Once Upon a Time: An Unlikely Match

Once upon a time there was a kingdom in a faraway land that was filled with enchantments.  What once was a land of war and anger was now a land of peace and cooperation.  Ogre's were in charge of construction crews rebuilding the homes that were destroyed.  Wood Elves ran the parks and recreation department at the local government under making the land lush and fruitful once again.  Vampires were the leading sellers of home protection charms when families bought their first homes.  Witches were the best healers that money could buy and chased sickness from the land.

Of all of these things that were plentiful, there was the ruling family to oversee everyone.  They heard the problems of their people and came up with solutions to help everyone overcome their hardships.  They were looked upon fondly and everyone cherished the two parents and their children.  They were the perfect family: a strong male leader who was young and hearty.  A delicate but firm queen by his side.  A firstborn son who was friends with the children of the kingdom whether they were royal or not and a little girl with fire red hair and as fiesty to boot.

That ruling family was my parents.

Hi.  My name is Nicholas, or, as I prefer, Nick.  As luck would have it I was the first born and was next to rule behind father and my twenty first birthday was coming up.  Soon I would be "of age" to marry and settle down to rule the kingdom instead of father.

I was not looking forward to it.

Every woman that mother had tried to set me up with was snobby, snooty and all around dull.  They were more concerned on who was wearing what, who had the smaller waist and had absolutely no idea about public affairs other than what appealed to their daily gossip while they sat on their rears embroidering little pieces of fabric.  What was the point of embroidery?  They didn't sew their own garments and as far as I knew none of the things that they made ever went into use.  Sounded like an excuse to me.  I would rather be playing with the small children of our kingdom than sitting in the dark pricking my fingers with a needle.

"What do you think they're talking about?" my best friend Humphrey asked me one day.  The sound of our swords echoed across mothers garden while we practiced our fencing.  We finally had the perfect day for it.  Most of the townspeople were getting their gardens ready to their harvest later on in the season and I had nothing to do in the castle.  Trina, my little sister, was hosting a "tea party" with her friends across the courtyard where Humphrey's attention had settled.

  Nothing of importance except maybe who had the most ruffles in their ridiculous looking dresses.

"I'm not sure, why don't you go and ask them?" 

His face flushed and he stammered over his words.  Humphrey loved the ladies but couldn't speak to them.  If any parents could find the perfect name for their child, his parents had given him his perfect match.  Humphrey worked hard but wasn't the most graceful nor was he the most eloquent speaker.  He was the perfect fencing partner which meant I never knew what move he was going to try on me because he lost his balance, became overwhelmed and just started swinging.  He kept me on my toes.

"I can't go and talk to them!  They look awful-" swing "-busy!"  I ducked my head, his blade swinging right where my head had been.  He had lost his form a few attempts ago and now we were in a free for all.  I grinned at him.

"Busy doing what?  It looks to me as if they're sitting on their a-"

My feet jerked out from underneath me and I stumbled into a shrub.

Humphrey burst out laughing at my fumble and I bit back a curse while trying to pull myself out.

A flash of heat followed by nausea went through my body before I could completely pull myself out of the prickly leaves and suddenly my feet were pushing myself further into the bush while my arms were trying to pull me out.

"Humphrey, if you would quit your da-"

My body twitched and my feet were moving of their own accord again.  What the hell was going on?  I didn't want to go into the bushes I wanted to get out!

After a few struggles Humphrey realized that something was seriously wrong.  I wasn't in control of my body any longer and for some reason my feet were carrying me through the shrubs to get out of the courtyard instead of around the walkway.  I couldn't see him but I could feel his hand on my arm trying to pull me out.

"What are you doing?" Humphrey grunted in exertion.

"I have no idea.  My body doesn't seem to be responding to what I want it to do.  I'm not in control!" I called back panicked.  Nothing like this had ever happened to me before, nor had I heard of it happening to anyone either.

"A witch's curse?" he gasped, letting go of me.  My legs regained control and shot me out of the shrubs to the other side.  Humphrey burst through after me.

