Rusalka

 

CW: this story contains a brief attack by a man on a woman, with sexual assault intentions (but not achieved) The willow tree swayed in the moonlight, whiplike branches dancing in the murky water of the river. A bright full moon hung low in the sky, casting the land in a baleful blue. Each ripple on the water was touched with silver from the moon’s glow, enchanting the world with each movement. Reeds wrestled with the breeze, creating the soft sounds of night that blended with the willow’s melodic drifting as I approached.

Not a footstep could be found on the shore on either side. Nor animal track. This part of the river seemed bereft of life. No frog croaked, nor cricket sang. Nothing made nose save the greenery which danced in the low wind. The water chuckled, making soft noises as it moved in its bed, creating peaceful tranquility in the night.

I gazed at the river and its great willow, looking for the tiniest of movements. The way one learned to see bugs or rabbits, seeking out minimal movements that gave the entire creature away. Yet nothing stirred in the water, nor on the leaves of the willow. I braved a few cautious steps forward before finding the glimmer of green strands between the branches.

The hair blended perfectly with the willow’s weeping leaves, the same pale green nearly white. The tips of the hair bled into the water, moving softly with the current. My eyes slowly pulled upward, following the long strands towards the top of the tree, obscured perfectly by the willow itself. I pursed my lips, taking a few wandering steps to try to catch a glimpse of what lied within.

As I stepped, a soft giggle caught the air. I stopped and stared at the swaying branches, suddenly unable to see the long hair. 

“Hello?” I asked, turning my head to gaze downriver in the reeds. They shivered as though something lived within them, taunting me. “I won’t hurt you,” I offered, a phrase I said often that was always somehow amusing to those I spoke to.

“I didn’t think you would.” The voice was soft and feminine, with a hint of amusement that reminded me of the veiled threats of the fae. “Come closer,” she murmured, yet refused to reveal herself.

“They say you drown those that find you.” I stepped to the edge of the water, watching the tree for hints of the speaker. 

“Do you believe them?” she asked, voice lilting in curiosity. 

I turned my head as the reeds rustled again. “Perhaps. Why do you haunt them?”

The still night revealed her low growl. It held all the promises of danger that quickened my heart. The moon slid behind the clouds, darkening the world around me. Water splashed as something dropped from the old willow, sliding beneath the surface of the water.

I fought the urge to step back from the water’s edge. I barely saw the willow branches part. The moon came out, filtering the water with its brilliance. Long pale green hair floated in its depths, spreading out from the willow’s skirt, and attaching to the barely visible head of a woman.

Her eyes were pale white, no pupils to be seen. An unearthly green replaced rosy skin, with dark green lips hidden beneath the water’s surface. Yet I could see the wicked grin there, tempting me forward. Slowly she moved forward, hands winding through the river’s depths, bright glimpses of pale flesh in the gloom.

Slowly she raised up, enough that I saw the slope of her breasts, wicked smile never leaving her lips. “You like what you see, yes?” Her inhuman beauty caught my eye, bringing a flush to my cheeks.  

“You are very beautiful.” My eyes wandered her heart-shaped face, lush lips, and soulless eyes. “Let me guess. You want me to come into the water with you?” I couldn’t help but sigh.

A sweet pout showed on her lips as she glanced down. Long fingered hands moved up her body, caressing her own breasts before slithering back into the water. “So you think you know me so well. You ask why I haunt them…”

The sound of water dripping resounded around us. My eyes glanced down the river to all the green-skinned women standing in her depths, beautiful boodies hidden within the river. Their hair was the same pale green, eyes just as empty, faces just as beautiful.

Her broad nose flared when I didn’t stumble forward but instead looked at the one who had been speaking. “You got me. I thought there was only one of you.” Quietly I sat on the edge of the river. The closeness made the women move forward in barely hidden excitement. “But why are you all here?”

