Love Tales From Over The Hills

CHAPTER I, BOOK I

The dark woods looked deep and uninviting. Crystal tried to convince herself she was making the right decision and sturdily placed one foot in front of the other. Her heart was beating in her chest as she looked around her. The entire forest seemed to talk to her. "Run," the trees screamed at her. "Turn back." the wind whispered. Crystal gulped. She concentrated on simply placing one foot in front of the other, ignoring her wobbly knees and her sweaty palms and her ragged breathing. She tried to convince herself she was not scared, but she was doing an awfully poor job.

Crystal had come without any servants or her trusty husband, for she did not want to possibly endanger their lives, but she knew now she had made a mistake. She knew that her husband would walk the entire earth for her and she should've brought him with her. Thinking of her beloved Henry made Crystal feel slightly better. She thought of his kind smile and his ginger curls. Crystal felt warmth spread in her body and she felt herself walking with more confidence. In any other situation she would've brought him with her, but she had grown desperate; Crystal had married Henry five years ago now and she had not yet given him any children. Crystal was only twenty-four years old, so it was not so much a race against her biological clock; they still had all the time in the world. No, a civil war was on the brink from breaking out. Landlords all around the country were tense. Crops were failing, people were fighting. All they needed was a spark. One more thing had to go wrong and they'd be at each other's throats. And Crystal? Crystal was the queen that united the nation. Her parents had recently passed and people were looking at her, counting on her. The council had spoken up already about a child Crystal must bear, yet she could not. She feared the worst, that she was barren. Henry would be forced to divorce her. So Crystal did the last thing she could think of. Her last resort.

She went to ask help from a witch. She had tried to research the Witch of Dawn, but she had come up empty. The lore around her was all vague and contradicting. There were stories about her, linking her to the Seven Great Fairies, to the Witch of Darkness who supposedly died, to a young knight called Alistair, to a young dame called Ophelia, to a dying race of dragons, to fairies, to foxes and Crystal didn't understand which dots to connect or what to make of it. Sunken in thoughts, Crystal didn't realise that she had come back at the entrance of the forest. She looked dumbfounded at the tall trees. Had she walked in a circle? She sighed and considered turning back and never returning. She balled her fists. No. She had not come so far to turn back. She stormed into the woods again, with determination this time. She walked like she was worthy of the witch's time. Once again, she found herself at the entrance. She sighed exasperated.

"One more time," Crystal mumbled to herself and nearly ran into the forest again. After walking for another five minutes she found herself back at the entrance once again. Crystal couldn't believe her eyes. She kicked a tree in frustration and rested her head against the hard wood. "Gods damn it," she whispered.

"There are no gods here," a voice behind her remarked. Crystal spun around and found herself staring into the eyes of an extraordinarily tall woman. The woman, who she presumed to be the witch, was at least two metres tall. She was unnaturally slim and had long limbs. Her hair reached way past her knees and almost seemed to be floating. Like a wind going through it, changed her hair colours, slowly, starting from the top. Soft tones, like yellow, orange and pink changed places in her long locks, like an early sunrise. Her eyes were a soft shade of yellow. Crystal fell to her knees and bowed for the witch. The witch cocked an eyebrow.

"Please, I need your advice." Crystal begged of her. It stayed silent. Crystal slowly looked up to see if she was still even there.

"You're this country's queen?" The witch asked in disbelief after a moment of silence.

"Y-yes." Crystal stammered.

"What kind of queen falls to their knees for anyone? You were storming with such determination back there I thought you'd be a little more confident now."

"I- I..." Crystal stammered. She hadn't expected this.

"Stand up!" The witch ordered. Crystal did as she said. "And now," the witch began, interrupting Crystal who was about to ask her question, "the answer to the big question in your mind is: 'yes'." She said. She seemed a little bored. Crystal swallowed. She felt like her knees might fail her any moment.

"But... I have two big questions; am I barren or will I ever have a child?" Crystal replied.

"Yes."

"What?"

"The answer is yes."

"To which one?"

"To both!" The witch yelled. Crystal furrowed her brow in confusion.

"I... I'm afraid I don't understand," Crystal said.

"Yes, you are barren. You will never have a child on your own accords." Crystal gasped. Her worst fear had come true. Tears formed in her eyes. "I can, however, help you. My magic is able to make you, very, fertile." The witch ended her story. Crystal released the breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding.

"Thank you, thank you," she cried.

"Hold it, hold it... magic always has a price. Eye for an eye-like situation," the witch said to the crying figure.

"Anything," Crystal replied.

"Your firstborn." Crystal stopped dead in her tracks. She raised her head to look at the witch.

"Wait... what?"

"Your firstborn."

"No... You can't kill my first child..."

"Oh, your child isn't going to be killed, she's just going to be taken from you."

"But... why?"

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm not even going to bother explaining that. Fate, destiny, the gods, however you want to call it. Your child has a duty to fulfil and they can't do that whilst they are with you," The witched cocked her head. "You're still doubting."

"My first child... How can I just give them away?" Crystal cried.

"Oh, please. You're going to have plenty children afterwards. Trust me, you're going to wish you'd be a little less fertile after I'm done with you. You can tell your entire kingdom you baby has died. Happens more often than not," the witch replied. "Are you seriously still doubting? Why did you think you went to me, of all people? Why did you think I'd even listen to a foolish mortal like you? Why do you think you've even heard of me in the first place? Sometimes I am not spotted by mortals for decennia and now you've not only heard of me, you've been able to locate me? And I don't smite you where you're standing? I give you such a great gift and you're considering whether you should take it?" The witch bellowed. She suddenly seemed to grow even taller. Crystal shuddered in fear and fell to her knees.

"You're right. Of course, you're right. I'm sorry for doubting you. Please help me." She begged, tears streaming down her face. Silence. Crystal didn't dare to look up. She wondered whether the witch got so offended she left, when she felt something burning hot pressing against her neck. She screamed in agony, yet she wasn't able to move. The pain lasted for a couple of minutes and when it finally stopped the witch's face appeared before hers.

"I've marked you. We've made a sacred bond. We both won't be able to break it." The witch said to her. She stood up and Crystal saw her leaving footsteps. "Congratulations, by the way," the witch began after she'd had walked a couple of metres. Crystal finally dared to look up. She had turned around and gave Crystal a small smile, "it's a girl." With those words the Witch of Dawn disappeared into the night.