Secrets of the Forest Nymph Ch. 06

Artemis glided up to Chad. She looked at Shea, who was visibly shaking, and extended her hand. Shea took the hand and kissed it. She was, after all, the one who ruled the forest long, long ago. After rising back up, she looked at the Goddess.

"Artemis, it is great honor to meet you," Princess Shea told her.

"And you as well little one. You protected my crystal from harm. Even though it has been difficult for you, you have been very brave," Artemis replied.

Artemis looked at the three heroes that risked everything to save the forest. 'Such an unlikely group of warriors to take on such a battle,' she thought.

She finally settled her eyes on Chad, the most unlikely to take on such a fight. "You brought the Crystal of Physis here human, even when Marrow was still here looking for it. Why would you do such a fooling thing?" she asked.

"I'm sorry about that your..." he tried to say. "You know I don't know what to call you; Majesty, Goddess, Ghost..." Chad finished.

"Since you are a human, you may call me Artemis. You have failed to answer my question Chad," she told him.

"He took my wife from me. Human, or Forest Nymph, doesn't matter; she's still my wife. I needed an edge against him to get her back. If it's an apology you came here for, you might want to sit down, you might be awhile," he said, as he held his ground.

The group let out a gasp at his boldness. He was addressing Artemis. Under no circumstances should you ever show disrespect, no matter what. Artemis took a moment to gather her thoughts, then smiled at his bravado. This is who Chad was.

"Calm down my children. Chad was only being himself. I would expect nothing less of him," she said.

Susan moved a little closer to Artemis. "If I may ask Goddess Artemis, why have you come to us after all these years? We thought that Zeus struck you down?" Shea asked.

"My dear little one, there is so much for to learn yet. Death here is not the end but the beginning of a new journey, one that you too shall take some day. Among you is a person who will make the journey before the others." Artemis turned towards Chad. "Is this not correct Chad?" Artemis said.

"I guess it's something I was meant to do. Bolara and I have talked, and I'm fine with what will happen. As long as Shea and the rest of the forest creatures are safe, that's all that matters," he told her.

"I know that you will continue to protect my children, until your last breath if necessary. That is why I came back. I am breaking about twenty rules for us right now, but it must be done." Artemis looked over at Bolara and extended her hand. "Bolara, may I see the Crystal of Physis for a moment?" she asked.

Bolara removed the Crystal of Physis from around her neck and handed it to her Goddess. Chad thought for a moment that she was going to put it on and leave. She only held it close to her breast. She looked lovingly at Chad, as if he was one of her children.

"It is forbidden for me to interfere with the fate of the forest. It is up to those who live here to decide. That is why I left the crystal with Bolara's mother. She was the kindest being I had met; it was up to her. You on the other hand, are a human, that means you are a complex creature," she told him.

"I don't think I'm that complex," Chad said under his breath.

Shea elbowed Chad in the ribs for his lack of disrespect. Artemis softly laughed at his remark. The human had a quality unlike she had ever come across. "Sorry about that. Sometimes I get a little..." he started to say.

Artemis held her hand up for Chad to be silent. "You have a great weight on your heart Chad. Something that you fear, even more than Marrow," she told him.

Chad looked at his wife. "I'm sorry Shea; I know it was meant for me to pass before you. You and I are different in so many ways. No matter when it happens, I will love you until my last breath. I swear it," Chad told her.

Shea held her husband tightly. There was no other world that would be livable, unless he was there with her. She had thought about this moment, how to tell him this would happen. To do that small thing, meant telling him her darkest secret, who she really was.

"Princess Shea, please release your husband," Artemis said.

Once Shea let go, she wiped her eyes of the tears. Artemis continued. "You and your friends risked everything to restore my forest. One of you gave the ultimate sacrifice. For this act alone, I shall give you all my blessing," she said.

Artemis lowered her head and said something that no one could make out. Chad felt what the others did, a tingling through his body. The others were weeping, including Larry, for the small gift. Once she was done, Artemis looked up.

