The Maiden

In the far away land of Ilya, lived a beautiful young maiden. Her naturally wild curls, the color of strawberries, flowed down her back. Her wide, blue eyes shone brightly from her pale, heart shaped face. Her small nose dabbed with tiny freckles. Her slim, petite body clothed in a light purple dress. The dress hugged her chest and flowed down to her knees. It looked like lace covering the edge of her dress. Her small feet slipped into a pair of white sandals. Everyone in the land called her Demeter.

She appeared in town one day with no memory of herself. For the first few weeks she alternated staying with the people in town. She earned enough money through odd jobs to buy her a small cottage. A greek boy of one of the townspeople she was staying with gave her the name. The boy, Eros, claimed that he named her that due to the way nature seemed to glow around her. Her quiet, calming nature makes her easily liked by a the townspeople. Her soothing voice is like angel singing. But no matter how perfect someone seems there is always a flaw.

Curiosity. That is Demeter's flaw. She has an unnatural sense of curiosity. She wants to know everything about everyone and everything. Ilya wasn't a land full of rules. Everybody respected one another and the king decided to make only one rule.

NEVER GO NEAR THE NORTH WALL!

About fifty years ago, a dark evil spread across the land. It lasted for months until one day it just disappeared. All the darkness was confined to the north. The legend is that the evil grew to weak  to hold all over the land so it stays just behind the north wall. If anybody goes in it they are never seen again.

One sunny afternoon, Demeter was out collecting blueberries when a small opening in a tall green hedge appeared. Demeter's curiosity insisted she view behind the hedge. So, Demeter edged closer and closer to the hedge. Finally, she carefully crawled into the hole. Hiking her dress up to avoid dirting it too much. Despite her efforts dirt still covered the hem of her dress. She hurried to dust it off. She heard a creaking noise and jumped up.

The first thing she noticed was the sudden, unexplained darkness. The air became thick with fog and dark clouds covered the sky. Out of nowhere a castle appeared in the distance. Rusted chains adorned the outside walls of the castle. The plants and nature around the castle was dead, lifeless. Demeter felt sick from the lack of love and caring that abandoned this place. The hairs on the back of Demeter's neck stood up. She considered turning back but when she looked back at the hedge it was closed. Demeter leaned foward to investigate. The once open hole was now sealed shut and didn't look like it had ever been open. Demeter pushed and pulled at the hedge but it wouldn't budge.

She turned back to the dark castle. She had no choice but to travel forward. She sang softly to herself avoiding the fear trying to surface. After months of living in Ilya she finally remembered only one thing from her past. A lullaby. She recalls a soft, feminine voice singing softly in her ear.

Time past fast while she sang and before long she was in front of the entrance to the castle. The door of the castle was large and made of thick wood. A moon crescent was carved into the middle of the door. A set of initials, RKL, was engraved below the moon.

Demeter hesitated before knocking with her slim hand. The door creaked open by Demeter's soft knock. Demeter called out, asking is anyone was there. When no one answered, Demeter stepped inside. The door slammed shut behind her. She turned to stare at the door with fear. The room was pitch black except for the glow of the candles, flickering and dancing on the walls. She just barely could make out the silhouette of a person when she was caught in an iron grip.

The hand restraining her was clammy and cold. A shudder passed through Demeter's body. An icy voice whispered in Demeter's ear, telling her to be quiet. She didn't speak but she struggled to get free. She was being dragged into another room. This room looked identical to the first room. Demeter was pushed to the floor, unable to move. The glow of a candle, revealed a hunched, old woman. Her gray, stringy hair clung to the side of her face. Her eyes were practically glowing a yellow color. The woman smiled, revealing cracked and broken teeth. She shied away from the woman. As the woman turned to leave Demeter begged and pleaded to be released. The cruel woman cackled and exited the room. Left with nothing but the glow of wax and her cries, Demeter prayed for help. Demeter didn't know how long she had been down there when suddenly the door to the room opened. Demeter started to panic and back away.

A deep voice reassured Demeter that everything was fine and that he was here to rescue her. A warm hand reached behind her and started untying the ropes that bound Demeter's hands. The hands lifted Demeter's body in the air, cradling her against him. She didn't know who had rescued her but she murmured thanks over and over. Her brave rescuer carried her out of the room only to be stopped by the old woman.

She tugged at Demeter's body, grappling with her hero. As they struggled, Demeter realized they were heading backwards toward the door of the castle. With the last of her strength, Demeter yanked the door open. The old woman hissed and jumped back when the sunlight hit her skin. Demeter's rescuer staggered backward, hurrying to escape the castle. The door closed swiftly after their exit.

Out of breath, Demeter's protector slid to the ground. With Demeter still in his arms, he rocked back and forth. Demeter wanted to be able to thank her rescuer properly so she asked his name.

Edmund, he told her. She looked up to see his face. Demeter gasped with surprise. Her rescuer was Prince Nicholas Edmund De-Clare. Demeter recognized him easily with his dark hair and grey eyes. He was due to be crowned king in just a few weeks. She questioned why he was here. When she spoke that question aloud, he explained that they were due to be married months ago but she had been kidnapped from their palace. He got news from the villagers that a girl matching his dear Artemisia's description was missing. He explained that he traveled to the village to see if the girl everyone called Demeter was really his Artemisia. Someone told him that the last place she was seen was the field of nature. He heard the screams from Demeter's when she was locked in the room.

Slowly, as they talked, Demeter's memory surfaced. When the sun faded to just above the horizon, Edmund gathered Artemisia(Demeter) into his arms and carried her to the hedge. He sat her down long enough to cut a hole in the hedge and then he picked her back up. He carried her all the way to her real home, the palace. The townspeople was sad to see her go but she promised she would visit from time to time. For the rest of her days Artemisia and Prince Edmund lived happily. Artemisia never forgot her life as Demeter and carried that with her forever.