A NAIAD’S HEART

Chapter One 

I am going to drown.

A huge wave crashed into the side of the small boat, causing it to dangerously tilt. Ducking his head as the rain continued beating down, Gabriel clutched the wooden tiller with both hands.

If I had just listened to my mother, I would be safe and sound. Instead, Gabriel sat alone in a boat, on the open ocean, in the middle of a storm, and he was almost certainly going to drown.

When his boss had told Gabriel to take the boat out on his own to deliver seaweed, he had been excited. He’d imagined himself being more independent, seeing more of the world, getting out there beyond his small village.

His mother had wrung her hands, staring at him with worried eyes. “You’re too young to be out on the water by yourself!”

“Mamma, I’m not a little boy anymore. I’ve had plenty of experience on boats,” he’d said. She’d opened her mouth as if it to speak, but he’d continued, “It’s just a short trip to deliver seaweed. I’m more than capable. It will be fine.”

But it was not fine.

“And now, because I refused to listen to Mamma, I am going to drown.”

A gust of wind blasted into him. Desperately, he pulled as hard as he could on the tiller, his fingers numb with cold. But the boat barely responded. The waves and wind were too powerful.

Another wave hit the side of the boat. Losing his grip on the tiller, he toppled over. He cried out as his shoulder impacted hard with the wooden deck. Before he was able to get his feet under him, another wave hit, the water gushing over the side of the boat and smashing into him.

Panic threatened to overwhelm him as he slid across the wet deck, his hands scrabbling to find purchase. He tried to keep his wits about him, but he was out of his depth. He didn’t know how to handle a boat in a storm. If only I were an experienced fisherman, like my brother, then maybe I might have some idea of how to get out of this mess.

When he’d first spotted the dark clouds approaching, he should have gotten off the water. Found a beach where he could wait out the storm. If only he could go back in time. Now it is too late.

Stumbling to his feet, he took two shaky steps and clung to the wooden mast. He’d taken down the sail earlier when the winds had looked like they were about to tear it apart.

Gabriel stared towards the shore. It’s not far! If I could just get the boat there, I’d be safe. But he was only a foolish seaweed farmer.

Perhaps Gabriel could abandon ship. Jump into the waves and swim to shore. He peered into the violent, dark, thrashing water and immediately discarded that idea. He was a competent swimmer. On a calm day, maybe I could make it, but today… He shook his head. He would definitely drown.

Clutching at the mast, he continued to stare at the water. The rain beat down on him, and the boat tossed back and forth with the rough waves.

He saw movement in the water. He squinted, chest tightening. Shadows slithered beneath the waves, coming directly towards the boat. He hadn’t thought he could be more afraid, but the idea of some unknown terror waiting for him beneath the water increased his panic.

Could it be sharks? Perhaps they sensed his impending doom and had come to eat him. His hands tightened on the mast. Gabriel had never seen a shark in real life. As a child, he had seen a picture. The teeth alone had given him nightmares.

Perhaps I won’t drown. Perhaps I’ll be eaten! Gabriel couldn’t decide which was worse. Hysterical laughter burst forth from his mouth.

A pale-green face surrounded by curly dark-green hair like seaweed breached the ocean surface. It took Gabriel a second to comprehend what he saw. A naiad! A water nymph! A second later, another green head appeared. Then another. A pod of naiads! Their green eyes all focused on him.

Growing up by the ocean, Gabriel had seen ocean naiads quite a few times but never this close. Usually, they kept their distance from humans, but here they were, watching him.

What are they doing? Perhaps they had come to bear witness to his death. Perhaps naiads took poor, foolish humans who drowned to the afterlife. Panic-stricken, he laughed.

A sharp wind blew, and he huddled in on himself. I have to try something! With shaking hands, he turned and grasped at the sail, cold fingers fumbling with it. He wasn’t sure what he was trying to do. The wind was too erratic for the sail to do anything. The wind would probably tear it to shreds. Or capsize him! But what else can I do?

Another wave crashed into the boat. He flew through the air. His body smashed painfully into the water, knocking the air from his lungs. Resurfacing, he coughed and spluttered. Flailing his arms and legs, he tried desperately to keep his head above the water.

Another wave hit. The cloud-filled sky disappeared as the dark water engulfed him. Violently, his body tossed and rolled within the water. He kicked his legs with all his might, struggling, but he was no match for the water’s strength.

