I sat at my desk, finishing my paperwork as the breeze blew through my window, letting it tousle my blonde hair as it bellows throughout my study. I looked over to the large pile of files, stuffed with various papers of all sorts. 

'I have so much to do.' I thought as I reclined back into my chair.

Being a country was hard. I had so many responsibilities, and I had to be wary of what was going about. It was like I didn't have time to breath. 

I sat down my pen, wanting to take a break from writing and stamping reports and ludicrous documents. It was early summer, and the weather had barely gotten to the point of being scorching hot. Somehow it seemed to maintain a fair temperature. The wind blew once more, this time making the wind chime I got from Japan to ring. Another gust came, and I figured I should close the window lest should all the papers fly about. Just when I was about to shut it...

"...manna, horahoraho…"

'A voice?' It was a very soft voice, very distant in the scenery. My home was surrounded by a forest full of trees, with one way in and one way out. Who could've gotten through the gate?

I decided to go see who was singing on my land. I grabbed my jacket and walked out of the front door onto the brick walkway, venturing my way into the dense forest. The more I walked, the more louder the voice seemed to get. I could start to put words together.

"...Crietros, strientropo, horahoraho…"

The voice seemed to belong to a woman, and they were talking in some type of strange, foreign language. As I got closer a beautiful lake came into view. I never saw this lake before, so it was a surprise to see that it existed. It was guarded by the tall trees, the water reflected the sky, giving it a peaceful air. I was so captivated by its beauty I nearly forgot my mission at hand. 

I looked out at the lake and  in it's center, I could see a beautiful, young woman standing on the water. Her (h/l), (h/c) swayed in the wind, her head tilted to face the sky as she continued singing with her eyes fluttered close. She had strange ears, almost as if they were the fins of a fantail goldfish and to finish her beautiful form, she was clad in a long, white dress that seemed to float in the wind. 

She took notice of my presence, and turned towards me, revealing her big (e/c) eyes, that held peace and serenity. A very warm feeling enveloped my whole body, and slowly she started to walk towards me, slowly making ripples in the water. I could feel my cheeks starting to get hot. She stopped at the water's edge, with her face meeting mine, our eyes locked on each others'.

"Can you.......see me?" She asked in such a quiet, soft tone. Her eyes shone with curiosity.

"Yes, I can." My voiced trailed of shakily.

"But, how is that possible?" A serious expression crossed her face as she spoke. She brought her hand up to her mouth, letting her finger cradle her bottom lip. 

"It's a gift that I was born with, love." I said solemnly, giving her a small grin.

Her face softened with my small action. "That makes you the first person who could ever see me" she said as a warm smile appeared on her lips. Her cheeks began to glow a soft pink. I couldn't help but smile back as my face began to feel warm.

"My name is Arthur Kirkland, and I am also the country of Great Britain." I said as I introduced myself. There was no need to hide anything, seeing as no one else could see her.

"Arthur..." She giggled. "I am ________, a Nymph." she said as she smiled with a kind expresssion.

'A Nymph?' I thought. Was ________ talking about those creatures that Greece told me about?

"Nymphs are from Greek mythology displayed as female deities that are associated with a certain landform or location. They're  simply beautiful, young women who are the divine spirits of nature. They can't die from old age or illness, but they aren't necessarily immortal. They can die in some type of way under the right conditions..."

"So, you are the Nymph who defines this lake?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes, this lake is like my home. I hope it will stay here for a while..." Her voice trailed off, a nostalgic expression settled into her face and yet she was still smiling. Her (e/c) eyes gazed down at the water.

'What does she me-' "OOF!"

"Hey, what's up man?!" A familiar voice yelled in my ear as my brother tackled me to the ground.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here you wanker!?" I yelled furiously. His cheeky face showed no change in emotion.

