Shiloe: Just the Two of Us

Draco stopped short at the edge of the trees, flinging a hand out to stop Shiloe. “We’ve found them.” He whispered, lowering his arm.





Shiloe looked through the trees at the lake, where a few nude women were sitting on boulders that jutted out of the water. “Do you think they’re friendly?” He whispered back.





Draco shrugged. “Really only one way to tell. Want to see?” He asked.





Shiloe grinned. “Sure.” He stepped out of the trees. “Hello?”





The three nymphs screamed and dove into the water, peeking out at him, only their eyes and the tops of their heads showing.





“Please don’t be afraid. I’m Shiloe, and this is Draco, one of my anchors.” He said, pulling Draco up beside him. “We don’t mean to scare you, we just wanted to see you and meet you. Draco’s father owns the house not too far from here.”





“Honestly, it’s a Manor, not a house.” Draco drawled, glaring at Shiloe mildly. “Get it right.”





Shiloe elbowed him. “Can you understand us?” He asked in curiosity.





One nymph stuck her head out of the water and nodded, slowly. “We can understand you.” She answered cautiously. “We weren’t expecting to see anyone here. We haven’t had visitors in ages.” She said.





Draco smiled. “I’m sorry if we frightened you.” He said.





The other nymphs looked him over and one stuck her head out of the water. “You’re very lovely.” She said, then peeked at Shiloe. “But you have a Shiloe. You’re off-limits. We’ve heard of what Shiloe can do. We won’t challenge one. We’re not stupid.” She finished haughtily.





Shiloe smiled. “I thank you for that. I’d hate to have to fight you over him. I don’t want to hurt you.”





The first nymph that had spoken with them pulled herself out of the water and back onto the boulder, sunning herself again. “Why did you want to meet us?” She asked.





“We’ve never seen nymphs before. We were curious.” Shiloe answered her.





She smiled. “And now? Is your curiosity satisfied?”





Shiloe shook his head, returning the smile. “Not quite. Can we talk for a while? I may never get an opportunity like this again.”





The nymph nodded. “I am Aria, and these are my two younger sisters, Nyselle and Larinia.” She said, pointing first to the darker-haired one, then to the redhead. Aria herself had light brown hair that had shone almost blonde when dry.





Nyselle waved, smiling brightly, and Larinia flushed, content to study them, face still hidden by the water.





“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” Draco said charmingly, smiling at them all in turn.





Shiloe echoed his sentiments, then turned to Aria again. “How long have you lived here?”





Aria eyed him for a moment, then smiled. “It’s been three hundred years for me, two hundred fourteen for Nyselle, and Larinia is only one hundred and five. We’ve lived here all our lives. This lake is our home, and always has been. The Fawcette line, and now the Malfoy line, by extension, is protected by our magic. We fuel the Wards on the Manor, making it virtually unassailable.” She said smugly.





Shiloe nodded. “That’s what felt so strange about the Wards. It’s nymph magic.”





“It is.” Aria agreed. “We have our own kind of magic, and we don’t mind using it to help humans when they do us a good turn. And the Malfoys have not yet earned our ire, so we are content to lend our help to them, for as long as it suits us.”





Shiloe cocked his head. “Do nymphs have parents?”





Aria laughed. “Not as such. We came from the water, and we are of the water. I suppose if you must, you could call this lake our mother.” She mused.





Draco nodded. “That makes sense. Strangely, but it does.”





Nyselle pulled herself onto another rock and began combing out her hair with her fingers, the strands drying as soon as she touched them, shining a dark chestnut brown. “What is your father like? He came by one day, but never actually spoke to us, so we left him alone. He’s lovely, too.”





Shiloe tensed. “He’s also mine.” He said, a growl underlying the words.





Nyselle pouted. “So greedy.” She chided. “Very well. What’s he like, though?”





Draco smiled. “He’s a lot like me, though he’s more collected most of the time. He’s also a bit more cautious, which explains why he didn’t try to talk to you. He was probably aware that you’d try to keep him here if he did, since he had nothing to ward you off with.”





Aria huffed. “What do you mean by that?”





Draco smirked. “Let me put it this way: If I wasn’t Shiloe’s anchor, would you let me leave here, having seen me?” He asked.





Aria considered him for a moment, then smiled coyly. “I see your point.” She conceded.





Nyselle giggled, braiding her hair. “You’re lovely, but not worth losing our lives over. We know Shiloe could boil away our lake with minimal effort, and we’d die if he did that. We don’t need a man THAT badly, though we’d LIKE one. Especially one as lovely as you or your father.”





Shiloe narrowed his eyes. “How do you know what Shiloe are capable of?” He asked, the thought finally occurring to him.





Aria blinked at him. “That same way you know how to use your abilities. We’re not so different, really.”





“Ah.” Shiloe said, understanding dawning on him. “I see.”





Draco frowned. “I don’t.” He said.





“Generational knowledge.” Shiloe explained. “They know what many other nymphs had to learn the hard way.”





“Oh.” Draco said.





Aria nodded. “Most of our kind have merely had dealings with Shiloe, but there are a few that were anchors to their own Shiloe. We know more than you might think.” She said, and Shiloe lowered his empathy barriers a bit, feeling the amusement within her. She was enjoying this immensely.





“I find myself at a disadvantage, then. Be careful, or I might take offense.” He warned teasingly.





Nyselle laughed. “We’re not trying to put you ill-at-ease, so you’ll have to forgive us our slight advantages. We can’t help what we are, after all.”





“I suppose not.” Shiloe agreed, sitting on the bank of the lake. “How did you come to know about the Malfoy family?”





“Mirabelle Malfoy nee Fawcette came to meet us when she married into the family, since it meant that the family we had to associate ourselves with was changing. She came and explained the situation and asked that we keep the protections on the house up, and keep her descendants, who would all be Malfoys, safe as well. Thus far, we have.” Aria explained. “That was Nyselle’s first experience with witches and wizards. She was as shy then as Larinia is now. Lari will get over it in time. She’s still young. This is her first time meeting wizards.”





Draco sat next to Shiloe. “So, what, exactly, is your magic capable of?”





Aria giggled. “Now, that would be telling. But, we could give you a show.” She turned to Nyselle and Larinia. “Want to show them our control over our water?”





Nyselle slid off her rock with a smile, and Larinia nodded shyly.





Aria flashed a bright smile at Draco. “Watch this.”





The three nymphs began to chant in another language and a whirlpool quickly formed, gaining speed and intensity as it carried the three grinning nymphs around the lake.





Shiloe and Draco watched in interest.





“That looks like fun.” Shiloe commented.





“Oh, it IS.” Nyselle shouted as the chanting stopped. “And it stays like this for quite some time.”