Tin Soldier

Scarlett’s soft song whispered above the breeze, floating into my thoughts, and seducing me with its promise. Midnight had enveloped the world in darkness; only the shaded moon allowed for light to filter through the wispy clouds that veiled the bright white orb behind its thin curtain. Colours danced beneath the canopies of the ash trees; colours that would shame the blossoms of the most beautiful flower, and in the centre, was Scarlett.

She emerged from the darkness in a beautiful light so different from her magnificent radiance, and with her came the light of the moon. It was as if her presence called to the lunar orb, coaxing it from its hidden veil. A column of soft white light lit the girl in its embrace; following her movements as she weaved swiftly between the trunks of ashes.

My eyes swept over the nymph for the first time in many days; travelling along her soft skin, and sliding gracefully over every curve in awe before tracing the angelic light back to its source. Gazing into the dark night sky, stars dotted the inkiness like fireflies; as bright as I had ever seen. The rim of a foreign planet melted into appearance like the bowed arch of the moon. Painted in hues of pinks and oranges, the sight was a striking unfamiliarity, as if I had walked into a strange universe and I suppose I had. No longer blanketing the sky; clouds hovered within the clutches of the tallest trees like balls of cotton, revealing the white round orb that was the Moon.

Ribbons of shimmering gold trailed behind Scarlett as she twirled delicately through the trees, her beautiful hair floating lightly on the breeze in a river. Wrapped around her was her thin white dress; strangely appearing to have melted against her pale skin as it flew behind her dancing body like the wings of a bird.

Scarlett was not as I had last seen her. The Melia’s graceful steps sang the beautiful notes of a xylophone; the mossy forest floor lighting up in shades of a luminous green wherever her toes touched the soft ground. Bursting from the nymph’s feet were beautiful sprouts, glistening like morning dew beneath the light of the moon before exploding into flecks of golden light.

The fireflies danced in circles, weaving baskets from their luminous tails as they bounced delicately against a bell-shaped plant coloured brighter than the red of a rose. A melody permeated the air, wafting from the plant in a collection of chiming bells as it swayed rhythmically with the beauty of Scarlett’s steps.

The hypnotic music lulled the forest to life as my beautiful tree nymph pranced joyously through her home. Blooms glowed with an unnatural luminosity. Swarms of lilac wings burst, like fireworks, from the branch of a small tree as Scarlett drew near. The forest was breathing. It was alive, like no other forest that I had ever seen.

All I could do was watch in stunned silence as the tree Goddess swam comfortingly in her element. Her fingers brushed lovingly over a fan of leaves that shone in beautiful violets and bright sapphires. Her caressing breath kissed the petals of a floral bulb framed in leaves of purple. Scarlett tamed the forest with her touch; the creatures dwelling within swinging through the branches as they scrambled desperately to keep up. Like the pied piper, she was a master, and they her puppets.

Entranced by Scarlett’s movements, I jolted when she came to a sudden halt. Grief stained the crease of her eyes, her smile fading quickly as her look of utter despair sent my body shaking in pure sorrow. Bending effortlessly at the waist, Scarlett’s fingers wrapped around the stub of a withered plant hiding amongst the greenery before twisting gracefully as if kneading the stem. The plant bloomed at the intimate touch, bringing a smile back to the nymph’s face as it rose into an extravagant masterpiece. A bed of pink like the head of a mushroom floated above her eye line, tendrils of pink vines draping from the base like a jelly fish.

I could barely believe the sight that I saw. A world so different from my Scarlett Sea. There was no blood, no war. This was her world. This was where my Scarlett belonged. A Melia of the Forest of Ashes. And she was magnificent.

Shifting ever so slightly, my movement caught the nymph’s attention. Turning to me, Scarlett’s ash leaf eyes widened like a startled deer, her body surprisingly dropping into a defensive position.

A heated blush crept into my cheeks at being caught watching the beautiful creature, though she didn’t seem to mind at all. Surprisingly, her brows rose in delight and Scarlett noticeably relaxed at my meagre smile, recognising me most likely by my poor tin armour. Standing within her bed of moss, the girl unashamedly stared, almost as if she expected me to do something. The sprouts at her feet grew with every second that passed, curling around her legs like vines as she grinned at me.

“Flynn,” the nymph smiled with mischief in her eyes. “The soldier.”

I didn’t dare move from my position as I leaned casually against the trunk of a large ash tree, and I knew that Scarlett had sensed why. My sheepish grin was enough for her to give me a roll of her eyes, and I wondered how she had come across such a humanly gesture.