"Witch's haven't been giving out curses for generations," I snapped.  My back was dripping sweat and I was tired of fighting what it was trying to do.  What good would declaring it as a curse do?  All it would do is spike anger in the Witch community and people would lose trust in them.  Trust they had been fighting for and finally been given.  No.  We weren't going to go around saying it was a Witch's curse.

"That doesn't mean that they aren't selling them on the black market," he said.  I knew he was right but I didn't want to think like that.  My family had done a lot for the race of Witch's.  Not everyone wanted to see them as equals but they were a core strength in the survival of our kingdom.  Without them there would have been a lot more deaths when sicknesses came every winter.  Every ailment they had a cure for and left our kingdom the healthiest it has ever been.  We needed them more than they needed us.

"Well something is obviously going on!  I've lost control of my body dammit!" I yelled as I tripped over a smaller hedge. "I need helpful answers, not speculation!"

"Maybe you should see where it's leading you to."

"And maybe you should go and get some help," I growled.  I was beyond furious now.  I don't know what I would have done to attract a Witch's wrath on me.  As far as I knew I was kind to every person I came across.  I didn't think I was a bad guy.  When I saw someone that needed assistance, I was there whether it was yard work, building a new house or barn, thatching a hole in a roof, settling down a spooked horse, playing ball with the children.  Then again, that didn't mean I pleased everyone.

"Try to leave a trail so I can follow you.  Be safe, Your Highness," Humphrey said and he took off toward the castle.  I hoped he would be able to find someone to follow me.  If this was a curse then I might not be able to fight off whoever I was being forcefully led to.  Thankfully I still had my sword so I had a fighting chance.  I hoped.  This curse may incapacitate me the moment I reach the intended party which meant my weapon could be my saving grace or my death sentence.

Giving up after fighting the momentum and almost breaking my leg, I let the curse carry me away.  As soon as I gave up control it seemed everything moved smoother.  There were still some stumbles and I ran into a few trees until I figured out a way to get myself around them.  When I was detained for too long I began to get nauseous and my blood felt like it was about to boil.  It didn't matter how exhausted I was from the pace I was going or that I longed to stop and take a drink of cool water from the river that I splashed through.

The sun was beating down on me when I first heard the voice.  At first I thought it was chanting that was causing the curse but as I got closer, the rush I had felt up to this point slowed and I regained dominion over my body.  I leaned against a tree, breathless, and readied myself for a fight if need be. Thankfully whatever this curse was, it stopped me next to a cool stream and I used the water to splash the stinging sweat from my eyes.  Only a few minutes had gone by but in my panic it had felt like hours.  I wasn't too far from the Kingdom, on the outskirts past the poorest of houses in a grove of trees.  Rumors flew about this place.  The trees had eyes and ears, an old hag lived in a cottage by herself, only coming out on full moons to gather what supplies she needed, then went back into hiding.

Not the worst character I've heard of but definitely not one that I wanted to stumble upon.

His eyes will look at only me
His voice will soothe my sorrows
My voice will bring him to me
And we will be happy all the 'morrows

We will laugh together in sun and rain
With only me will he dance
With a kiss he will take all of my pain
If only life would give me a chance

All my life I've lived in this woods
Left on my own without any friends
I'd find him on my own if I could
Instead my voice the wind sends

If only my love would come to me
To live a happy ever after
A better new happy life for me
A life full of my true love's laughter

With my kiss he will know
With my kiss he will love
With his kiss I will know
With his kiss I will love

If only he would hear my voice
Then he would know that I am his
He wouldn't have a choice
I'd be his lovely little Ms.

Her voice was horribly off pitch and it hurt my ears but I was immediately entranced.

And angry.

And enamored.

And full of disbelief.

I had heard stories and songs from long ago about men and women finding their true loves by a song but nothing recently.  A lot of the fairy tales weren't happening in today's world.  Many believed that the wars of the past had killed off the magic that had woven us all together so we were left to find mates that actually suited our needs instead of waiting for the opportune moment to fall in love.

Not that I would call this opportune.

