Raven Silverlight
@BelleRaven walked on ahead of Jessalyn paying no mind to if the girl was actually following her. Her boots padded through the tall forest grass all around them. Raven took a breath of the air. It was fresh and pure and smelled of sweet things. Raven loved the Spring Court, she had ever since she was a child but even so out of all the lands the fae controlled Spring was often the most treacherous. Not because it was more powerful than the other three courts but because it was picturesque. Everything in the Land of Spring was beautifully enchanting, it smelled wonderful and placed you in a sense of ease. And almost all of it could easily kill you. Many of the flowers were poisonous, some of the trees had leaves sharp enough to draw blood and that was to say nothing of the fae that inhabited the land. The Spring born were usually childish and innocent looking, a look that lent itself to luring in even the most guarded and most possessed a silver tongue, figuratively if not literally.
The dangers of the other three courts while not always obvious could be avoided with experience. Winter and Summer showed there cruelties and kindness in sharp contrast. While Fall may not have been as straightforward the dangers within could be avoided with a well practiced hand. Spring on the other hand was a constant wild card. Even to someone like Raven who had lived there much of her life. She'd chosen to make her home in Spring because aside from its inherent beauty the dangers within it kept Raven on her toes.
Raven and Jessalyn walked for some time with Raven batting obstructions out of the blind girls way with her sword or her hand. It was not until they were much deeper inside the Court that Raven heard it. Sometimes far off, sometimes closer, short giggles of laughter echoed from the bushes and trees. They lasted only seconds. Just long enough to hold your attention and once gone made you question if they had ever been there. An inexperienced may have been frightened but Raven was old enough to know what was making the sounds.
After another half hours walk the laughter started to grate on Raven's ears. They were approaching the Borogoves and it was never good to have something draw your attention once you entered that length of the woods. Raven stopped and planted her feet firmly in the center of a clearing before saying in a voice that was both loud and even.
"Nymphs of Wild Moors, show yourself."There was almost a minute of silence before a thicket on the other side of the clearing erupted with young girlish laughter, like children at play. Then a string of seven Nymphs, all forming a chain by grasping the forearm of those on either side, came trailing out of the bushes. As they sashayed towards Raven they sang a lyrical rhyme which from children's mouths sounded sweet if you didn't listen to
what they were singing.
"We are creatures of the Fae
Prepare to give your soul away
Our spell is passion and is art
Our song can bind a human heart
And if you chance to know our dance
These steps will be your last romance.Raven stepped to the side, leaning against a tree as the Nymphs moved past her. They weren't after all interested in Raven. At least not for the moment. A human, one freshly entered into the world of Faerie provided a much greater thrill than a fae already wise to the ways of the Wild Nymphs. They surrounded Jessalyn, the last and first in the chain linking to form a circle around the blind girl. They continued to sing as they swirled around Jessalyn. Constantly spinning and moving in and out, leaving the blind girl guess to where the edge of the circle was. In the next couple of seconds there song changed from one of haunting beauty to simple childish fun.
"Ring-a-round the rosie, a pocket full of posies. Ashes! Ashes! We all fall down."With those last words the Nymphs broke hands and all collapsed to the ground laughing. They seemed just like any mortal seven year olds. Of course most mortal children did not realize that song was about a plague that wiped out a third of the 'civilized world'. These fae on the other hand had written the rhyme in honor of the chaos.
One of the Nymphs sat up. She had long golden hair and storm grey eyes. Her skin was flawless and seemed to glow in the light that trickled down through the forest canopy.
"Dance with us blind girl, please..." she begged Jessalyn, pouting a little as she finished her words. Raven watched them from a distance. She could easily save Jessalyn right now but in all honest she wanted to see if the mortal had what it took to stand on her own two legs. Dancing with Nymphs was dangerous. If a mortal did not have a totem or talismen from a fae to protect them from the enchanting nature of Nymph melodies then they would dance till there feet bled and they died from exhaustion. Of course Jessalyn would have to agree to dance with the little girls before any of that could happen. Raven smiled, it had been a long time since she'd seen a mortal dance themselves to death. It was quite a spectacle to behold
