The Hunchback's Reluctant Bride ✔

35 | Fix Me

"What!" Despite her outburst, he didn't react, so she held his shoulder and turned him to her. "Wood nymphs? Have you seen the wood nymphs?" Nothing. Not much more than a blink. She extended her hands and pointed into the distance at the waterfall. "We just came from the blasted wood nymphs."

Wyrn watched her for some time before he said, "Those weren't wood nymphs. They were water nymphs. They had sharp teeth. They're carnivores. Wood nymphs have flat teeth; they eat plants. Water nymphs also lie a lot. A wood nymph will help you."

And then he fell silent. Even when she thanked him, he gave no response. Her one attempt at approaching him had him stepping back.

Vadde sighed in defeat then called up to the troll. "I suppose I'll be taking you up on that offer for the wood nymphs."

A troll was a slow-moving beast, she found out as they traveled. He was sure to bend his fingers so she had an easier time holding on as he walked. Wyrn held nothing, opting instead to keep his distance from her.

Where they ended up was nothing short of amazing. A little house, nestled in the crook of a tree branch, sported a veranda.

Vadde stepped off. Her husband didn't follow at first, but finally he stepped before her, keeping her safe.

A wood nymph didn't fly. They had no wings Vadde could see. Like all creatures thus far, they were naked. They were also tiny, even smaller than fairies.

Three of them emptied from the house. Two rushed back in upon seeing Wyrn. The elder one, still on the veranda, held out her hands to Vadde.

It took some whispering in anger for her to convince them Wyrn was harmless.

Vadde sat down where instructed and watched curiously as one little nymph hurried to pick a pine needle then jumped back to the house. A yellow glow hung from the needle the nymph wordlessly used to sew her wing.

The sensation was awful. Vadde feared she'd throw up; it was so upsetting.

For her feet, another nymph returned with a huge leaf she started breaking up.

But as Vadde was mended and pampered, Wyrn made his way to the end of the branch and sat down.

"Within a short while, you should be better," the little nymph said for the first time. She glanced back at Wyrn, fearful. "Should we send for help?"

Vadde smiled at the offer and was sure to hold the girl's hand before she could apply more of the paste. For her wing, she waited. She received a pat on the head and stood, paste in hand.

Wyrn was taking this rather hard. Vadde wasn't sure what was more unsettling for him, finding out he was a fairy or finding out the damage he'd done.

She hesitated to approach, mostly because she feared she'd fall off. But seeing Wyrn sitting around brooding was hard to bear. Morning had all but come.

Now, with the sunlight, she took him in, albeit from the back. He looked stunning. This was his true form. Everything in her said as much. Unlike her, who feared the branch, he sat with little worry of falling. One thing was strange, though, his back...was bare. The black marks which were once on his shield, now sprawled on his skin.

A spell, that was what he'd said. Even now, his words still resounded. He'd accused her of being a fairy who transformed him. Vadde supposed that was a better reality than the truth.

He had a right to know, she decided, but not now. Not when they'd just gotten each other back. Not...not when she came so close to throwing it all away for nothing. Not...not after she was stuck all night in the presence of a man who made her want to implode.