Something clutched at his wrist. Through the darkness, he made out two naiad forms. Confused, he watched as their strong hands wrapped around his arms and torso.

Then they started pulling him down into the water’s depth. They are going to drown me!

Terrified, he flailed, hit, kicked, and twisted with every bit of remaining strength he had. But to no avail. They are so much stronger than me. They kept pulling him down, further and further.

Then, unexpectedly, Gabriel’s head broke the surface of the water. He took a gasping breath as air filled his aching lungs. With a shock, Gabriel realised the two naiads had been taking him to the surface. They saved me!

For a second, he stared at the naiads in amazement, then Gabriel spotted the boat ahead of him. He tried to swim towards it, but his arms kept hitting the naiads whose hands held him tightly, keeping him above water. Despite his attempts to swim, the naiads got him to the boat.

He tried to pull himself onto it, but his arms wouldn’t cooperate. They shook and felt so weak. Strong arms pushed him from behind, and he fell face first onto the deck. He crawled towards the mast. There he sat, hunched over, clutching at it.

Closing his eyes, he took a ragged breath. He felt relief at being out of the water, but he had to get the boat to shore. But there is no way.

Tears fell and joined the rain that continued to beat down on his face. Perhaps he could just sit here. Hope the storm would pass. Another wave hit. His arms tightened around the wooden mast, clinging on for dear life as the boat rocked, almost capsizing.

A thud caused him to open his eyes. Blinking away the rain and tears, he gazed up. A naiad, one who had helped him, stood before him on the boat.

Standing tall and proud, the naiad looked like some sort of ocean god. He stood taller than most naiads. Long, curly dark-green hair hung wild around his face. His body, although lean, was muscled and toned. Water ran in rivulets down his naked pale-green body. His long cock hung flaccid between his legs.

The boat continued to rock, but that didn’t seem to bother the naiad at all. Likewise, the rain and wind had no impact on him. The naiad’s piercing green eyes stared at Gabriel from a long, regal face with high cheekbones and a strong nose. Gabriel held his breath as he stared, unable to look away.

The naiad opened his mouth and, surprisingly, spoke, “Don’t worry. We will save you.” For a second, Gabriel wondered if he was hallucinating. He didn’t know naiads could speak.

Before he had a chance to process what the naiad had said, he turned, grabbed a length of rope on the deck, and threw it into the water. Then, in one fluid movement, the naiad stepped onto the side of the boat and gracefully dived overboard. Gabriel crawled to the side and peered over into the thrashing water below.

He gasped. The naiads took hold of the rope. At the front was the naiad who had been on the boat. He began to propel his body through the water, the others following. They were pulling Gabriel towards the shore.

The naiads are saving me! He laughed in disbelief. I’m going to live! I’m not going to drown after all. I’m going to see my mother again!

He watched the naiads as they swam, amazed at how effortlessly they moved through the violent water. But his eyes kept gravitating to a single naiad. The naiad at the front. Gabriel watched as he swam, entranced. His eyes travelled down the naiad’s muscular back, to his arse, to his muscular legs as they kicked and moved through the water.

Surprisingly quickly, the boat approached land. Soon the water became shallow enough that the naiads could stand. Immediately, Gabriel jumped into the water. His legs half gave out on him, but somehow he managed to stay on his feet.

On shaky legs, he grabbed hold of the boat and started to push it towards the beach. Several of the naiads did the same and assisted. The naiad who had stood on the boat stepped up next to Gabriel, the naiad’s shoulder brushing against his own. Despite his exhaustion, Gabriel felt hyper-aware of the naiad beside him. The touch of his skin against his own.

As Gabriel stepped onto the beach, he felt like weeping in relief. I am safe!

The boat now onshore, the naiads walked back to the ocean. Turning quickly, Gabriel watched them. Several of the naiads glanced back at him. There looked to be about fifteen of them in total, all with pale-green skin and curly dark-green hair. Except for one naiad, who, for some reason, had blue skin and dark hair.

Gabriel watched the naiads depart, but his eyes were once again drawn to the naiad who had stood before him on the boat. Raising his hand, Gabriel waved. Most of the naiads didn’t respond, looking slightly confused by the gesture. But the one naiad Gabriel’s eyes stayed fixed on waved back, his lips quirking up in a smile. Then he turned and swam away with the others.

Exhausted, Gabriel went to his knees on the sand, still in disbelief over how he had managed to survive.