The Grove

None in Veldt knew not of the ritual. Every year it would take place, a poor soul chosen among many to give up their life so dozens more could be spared. It was a grim task, and yet a necessary one. To simply move their village was not an option, many of the people had lived in Veldt their entire lives and knew little else. Rumors of a war going on elsewhere in the kingdom hardly helped in that regard. The village offered a measure of serenity, though some argue how true that peace really was. Some had suggested no longer paying the sacrifice as well, and yet that was hardly the option as well. The massive forests that surrounded Veldt were the dryads' domain. Though few knew the true powers of the maidens, there were enough rumors to drum up a rather decent amount of fear. It was said that they could control the trees, that they held a connection with the very earth itself. Even the animals bowed to them. If they so willed it, they could set the very forces of nature upon Veldt and raze it to the ground. As such the sacrifices were more than necessary, unfortunate as it might've been.

The most recent of these sacrifices had been a young traveler, a girl barely older than eighteen. The chosen was always a woman, one still light of age. A member of a small caravan misfortune had caused her to become separated, wandering for hours before finally stumbling across Veldt. Whereas one might've seen this as good fortune such could not be farther than the truth.

--

The sun would be dipping below the horizon by the time Alice Alice finally awoke from her drug-induced sleep. Bright emerald eyes slowly blinking, a small grimace would cross her lips as her skull pounded in response. She hanging, her hands bound together together by what felt like rope while the tips of her toes were just barely above the ground. Craning her neck she'd find that the rope was tied to a massive tree above, showing not even showing the tiniest bit of strain.

"H-hello?" Her voice was hardly more than a whisper, tone nervous as she glanced about all the while hanging like a piece of meat. Though still a bit hazy she could just barely recall the events from before. The villagers had offered her a meal, a heavy stew alongside a small goblet of wine. They'd seemed so kindly, but at the same time Alice knew that there was something undoubtedly off. The look in the eyes, the way they spoke, there was something that had made her nervous. So desperate she'd chosen to ignore that gut feeling however, and had taken part in their offering without even a second thought. The moment she'd tasted the wine her mind had been overcome in dizziness, thoughts and feelings growing foggy as her eyes clouded over. Then there was nothing.

"No..." Groaning at her own stupidity, she'd close her eyes as she continued to hang by her wrists. What was this? A jest of some sorts? Maybe they saw fit to leave her to be killed by the animals?

But then why didn't they just kill me then?

She still had all of her clothing on as well, she could even feel the sack that held her coin tucked tightly into the side of her blouse. It wasn't as though her clothing was particularly expensive, she wore a simple dress that came down to her ankles, but even then she thought that they'd try to steal at least something.

"Ugh."

None of this made sense, and while she was most certainly afraid Alice was even more confused. Wrists growing chafed as she struggled against the rope binding them, she'd take a moment to glance around her surroundings as well. It was a small clearing, with a small pond right in the middle. An orange glow cast over the area by the setting sun it was rather pretty.

"Um, is...is anyone out there?" She couldn't be all alone, could she?

RE: The Grove (inwiththebooks and VolyVolt)

The grove was serene, the chirping of birds audible and clear and a few light peeps indicated that more than one little frog called the pond their home. A light breeze set the trees whispering, leaves rustling against each other gently. It was a place that time seem to have forgotten, a place that existed outside of the advances of civilization. In that it was also eerie, almost unnatural in how natural it was. Not a single blade of grass looked dead or trodden on, no patch of earth was bare save for the large rock on the edge of the pond.

When Alice spoke a tree creaked on the edge of the grove, thick vines parting and moving and the bushes at the trees base shifting. From the undergrowth emerged the Dryad Aslasa, her green chlorophyll influenced skin blending in nicely with the lush growth. She got to her feet slowly, the green haired creature possessing nothing covering her body to speak of. Aslasa saw the human dangling from the tree in her Grove and smiled, bounding over to the bound young woman with excitement. A new person to share her grove with, the villagers certainly kept their agreements nicely.

The creature frowned at how the human was dressed, the human need for modesty never ceased to vex her. It always made actually knowing her sacrifices difficult. Aslasa ignored the human’s words for the moment, focusing instead on running her hands up and down her body with little regard for personal space. The Dryad roughly tore at Alice’s dress, shredding the fabric without a care and examining her body with care. Ever place she could touch was memorized and judged, the merits of Alice’s physical formed weighed for some as yet unknown reason. So far everything seemed to be in order, causing another smile to split across Aslasa’s face.

“Yes, you will do human.” Aslasa said, working on the knots that bound Alice’s hands.

The Dryad smiled, switching to a strange tongue that sounded like the leaves rustling against each other. She was telling the trees to watch the newest inhabitant of the Grove, to stop her if she tried to escape. It was a simple enough command, and being that they were in the middle of a vast forest it was unlikely Alice would be able to escape even if she tried to do so. Aslasa moved over to the rock on the edge of the pond and gestured for Alice to follow her and sit beside her, flashing her a pleasant smile.

“Welcome, human, to your new home. I am called Aslasa in your tongue, what are you called?” The Dryad said.

RE: The Grove (inwiththebooks and VolyVolt)

"Huh?"

The rustling of foliage would be quick to draw her attention, the girl's eyes travelling over towards the source. She was expecting an animal, and yet what emerged was something else entirely. A woman, skin as green as the lush leaves above, emerged. Boasting a figure that most woman would kill her, her lack of clothing leaving little to the imagination, the girl's would flush red at the rather immodest showing. Her step holding a bit of pep to it the green-skinned woman would waste little time approaching the hanging girl, and to Alice's own discomfort would begin to grab at her. Her hands roamed the woman's body with little regard for the girl's own comfort. She squirmed in response, heart pounding in her chest. What was this?

"S-stop." The dryad either ignored her or didn't understand as the groping continued before gripping tightly and tearing at her clothing. The dress would rip easily enough, and within moments shreds of fabric would cover the ground. Laid bare the girl's blushing would intensify, cheeks an almost fiery red by this point. She knew of the creature that stood before her, of what it was. It was a dryad, a denizen of the forest. Their reclusive nature made research difficult, and of all the books that she had read few had much to say. As such, the girl couldn't make heads or tails of what exactly the woman before her was doing.

The touching continued, the girl's body still as tense as ever as the soft hands traveled up and down her creamy skin. Little was sacred for the dryad apparently, and by the time the dryad was finished Alice's embarrassment had overridden her fear by a wide margin. Just...just what was that?

The dryad would soon speak, speaking Alice's language as easily as any other denizen of the kingdom. She'd unbound the rope covering her hands, letting the girl hit the ground with a slight 'oomph', before moving over to the pond. An introduction would soon follow, and from the woman's gesture Alice could only assume that she wanted the young girl to join her.

Scrambling to her feet and wiping the dirt from her bare skin she'd take an uneasy step forward, eyeing the dryad with suspicion. One arm covering her chest hesitantly approach. "Alice..." She'd speak in a low murmur, "What do you mean by 'new home'? I'm not even from around here."

She'd take a seat on the cold rock, trying to keep a respectable distance between herself and the dryad. "I got separated from the rest of my caravan, and then..."

How could do they do this?

"I need to get out of here, find my family. I'm not sure why the villagers tied me up here, but...but I think they made a mistake."