Silver Rose

The Boshkas

“Tee hee hee.” Someone giggled in her ear.

One of the water women popped up in front of her. Up close, Marina could see she looked exactly like a human only she wasn’t. The woman touched Marina’s face. Her fingers felt like water pouring out of a fountain against her cheek.

“Humans,” the woman said.

“Humans.” A chorus of female voices repeated.

Marina saw that there were more than two water women now. She counted eight. Three of them held Zander up above the stream. The wall of water encircled all of them.

“Grrr!”

Marina jumped. The monsters were still out there.

“They don’t like water,” the woman who’d touched her face said, “only blood.” She grinned wickedly.

Marina took a couple stumbling steps away from her.
“Who are you?” She asked.

“I am Lorelei,” the woman said. “These are my sisters. And you are in our stream.”

“Your stream?”

“It is our home. We are the streams.”

“What are—“ Marina began.

“You’ve asked enough questions,” Lorelei cut in. “It is my turn. What are you doing here, human-maiden?”

What kind of question was that? Didn’t she see the monsters? Hear them growling outside the wall of water?

“The monsters,” Marina stammered.

“Hah!” Barked Lorelei. “Monsters.” Her sisters laughed. “We know how you humans are.” Lorelei said. “You come to steal and poison.”

“No we didn’t.”

“Yes. That’s why you always come. You take and drink. Your animals, your filthy selves, and do you ever ask? Do you ever seek our permission? No. You drink, you take, you steal from us. And you dump your piss, your slop, you rot into us. And have you ever apologized?”

“But—“

“No!” Lorelei answered herself. “And now you come to us, wanting our help, our mercy when you give us none?”

“But…” Marina could barely make her brain comprehend monsters and water women; and now she had to believe that she had somehow offended a stream? It was a lifeless stream. Yes, Was. “I don’t understand. How—“

Lorelei turned away from her and faced the others.
“Sisters,” she said. “She is guilty as all humans are. What shall be the punishment?”

Her sisters grinned.
“Drown. Drown. Drown.” They chanted.

“But I didn’t do anything!” Marina shouted.

“It doesn’t matter,” Lorelei said as her sisters continued chanting. “You will pay for your race.”

Even as they repeated “Drown” over and over, the three sisters holding Zander began to lower him into the stream. They were serious.

“No!” Marina tried to stop them, but Lorelei pulled her back.

They dropped Zander into the water. Marina watched in horror, when, a few seconds later, Zander suddenly rose above the water and gasped for air. The water women pushed him down and held him under. Marina tried to pull herself from Lorelei’s grasp, but she was surprisingly strong. She wouldn’t have thought that water could be so tough.

“Waters,” Lorelei said in a low voice. The wall fell away with loud splash. “Waters rise. Rise high.”

As Zander splashed about, Marina felt the stream rise up to her breasts.

“Rise. Rise!” Lorelei said. “Bring the strength of floods and wash the filthy humans away.”

Lorelei let go of Marina. Her sisters stepped away from Zander. The stream rose up to her neck. Marina tried to get away. The monsters paced back and forth by the stream, waiting. Her feet lost their footing. Her legs kicked wildly. But her head went under anyway. She opened her eyes and saw Zander a few feet away. There was nothing she could do. She never learned how to swim. Her head broke the surface. She gasped for air and barely got any before sinking again.

Then the water swirled. She saw bubbles and a third body. When Marina’s head came up again, she saw another head.

“Help!” She barely managed to gasp before her mouth was filled with water.

Then Lorelei was in front of her. She didn’t know how she knew Lorelei from her sisters, but she did. The water woman put her arms around Marina and held her… under. Marina looked up. She could see the sunlight shining down above them through the blurry, glassy surface of the water. So near.

Her lungs ached. She needed air. Suddenly, Lorelei was pulled back. She kept one hand on Marina and turned. A person floated in front of them. Lorelei’s eyebrows met and she grabbed the person’s neck. The person easily pulled out of her grasp. Then made a fist and punched her in the face. Lorelei let go of Marina. The person grabbed her and dragged her up to the surface.

Marina’s first breath of air brought tears down her cheeks. She gasped and coughed while someone held her up.

“Zander,” she cried coughing. “Where’s Zander?!”

“Here,” he answered.

She turned her head. He was behind her and soon next to her. He put a hand on her shoulder.

