embrace of death will only come in exchange for time and agony..." I cursed with tears falling from my eyes.
"The gods do not despise you, they took pity on you by letting us meet. Do not despair when your life is far from forfeited." Serenity murmured.
I turned to her and saw tears rolling down her cheeks like liquid pearls. She held her face over my wound and let her tears fall onto the infected flesh. I jerked as a mix of pleasure and pain surged from the wound, partnered by the sound of hot metal being dipped in water. Serenity's tears pelted my wound, curing my infection and mending my flesh all the way through. The intense sensations that filled my body were slowly snuffed out and I became limp, drained of what little energy I had.
Serenity moved up on top of me and placed her hands on my cheeks.