"That small token of my appreciation was for all of you. Chad on the other hand requires something more. You have feared for sometime now that you shall die before Princess Shea. You are human, there is nothing I can do about that," she told him.

"Artemis, I was glad that we all could help. I just hope it stays this way forever. I've never known a more loving place in all my life," Chad told her.

"I know Chad, which is why you are to receive a special gift."

Artemis placed her hand on Chad's chest. He was a little nervous at first, but then it got worse. Artemis held the crystal close to her chest and lowered her head once more. She spoke in a language that Chad couldn't understand. Part of him wanted to run away as fast as he could, the other told him to stand his ground.

Chad began to feel his body heat up. It started as a fever but quickly spread throughout his body. 'Someone pull me away from this lady,' he thought. The heat intensified as she held her hand to his chest. Chad wanted to reach up and grab her hand, but he couldn't move. The heat become so much for him, he screamed out. The strange thing was, there was no sound.

'My God. This woman is trying to kill me and no one will stop it. What's wrong with all of you?' he thought. The heat soon diminished and Chad's breathing returned to normal. When he got the strength to move, he backed away from Artemis.

"What, what did you..." he started to say.

"I gave you a special gift Chad. I took away what fears you the most," Artemis said.

Bolara walked up to Artemis and bowed gracefully. She looked at Chad as he grabbed his chest and gasping for air.

"Forgive me Artemis, I'm confused somewhat," Bolara said.

"My dear child. Why would you be confused on what has happened?" she asked.

"You said you were not permitted to interfere with the fate of the forest," Bolara responded.

"You are correct Bolara, I am not permitted. There is a human saying I want you to remember in times likes this.

"What is that Artemis?" Bolara asked.

"I don't give a flying fuck," she told her.

"Artemis, what did you do to my husband?' Shea asked.

She put her hand on Shea's shoulder. "I gave him the gift he needed. From now on, he will age as you age. If you take care of yourselves, you will both live to be a ripe old age of...well my dear, you get the idea," Artemis told her.

Shea shook her head to clear the dizziness feeling. "I don't understand Artemis!" she said.

"He was afraid of dying my dear Shea. He was afraid of getting old and loosing you. I fixed that, and I am sure I will get my share of grief for it," she told her.

"Why would you give such a gift to him?" she asked.

Artemis looked at the confused Forest Nymph. "For two reasons my dear. First, he risked his life for the creatures I care for. For no other reason than that, he deserved it," she told her. "For the second reason...you are pregnant. You knew it a few hours ago when you two made love in the tent."

Artemis leaned in close and whispered to Shea. "Just between us, you might want to concentrate on a girl's name," Artemis added.

With that, Artemis said farewell to the forest creatures. In a brilliant flash of light, she was gone. Everyone remained silent, not knowing what to do, or say for that matter. Shea was stunned at the news about being pregnant. 'What will happen now? Do we raise our child in the forest or the human world?' she thought.

Bolara went to check on Chad. "Chad, are you going to be alright?" she asked.

"I don't -- I don't know what to say. I feel fine now, but it felt like my whole body was on fire," Chad told her.

Shea joined them, but she looked worried. "I think we have some things to talk about honey. Life for us has a whole new outlook," she told him.

Chad gave her a confused look. Bolara decided to help them. "You two should go someplace quiet and discuss the gifts that you have received. I think its time to, how did you put Chad, crank it up a bit," Bolara told them.

Just before they walked away, they heard someone speak up behind them. "Someone around here needs to hold up her deal," Malifin yelled.

They all turned to see the once battered Wokulo. Feather and Shea ran up and grabbed the little fur ball. He really looked a lot better with his long fur all cleaned up. Behind them was the mermaid that stayed with Malifin and finished mending his wounds, it was Reanna.

"He's all fixed up and ready to go. Sorry, I couldn't do anything about his demeanor," she told the group.

Chad walked up and stood in front of the little hero. "So, I take it you still hate humans you little fur ball," he told him.