“I thought you were dead,” she said, fresh tears filling her eyes.

“I know,” he said.

“Well, you’re both alive. Now what?”
Marina craned a little more. Zander wasn’t swimming on his own. His was being held by a woman. A real human woman.

“We’ve got to get them to land,” a familiar voice said behind her head. “Naiads!” She shouted. “Nymphs of the water, I request that you lower the level of this river.”

“It’s a stream,” Lorelei said, her head rising above the surface.

“Then lower the level of the stream,” the woman with Zander said.

“I don’t like your attitude,” Lorelei said.

“Maybe I should dam your precious little stream up,” Zander’s woman said. Still holding Zander in one arm, she held out a smooth stone in her other hand. “All it takes is one.”

Lorelei’s eyes grew large.
“Waters,” she said staring at the stone. “Drain away. Flow away. Quickly!”

The stream immediately began to rush in all directions. Soon, Marina’s feet touched the rocky bottom. In no time, the stream was back to being waist high.

“Help him,” the woman behind her said as she let her go. “We’ve got to do something about these Boshkas.”

Marina made her way to Zander. The other woman steadied him as Marina put her arm around his waist and his arm over her shoulder. It was only when the two woman walked over to Lorelei that Marina got a good look at them. The one who helped Zander was dark haired, dark eyed, and almond skinned. The other had light brown curly hair, and was more fair.
“Boshkas?” The dark haired woman questioned.

“Yes,” said the brown haired one. “I can’t believe I’m seeing them here. I haven’t seen one for over four hundred years since Prince Lanquor was killed.”

Lanquor?! Marina and Zander looked at each other in surprise.

“This human world is crazy,” the dark haired one said. “Maybe it’s good that I don’t remember those years.”

“Mara, it’s not always like this.” The brown haired one shook her head. “We are going to need your help, Naiad.”

Lorelei nodded her head. And her sisters rose up out of the water.

“Boshkas hate water,” the brown haired woman said. “If we can make it rain…”

“Make it rain?” The one called Mara said. “We can’t make it rain. My father said that only charmints can manipulate the weather.”

“We’ll give you some water,” Lorelei said. “Just make it a ball and throw it at them. Like this.”

Lorelei scooped up a handful of water. It didn’t leak through her fingers. It stayed together like a big drop of dew. Lorelei threw the water ball at a Boshka monster. The ball hit the Boshka in the side. The monster squealed and fell back.

“Hit the Boshkas!” Lorelei shouted.

Her sisters scooped up water and flung it at the Boshkas. The two women joined them. Boshkas howled as they were assaulted with blasts of water. They ran aimlessly about trying to avoid getting wet. Marina wondered if they’d ever leave. Zander’s weight press down on her. He wasn’t going to hold up much longer; and she was sure she wouldn’t have the strength to catch him when he fell. He was already leaning away from her, slowly slipping out of her grasp.

Snarling, the Boshkas tried to get close to the stream. But the water attack was so strong two suddenly broke away from the group and ran off. Watching the two Boshkas retreat somehow gave Marina an extra jolt of strength. Letting go of his wrist, she held him with both arms. He stopped sinking.

The three remaining Boshkas stood out of range. They stared at their attackers, and then snarled at each other in turn. Two of them ran at each other butting horns. The third growled at them. Their fighting ceased. Marina’s hands, wet and cold, stiffly held Zander’s chest above the water, but he was beginning to slip again.

One woman, the dark haired one, Mara, stepped out of the stream and onto the land. She faced the Boshkas. Seeing her, the three Boshkas suddenly ran toward them. Marina waited for the water balls to fly through the air but they didn’t. She looked over at the women. They were all just standing there, watching the monsters come. What were they doing? Were they all mad? She was going to be killed. Zander leaned out of her grip. She tried to regain the encircling of his torso, but her fingers were too stiff to accomplish that. So she held on to the cloth of his tunic.

The Boshkas were close now. Would they jump into the stream? The brown haired woman had said they hated water, but if they wanted something bad enough… Marina’s feet were slipping with the weight of Zander pulling her to the right. They were going to go under and she wouldn’t have the strength to even save herself.

