One Love: Book of Short Love Stories

A Knowing Heart [Historical / Romance]

The following is a short story I wrote for my spanish class and translated to english ^.^ Hope you guys like it! Sort of a fairytale? Cover to the side!

In a land far away lived a king and queen. Despite not being able to produce an heir, the queen was very much loved throughout the kingdom. It almost didn't make sense, the admiration that she acquired throughout the years, but it was never challenged. Yet, behind closed doors was a different story, and eventually the king had an affair with a woman who was not the queen. The indiscretion was never brought to light, until many years later, sixteen to be exact, when the queen finally found out the truth. Her husband had long been put to rest and she now held the throne, but that didn't diminish the rage she felt. In a fit of anger she ordered an army of huntsmen to find the woman that had tainted her marriage so many years ago with the intention to kill her. She sent her most trusted man as their leader. A man of only twenty years known for his ruthlessness and for always having success when it came to the kill. 

With an army of a hundred men, the leading huntsmen set out to find the woman. Unbeknownst to him was the cunning dark haired girl that was several steps ahead of him. Born and raised in a small hut in the middle of the woods lived a young woman of only sixteen years with her mother. She had no clue as to who her father was until one stormy night when her mother wrestled her way into her room in a panic. Her mother was a seer, of the future and had the power of knowing things no one else did. The young girl had a hunch that she had inherited that last gift, but had never had a need to use it. 

The young girl learned who her father was that night along with the terrible plan that had been made towards her mother. Side by side, the young girl and her mother devised their own plan. The young girl disguised herself as a boy the following day, and with a new sword, horse, and the secret her mother had told her since infancy, she set off to catch up with the vicious huntsmen that wanted to kill her mother. 

Almost if by magic, and without the help of a map, the girl found the army of huntsmen along the creek getting a drink of water. Swiftly, she tied her horse along with the others and made her way towards the group. She blended in seamlessly and quickly became a part of the group of men. Her delicate features and dark hair had been hidden. One under a layer of dirt and dust and the other under a hat. 

Just as she prided herself for how well her plan was unraveling, she made the leading huntsmen's acquaintance. The young girl was floored, despite herself. He intimated her, yet drew her in at the same time. Even though she was sure of her disguise, something in the huntsmen's eyes when he looked at her set her into a panic. 

She didn't realize that the huntsman saw behind her disguise the moment he set eyes on her.  He didn't doubt for a second that she was a girl, it was just something of instinct. The revelation intrigued him and made him curious. He quickly discarded her as a threat, and instead the burning question of her identity sent a shock through him. 

He ignored her, though, as a part of his strategy. During the following days the army traveled through the forest in the direction of the small town that belonged to the kingdom. The young girl was glad that they were searching in the opposite direction of her mother, but knew that they would soon realize she couldn't be found there and would search the forest. She hoped that by that time she would have some sort of power over the group, enough to lead them in circles and away from her mother. She realized that the only way to do this was by gaining the leader's trust. Just as the leading huntsman had hoped, the young girl made an obvious effort to attract his attention, by doing acts of valor and completing his every wish. She was first to hand him a new arrow or to stand on the front lines when they passed a troll bridge. Slowly, the girl was learning how to fight and it wasn't long before she became skilled with a bow and arrow.