This is my entry for Anna Meade’s (@ruanna3) The Fairy Ring Flash Fiction Contest. The rules: To win, write a piece of flash fiction (300 words or less) on your (fictional or not) first-person encounter with a faery, goblin, or fantastical being of your choice (no zombies or vampires, please).

 It doesn’t have a title. I guess I’ll live dangerously, just this once.

So, here it is:

All I did was blink and the black clouds had swarmed the ship. Rain and wind capsized us, and I drowned. Yet I woke, with three others. Safe on shore. Now I am the only one. They faded, as do all things.

***

A song roused me, an enchanting serenade that caught at my ears. I scrambled to investigate.

A beauty was singing, and I chased her. She skipped away, feet touching in time with the music. Naked she was, with a halo of flowers atop blond hair.

I watched her stop at the water’s edge, beckoning me to come closer. My mouth dropped. Her beauty entranced me. Her lust captivated me.

Her lips grazed mine; teasing at first, then she pulled me in closer, her kisses more intense. My world fell away, and I floated free.

My eyes stung when I opened them, full of water and salt. They looked about, and I saw them — three women holding the lifeless bodies of my shipmates. I flailed towards the surface, and when I thought I was clear, she took hold of my ankle.

Hope you enjoyed it! If you want to enter or read the other entries, then click the cute blue frog below.