The old stories said that when a young woman and man become of age, the woman would sing an enchanting song which in turn called the man to her.  After that fun little romp in the woods it seemed to me that the men didn't have a choice on finding their match.  If we fought it we'd become sick.

The stories also claimed that the man had to prove himself to the lady that called upon his heart.  Dragons had become scarce around this land, fleeing to the mountains surrounding the ocean shores where there was plenty of room for them to fly and caverns to hide so that challenge was probably off of the table.  Thankfully.  I didn't feel like being burnt alive and I had a lot of respect for dragons. 

It didn't sound like the lady was in distress (as much as her singing was painful) but that didn't mean there wasn't something waiting for me.  Thinking it time to look at my lady I peered around the trees and discovered the most ridiculous looking scene I thought I could ever happen upon.

A girl with snarled, dirty, fair hair and in a dress that was horribly put together was dancing barefoot around the open wooded area while what she probably considered humming.  Animals surrounded her and were squawking and chirping with her "singing".  It didn't seem to mind her.  In fact, she seemed to be...

Yes, she was dancing with them.

I stifled a groan and rubbed my forehead that was beginning to ache.  This was the most cliched story of finding your mate if I ever heard one.  A long ways down my family line there were stories that I had once believed to be fabricated about my many great grandfathers finding their true love.  They had discovered hidden princesses that had the sweetest of voices, the most delicate features and the fiercest character they had ever happened upon.

This girl did not have the sweetest of voices, nor the most delicate of features but she still took my breathe away and I couldn't stop looking at her.  Through all of  her faults she had a beauty about her and I wanted to know more about her.  It was as if I could see her aura about her.  Clearly she hadn't had a very sheltered life; there were scratches and bruises on her arms and legs where her she had outgrown her clothing.  Some were fresh.  I wondered if they were from the animals she had surrounded herself with.  Then again, looking closer, they seemed careful to keep their claws and teeth away from her flesh.

This girl was the strangest creature I had ever seen.  If I wasn't so drawn to her I would have snorted and crept away giving her her privacy back.

Instead, I found myself walking forward and joining in song with her.  My voice was strong and loud, her voice quickly matched mine in volume.  I had never sang out loud in front of anyone ever.  Sure, I had had a drunken moment here or there with my friends while at the local tavern but never anything serious like this.

She spun around at the sound of my voice, which wasn't any better than hers, and next thing I knew, we were dancing around the meadow together!  I didn't dance at the balls when there was music let alone dancing with a strange girl in the woods using the animal noises to keep beat.  She smelled awful, like she had never bathed before or had recently rolled in a stable.  Up close I realized the dress was sewn together so poorly it would fall apart if you washed it.  It was very clear that this young woman did not know proper etiquette and would not fit in with Trina's friends back home and that saddened me.  I pulled her closer and swore to myself that I would protect her from any gossip when she came home with me.

Irritation flooded through me as I spun her around.  This girl...this funny looking girl had stolen my heart and called to me when I wasn't looking for her.  I was having too much fun living my life and she ruined it all with one stupid song.  A song I had never heard before but knew all of the words to.  It was strange having these emotions for a girl I had never met before but I couldn't deny them.  I loved her.

And that annoyed me more than I thought.  In order to love someone you needed to know them.  I didn't know her and it frightened me to think that she was my true love and she could be the wrong match.  What if destiny screwed up?  What if this was still a strange curse that someone had put on me?  What if I never found my true love?

What if she was having these doubts about me?

I spun her one last time as the song ended, her hands resting on my chest as she looked up at me.  Of course she would have bright blue eyes.  Blue eyes that I wanted to sink into and be lost forever.  Blue eyes that were brighter than the ocean and bluer than any sky I had ever seen.

"What is this!?" I gasped and pushed her away when common sense flooded back into me for a moment.

"You're here!  You heard me!  I knew you would come!" she smiled.  I'll admit I never gave having a wife or a true love much thought but I never thought she'd look like this.  How the women behaved at home must have influenced me more than I thought.  I thought her voice would be softer, her hands more elegant and soft.  Most of all I thought she'd be a little less....crazy.

