Tell me a story, Grandma.
Very well, my child. There once was a young maiden.
A maiden? Yuck!
Not so, child. She was the most beautiful maiden the realm had ever seen. She shone with the sun, and her hair was the richest mahogany, her eyes the purest crystal blue. Her skin was pale and dewy like the petal of a white rose, and she was as tall and straight as an elm sapling.
Was she pretty like Mama?
Prettier, even. Yes, this girl was the pride and joy of the gods, destined to be Fulmenarius's bride. But she angered the gods when she decided to begin practicing magic. She learned their arts, tried to be like them, tried to become them.
But then what happened to her?
No one dares to be like the gods, my little charen. The gods grew angry with the girl's blatant display of blasphemy. So they took stones from the belly of Mother Earth and built an impenetrable castle.
Like the one in the meadow of the Unchartered Territories, Grandma?
The very same one. And they put a veil over her lovely face so that no man would ever gaze upon her again. She was sealed into the castle for all eternity in the hopes that one day, she would be pure enough for Fulmenarius. But the gods also decreed that her every wish be granted. And so every year, on the Feast of the Redeemer, she demands a husband. And before the year is up, his body is always found outside the castle walls, a look of horror seared upon his face.
I'm never getting married, Grandma.
In time you will, my child. But do not despair. So long as your bride is not the Veiled One, you will be safe.
Good night, Grandma.
Sleep well, my child.
YOU ARE READING
The Veiled One
Fantasy"I chose to be the one, but I didn't ask to be the chosen one." Sylas of Agramina has one goal in life: taking care of Endor, his younger brother. He also has one desire: to kill the Veiled One, a witch who is responsible for taking the lives of hu...