Malifin smiled for the first time since they met. Suddenly he disappeared in an instant. Feather and Shea slumped to the ground as they lost their hold on him. Everyone was looking around, but saw nothing. Suddenly Chad went face first to the ground as Malifin reappeared behind him.

"Damn it Malifin! You know I hate when you do that!" he screamed up at him.

"I know you do human. That's why I enjoy doing it so much. I'll let you in on a secret, I hate all humans...except one," he told Chad as he extended his hand.

Chad took the Wokulo hand as he pulled him up. Then Chad pulled him in, giving him a huge hug. Larry looked on as the group got reacquainted. He knew his new friend gave everything he had in that fight at the castle. In Larry's entire life he had never seen another creature battle as hard as he did, until then.

"Nice to see you could make the party Malifin. What took you so long anyway? I mean, it was just a few hellhounds," Larry teased him.

"It looks like that pond didn't do anything to fix your sense of humor Larry. Just to set the record straight, it was five hellhounds at one time. I didn't see you doing anything spectacular," Malifin said as he went up to shake his hand.

Bolara moved in and peered down at the Wokulo. "It's a pleasure to finally see you out of the pond Malifin. I've been waiting all night to do this," she told him.

Bolara leaned down and grabbed Malifin's head, kissing him on the lips. After a few moments she pulled back and looked into his eyes. "Thank you Malifin for saving our lives," she told him softly.

"You're more than welcome your majesty. The others did just as much as I did. Well, maybe not Larry, but everyone else did," he said as he grinned at Larry.

Feather went up to Malifin. "I'll keep my promise Malifin. It's time for you to go home to your family. Thank you for helping us," she said, then leaned down and kissed him.

"I think a ride home in style is in order," Bolara said as she held her crystal.

One of the Pegasus trotted over and nudged Bolara as she informed the winged animal of her wishes. Larry grabbed his little friend and helped him up. Just before he left, Leonia came up holding a mug of her special mixture and handed it to Malifin.

"You should try some of this before you go Malifin," Leonia said.

Malifin slammed the drink in one gulp. His face contorted and his body shook. "Christ lady, what did you cut this with...kerosene?" he told her.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Leonia replied as she sniffed the empty cup.

Everyone laughed as the winged horse leapt into the night sky, taking Malifin back to his family. Once they all calmed down Bolara addressed the group. "Now, if there are no objections, I think we should get this orgy, I mean party, cranked up," she told everyone.

"Mother!" Shea said.

"What do you expect Shea? I've had a few of Leonia's cocktails and I'm starting to get horny. Do you think you're the only one here that needs some fun? Remember, I was in there a lot longer than you dear, and I could use a 'good' screwing for a change," Bolara told her.

Chad shook his head. He knew his original statement of one continuing orgy was correct. The healing pond had taken the pain of the ordeal away for Bolara and Shea. The night was going to be a long one as it seemed Bolara was going to make up for lost time.

Chad took Shea's hand and led her to the tent. "Now that we have a new lease on life, I think we can skip the first round of sex. We have some things to work out between us I think," Chad told her.

"I know my love. Important things like where we live, how bad the mess at home is, what we name our baby girl," Shea replied as she walked with him.

"Shea, there is still one thing that worries me," Chad told his wife.

"What is it?" she asked.

"What happens when your mom comes to the human world for a visit?" Chad wondered.

"I have a bigger worry dear. What happens if she brings Leonia and Feather with her?" Shea said as she tried not to laugh.

If it could, life just got a little more complicated for the two lovers who just a year ago met on an Island, feel in love, got married, and became royalty.

I do hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. As of this posting, this is all I have written but am open for suggestions. Maybe it would be fun to write an epilog of Secrets of Forest Nymph where they do all get together in the human world. Leonia hasn't been for some time and might be interesting in a time travel sort of way. I am humbled at the amount of support and comments that I have received during this story. The readers of the Nonhuman section are some of the best. Thank you all for your support and remember...enjoy the journey, you never know where it will take you.