Jeff dug her heels into the dirt, trying to dislodge herself from the wizard’s grasp, but her weakened body found no purchase in the ash-covered earth beneath her. Her separation from her forest further drained her energy until she could hardly move. At last, she collapsed to the ground, fully spent, knowing that she would soon die if this continued. The Slavis only added more insult to injury by grabbing her by the ankle and dragging her limp form ever deeper towards her doom. Meanwhile, her eyes took in the devastation around her. The forest creatures she had watched over until now had long since fled the area leaving only dead trees and smoldering embers. For the first time since her arrival, Jeff felt truly alone. No, worse than alone.
Turning her head, she glared her hatred at the Slavis, who had now stopped at the very center of his fiery circle. Unceremoniously dropping her leg, he stood over her in triumph. The raging inferno lit his scaly face on all sides, making him appear even more predatory.
“How could you?” Jeff rasped, her parched throat feeling like sawdust. “Mother Nature…You’re killing her!”
The wizard gave a reptilian grin and shook his head. “Of all beings, you should know better,” he said in a distinct hissing accent. “Fire is also natural, and the forest shall recover on its own, perhaps better than before. It is merely your unnatural influence that is dying.”
Dropping her gaze, Jeff curled up in defeat. “So, what are you waiting for? Just kill me.”
“The dreaded Lady of the Dark Forest gives up so easily,” the wizard snorted. “For one so infamous, you are yet young and foolish. No. Luckily for you, I am old enough to have learned compassion. I will give you a choice.” Reaching into his robe, he produced an acorn. Instantly, Jeff recognized it as a seed from her own tree, a tiny kernel of life. Had she not been so weak and the acorn so miniscule, she might have sensed it from this close. Even so, it would do her little good at this point, unless…
Jeff’s eyes went wide. “No! You can’t be asking me to do that. It’s too small! I’d barely be alive!”
The Slavis nodded. “It is that or death. Take it or leave it. And quickly. Your host tree is succumbing to the flames.”
Just as the wizard stated, Jeff could sense the fire devouring her tree, searing into its very heart until it was nothing but ashes. “How do I know you won’t kill me anyway?”
“You will have to trust me. If I wanted you dead, I would simply abandon you here and let your tree burn. Why not take this chance to live? For what it may be worth to you, I give my word not to kill you.”
Nymph and wizard stared each other down for a few seconds. Finally, with a frustrated snarl, Jeff reached out with her last shreds of magic and connected them to the acorn, establishing it as her host and severing her connection to her own tree just as it crumbled to dust. Such a transfer was only possible for a nymph when the death of her host tree was imminent, and only with another tree from her grove. Even then, nymphs usually chose adult trees, not seeds, and the process consumed most of their magic. This left her quite vulnerable for at least a few months even after sprouting. Still, Jeff felt determined to live at all cost.
Once the transfer completed, she could already feel herself dwindling. It was not a return to childhood per se since a nymph was always a woman, but she did lose much of her impressive figure. Soon, she was left a thin slip of a girl in her early teens. Then, she evaporated into a cloud of light that entered the acorn and winked out. There she would stay until her acorn sprouted again, and even then, it would take years for her to mature into her previous glory. Meanwhile, she could only watch from her embryonic prison, helpless against her captor. Or the common squirrel. Ugh, it was humiliating.