Who dances with wild animals!?  Who sings about finding their true love!?  And how in the seven hells did I know the lyrics with her?!

Most importantly, how was I resisting kissing her?

She was beautiful.

She was strange.

She was perfect.

"Whoa!" I yelled snapping out of it and rubbed my head again.

"What?" she asked, clearly dumbfounded at my actions.

 "This is....what is this?" I asked gesturing between us.

"True love," she smiled and came toward me again.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I caught that with our singing.  That doesn't explain who-who are you?  Who taught you that-that neat little trick of calling your true love by singing?  What's up with all of the animals?" I asked, my heart pounding.  I needed to calm down and take a breathe.  Everything was moving too fast.  The animals had scattered upon my arrival but I could still see them peaking down us through the tree branches and shrubs.

"I don't know.  I just sang and knew you'd appear.  It's almost like magic, isn't it?" she sighed happily.  How could someone be this happy?  Didn't she have questions about this?

I stared at her.  Was she mentally stable?  Should I have her checked out by someone?

"Yes, it is like magic.  Magic that hasn't been along for many generations.  How did you know about it?" I asked.

"It came to me in a dream one night. Isn't it wonderful!?  Now we'll have our happily ever after!" she cooed and batted her eyes at me.

"Yeah...sure."

There were a lot of things things that were off about this.  My heart and brain were warring against one another and the sensation was uncomfortable.  I wanted to pull her in my arms, whisk her away and demand that we be married that night.  I couldn't get enough of her.  I kept staring.  I loved her little freckles that were hidden under her shaggy hair and across the bridge of her nose.  I loved the smirk that was hidden in a dimple on only her right cheek.  I loved that she had a button chin and that her eye brows weren't finely plucked like the ladies in waiting at home.  That was my heart speaking.

My brain said this was illogical and that there was some twisted magic behind it.  There was no way someone could fall in love with someone by only a song.  It just wasn't possible.  My brain was also saying that it could very well be possible since this had happened in generations past, even in my family.  I knew I needed to speak to someone right away. 

A chiming bell rang through the woods suddenly, sparking an uproar from the animals.  Birds took off in flight, suddenly spooked.  Deer and other four legged creatures took off into the woods, snapping twigs and branches in their rush to get away.

The young woman's face paled and she pushed away from me suddenly.  It was as if the magic had snapped and she wasn't so sure about me.

"I have to go," she gasped and turned to run past me.

Grabbing her wrist I stopped her.  "Whoa, wait.  Where are you going?"

"I'm sorry but I have to go.  Please, you can't be seen," she begged and pushed me away.

She called me here like it was no big deal, making me clomp through mud and trees and God only knew what and now she was sending me away?  I wasn't a toy that she could play with!  I was here, dammit, whether she liked it or not.  If she truly loved me like she had claimed only moments ago why would she push me away?

Unless...

Unless if she was rejecting me?

What if I wasn't what she wanted?  Did she not like brown hair and brown eyed men?  I admit I wasn't the most charming of Princes but I was kind, I had a gentle touch and I would never hurt her.  In fact, I would kill for her.  All I wanted to do was hold her close and protect her.  Her safety and well being was all I cared for. 

If she was rejecting me I wasn't sure if I could bear it.  But if she wanted something else I only wanted her to be happy.  If that meant pushing me away then so be it.

"I just got here," I said quietly and she looked up at me, tears flooding her eyes.

"He can't see you.  If he does....Please.  You have to be safe.  I never should have called you.  I should have known better," she whispered and touched my cheek.  My eyes closed at her soft touch. 

"Wait," my eyes snapped open when I comprehended her words.  "'He'?  Who's 'he'?"

"It's difficult to explain but I have to get back.  Otherwise..."

She flinched as the chiming rang through the woods again.  She ripped herself from my arms and she ran off through the woods and like that she was gone.

"What the hell?" I muttered to myself.

