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A merchant stumbles on a grotto, lost. He eats his last apple. The merchant plants the seeds the next day to provide food for future lost travelers. 

And so, the nymph Theanore is born.

She would grow from a tiny seed to a splendid apple tree. She would meet many friends. Theanore will try her hand at being a merchant like her father. And she will get to know her lifetime companion, the merman Marinus.

But as every farmer can tell you, apple trees live only for about 150 years and so, with her tree dried up, so will Theanore die.

 But before that, she will live.

The Apple Grotto Nymph (Dungeon Core Fairy Tale)

Marinus sat next to Elmar as he told the tale of Marferik the Dread. Theanore was on his other side and squeezing his hand. She would utter her "Oh, no…" every time a village was burned by the dragon.

"Are all dragons bad?" the little nymph asked when the story was over.

She had wanted to have a dragon as a friend. Mostly because of fairy tales that made her believe that to be a princess, you have to be guarded by a dragon.

She wanted to be a princess very much!

"Well, Marferik was not in the start. His dungeon core was peaceful, and so he spent all day curled up around it as its core told him stories of faraway places," Elmar said.

He had been surprised at that part of the story. Even though he had been told that Marferik was good before Dereck read him the story.

"It is best if you don't get a dragon, Thea," Marinus said. "Your core is a tree. Dragons burn trees by just breathing on them."

Chapter 93: The Warrior Princess