Deep into the wilderness, a haggard crone tapped her pipe against a rock. The weather-beaten cottage in the background moaned as it fought off the strong North wind. She refilled the pipe with herbs and stared off into the hinterland as she breathed in it's sweet miasma. She was expecting someone.
Twigs crunched in the distance.
"Thorben," She smiled at his approach. Her glossy grey-white eyes turned toward him as she spoke, "It's nice of you to visit, nevo. But it's a fierce night to be wandering these woods."
"Bravery is in my blood." He bent to kiss the top of her head. The laughter in his voice died away with his next words, "I have an urgent need of your wisdom, Groa. My father has decided that I shall marry the Princess of Månen. Your sister has poisoned his mind. She is searching for me now and intends to lock me in the temple until I am wed."
Groa took a long draw from her pipe, belying any sense of concern. "The princess is a beautiful girl with a pure spirit, she would be a good match for you."
Thorben dropped to one knee in front of the old woman, convinced that proximity could sway her opinion. "No, she is vile and her only kind thoughts are for herself."
His aunt's face wrinkled like a fading leaf as she smiled. "How could you know? You haven't yet met the girl."
He shook his head, "She has been visiting at the Palace these last few weeks."
"I see," She laughed out right at her own secret joke. "You believe that Marlise's daughter is the King's child. I suppose you would, that is what the King himself has been told to believe."
Thorben was confused by this. "Hayden is not the true princess? But you said..."
"There is a true princess," She paused to consider this. "She lives near the edge of the forest with the woodsman, Horst."
"She lives in the forest? Alone with a man?" This did not sound like a lady of nobility.
Groa's eyes grew dark. "It's a sad tale," She sighed. "And a horribly twisted tale at that."
"Can it help me to know?"
"It can." She blew a cloud of smoke into the cold air. "A secret of the past is a key to the future. In the meantime, I think I have a way to keep you from Belinda's sights, though I don't think you will much like it." She let out a cackle, sending shivers through his blood.
* Nevo = Nephew *
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Hinterland
RomanceKarli doesn't remember her mother. She was raised as the daughter of a poor woodsman. Thorben, had barely had time to morn the loss of his own mother when his aunt stepped in to take her place. They may be strangers living in two different worlds, b...