Silence sat comfortably between us as the nymph’s eyes trailed down to my leg, studying it with interest the way no one else would ever do. A frown furrowed her brows and I knew what she could see beneath the light of the moon, because I could see it too. My leg was fading. Slowly my treasured limb was becoming the truth of what it actually was; non-existent.

Scarlett’s lip curled at the corner, her eyes shooting back to mine with understanding, except my leg hadn’t been the true reason of my appearance. I had been waiting for this day. To see her again on the night of the full moon, just as she had instructed me to do. I had wanted to see her sooner, but she proved a difficult find.

Pushing gently from the tree, I brushed a hand roughly through my hair, ignoring the pounding of my heart. The feeling still unsettled me, and I was finding myself at a loss for words until finally I had to fill the silence.

“Scarlett,” I growled, because that was all I could think of.

The girl’s beautiful grin beamed brighter as she loped through the forest to me with the grace of a magnificent deer, and halting only when her nose kissed my own. Her breath was warm against my lips and her green ash leaf eyes were all that I could see, and now that I was not covered with the stench of war, I could smell her sweet skin.

“I have been waiting,” Scarlett whispered giddily, excitement rolling off her in waves as if she were about to tell me a secret. “I have been waiting for someone to say my name.” My breath caught in my throat as the girl paused, her face suddenly serious though she merely looked innocent. “But they do not,” she added. “I have a name but they do not say it.”

Captivated by her beauty, I almost lost thought to answer as she peered at me with a question in her eyes. All I wanted was to give her what she desired. To make that smile come back to her face. The feeling rose from deep in the pit of my stomach, clawing its way up my throat.

“Well,” I started. “Did you tell them your name?”

At my words, Scarlett’s eyes widened; realisation dawning in her alien mind. It was clear that this hadn’t occurred to her, and as she stepped away the thought was now at the forefront of her mind.

“Should I?” she asked, though her words weren’t directed at me.

Brushing another hand through my hair, I gave her a lopsided smile. “Did you know my name before you asked?” I mused.

Scarlett’s hair swayed smoothly from side to side as she shook her head lightly; a grin reappearing on her pale porcelain face. Holding in a laugh, I watched as the nymph bounced on her toes excitedly and bit into her bottom lip hopefully.

“We should tell them now!” she cried. “We should tell my mother!”

Without another thought, Scarlett jumped away with my hand grasped tightly within the clutches of her bony fingers. Agile and lithe, the nymph bounced through the trees, dragging my surprised body behind her. She was fast in her woods, knowing every nook and cranny that her home had to hold though I managed to keep pace with her easily.

Memories of my years in the war had instinctively kicked in; the stealth and agility I had acquired to survive as long as I did pushed my muscles into action even with my fading leg. Bridges made of intertwining vines marked our path over the carpet of ferns and for a moment in time I felt free. Free of the sins I had committed and the guilt weighing heavily on my shoulders.

But it soon came to an end when Scarlett slowed to a stop and the cool breeze whipping at my cheeks died to a warm still air. Before me loomed a mountainous tree with a trunk the width of a giant’s leg and stretched high into the forest beyond the limits of my eyes.

“Come,” Scarlett murmured, her hand still intricately entwined in my fingers. “This way.”

A delicate music hung in the air, singing louder in my ears the closer Scarlett led me towards the tree. It sounded of voices humming a sweet melodic tune and as I turned my head, I noticed that Scarlett had instinctively begun to join in the song. Her movements changed with each step, her hips swaying more prominently as the rest of her body began to join.

Watching her dance so seductively sent an uncomfortable growth rising in my pants that I was sure could be clearly visible. But Scarlett paid no attention to the effects of her exotic dancing and my eyes didn’t leave her until the hypnotic music suddenly stopped. I blinked; escaping the trance that had captured my mind, and gazed in confusion at the room I now stood in.

Dozens of pairs of ash leaf eyes had turned to my lonely form with a fiery hatred. Silence pierced the room into a heavy awkwardness, though it all seemed lost on my innocent Scarlett. Oblivious to the fury that was clear in the eyes of these beautiful nymphs, Scarlett bounced on her heel in excitement and scrambled hastily to my side.

“This is my friend!” she exclaimed, clinging to my arm with more strength than I would have thought she possessed. “His name is Flynn. Is he not handsome?”