Branches snapping behind me caught my attention and I spun around, sword at the ready.  I was ready for whatever challenge I needed to face to prove my worth to her.  It was clear that there was something holding her back.  What it was I wasn't sure of yet.  Just that the thing was male.

Humphrey fell through the underbrush and landed with an 'oof' at my feet, his sword flinging from his hands.

Chuckling at my clumsy friend I bent down to help him up.

"There you are!" I said happily.  If there was a challenge about to go down, I needed back up.  Humphrey was unpredictable and better than nothing at this point.  I didn't expect him to win the challenge at hand, it was my love that needed to be proven, after all.  He could help be a distraction or to get my love away from whoever was keeping her from me and get her to safety.  Even if I didn't make it, she needed to get away to safety.  Mother and father would look after her, especially with Humphrey telling them the truth.

"What do you mean?  Why have you taken us to Hag's Woods? " he asked and looked around.  He was visibly shaken.

"I haven't seen a hag yet, my friend, but I have met the most peculiar young woman," I explained the story quickly and caught him up.  By the time I was done I had never seen his eyes so big.

"Did you bring assistance?" I asked him quickly.  If there was a dragon I wasn't ashamed to admit that I would need help.  I had seen dragons as a child but only from a safe distance on the sea when we would travel to neighboring kingdoms.  They were beautiful beasts, ginormous and magnificent.  Some breathed fire, some swam in the ocean deep.  If there was one here in these woods it couldn't be as big as its brothers since it was so well hidden.  There weren't any mountains or caves that we knew about in this area, but like Humphrey said, this was the Hag's Woods.  There was a lot of unexplored terrain that it could use to its advantage whereas I couldn't.

"Yes..." he began hesitantly.

"Where are they?  If this is a dragon I need some pointers.  I'm not going to leave....her...alone...Seriously?  That's who you brought with you?" I gasped.  Coming out of the woods were Trina and her friends from their tea party. 

Humphrey shrugged.  "They were all I could find at such short notice.  I panicked.  You were being whisked away and the castle was too far away."

"So you brought girls?!  Trina!  Go back home! This is no place for a young maiden such as yourself and your friends!" I hurried over to her.

"Oh, I think we'll be just fine," she smiled and lifted up her skirts.  Hidden underneath was a blade attached to her calf.  It was unheard of to have a young girl trained to fight but they all had blades on their person.  They'd be able to defend themselves if the time came.  At this point more witnesses to this story was better than nothing, even if I would get in trouble for putting my little sister and her friends in harms way.  Times were changing and who was I to tell them what to do.  Trina was eighteen, more than old enough to make decisions for herself.  She'd have to answer to father, not me.

"Congratulations, brother, on finding your True Love.  She sounds...interesting.  I can't wait to meet her," Trina smiled sincerely.  I smiled back.  I should have known better than to doubt Trina and her compassion.

We charged through the woods, following the trail that this young girl had left behind.  But, just as soon as it started it stopped.

"What now?" Humphrey asked and looked around.  There wasn't a twig snapped or a leave overturned to give us a sense of direction.

My stomach dropped at the thought that I had lost her for good.  It was unacceptable.  I needed to find her.  I needed to be with her.

"Don't you dare laugh at me," I warned everyone.  I ignored their confused expressions and burst into the song that we had sang earlier.  If this song called me to her it must call her to me.

Instead, my legs began burning again and suddenly I jerked forward.  I staggered at the suddenness of it all but didn't give up singing.  The enchantment or whatever it was that put us together was leading me toward her with our song.

Humphrey and the girls followed me through the forest that was becoming darker and more foreboding as we went along.  Breaking through the foliage we stumbled upon a falling down cottage that didn't look fit to house a rat.  The wooden planks holding it up had grown mushrooms, there was moss on the roof and some type of mold coloring the open spaces.  The windows were either broken or caked with dirt impossible to see through.