The Boshkas were almost at the edge of the stream. The middle one leaped into the air, jaws opened wide, aiming for Mara’s throat. She didn’t move. Marina wanted to close her eyes, but they wouldn’t listen to her. The Boshka’s teeth were about to clamp on Mara’s throat, when she moved out of the way. She moved so fast, Marina barely saw it. Then the Boshka’s arch descended. With a yelp, it landed in the stream. It thrashed about. It’s eyes filled with terror. Then Lorelei’s sisters grabbed it, and forced it under the water. A couple of Marina’s fingers slid off the hold she had on Zander. She teetered some more. They were going to fall over… They were going to fall over.

The sisters held the Boshka under water. It’s clawed feet sliced through some of them a couple times. But the sisters were made out of water, and the cuts were instantly filled in with more water. Soon, the monster was still. The sisters threw its body. It landed next to the remaining Boshkas. They sniffed at the dead body. Then each bit into opposite sides of the corpse. Marina turned her face away sure they were going to feast on its flesh. Her fingers were too tired to hold on. She watched helplessly as Zander sunk beneath the water’s surface and she followed seconds later.

They were barely under the water when they were suddenly above it again. Marina looked up. Two of the water women held her up, one on each side of her. Through one their bodies, she saw two others carrying Zander. They came to the shore and the water women hesitated. Then they stepped onto land. Marina vaguely remembered the monsters. Far ahead, she saw two Boshka’s running off dragging a third between them. The women laid her under a tree propping her head against the rough trunk. It was only then that Marina realized the water women were now solid. They looked almost human. Almost. Their skin was a medium blue, their straight hair a dark navy blue as were their lips. They did wear silky, thin, light blue dresses that barely covered anything. Again, although the sisters looked alike, Marina knew who Lorelei was. She stood with the two strange women. She was also the only one wearing a silver dress.

The three of them walked over to her. They all kneeled, and Mara placed a hand on her forehead. Marina shivered.

“She’ll be all right,” Mara said after a while. “She needs warmth, food, and lots of rest…May become slightly ill, but from exhaustion.”

“Are you a physician?” Marina asked her.

“No,” Mara answered. She stared at Marina’s neck. “Where’d you get this necklace?” She asked picking up the pendent.

Before Marina could answer, Zander moaned.

“Don’t try to sit up,” Mara said to him. Then she stood and walked away.

The other woman smiled at her. Taking her hand she said,
“Much has happened to the princess of Brovan since I left.”

Marina stared at her, surprised. How did she know who she was? Marina’d never seen this woman in her life. At least, she didn’t think she had. But if that were so, why did her voice make her feel like she was home.

“He does poorly,” Mara’s voiced announced. “I will do what I can now, but it won’t help much if we don’t get him out of this wind and chill.”

“We know of a place, upstream, that has shelter,” Lorelei said. “And there are those that can help.”

“How do we get there?” The woman holding Marina’s hand asked.

Marina felt soothing warmth, like a small fire, emitting from the woman’s hand into her own. The heat made its way from her hand to the rest of her body.

“We’ll take you,” said Lorelei. “It will be much faster it we go by stream.”

“But—“ the woman began.

“We will carry the humans. The stream will be fast as a flood, a surge. We’ll get there before they can become uncomfortable. They will be safe.”

The woman agreed, as did Mara. No one asked for Marina’s opinion. And she was too tired, and too comfortably warm to voice her fear of getting into the water again.

“Let them rest for a few minutes,” Mara said. “Then we’ll go. In fact, we should all rest.”

The sisters stood. They settled themselves by stream, but none went in. Mara sat next to Zander who was laying on the ground a couple feet away. Her face was twisted in confusion for a long moment. Then her face went blank and she placed both hands on Zanders stomach. A glowing yellow formed an aura around her hands. Marina looked back at the water women. Three were skipping about, giggling.

“What are they?” Marina asked aloud, her head full of drowsiness.

“Naiads,” the woman holding her hand said. “They are water nymphs.”

“Their bodies changed,” she said, eyelids drooping. Talking to this woman was so… so natural.

“All nymphs have their form when they are spirits of their own piece of nature, and a more solid one when outside of it.”

Marina nodded. Of course. Nymphs and monsters and talking animals and men with blazing yellow eyes. It all made sense in her unconscious head.

“And who are you?” Her lips asked.

“Tara, your nanny,” the woman answered.

“But… how?”

“I’m a fairy, princess, I’ve been with your country since its beginnings. And will be there at its end.”

Although her ears heard it, her brain didn’t bother to completely process it. The answer, the thought, slipped in and out of her dreams like thread through a tapestry.