Shock shivered through the crowd that surrounded us in a wide circle, and it was then that I had a chance to study Scarlett’s people. All of them as gorgeous as my nymph, were blessed with the hair of golden honey, and some much longer than Scarlett’s. Unlike my clothed Melia, her sisters wore nothing, their breasts on clear display and their skin as flawless as silk. It was hard not to stare at the waves of naked creatures.

“Daughter.” The voice was toneless and demanding; not the song of the nymph I had grown to know. “Why did you bring him here?”

Noticeably flinching, Scarlett turned to an old crone who sat at one end of the circular domed room. Sitting atop a throne of silver, a woman with skin as thin as paper, glared at the young nymph beside me. It was obvious to even the most stupid, who this crone was, and it showed in the fact that she didn’t look ugly despite her age.

Thick waves of white flowed down her back, its length twisting around her silver throne. With eyes an inky black, the mother of the nymphs had barely a scratch or line on her perfect face. Her unnatural beauty still maintaining a supernatural power that could bring a man to his knees. And to my knees I fell.

“Mother,” replied the young Melia joyously, skipping to the woman whose eyes bore insanity into my soul. “I have a name! I am Scarlett!”

“Name?” the crone bellowed, her voice rich and powerful. “You are Melia, you stupid child. That is your name.”

Scarlett’s bouncing steps fell as the nymph slowed to a disappointed stop. With a hurt look, she glanced over her shoulder at me, her golden hair framing her embarrassed frown. Surprised, my brow rose and my body followed with it. As I gazed at the saddened look on my Scarlett’s face I remembered the promise I had made to never see it again.

Keeping my gaze from the crone Melia, I determinedly stepped towards the one who had saved me from death. The one who had given me purpose to live. The beauty that had tamed my once irredeemable heart.

“That is your name, Mother,” Scarlett whispered, her faint smile widening the closer I got.

Her confidence was building, and so was mine, as my eyes penetrated those of the one I would always love. Wrapping an arm around the nymph, I pressed my lips to her honey sweet mouth, relishing the taste as I had wanted to do since the first time she had kissed me.

My fingers brushed through her soft golden hair and trailed down the length of her smooth porcelain neck. Breathing her scent was almost like catching the sweet aroma of blooms amidst the blood of war. Almost. But better.

When I finally broke away, Scarlett’s eyes fluttered open dreamily, blazing an intense green that seared my heart with an overwhelming heat. The murmuring of voices cocooned my treasured moment with its uncomfortable and unwelcome mutter but one voice rang out above all, and had Scarlett herself, quivering in fear.

“How dare you violate the home of the Melia,” the nymph mother bellowed. “How dare you poison the mind of my daughter.”

It was all I could do but look at my Scarlett, as she slowly but gradually distanced her body from mine. The separation ignited a hurt desperation in my chest, yearning to move closer and bridge the gap between us, but I remained where I was and listened to the crone as her voice wrenched deeper between us.

“Melia, take him to the beast,” she ordered harshly. “He will never see you again.”

My mouth opened in protest as my head swung round to glare my seething hatred at the mother of the Forest of Ashes, but I was quickly silenced as soon as my eyes met her black pits. Scarlett’s soft hand had wrapped around my forearm, tugging lightly as her sweet breath whispered my name and as quickly as I had arrived, I had left.

My footsteps carried me further from the Mother Tree, led gently by my Scarlett. Droplets of sparkling diamonds rolled down the nymph’s cheeks as she guided my reluctant body through the woods. The girl was taking me to the beast; what that was I couldn’t be sure, but all I could focus on was Scarlett’s tears and the distinct weariness of my weakening leg.

Scarlett fell to my side as I toppled to the ferny forest floor; my leg now no longer than an inch past my knee. The Melia’s soft, warm hand cupped the side of my face in a loving gesture as she peered at me sadly. Her eyes were glassy, her green orbs filled with water that threatened to fall for my pathetic body, but she only reached down to probe at my stump with her delicate fingers.

Warmth spread from her touch like wildfire, scorching my skin that had my teeth clenching together in intense pain. Blinding light stung my eyes from behind my lids as it burst from inside of my body and by the time the nymph had finally finished, I was panting in utter agony, sweat dripping down the side of my face and my fingernails filled with dirt from gouging at the forest floor. Puffing from exhaustion, Scarlett leaned back, gracefully pushing back onto her feet as she watched me closely.

“I am sorry,” she said simply, regret tainting her words. “Flynn of the Scarlet Sea.”

Unable to move and unable to speak, I watched helplessly as Scarlett turned away, her golden hair the last that I saw before I fell deeply into a familiar darkness.