A Vision of Crows

Chapter 7 - The Maiden and the Traveler

"The tale I am about to tell you is a tale from a foreign land from beyond the Walls, beyond the dwellings of humans, or so I was told. It's a strangely fascinating tale, though whether you believe me or not is entirely up to you, my listeners. Either way, make of it as you will.

"In a place far away from here, many, many years ago, there lived a race of bird-people. They were ruled by a single monarch, the Great Queen, who had brilliant blue plumage that covered her body. She commanded high respect, and had many servants and vassals, loyal and bound to her.

"One of her closest servants was an older crow man. Throughout the many years of his servitude, she had bestowed him many gifts; a noble title, power, land, and enough wealth for him to live his days in comfort. In return, he presented her with his two daughters, to serve her once he himself grew too old to fulfil his duties himself.

"His daughters were born from different mothers, both of whom had left him under different circumstances. As a result, his daughters had grown up motherless, but as the years went by, they had forged a close bond and were inseparable. However, as the years went by, the relationship began to fall apart.

"Because of their ordinary lineage, the sisters were constantly ostracized by the other noble birds. While the older sister stood by without saying a word as countless mockery and insults were hurtled towards her, the younger sister could not take it anymore and began to find ways to stand up for herself. She could not bear to watch her sister's behavior and began to resent her, and so their relation had begun to become strained.

"This strain soon expanded into a tear as soon as they were old enough to enter society. Both sisters were equal in terms of beauty, grace, and skill, and yet only the younger sister was favored by her peers, and began to look down upon the elder sister.. The distance between them continued to grow.

"The old Crow saw the troubled atmosphere between his daughters, but his attempts and pleas for them to make up were ultimately futile; the rift between them was far too great.

"One rainy night, a mysterious traveler arrived at the old Crow's doorsteps.

"It was a young human man, a creature rarely ever seen by the bird-people. He was terribly sick and injured, and was begging for somewhere to stay the night. The old Crow, despite his initial hesitance, took pity on the young man and let him into his household. He prepared a room for the man to stay in while he recovered from his illness and injuries. During this time, the old Crow forbade his daughters from nearing the room in which he kept the traveler. He did not wish for anyone to find out about the man, and did not trust the man enough to let him freely wander about.

"Despite his precautions, the sisters still found out about their father's secret, and decided to sneak beneath his watchful eyes to catch a peek of what, or rather who, their father was hiding.

"One night, while the old Crow was visiting the Queen, he left his daughters behind to tend to the manor's businesses. The younger sister, unable to hold in her curiosity of what lay beyond the door her old Crow kept shut behind a lock, snuck past the servants and managed to undo the lock on the door. She peered inside the door, and upon seeing the sleeping face of the traveler, she fell in love at first sight.

"As for the older maiden, after she noticed that her younger sister had disappeared, decided to go after her, only to find the younger maiden gazing lovingly into the room where their father had forbidden them from. She tried to pry her sister away, but was ultimately curious as well. However, instead of becoming instantly enchanted in the same manner as her sister, the elder maiden let out a gasp, startling the traveler himself, as he turned to face the crow sisters staring at him.