The Willow Maid

Chapter 1

     A young man walked through the forest, his hunting bow and quiver of finely carved wooden arrows slung over his back. His eyes were cast on the ground, eyes darting for deer tracks in the moist dirt splashed with patches of lush forest grass.

    His leather boots stirred the fallen brown leaves of the oncoming fall, leaving light indentations behind him in the dirt.

      A voice was caught in the wind, a sweet soft melody that made him pause in his search. He glanced up, dark eyes scanning the forest undergrowth, searching the nearby bushes and stream that were his surroundings. The voice was from a young girl, he was certain. Beautiful and soft, stunning to hear.

     He crept forward through the undergrowth, feet crunching on sticks and leaves, his eyes roaming for the source of the voice. He pushed through thick branches, pausing only to brush back the rich brown hair from his sharp eyes. The song rang in his mind, occupying all of his attention. He didn't notice the elk tracks he stepped over, his mind set so strongly on finding the source of the mesmerizing voice.

     He paused in a small clearing beside a stream that bubbled cheerfully beneath the yellow sun. In the center of the clearing rose a tree of ancient quality, its willow branches so long and thick with leaves the brown trunk wasn't visible. The sun sparkled off the shining leaves, a wind rustling the branches of the beautiful specimen of nature.

    The young man stared at the tree for only a moment before moving forward, brushing through the drooping branches to find a serene little grove hidden away from the rest of the world.

     Sitting against the trunk of the tree was a beautiful maiden with fair skin, eyes that shone green like an emerald. Her hair was a fiery red, and she wore a dress decorated with flowers of ruby color brighter than that of a perfect sunset. She was dressed in beauty, wearing a cloak of serenity and peace.

     The maiden sat in a ring of red toadstools, singing her song as she braided blades of grass together.

     The man was instantly taken by her, and he said, "Come with me, my maiden. Come from thy willow bed."

     The girl looked up at him, her green eyes glowing with an emerald sheen. She slowly shook her head, her faint smile as serene as the rest of her.

     A fairy slipped out from the leaves, followed by a few others each dressed in a leafy skirt. They twirled around the man's head, singing in high voices and perfect harmony with the girl:

     "See me now, a ray of light in the moondance.

      See me now, I cannot leave this place.

       Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest.

       Don't ask me, to follow where you lead."