Three Trees in a Forest

Content note: bullying, physical restraint, misogyny

Once upon a time, maybe as long ago as last Tuesday, there was a forest that had three oak trees in a corner to the east. By some coincidence, one was a scarlet oak, one a black oak, and one a white oak, and each was the heart tree of a nymph. The nymph of the scarlet oak was called Rubra, or Ruby. The nymph from the black oak was Velutina, although she preferred Vel. Stellata, or Stella, was the nymph of the white oak.

One day a young faun appeared in the forest and made it his home. This was not at all strange, as many magical beings lived in this forest. They were glad to welcome the faun, as fauns are among the most powerful creatures and the forest was bound to thrive under his care.

This faun pranced among the trees, preening, knowing he was powerful and important, and many adored him. He was also very witty, played pranks, as fauns are wont to do, joked and occasionally teased. If someone took offense at his jokes, the other creatures just said, “fauns will be fauns” and there was nothing to be said against that, for what else would they be?

The faun especially enjoyed teasing the nymphs. He had set his eye on Vel, but she did not much care for him. So he mocked her, to pretend he did not care either. In Ruby he saw his rival, as she and Vel were together, and so he taunted her, too. Playing pranks on Stella was just to entertain himself. She was very shy and not about very often. The faun made it a game to catch her unawares when she made a rare appearance. Afterwards he would boast about how many twigs he had been able to stick in her hair before she noticed.

Vel and Ruby frowned upon this and tried to make him stop. Whenever they spoke up against him, the other inhabitants of the forest hushed them. “You are just jealous of his power,” they said, or “Well, her hair does look a bit like a bird’s nest, anyway,” and of course “He is still young, he will learn,” and then everybody nodded and smiled at his antics.

When Vel asked him to stop harrying them, he just smirked and said, “Try to make me!” So Vel and Ruby took to watching out for the faun around Stella’s tree, hoping that he would not want to face the three of them together. They stayed very close to the white oak, and bit by bit, Stella got used to the two being near her.

The faun was unhappy to be denied his sport and went to seek his fun elsewhere. Those who had not been on the receiving end so far were uncomfortable with the change. Instead of approaching the faun about this, they tried to talk to Ruby and Vel, to see if the previous situation could not be restored. The two nymphs said they would talk about it. They also once more asked the faun to stop, and once more he just said, “Try to make me!” and pranced off.

Back at the white oak, Vel was outraged, and Ruby devastated. How could the others suggest that it was okay if the three nymphs had to bear the hurtful jokes, as long as they themselves did not have to deal with them? Sure, the nymphs were the only ones who would not be able to leave the forest if things got bad, but that did not mean that they had to accept everything. Together they thought about what they could do.

“Maybe we can make him stop, together.” offered Stella shyly. Vel and Ruby were surprised to hear her speak up, as she hardly ever said anything, but they gladly listened to her suggestions. A plan was made, and Ruby giggled at how devious Stella could be.

The next time Vel and Ruby met one of the other beings in the forest – one of the sylphs – Ruby said, “Don’t worry. We have a plan to rein in the faun, so he will not bother you anymore.” The sylph did worry and flew straight to the faun, to warn him, and to get into his good graces. The faun asked the sylph to spy on the nymphs and find out more about the plan. The sylph agreed.

A few days later it reported back. “They have a book hidden between the roots of the twisted dead oak by the river, which holds their plan. They said that the book cannot be removed from the tree, so I could not bring it.” The faun grinned and decided to go see for himself.

He waited for a time when Vel and Ruby were at the white oak, to go to the river and look for the book. He rummaged among the roots of the old tree until he found it. Sitting down on the twisted trunk, he leaned back against the dead oak and started to flip through the pages, first skimming, but soon engrossed. He had not known it, but the book did not hold the plan. The book had been the plan, as it was enchanted to hold its reader captive.

Ruby, Vel and Stella came running. They had been hiding and watching all this time. While Stella’s book held the faun spellbound, they could work their magic on him. Together they coaxed the tree’s roots and branches to wrap lightly around the faun, together they connected the vibrant magic of the faun with the dormant energy still sitting in the dead tree, bringing it back to life.

Soon the oak and the faun were entwined, growing together. The faun funneled energy into the oak and the oak shared its connection to the wind, the earth, the water and light. It shared its long memories of being one with the forest, giving shelter and getting sustenance.

The spell would hold until the faun understood the connection between all things and how one strong being could upset or uphold a balance. What he would do with this understanding would be up to him, as the nymphs did not want to force him to be different, just to keep themselves and others safe while he grew and learned. Maybe the oak grew all around him, hiding him from the world until today. Maybe the faun was freed from the spell and changed his ways, or not. And maybe all this has not even happened yet.