Grendel's Mother [Short Story]

Grendel's Mother

This work has been inspired by the original epic poem entitled Beowulf. Characters and the setting of this work has been taken from the epic as well, but the flow of this story is originally created by the author. It's gonna be more like of a side story, meaning whatever the author has written in this work is somehow related to the original text, although it isn't really a part of it. Let's just say it's the author's way of telling the epic Beowulf, in a different angle.

Anyway, hope you like it. This is actually serves as our school requirement, but I badly wanted to publish it here in Wattpad.

All rights reserved.

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Have you ever wondered how villains came out to be villains? Have you ever thought of the reason behind their actions? Did you even try to listen to their story? Well, here is a tale that would make you want to hear the side of every person. A story that would tell us to not judge others by what they do. Each of us has a story to tell, a story that we should all listen to. But I guess, not everyone's story has been admired; most were probably ignored and forgotten. Her story is one of those who were unlikely to be noticed.

Long ago, in the land of Scandinavia, there was a couple who resided happily in the woods, secluded from the rest of the villages in the place. They weren't really normal; they were creatures of some kind. But they were far from being monsters, for they did no harm. Just like any other couple they were so happy when the woman gave birth to a beautiful little baby. They named her Gretel. For many years they lived peacefully, until one day, animals from the village suddenly died, people assumed that it was the work of a monster. So they planned to hunt it before it would kill them. They reached the place where Gretel and her family peacefully live. Unfortunately, the humans thought that they were the ones who killed the animals from the village, judging from physical appearance. They were very different and because of that they believed them to be some sort of evil creature, so they tried to burn them alive. Gretel's parents, tried to defend themselves without trying to kill any of the humans, but seeing there was little chance for their survival, they told Gretel to escape. She didn't want to leave her parents but she had no choice. So with a heavy heart she tried to run as fast as she could, far away from the woods, far away from the humans who try to kill them. She was terrified as she heard the loud cries of her parents. She knew very well that she now has to survive on her own. She ran and ran until she felt safe. When she tried to look around she saw a lake, it was no ordinary lake, for beneath the water there was a cave. This cave served as her shelter, but afraid that someone might see her lair, she decided to place serpents and such creatures to protect her from anyone who plans to harm her.

For many years Gretel lived in that desolate lake and she was right, no one dared to come and harm her. She felt secured but she felt real sorrow, not just because of being alone, but she still felt the pain that the death of her parents brought. But what hurts her most was that she wasn't able to do anything during that time. She was so innocent, and didn't know what to do. She was depressed and for some time she even tried to kill herself, but then realized that doing so wouldn't do any help. She didn't want to waste her parent's sacrifice just for her to live.

One day, she decided to come out of her lair. She transformed into her human-like form. After years of staying in her cave she was able to learn new knowledge and skills she didn't know she could do, and that includes her ability to shape-shift. She decided to walk in the woods, the place where she once lived, the place where she felt so happy and loved, and the place she felt her most fear. As she was strolling around the area, she wasn't aware that a young man passed by, he saw her and immediately fell for the beautiful Gretel. She approached her and asked for her name. Gretel was shocked; it was the first time she ever talked to a human. The young man introduced himself as Hrothgar. And after a few minutes of talking with each other, Gretel can tell that he was a nice person and has no intention of harming her, so in return she told him her name. Days passed, and these two would meet at the same place every day. They fell deeply in love. Unexpectedly, their love has bore them a child. Hrothgar, encouraged her to live with him, but Gretel refused. She badly wanted to tell Hrothgar about her true self. She loves him so much that she didn't want to keep any secrets from him. She further believes that this man will love her no matter what. So when Hrothgar was listening to her, she revealed to him everything. But to her dismay, Hrothgar started to freak-out. He couldn't believe what she just said. She was a monster, he thought. He couldn't possibly marry someone like her. Who ever heard of a monster as a Queen? He was an heir to the throne and once he becomes the next King he wouldn't want any creatures like her to roam around the place or some creature to rule the kingdom with him, who knows what misfortune she'll bring to their land, so he tried to kill her. Luckily, Gretel was fast enough to block him. She pushed him and ran back to where she came from. As she ran, she was crying so hard. She couldn't believe that Hrothgar almost killed her. She couldn't believe she fell in love with a man whose heart was monstrous. She blamed herself for trusting him. Humans are all the same, they are all wicked, she thought to herself. You can't call someone a monster just because he or she looks differently from you. All her life, she did no harm to anyone. All she did was run, that's what she's good at, running away from people, running away from her fear, running away from those who judge them for someone they are not. As she reached her cave, she was determined not to trust anyone anymore. She wanted no revenge, all she wanted now was to live far away from other people. She would no longer try to interact with others. All she wanted was to protect herself, and her child. Besides, it's only the two of them from now on. She was determined to forget everything. Maybe too determined, that as time passed by, she even forgot her own name.