To Love a Naiad

Chapter One 

Tam grunted as a man rushing past him elbowed him in the stomach, causing Tam to drop his bag of supplies. The contents spilled out onto the cobblestone street in the middle of the busy night markets. The man who had bumped into him didn’t even glance back, just kept on walking as Tam dropped to his knees, grabbing the items and shoving them into his bag.

Lords, ladies, sorcerers, farmers, thieves, and peasants continued to move around him, stepping over him and his supplies, not even glancing at him or offering to help.

Tam shook his head in disgust as he got to his feet. But that’s what you get from people in the capital city of Areth. He couldn’t wait to get out of this city and back to his solitary cabin on the coast. Hefting his bag of supplies onto his shoulder, Tam grimaced and continued through the markets.

Ducking his head, Tam made his way past a store selling animals. The smell of them, unwashed in the cages, assaulted him. Tam grimaced at the sight of the malnourished creatures locked in their too-small enclosures. It made him sick to see them treated so poorly.

He’d almost passed the stall when a low moan caught his attention. He turned and saw a man slumped inside a cage. Tam stopped abruptly.

A woman behind him bumped into him. “Bloody fishermen,” she muttered and shoved past him.

“Sorry,” Tam mumbled, but his eyes stayed locked on the man in a cage.

He stared at the man slumped against the bars. Dirty pants drooped off gaunt hips. He wore no shirt, revealing a too-thin torso and protruding ribs. Pity caused Tam’s chest to tighten. No one should ever be in such a state.

Disgusted, Tam looked around. Who would treat someone like this? A tall, thin man stood about two metres away, casually leaning against a kennel of half-starved dogs, watching Tam calmly.

Tam cleared his throat. “That man shouldn’t be in a cage. Slavery is illegal.”

As Tam straightened, the vendor arched a thin brow at him before slowly approaching. His gaze travelled over Tam appraisingly. He smirked, clearly finding Tam’s worn fisherman clothing severely lacking.

“You are quite right, sir,” the vendor began, his voice dripping with condescension on the word sir. “Human slavery is illegal. But that is not a human. I can see how one would reach that inaccurate conclusion. To the untrained eye, I suppose it could pass for a human.” Reaching through the bars, the vendor grabbed a handful of long dark hair. In one fluid motion, he jerked the man’s head back. Tam’s hands clenched at the rough treatment, but the man remained unconscious, eyes closed.

The vendor continued, “But this is no human. This is a naiad. A water nymph. A creature of lakes, rivers, and seas. Perhaps you have heard of them? The blue skin makes it obvious, although I guess it is difficult to see its skin under all that dirt,” the vendor said with a sneer. “There aren’t any laws about selling naiads.”

Looking closely, Tam saw that his skin was indeed blue. It surprised him that he hadn’t noticed it straight away. But then again, the market was dark this late at night and all the naiads he had ever seen before had had pale-green skin and curly green dark hair.

The vendor let go of the naiad’s hair. His head dropped forward and banged against the bars. Finally, the naiad’s eyes blinked slowly open.

“It used to belong to a lady in one of those palaces.” The vendor gestured up the hill. Tam only half listened. Instead, he gazed into dark and unfocused eyes staring blankly up at him through the cage bars.

As a fisherman, Tam had often seen naiads in the ocean. It always brightened his day when he came across them swimming through the waves. They appeared so happy and carefree. Not like this poor naiad.

All alone, sick, and separated from anyone who had ever cared for him. As Tam gazed into the naiad’s blue eyes, he felt a desire to protect him. To get him away from this wretched place.

“The lady had it chained in the garden,” the vendor said. “Ladies like pretty things. Then the naiad got sick. Stopped eating. Stopped looking so pretty. She sent it back this morning. Her Ladyship didn’t even ask for a refund. Probably just didn’t want to watch it die.” The vendor banged his hand on the top of the cage, and the naiad flinched away from the sound.

Tam’s jaw clenched against a rising tide of hatred for this man.

“It probably won’t survive the week. I originally sold it for three golden crowns. Couldn’t even get one silver for it now.”

“I’ll give you one silver,” Tam said quickly. The vendor blinked at him in surprise. “And don’t try to up the price. It’s all I got.” Tam wasn’t entirely certain what he was doing. But he couldn’t allow the naiad to die in that cage with only this horrid man to witness his death.

The vendor stared at Tam for several seconds, then smirked.

“I suppose, even in this state, it is still rather pretty,” the vendor said.

Tam looked away from him. Bile rose in his throat at the comment. What sort of person would take advantage of a naiad in such a state?

“I’m not judging you, sir. What you do with your own property is entirely your business,” the vendor said, unlocking the cage. “But if it dies halfway down the street, you can’t get your money back.”

