It was morning in the forest, a small girl was playfully running about in the woods. She had been playing a hiding game with the other children but in her haste to win she had gone much too far from the safety of the village. It wasn't until she was startled by a screeching owl that she finally realized how lost she had now become. She wandered back and forth among the trees, desperately trying to find the path that would lead her home yet it never did appear in her sight. Something else appeared instead.
A man. A tall man with greasy black hair and a very long nose. His legs were quite thin though his arms were very wide. And he had such beady eyes.
"Good day to you child." He spoke to her politely.
"G-Good day to you sir." The girl replied, uncertain due to being instructed to never converse with strangers.
"What are you doing so deep in the woods child? It is quite unsafe you know."
"I lost my way while playing a game with my friends."
"How terrible. No one should ever be alone in the woods especially someone as small as you. But as good fortune would have it, I know the way back to the village. Won't you allow me to escort you?"
"I don't know." She said taking a step back. "Both my mama and papa say that I should never go anywhere with a stranger."
"That is good advice but then again how else do you expect to find your way home? True you could just sit and wait for help to come but who knows how long that will take. And you definitely don't want to still be here when it becomes dark. That is when the wolves come. It would probably be in your best interest to just let me lead you home."
"I suppose that makes sense." The girl said only slightly uncertain.
"You can trust me child, I mean you no harm."
He held out his hand to the girl. Though a little anxious, he had spoken very sweetly to her and he was right about her needing someone to escort her out of the woods. Also he had no weapons on his person so what harm could he possibly pose to her?
She reached out to take his hand but just before they made contact an arrow was fired right into the man's outstretched appendage. He let out a screech the mirrored the voice of a crow and the next the girl knew, she was being pulled away from him but a woman in a red cloak.
"I found you at last you filthy bird!" She said keeping herself between the man she shot and the child. "You're not going to get this child or anymore children for that matter."
The man looked at the woman, his beady eyes full of hate.
"You vile wench!" He spat. "How dare you interfere in my hunt!"
"Your hunt is barbaric!" The woman scolded. "How dare you prey on innocent children! Devoting their lives and breaking the hearts of their parents! Your hunting days are over nachtkrapp!"
"Nachtkrapp?" The little girl repeated confused. "What is that? What is going on?"
But her questions were answered when the man jerked the arrow out of his hand and stood up tall. First he tore his shirt open and then proceeded to rip the skin from his face, head, and body. It's eyes were ripped out next and they were revealed to be nothing more than two black stones. What laid under the fake skin were black feathers, wings with holes in them, and a long beak that could be mistaken for a snout. The hideous creature screeched again and moved to swoop down on the child but he was shot by another arrow that came from the woman's crossbow.
He then turned his wrath on to her and grabbed hold of her with his talons. He tried to lift her up but was met with an angry Rottweiler biting on to his tail feathers and jerking him back. She quickly used this distraction to slice off his left wing with her knife. He dropped and before he could make another move, she raised an axe and took his head clean off. He was dead but the woman wanted to make sure that he stayed dead and no mystical force could bring him back.
She took off her cloak and covered the girl with it who was trembling. Her faithful dog sat down beside the child, to watch over her while his mistress finished up her mission.
"Close your eyes." She instructed. "You don't want to see this."
The child did as she was told and her savior proceeded to cut out the monster's heart. After that she dismembered the body and threw each part into the river along with the head. But she saved the heart to burn later.
"You can look now." She said.
The girl uncovered her eyes and she was still trembling.
"It's alright." She told her. "I'm not going to hurt you. That man wasn't trying to help you. He was going to take you back to his nest and eat you just as he had done with all his other victims. I killed him to save your life and the lives of all the other children here."
"I want my mama."
"I know. I've spoken to your mama. She's very worried about you. Why don't I take you back to her?"
The girl nodded and very soon she was brought back to the loving arms of her parents.
Now for those of you who are a little confused, allow me to elaborate. As I mentioned earlier, Vagatha had become the best hunter in the Black Forest and all though she mostly hunted for survival and to protect her family, she was not above using her skills to aid others. When she heard the villagers speak of a nachtkrapp taking their children she felt the urge to act so she had her grandmother educate her on everything there was to know about those dreadful beasts and planned to go after it the very instant she heard of another child going missing.
She brought Raphael along so she would have a better chance at tracking the child and by the glory of God she managed to get to her before it was too late. When the village learned Vagatha had destroyed the nachtkrapp they praised her and the girl's father who was the village magistrate was so grateful that he rewarded Vagatha with six gold pieces though Vagatha chose to keep two and give the remaining four to her grandmother and sister.
"Vagatha you should keep all the money." Charlotte said. "You were the one who killed the creature and saved the magistrate's daughter."
"That's right dear." Dolores agreed. "I raised you that one of the greatest joys in life is accepting the rewards you've earned."
"True Granny but you also raised me to share my good fortune with my family if possible." Vagatha counter-argued.
The old woman smiled with pride.
"Ah you are a loyal and devoted thing. Just like your dear father was, God bless his soul." Dolores said. "You know when I became too old to find work, he always gave me half his earnings. Even when I advised him not to."
"He must've been a wonderful man." Charlotte deduced.
"He was." Vagatha sighed bitter sweetly.
She approached the hearthand unwrapped the nachtkrapp's heart. She threw it into the fire and watched it burn.
"Good." Dolores said. "You took my advice about burning the heart. But about it's head?"
"Chopped it off." Vagatha confirmed.
"And the body?"
"Dismembered it and all the parts are in the river."
"Excellent work dear."
"Dolores is all that really necessary?" Charlotte asked.
"Indeed it is. Sometimes death isn't the ultimate end to a wicked creature but merely a delay. The devil's work can be used to breathe false life into a dead body, however it can only be accomplished if the body remains in suitable condition. So taking apart it's body and strewing it every where by tossing them in the river is a great way to ensure that never happens."
"But why burn the heart? Why not just throw it in the river with everything else?"
"Because the heart is the most important part. The heart is the organ that connects to the soul. So precious is the heart that wicked hearts can't even be buried or strewn. But burned into ash with fire. That way no one can use it ever."
"I thought eyes were connected to the soul."
"No dear, they merely serve as a gateway or window to the soul not an outright connection. Besides every creature is born with a heart but not all creatures like the nachtkrapp for example, are born with eyes."
"Hmmm...Interesting."
Speaking of interesting, at that very moment a knock came at the cottage door.
"Open in the name of the queen." A voice from the other side called. It was the royal messenger. "I bring grand news from her majesty regarding the king."
At once Charlotte bolted for the door and opened it immediately. Eager for what message the man had brought. But while the news would be good to hear, she would later find that all was not as she had hoped.