I quieted my singing so not to give ourselves away and walked to the front door.  This was it.  This was where she was.  No wonder she didn't look well taken care of.  Anyone who lived here had to have had a hard life.  The siding had gaps in it and it was easy to see through, although whatever was growing on it burnt my nose.  I motioned for the girls to get back and they stayed hidden behind Humphrey.  He may not have been the best warrior but I knew he wouldn't let any harm come to those girls.  Especially Trina.  He may not have told me directly but I knew he was fond of my sister.  She would be lucky to have him as a husband but after this ordeal I knew she would be counting on destiny giving her a true love.  If it happened to me why wouldn't it happen for her too?

I'd dwell on that later.  Right now I needed to find out what was keeping my love from me and defeat it.  She belonged with me and if she chose to go elsewhere at least she would be free to make that decision.

"What took you so long to answer my call?" a deep voice demanded.  If that's what dragons sounded like I was definitely an imaginative fellow.  I always thought a dragons voice would be raspy if it was a fire breather or wet if it was a water dragon.  This sounded surprisingly human.

"I got caught up looking for fresh berries.  I thought I saw some on a bush I had yet to explore and wanted to surprise you with a fresh treat," I heard a familiar voice answer.  It was her!  She was here!

"You foolish girl.  You know it's not berry season.  If there were they could be poisonous! That old hag may be dead but she has cursed this land and anything that is out of the ordinary is worth questioning," the raspy voice answered back in anger.

"I didn't think of that-"

"Of course you didn't.  You're never thinking.  Your head is always in the clouds.  It's unattractive.  We've had this discussion before.  I'm beginning to think you want me to leave," the voice quieted to a murmur.

My heart was pounding in my chest.  She was with another?  Why would she sing a song of true love when she was with another?  Who did she love?  Me or him?  It must be me if she called me with our song.  Motioning for Humphrey to stay back I pressed my ear to the wet wood and listened some more.

"No!  No, I don't want that at all.  I simply wanted to surprise you, that's all.  You were right.  My head's always in the clouds.  I need to stop that.  It's not what you want," she responded back quickly.  Her voice almost sounded...panicked.  But why would she be panicked?  This was her home was it not?

"I've been telling you this for years.  Why now, all of a sudden, are you agreeing with me?" the males voice was angry now.  The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.  It was clear there was something wrong with this situation.

"It took me a while to realize you are right.  You've always been right.  I-"

A branch snapped and my head snapped in its direction.  One of Trina's friends had shifted and snapped a branch in the process.  Their faces paled when a roar sounded from inside the cottage and the front door crashed off of its hinges and landed in the yard.

Standing where the door once stood was a man.  At least, I thought it was a man.  He looked more beast than human.  His skin was dirty after years of filth.  His clothes are caked with years of filth and his beard was down to his chest, his hair equally as shaggy.  He was standing barefoot on the stoop, his nails long and jagged.

"The truth, girl!  Out with it!  Did you find a friend out here in the woods?" he roared and ran back into the house.  We had all been spotted and I jumped to attention.

"No!" she screamed and she was in the doorway with the man being held up by her hair.

"Then who are these people?" he yelled.  He threw her back into the house, a thud and a pitiful cry followed.

"What seems to be the problem, Highness?" the man called.  I was taken aback.

"You know me?" I asked.  I gripped my sword at my waist refusing to bring it up.  The man thought I was a threat, which he should, but I didn't want to come off that way.  At least not yet.  The maiden was stuck inside the house and there was no guessing what this man would do.

"Who wouldn't know the next heir?  The heir to the family that exiled me from my home," he snarled.  My brow furrowed in thought.

"My father never exiled anyone from the kingdom.  I'm sure I don't know what you mean," I called back.

"Think back farther," he smirked, eyes glinting.

Trina gasped behind me and before I could stop myself I turned to look at her.

"Sir John?" she asked and stepped up next to me.

"No..." I breathed and looked at the monster standing in front of me.

Dragons were harmless compared to this man.

My great great grandfather had exiled a man, long ago, for practicing dark arts.  Local children had started to go missing from local homes never to be seen or heard from again.  At first they thought they were just runaways.  Sometimes the winters can get harsh and children thought they'd be better off without burdening their family with another mouth to feed so they'd leave in search of a warm hearth and food for their bellies in another town.  Sometimes it worked out, sometimes their bodies were found in the woods, half eaten from animals.