Tam dug in his pocket for a silver coin before handing it over. It was one of the most expensive purchases he’d ever made in his life. Luckily, he always brought extra money with him to the city, just in case. The vendor pocketed the coin whilst stepping aside.

The naiad sat listlessly in the cage. He’d looked up as the door opened but otherwise didn’t move. Tam bent down and put his arms under the naiad’s knees and back. The naiad’s skin felt clammy and warm. He didn’t move as Tam lifted him, shocked how light the naiad was. He also noticed the shackles wrapped around his ankles.

“What about those?” Tam asked, indicating the shackles.

The vendor glanced back up in surprise, seeming to have already forgotten about him.

“Aaah, yes, can’t have the naiad running away, can you?” He pulled a key out of his robe and tried to hand it over before noticing Tam’s arms were full. “I’ll just pop it in here, shall I?” He placed the key in Tam’s pocket. “Enjoy,” he drawled with a wink as Tam turned and strode away, anger burning the back of his throat.

Tam made his way through the markets, all the while trying to process his behaviour. What am I doing? I have no idea what do with a sick naiad. Naiads and humans didn’t really interact. At least not in the village where he had grown up.

He remembered the first time he had seen naiads as a boy, swimming around in the harbour.

Tam watched them for several minutes, completely captivated. The naiads were so different. For one thing, they were naked and unashamed about it.

Then his mother spotted them. She yelled at the naiads, shooing them away. The naiads treated the incident as a game, laughing as they swam off.

“Mamma,” Tam asked as they walked along the harbour, his hand tucked in hers. “What were they?”

She pursed her lips. “Naiads.”

“Why did you chase them away?”

“Because they are mischievous and wild creatures. If you ever see one, make sure you stay away from them. One of them stole my favourite shawl.”

As a boy, avoiding the naiads had been easy, as they had usually stayed clear of the village.

His mother would definitely disapprove of him trying to help the naiad. But then again, she generally didn’t approve of his behaviour.

From the markets, Tam made his way towards the harbour and his boat. He navigated the crowded streets with his arms full, mumbling apologies as he moved through the crowd. He ignored the stares directed his and the naiad’s way.

The naiad lay limp in his arms. Tam tried to carry him gently. Every now and then, when they were jostled, the naiad’s eyes would open and then drift shut again. Tam was grateful it wasn’t a great distance from the markets to the harbour.

He breathed a sigh of relief as the docks came into view. Tam walked past the many fishing boats. He carefully stepped onto his own and walked past the mast towards the back.

It was a simple boat. Long and narrow, like most of the boats in the region. But whilst the others were painted in blues, greens, and reds, the once vibrant blue paint of Tam’s boat had mostly faded, revealing the worn wood beneath. His mother always told him that he should get it repainted, but he had never gotten around to it.

He lowered the naiad onto some woollen blankets on the deck and leaned his head against back of the boat so he was slightly propped up. Tam arranged the blankets carefully around the unconscious naiad, using some as padding behind his head, trying to make him as comfortable as possible.

Then Tam sat on the wooden seat beside the naiad. Whilst his boat was over three metres long, it really wasn’t that wide. Thankfully it could at least accommodate two individuals side by side.

Silver stars twinkled in the sky above, reflecting off the dark flowing river below. Normally after he had been in Areth and bought his supplies, he would spend a few hours sleeping in his boat and then leave before dawn. But tonight was anything but normal, and he wasn’t quite sure what he should do.

Tam didn’t usually do anything rash or spontaneous. Now he felt overwhelmed with the position he’d put himself in. For a moment, he almost regretted his behaviour.

Then he looked down at the naiad. He looked almost lifeless. An urge to protect the naiad rose inside him. To shield him from anything that could harm him. Goddess, please let the naiad survive. Tam couldn’t regret his impulsive behaviour.

But what should I do now? How can I help the naiad? For several seconds, he just stared at the water, at the stars reflected on the surface. He thought of the naiads he had seen in the ocean. Maybe that was what this naiad needed. To be away from this city and back in a place that was more natural for naiads. Even Tam despised Areth, and he was a human.

He reached a decision. I’ll take the naiad to the ocean. Where he belongs. From there he could decide what to do next. Tam untied the rope that connected his boat to the dock.

Even if it was not a well-developed plan, at least it was something, and he felt better. He picked up a long wooden pole from the deck and pushed it into the riverbed to propel them away from the dock. After several pushes, the boat entered the river’s current and began to move along more quickly. Tam placed the pole back on the deck and took hold of the tiller.

A cool breeze picked up, causing a light spray from the river. The naiad lay unmoving beside him, eyes closed, small droplets of water resting on his face. At this time of night, the river was almost completely empty of people. For that, Tam was grateful.

The only sounds were the crickets and the gently gurgling water. For several minutes, they travelled peacefully down the river. Then, beside him, the naiad stirred.