The women glanced between each other, saying nothing but showing everything. My lips pursed as I watched them silently confer with their eyes. Finally, one turned to me. “We cannot trust you.” Her eyes stared with a hardness that sent a chill up my spine.

“If I show you trust will you honor it?”

Another nodded. “Yes.” 

Their eyes watched me as I leaned back, unlacing and pulling off the boots. Bare feet touched the edge of the water as I pulled the breeches, coat, and shirt off, leaving a discarded pile by the river’s edge. 

The water was cold, sending chills up my body as I waded in. The women surrounded me, keeping out of my reach but swarming around like a school of fish would. I turned, watching them nearly touch me out of curiosity before slinking back. 

“Why did you drown them?” I asked, turning my head to look at the first that had been in the willow. She slipped backward, moving beneath the willow and disappearing behind the curtain of dangling branches. 

I followed, ignoring her games. My fingers parted the willow, revealing the rusalka as she lounged against the trunk. Her naked body was stunning, as was the intelligence in her eyes and the knowing smile on her lips. She knew she was beautiful. All of them did, and her openness brought a smirk to my lips. Most creatures were shy. She was coy.

Cold fingers caressed my hips as the rusalki followed me, moving forward with purpose as their kin watched me approach. I paused in the middle of the circle, glancing at the women around me as their hands caressed and touch, daring only to feel my back and hips, my legs and arms. Yet now and then a soft touch would caress my thighs or graze a breast.

“Why do you think we drowned them?” the woman on the tree asked, feet dangling playfully in the water. “Why would you have drowned them?” Her long green hair clung to her curves and floated on the water’s surface.

“I would drown a man who attacked me, hurt me, assaulted me…” I let my sentence wander off as her expression hardened. Slowly I closed the distance between the two of us until I could look up at her face from inches away. “These were men who wronged you?”

“Every one of them,” hissed one voice.

“Has hurt a sister.”

“Betrayed her.”

“Brutalized her.”

“Abandoned her.”

“Silenced her.”

“Killed her.”

I grimaced and looked back to the woman before me after glancing from face to face as they whispered. “Then you look for vengeance.”

“We bring the spring green. We bless their fields. We give them wet earth to plow,” she said in a low sensual voice as her hand slid between her open thighs, playing with herself.

My eyes watched her as hands slid up my body to cup my breasts, while other fingers played teasingly with my nipples. I bit my lip, barely catching a low moan before it escaped. She smirked, then caressed my face with her wet hand.

“What did you do to the last man that betrayed you?”

I gasped as a tongue lapped at my slit, exploring the cold sensitive skin between my thighs. My body leaned forward, hands touching the willow behind her, bringing my face near to hers. Another mouth kissed the skin of my back and trailed backward, nipping and sucking as it went until their tongue dove into my rear entrance, dancing a path of pleasure.

Her smirk deepened as she caressed my cheeks, brushing hair from my face. The smile gave way as her tongue licked the edge of my lips, teasing me until I opened to her. Our mouths met, tongues playing and tasting. Moans escaped me, spilling into her waiting lips as we kissed.

Fingers pushed inside of me, exploring slowly. The women worked their hands back and forth, pushing deeper as I shuddered above them, barely able to stand. The rusalka broke our kiss and stood, pushing me back by the shoulders.

I stumbled, tripping over her sisters as they surrounded me and fell into the depths of the water. Cold surrounded me, sending a shock through my body. Yet the rusalki didn’t wait, taking advantage of the momentary lack of movement. 

Mouths closed over every part of me, nipping and suckling at nipples, between my thighs, behind me, at my wrists, and my stomach. Long fingered hands closed over my throat, holding me beneath the river’s surface as I bucked and shuddered, body fighting the pleasure yet wanting more as wave after wave of it rushed over me. 

My lungs burned and I tried to pull forward to get out of the water. I twisted against their rubbery skin, fighting futility. A moan vibrated in the water as fingers pushed deep inside of me, thrust hard and curling upwards to reach a sensitive spot that sent me wild.