The children that went missing were never found and if they were safe in another town they never reached out for their families to let their mothers know they were safe and warm.  In six months, twenty four children went missing.  That was a lot for this time.  Guards were called to keep an eye on the town at night for fear of something snatching children from their beds.  At first, great great grandfather thought the people were hysterical and overreacting for nothing.

They weren't.

A monstrous man that was also wolf was stealing children and taking them off to the woods.  The guards tried following the screams of the children but the Hag's Woods was difficult to maneuver through during the day, let alone at night.  They gave up and set off for him in the morning.

What they found was unspeakable.  The man was eating the children.  Not just any man, but my great great grandfathers top knight.  Sir John.

Banishing him from the Kingdom and having a witch cast a spell on the boarders was the only way to keep him out.  Prison cells and shackles wouldn't keep him in place and by the time the executioner was called he was already gone.

Great great grandfather passed on the knowledge to other kingdoms to let them know about this beast in hopes they'd protect their children.  Some kingdoms laughed at what they claimed was a runaway mind and superstition.  No one could be that cruel and beast like.  Others heeded his word if only to appease the mind of the superstitious towns people.  Never hearing from him again everyone forgot about him.  In all honestly I thought he would have died off long ago.  He had to be at least three hundred years old by now and he didn't look a day over thirty.

Filthy, emaciated, and clearly out of his mind, he was still here lurking in the most unlikely of places.  Rumors had already surrounded this place as the Hag's home and nobody wanted to mess with the hag.  I didn't know what had happened to her and I didn't really want to know.  Chances were this man had taken care of her and then took over her cottage as his own.

But why did he want this girl?  Was he planning on eating her or did he claim her as a mate?

Rage filled me at the thought of this beast touching her.  

"It seems someone remembers their history," he stared at Trina and licked his lips.  "My.  Don't you look tasty?"

I stood in front of Trina and took out my sword.  Trina and her friends needed to get out of here before they got hurt.  This was worse than I thought it would be.  A challenge would just effect me, not my loved ones.  I tried catching Humphrey's eye to tell him to take them to safety and to leave me behind but he was concentrating on Sir John.

"Why don't you try to find out?" Trina challenged.

"Trina!" I hissed and pushed her back as the man lunged toward us.

Humphrey yelled and charged forward to meet the beast, his sword above his head.  My heart raced  as I saw my best friend rush to his death.  He was going to go after this beast to try to protect my sister who was stupidly antagonizing this creature when she should be keeping her mouth shut and letting us get her and her friends out of here.

Sir John swiped at Humphrey who managed to dodge the sharp claws that took place of fingernails.  Snarls and yells filled the air.  I was standing there in shock.  I needed to move but I couldn't get my feet to go anywhere.

A flash of pink went charging past me before I came to my senses.  "Trina, no!" I yelled but it was too late.

Trina had charged forward with her blade held high.  Humphrey was sweating with exertion to try to kill this monster who was stronger than I even imagined.  His sickly form shouldn't have been as strong as it was but he was able to dodge any and all stabs that Humphrey tried to kill him with.

Humphrey's eyes widened in fear as he realized that the one person he was trying to protect was coming straight at the danger.  Before he could do anything about it, Sir John whipped around with a hungry gleam in his eyes.  I quickly rushed forward knowing I wouldn't make it in time.  Why was I standing there stupidly?  I was a prince!  I was trained for this!  I was a warrior!  I was raised to defend my people and instead I was going to lose my best friend, my little sister, my maiden and my sisters friends.

Sir John swiped out at Trina who dropped to her knee and brought her dagger upward in a swift motion.  Sir John tried to stop his momentum forward but landed on her blade.  The sound of bone on steel met my ears and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Trina, in her frilly pink gown, was kneeling in the dirt, arm above her head with blood dripping down it, stabbing a monster in the heart.  Shock froze on Sir John's face before he fell to the side.  Blood spurted from his wound and foaming out of his mouth.  Writhing in pain trying to get away from us he died on his back, claws in the dirt.