"Well I came over, but you weren't home so I thought I'd go looking for ya!" He said with a toothy grin as he snaked his arm around my neck and started rubbing my head with his knuckles. Was he making my hair messier than it already was? I looked over to ________, who was giggling from amusement. Guess I would have to ask her what she meant later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From that point on I would keep visiting _________ at the lake whenever I had the time. That question would always slip my mind since I got so lost with her and our activities. ________ would always sing to me and dance on the water's surface, letting her hair and dress flow with every movement she made. In exchange I would talk to her for hours on end about the human world and it's vast wonders. It wasn't long before that I had developed feelings for her.

It kept going on for months, and it seemed like the both of us never got tired of it. Although soon I began noticing a change in ________. She seemed to be weak, and she would tire out easily. I always worried about her well being, asking if she was alright but she assured me that everything was okay. I believed in ________, and thought that maybe it was because of the seasons changing.

I firmly believed that idea, until....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I met ________ at the lake as usual. It was September, and she wanted to show me a dance that she was working on while I was away. It had been at least a week since I last saw her. I was so busy at the World Meeting, and I longed to see her smiling face, glittering eyes and silky (h/c), so I was eager to see what kind of dance she would be performing. I also wanted to tell her how I felt about her.

"Are you sure that you're feeling okay ________?" I asked worriedly.

"I'm fine Arthur, please don't worry about me." She said with a reassuring smile. "I worked on this dance for you, I want you to be enjoying yourself."

I had no choice, so I nestled myself onto the soft grass as _________ stepped onto the water. After she readied herself, she began to dance.

My eyes widened at the sight. This dance was like no other, it was absolutely mesmerizing to see _________ dance with such elegance. Her veil synchronized with every step she took,  gold anklets jingling together when her feet hit the clear water. My chest felt warm, and my heart started to race. It was like the feeling was consuming my whole body, and my desire to kiss _________lips grew stronger.

The more _________ danced I began to notice something wrong with her. Her face was very pale, and a band of sweat beaded her forehead. She was breathing heavily, and she was trying hard to keep her eyes open.

"__________!!" I yelled, sending a flock of birds out of the trees. All too quickly she fainted, her frail body splashing against the water's surface, letting it sink.

I rushed in to save her, and retrieved her body from the cool water. I carried her bridal style, letting her head rest against my chest. I walked over to a widow tree, holding ________ close as I cloaked her with my brown coat hoping that it would provide her some comfort. As she sat in my lap my eyes laid on her cherubic face, listening to her breathing peacefully. ________ regained some color on her cheeks, and just gazing down at her and holding her made me all the more crazy. The way her eyelashes rested on her cheeks, how her bangs framed her face, her fanned out ears and just everything about ________ spoke to me. My brows started to furrow, and soon tears started to roll down my face, letting them drop to her face.

Slowly ________ opened her eyes, and they met with my green ones. She noticed that I was crying, and her eyes widened with worry.

"Arthur, what's wrong!?" She shot up from my arms, her hands cradling my face softly. My eyes were sinking deeper into her gaze.

'I can't take it anymore.'

My head started to lower, I couldn't control my body anymore as I leaned in closer to _________.

"Arthur-" I cut her off abruptly, as I took __________'s face in my hands and kissed her soft lips. It lasted no more than three seconds as I pulled back. Her face that were stained with my tears was staring straight at me, a deep blush dusting her face, with eyes wide in shock and confusion. I felt pit of guilt in my stomach. 

"I'm sorry _________..." I mumbled as I stood up and ran, brushing the long, green frocks out of my face. My eyes where blurry, and tears still streamed down face. I cursed at my self for being so cowardly. I kept running, leaving _________ alone under the willow until I reached my house, and locked myself in my room.

"Arthur....."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I didn't know when, but probably after a few hours leaving ________ alone I fell asleep. All I could see was pitch black until jaws awakened by a loud, rumbling sound in the distance. I looked out the window, and I could see a dark grey cloud near the mountain. My heart sank when I realized what was near its base.

