Consumed by Fire {On Hold}

Chapter Six: Curiosity killed the cat

Bluebell followed Dustfinger through the forest, slightly behind him for she was trying to take in everything as she went. She still had no idea where she was.

When Dustfinger spoke again, it was with a hint of mistrust. "So, Belle. You know who I am, yet you don't know your name or where you were?"

"Right," Bluebell said, unsure of where this was going.

"And you don't know how you got into the Wayless Wood?"

She looked at him blankly.

"The forest," he explained with a sigh.

"Oh! No, I don't know."

"Hmm," was all he said in reply.

"Do you not trust me, Dustfinger?" She fell into step with him.

"Well, it is all rather strange. How do I know you’re not lying to me?"

Bluebell thought for a moment. "You don't."

They walked on and on in silence, passing a many great trees that reached up into the sky, but no human beings. After a while, the sun was blocked completely and Bluebell started to shiver slightly in the wind. To take her mind off the cold and her aching feet, for she was not wearing shoes, she started asking Dustfinger questions.

"Will you teach me, Dustfinger?" she asked.

"Teach you what?"

"Fighting, Dragon's breath, speaking to Gwin, using a crossbow."

Dustfinger laughed. "Speaking to Gwin? Now why would you want to talk to him?"

Bluebell shrugged. "I'd love to speak to all animals."

"Maybe," Dustfinger replied, stroking the little horned marten.

"But you will teach me Dragon's breath?"

"I'll teach you the basics," he said vaguely.

Bluebell grinned. It was one of her biggest wishes to play with fire the way he did, like it was a tame kitten, and having him teach her. She never thought it would happen.

Bluebell looked around herself again as they walked, it all looked basically the same. Then suddenly, she saw something sparkly in a small clearing ahead of them. It looked like a pond.

"What's that, Dustfinger?"

Dustfinger glanced up, he had been staring at the ground, and smiled. "That is the Water Nymphs pond."

"Water Nymphs? Are they like mermaids?”

Dustfinger laughed lightly. “Sort of,” was all he said.

Bluebell stared at the pond as they got closer. It was bigger than she first thought, more of a lake than a pond, and it was surrounded by flowering oleander, with branches of eucalyptus and alder reaching out over the water as if to cool their leaves. She saw a plane tree standing close by, covered in small pale nests, almost like bees nests; small reddish creatures were swarming around the tree and there were small amounts of them whirring about over the water.

“What are they?” she asked, without taking her eyes off the little creatures around the tree.

“They are the Fire Elves,” Dustfinger told her. “But you have to avoid them.”

“Why? Do they hurt you?”

“They do if they land on you, their fiery bodies will burn you. Unless you have been to see the Water Nymphs first.”

“Why?” Bluebell asked, she was curious about all these creatures.

“The Water Nymphs slime protects you from the heat of them.”

Bluebell stopped as they walked past the Water Nymphs’ pond but Dustfinger, who had already been past here today, continued. She edged closer to the water, hoping to get a glimpse of the creatures, but the water was still and crystal clear; all she could see was her own reflection. Eager to see what the mermaids looked like here, Bluebell got even closer to the edge of the water; by now she was standing on one of the grayish stones that circled the lake.

A few bubbles rose to the surface and Bluebell thought she saw a face staring up at her from under the water, but before she could get any closer-

“Belle!”

Bluebell spun around so fast she nearly lost her balance, but a hand shot out and grabbed her arm before she could fall into the lake.

“What are you doing?” Dustfinger was standing next to her, a vice-like grip on her arm, looking shocked.

“What?” she complained. “I only wanted to see the merma- I mean, the Water Nymphs.”

Dustfinger pulled her away from the lake, but didn’t say anything.

Bluebell tried to pull her arm out of his grip, but he held onto her tighter, and she stopped before she hurt herself.

Dustfinger looked down at her, not angry, but more concerned. “You could’ve fallen in.”

She stared at him for a second. “I didn’t though.”

“But you almost did.”

“That’s because you scared me!”

Dustfinger shook his head slightly, but let her go and started walking again. “Are you coming this time?”

Bluebell rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m coming.”