My jaw dropped.

Trina, the dainty little Princess who spent all of her time embroidering and hosting tea parties, had killed the monster of the wood.

Trina, the little girl who had carried around a doll until she was thirteen years old, had slayed the beast.

Trina, my little sister, was now wrapped in my best friends arms sharing a kiss.  A kiss that sent shock waves around our group. 

Ignoring their embrace I raced into the house to search for the one who started this all.  The cottage was grime coated and littered with bones.  The girl was on her side, knocked unconscious from the blow Sir John had delivered her.  Kneeling in the filth, I picked her up and gently brought her outside.

She was safe from harms way.

Why Sir John had kept her as long as he did was a mystery but I didn't need to know the answer.  We'd get there eventually and I was more concerned on our future, not our past. 

I smiled when I met my friends out in the grass, Humphrey and Trina grinning from ear to ear.

What I thought had been my story to meet my true love, it was really the joining of two stories.  Because life doesn't stand still when one story starts and ends, it keeps going.  It's a great big knot that joins all of us together.  My story may be a tad bit different from that of Trina's and Humphrey's, even of the girl in my arms, but the result was the same.  We were safe from a great evil and it was an unexpected blade from an unexpected warrior that saved the day. 

Sir John wasn't meant to be killed by me.  This wasn't my challenge.  My challenge was giving up control that I so desperately clung to.  I didn't want my life to change, I was happy the way things were.  I was happy being single with only myself to worry about.  I wasn't ready to rule a kingdom.  But then this young woman called for me because she needed to be saved and I came, bringing with me the warriors that were the future. 

See, the world isn't made up of designated leaders and followers.  Everyone is a leader at some point in their life just like they need to follow.  Nobody is automatically given the knowledge they need to succeed in life; there are seasons that are more challenging than others.  There are seasons that are meant for rest.  It's important not to get stuck in seasons that are over with.  I was coming out of a season that I had long grown comfortable in and was moving into one that was more beautiful and challenging than I had ever thought possible.

Looking down onto her freckled face I smiled.  Looking at Trina and Humphrey realize that they had both been too scared to say what they were feeling for all of these years.  They were leaving a season and entering one different from mine but we were moving all the same.  Soon, our stories would connect again in a different story.

Until then, we would celebrate in the season we were in now.



*This was a freestyle writing.  There hasn't been any editing done to it.  I hope you enjoyed!*

Car Rides, Disney Karaoke and Bat Crap Crazy Sister leads to inspiration

Every once in a while inspiration strikes at the strangest moments.  Sometimes it's in the shower and you get shampoo in your eye and a character builds itself up in your mind about the time they got into a bubble bath war with their friend the first time they were left home alone.  Maybe sometimes it's bringing garbage out to the dumpster behind your apartment and it's like lightning strikes on a young adult starting off on their own and missing home.

Yesterday inspiration struck while I was singing Disney songs with my little sister, my four year old and almost three month old. 

Talk about strange, huh?

Probably not if you know my sister and I.  She's pretty....unique (strange, completely off the wall nuts. Like, if anyone deserved their own reality show for doing absolutely nothing but make you pee your pants laughing, it's her) and a lot of inspiration comes from bouncing idea's off of her.

So, we're driving along down the road and we're talking about how great it would be to have a certain story about a situation that's been instilled in us since we were toddlers.  "Someone should write a book/story about that!" was said a few times and you know what?  Someone should.  And one thing I've learned is not to wait for someone else to take the action, it's to do it yourself.

So here we go....

Wow what a year

Talk about a crazy year.  I haven't gotten into too much writing this past year.  Having a baby will do that.  He was definitely a surprise but we love our little guy.

I'd say sorry that I haven't published anything for almost a year, but let's be real.  Not having internet at home, being pregnant and raising two other little boys will keep you busy.

But, now that I'm getting my feet on the ground running, I'm hoping to get back in the groove and publish things and reach out in other ways to get my writing out there.