'The lake!'

I lept out of the bed, throwing the quilt against the wall as I gathered what seemed like necessary things just in case if _________ got injured. I knew that she would hate me, but I could never forgive myself if she was hurt. After gathering my materials I ran to the bedroom door, but before I could turn the knob....

knock, knock, knock

I turned to where the knocks came from. My eyes widened with surprise when I saw __________ knocking at my window.

"___________!"

I rushed to the window, immediately flinging it open. __________ face was full of nostalgia, and despite that she was still smiling. It looked like she was glowing from the full moon, illuminating her floating hair and delicate facial features.

"__-_______, I'm so so sorry! I know that you must loathe me right now for what I did but please don't-" My words were cut off shirt when __________'s lips landed upon mine. Now it was my turn to be shocked. She pulled back, giving me her warm smile.

"I don't hate you Arthur." She assured me. I could feel my face going red. "You also left your jacket behind"  _________ handed me my jacket back, but once I held it in my hands, I immediately dropped it. I was horrified to see what Had happened.

"__-_______, y-your hands......." They were transparent, almost as if they were starting to fade. I became furious, and demanded to know what was going on. "__________, I want to know what's going on! The reason why you tire out so easily, why you fainted back there and why you're fadi-"

__________ put her finger to my lips, with the same nostalgic smile plastered on her face. I could barely feel anything on my lips.

"My lake is dying Arthur." She stated. 

"What do you mean that it's dying!?" I yelled demandingly, slamming my hands on the mahogany desk. She was starting to fade more and more.

"Before I met you, the gods informed me that I would die by the end of the summer. Part of the mountain that shielded my lake was going to give way since it could no longer be supported. I knew that there was no way to prevent it from happening, and as each day passed I slowly became weaker." She paused for a moment, catching her breath. Her words were too painful. "It completely destroyed the lake, all that's there are boulders. My existence here is connected to the lake's existence here on Earth, but now that the lake is gone, I will be gone as well..."

'Oh god, please don't!'

She nodded, as if she read my thoughts. "That's right Arthur, I'm dying..."

I could feel my eyes beginning to water, and slowly tears poured out, cascading down my face. I was in disbelief, but that feeling was taken over with rage. I grabbed her arms, shaking her. I could barely feel anything in my hands.

"But why!? Why couldn't you have just told me, I could've helped you _________!" I yelled furiously. More tears fell off my face but __________ just kept looking at me with a calm face,

"I'm sorry Arthur, but I didn't want you to get worried, and even if you did try to do something it would've been impossible. Besides....." Her voice trailed off, and  suddenly, tears had clung to her eyelashes."I love you too much."

I was in complete denial. A Nymph, that loved someone like me. I didn't want to think about that though, I pulled _________ inside and kissed her passionately. Her eyes fluttered close, the kiss was so soft and warm. Her hand run through my messy hair, and I held her close. We parted after a while, she was fading so fast, I could see my hand through her slender arms.

_________ slowly moved her nearly transparent arm to her neck, pulling out a deep blue amulet that was hidden amongst her clothing. She slipped it over my head and onto my neck, shaking as she clutched onto the precious stone with her diminishing hands. Tears still flowed through her eyes.

"I'm so grateful to have met you Arthur. I wish that could see you again...." She barely choked out. She was almost gone. "Goodbye....Arthur...!"

"!!!"

I reached out to embrace __________, but as I did all that were in my arms was nothing. I looked down, seeing the amulet hung around my neck. A puddle of illuminated tears smudged on the surface of my mahogany desk. I gazed at the moon, seeing spheres of light fly up with the wind.

"Goodbye........___________........"

All I heard that night were rustles of the trees beating each other in the wind, and the wind chime ringing as its paper flew with the wind. Although I knew that somewhere amongst the sounds heard, I could hear a voice, singing in the distance.

The same voice that sang the same song on the day I met her.....

~The End~