The Serpent and the Maiden Fair

Chapter 2: Framed Part 2

The Serpent and the Maiden Fair Chapter 2

Cedric looked around first; his serpentine eyes studied his surroundings, trying to find out if there were humans nearby. When he was already sure that he is alone, he transformed into his real form. He roared as his skin bloated and changed, it was painful, he felt that he was electrocuted every time he does that but then he became used to it. When he was done, he then moved to hunt, he choose to do that in the middle of the thick forests of West Nubar as the place was rarely visited by humans. He wants to avoid them as much as possible.

Naga shape-shifters have been despised by humans ever since and were hunted down and killed, it was the reason why he was alone. His parents died because of the stupid humans. He hated them as much as he hated living alone. He was just ten years old with no other living relatives; he was forced to live in the depths of the forests just to be safe from the clutches of evil hands.

After his parents' death, he had a hard time adjusting, he doesn't know how to hunt for himself and there were a lot of ferocious animals just lurking nearby but when he learned how to transform, he found out that he can easily take down mountain lions or tigers. He learned to communicate with his fellow serpents and they will give him news about the outside world. Everything was nice and peaceful except for the part that he yearns to have a family that will take care of him.

He slithered into the forests looking for a place where he can wait for his prey, his mouth watered as he spotted a nice and healthy deer grazing on the meadow. He positioned himself, ready to attack anytime. A scream surprised him and the deer ran away. His frowned and was about to follow it when another scream echoed in the forest again. He realized that it was just near his current location.

He started moving to check it out. He found himself near the lake; his eyes darted and saw something glowing in the waters. Without even changing to his human form, he went near to check it out.

"Heh-heh, I wonder how much gold the Duke will pay for his daughter's safety." He heard a man say. Cedric silently hid into the bushes while trying to find out what's happening. From his position, he can see two men sitting near the mouth of the lake. They were holding some kind of rope and were connected to the river. No, it wasn't connected to the river.

He checked again and learned that the glow in the water was not some sort of light but another human. A girl to be exact. He almost gasped as he saw her, she was very beautiful. Her hair was pastel blue, and her body was covered with glowing scales while her legs, no she had no legs but a tail was located on her lower body. A mermaid? No, mermaids can't be found in fresh water and there were no mermaids in Meridian.

"Who would have thought that the Duke married a freak?" He heard the smaller man said to his companion.

"It's not a freak you idiot. That's a water nymph, a Naiad to be exact. Only a few exist and the Duchess is one of them. Her daughter is too. Just wait when we take her out of the water." The bigger man told his companion. A water nymph? He remembers his mother telling him a story about water nymphs before, like the Naga's they were hunted down by people because some believed that they were bad luck. Somehow he felt pity for the girl.

"Please. Take me back to my parents." He winced as he heard the girl's voice. Judging by her appearance, she was only seven or eight years old. The men just laughed at her.

"Silence! We won't harm you. We just need your parents to pay us money first." The bigger man said and he started pulling the string that is tied on the girl's feet. Cedric saw the water splashing as the girl was struggling to break free but it was no use as the rope was tied tightly on her leg. The man continued to pull her until she was now out of the water. Her appearance changed and the scales earlier were now gone and was replaced by a normal body of a child. Her blue hair was replaced with silver blonde. She was shaking but not from cold, but because of fear. He started to feel disgust to the men that took her.