Still

An Apprentice

The Soldier woke up to see Marian staring at the circle. It was bright out now, and he quietly stretched as he watched the nymph. She just sat cross-legged, and waited patiently for something to happen. The nymph had The Soldier's blue cape wrapped around her small body.

"Did you find something interesting?" The Soldier asked, smiling.

Marian finally blinked, and looked up at The Soldier. "What?"

The Soldier pointed at the circle. "You were staring at it," he said. "Did you see something wrong?"

Marian smiled softly, and shook her head. "Oh no, it's not that," she reassured him. "I was just waiting for you to let me out of the circle."

Right, The Soldier forgot that she couldn't let herself out. It was strange to think that she had the same magic flowing through her as did the bridge trolls and unicorns and witches.

He brushed enough salt away that she was able to get out, and he began to get ready afterwards. The Soldier had another small meal of bread and cheese, and watched Marian soak up the sun (quite literally).

"You ready to go?" The Soldier asked as he pulled his bag back up onto his shoulders.

Marian unwrapped herself from The Soldier's blue cape, handing it back to him. "I'm assuming you want this-"

"No, you can keep it if you're cold."

This made Marian laugh. "I don't have sensitive nerves on me, silly," she told him, smiling. "I don't get cold."

Marian walked over towards The Soldier, and pinned the cape back onto his right side, hiding the metal arm-piece underneath. He had it on both sides, as well as decorated on his legs. A thin layer of chain-mail was also underneath his red shirt, just as an extra level of protection. He wasn't expecting to fight a battle, but it was there just in case.

"Off we go then," The Soldier said as he hopped back onto the dirt path. Marian trailed just behind him as they began their walk. The Soldier slowed down for her to catch up, and he watched as she stared at the stream beside them. She had a strange look in her eyes, almost like confusion mixed with a bit of worry. Yet when The Soldier looked towards the stream, he saw nothing wrong with it. It was just flowing water to him.

"We've got to stop," Marian said at last, pausing in the middle of the trail.

"What's wrong?" The Soldier asked, but Marian had already started running back towards the stream.

Marian crouched down beside it, splashing in the water. The Soldier ran over to her and watched as she slowly rose up from the square position, holding something. In her green palms, she held six tiny clay figures; all of them the size of her thumb. They squirmed underneath her grasp, but she just shushed at them.

"What are they?" The Soldier asked.

"Effigies," Marian replied, holding them up to her eyes. "The poor things were stuck in the river. We need to get them back home!"

The Soldier sighed. They really didn't have time for this, but there was so much worry in the nymph's voice that he couldn't help but comply. He would hate for the things to get stuck in the stream again, anyways.

"Do you know where they need to go?" asked The Soldier.

"Across the stream, I think. At least, they're squirming that way."

She was right. The clay figures kept trying to crawl over her fingers, towards the stream.

"Let's go!" Marian cheered.

Without warning, Marian hopped over the stream and began running. The Soldier called for her to slow down as he followed, ignoring the clanging coming from his bag.