The hands at my throat pulled up, bringing my head out of the water. I gasped, air filling my lungs as her hands stroked my throat. “What would you do, my love? If he betrayed you? If he killed you so he could bed another?”

I opened my mouth to answer, only to be thrust into the water once more. River water filled my mouth, pushing out air as it went. I cried out, bubbles floating to the surface as she held me there, the pleasure her sisters gave filling the silence. 

Long fingers played over my stomach and hips, caressing softly and sending a ticklish jolt through me. I tried to pull away, but the rusalki held me firm. The fingers continued, scratching lightly as I twisted and thrashed, trying to hold my breath rather than laugh. 

Just as I was about to cry out, to suck in water, she brought me up again. I spit out the water, coughing as I pulled in blessed air once more. Yet their tickling fingers never stopped and I whimpered, sounds of frustration and delight escaping me at the same time. The fingers within me pushed harder and faster, bringing me closer to my body releasing. 

Tears slid down my cheeks as I tried to get away from the tickling fingers, body twitching with every touch. The rusalka that held my neck smirked at me. “Of course you would drown him,” she purred, leaning down to lick my lips. 

“Please,” I half laughed before she pushed me back into the water. The tickling continued, sending waves of panic and fear as I failed to escape. Each tongue exploring me moved faster, sending new waves of delight through my body. I shuddered and bucked, whimpering in the water’s gloom, before crying out as an explosion erupted through me.

My body convulsed and I gasped, sucking in water. Pleasure filled me, consuming my mind as every part of me hummed and vibrated. My lungs burned with the water, and a strange floating feeling began to take over my body as a strange sound barked through the river’s waters.

The surface broke and I coughed, body no longer fighting against the women. Their hands stroked, gentle and caring, as my mind began to return. I blinked, looking around me until my eyes settled on the woman I was leaning against, her hands gently caressing my hair. 

“Destroy him for us,” she whispered in my ear, tongue flicking my earlobe. “And we will murder no more.”

I shivered as I slid into the river, my mind still foggy. The willow branches played with my floating body, caressing my skin as I moved from beneath its shade into the river. Silence hung in the air and nothing touched me save the water.

Splaashing broke me frrom my glow. Broad hands gripped my shoulders, pulling me out of the water to the land. I squinted in the dark, eyes falling on his features. “Are you alright?” he asked gruffly. His hands rested on my shoulders.

His eyes wandered my naked body. Behind him, a dozen pale eyes watched. One of his hands touched my face, then slid down, pushing my hair back from my chest. “Best be careful. All sorts of creatures out here could hurt a pretty girl like you.”

I swallowed, suddenly aware of my nakedness. My hand groped for my clothes as he peered into my eyes. “You seem dazed…” The eyes watched mine only for a  moment before his hand slid down my body, roughly caressing a breast before sliding between my thighs, parting my legs. 

“It’s you, isn’t it?” I asked, pushing into the dirt to move away from him. 

His hand closed on my shoulder, pushing me into the muddy bank. “Shh,” he murmured. “Don’t worry. It won’t hurt…”

I whimpered and turned, pushing up on the bank. My hand caught on the slick mud and I slid down to lie beneath him, my feet in the water. “You killed them, didn’t you?”

Pain flourished in my cheek as he struck me. “Shut up. Just be fucking quiet.”

My hand pushed on his shoulder, shoving him away from me and I slid into the water, running towards the other side. He ran after me, storming into the river, hand catching my hair and pulling.

Once more I was beneath the water, struggling to breathe as he held me. My nails dug into his hand, clawing to be free.

Then suddenly, he let go. I kicked to the surface, gasping for air and turning to look. He stood, transfixed, looking at the green women as they caressed him. Panic only settled into his eyes when one grabbed his cloak from behind and pulled him down into the water.

Bubbles broke on the surface as the water settled. White eyes looked up at me from below, a knowing smile, then faded into the night.