In the company of dryads

This time, waking up is a much less uncomfortable experience for Lux. She finds herself lying on a soft surface, with a blanket over her – one made from something akin to silk, yet it feels wonderfully warm as well as soft. So does the bed beneath her, even though beneath another sheet of silk it appears to be made from nothing more than piled-up stalks of grass.

Looking around, she sees that she and the makeshift bed are in the middle of a small glade of trees, whose branches hang heavy with leaves, enshrouding the little clearing altogether. There is no birdsong here, no sound but the rustle of the boughs as a gentle breeze blows through. Despite the soothing shade of the trees, the glade is not gloomy; on the contrary, the colours of the leaves, the flowers of blue and red and yellow, all shine with a preternatural vividness.

Lux pulls back the blanket to sit up – and then draws it tightly to cover herself as a humanoid figure appears, emerging through the curtain of leaves without disturbing it.

The woman’s radiant beauty hits Lux even before any details becomes clear: her skin a rich brown, at once clearly soft flesh and yet with the patterns of wood grain running through it, her long and wavy hair a cascade of bluish-green, with catkin-like braids woven through. She’s taller than Lux, with slimmer but very sensuous curves, accentuated by the way her white silk dress clings in just the right places. Her eyes shine like pools of warm sunlight as she looks Lux over with an air of concern and compassion – and maybe something else besides.

As the initial shock of this vision clears, Lux realises that a second woman – a shorter, stockier one with hair like fine green needles and a sharp look in her deep violet eyes – is leaning against a tree some way back, watching critically.

Dryads, then. Lux can’t help but be wary of falling under fey influence, but dryads are at least one of the more benevolent kinds…aren’t they? Isn’t that the kind of idea they might want to plant in someone’s mind…?

Lux shrugs off that thread of paranoia. It would seem that right now, for better or worse, she’s at the mercy of these creatures.

“It’s good to see you awake,” the taller dryad says. Her voice is melodious and familiar – just the sound makes Lux feel more at ease, relaxed, with only a small, nagging part of her wondering why. “I’m Willow, and that’s Juniper. What’s your name?”

Lux’s lips move silently for a moment while she parses the wording of the request, but it doesn’t sound like a fey trap. “Call me Lux,” she says finally.

“A beautiful name,” Willow says, smiling warmly. In the background, Lux catches Juniper rolling her eyes. “Welcome to our glade – we brought you here to help you heal.”

“Thank you,” Lux says, still wary. A quick glance under the blanket confirms that she is naked, but, well, what did she expect? “Where are we?” she asks the dryads. “This whole place, the woods, the mist – what is it?”

Willow and Juniper glance at each other. “The Valley,” Willow says, finally. “It’s – it just is.”

“It used to exist between two worlds,” Juniper says, with a shrug. “The fey realm and the mortal world – you could walk through from one to the other. Now, all that’s cut off. They say that if you go out too far, the fog just turns you right around. Not that we’d know.”

“It’s fortunate that you found your way to us,” Willow says. “The woods can be very dangerous.”

“Especially if you’re a hot bitch with big tits,” Juniper adds.

Willow looks mortified. “Juni, don’t.”

Juniper shrugs. “I’m just saying, the King’s pets have a type,” she says. “And it happens to be the same type you like.”

Lux didn’t know it was possible for a dryad to blush, but Willow somehow manages it.

“What do you mean about the ‘King’s pets’?” she asks, to change the subject.

“The Erlking,” Willow says. Apparently noticing Lux’s blank reaction, she keeps going. “The Lord of this valley – counterpart to our Queen, the Hamadryad. Between them, they should be ruling over this land, tending to its needs. But they had a disagreement.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Juniper mutters.

Lux nods slowly. I will not be denied my kingdom, Athisz said – could it be that her whole plan was to take control of this divided valley? “So what happened?” she asks.

Willow sighs. “All we know is that the Erlking locked the Queen away, imprisoned her,” she says. “Without her influence, the Valley has become more dangerous. Its nurturing side is weakened.”

“Meaning that the wild creatures wandering around reflect the Erlking’s emotional state,” Juniper says. “Which is to say, horny as fuck.”

“After that, the fog came.” Willow gestures around them. “And the valley was cut off from everything else.”

“And you’re not able to do anything about this?” Lux asks.

“We are bound to our trees,” Willow says. “Among our kind, only the Hamadryad has the freedom to roam the whole Valley.”

“What about getting out of the valley?” Lux asks. The two dryads exchange another glance.

“We don’t know,” Willow says. “Leaving isn’t for us. I imagine the Erlking or the Queen would know how…”

Lux frowns slightly, but nods. “Well, I need to start looking for – ” she begins, preparing to stand, but a sting of renewed pain in her ribs gives her pause. Willow moves quickly to her bedside.

“Please, not too fast,” she says. From somewhere she produces a small wooden bowl. “I have a salve here that will…help…” Although her words sound earnest, Lux can’t help but notice how the dryad’s gaze lingers on her mostly-uncovered chest.