The Woodcutters Wife

Chapter 1: The lengend Says

Legend tells of a woodcutter who built a shack deep within the pine forest. There, he hoped to live in peace with his family.

The woodcutter's family lived well for a time, but without warning, the weather turned bitterly cold and spoiled the harvest. Before long, with their meager supply of food all but gone, the family was starving.

Late one snowy night, a traveler knocked on the cabin door seeking shelter from the biting cold. Always generous of heart, the woodcutter welcomed the stranger into his home, apologizing that he had no food to offer.

With a smile, the traveler cast off his cloak to reveal the garments of a mage. As the woodcutter and his family looked on, the mysterious visitor reached into his satchel and withdrew a scroll tied with a silver ribbon. No sooner had the wizard unfurled the scroll and read the words aloud, when a great feast appeared from out of thin air. That night, nobody in the woodcutter's cabin went hungry. Day by day, the snow piled up. Every night, the mage produced another scroll from his bag and read the words, each time summoning a new feast. On the fifth night, the woodcutter's wife awoke her husband to confess her mistrust of their magical guest. Surely, she argued, there was some price to pay for the magical feasts that everyone enjoyed night after night.

The woodcutter would have none of it. After nearly dying from the lack of food, his family was eating well. The Divines had sent them a gift, he explained, and it was foolish to question their wisdom.

But the woodcutter's wife would not be persuaded. Every night, she grew more fearful and more desperate. She was certain that the family had entered into a Devil's bargain, and the time would soon come when the mage would ask for something unspeakable in return for his gifts.

While everyone in the cabin slept, the woodcutter's wife snuck out of bed and took her husband's axe in hand. She crept into the traveler's room and with one swing, lopped off his head.

Suddenly, the wizard's disembodied head awoke. His eyes opened wide and when he beheld his maimed body, he let forth a terrible cry.

Awakened by the horrified scream, the woodcutter and his children rushed into the room and gasped at the terrible sight of the decapitated mage.

With his last gasp of breath, the traveler laid a fearful curse on the woodcutter's wife. After her mortal death, she was damned to rise once again and walk the woods alone only to burn at the rising of the sun.

To this day, those who walk the pine forest late at night tell tales of a weeping woman glimpsed between the trees. She carries a bloody axe, the stories say, and is terrifying to behold.

-Ryan's POV-

The night air is cool against my skin. The dark sky makes the stars clearly visible against it and reflects them in the water next to us.

"How far away are we from Bay Town?" I ask. We've been driving for nearly six hours straight.

"About seventeen kilometres" Delilah says, a yawn escaping from her mouth.

The country side of England look amazing at night.

"I bet there's gonna be some great photo opportunities out here", I say, looking out over the dark water.

"Yeah" she says. Her brown hair looks even browner, and her brown eyes look dark as well.

"In tired as hell", I say looking at her.

"Aren't you?"

"Obviously" she says to me, looking as though I should have already known that.

"Well drive faster", I say.

"I'm already ten kilometres over the speed limit" she says looking at me funny.

I see light up ahead and assume that this must be it.

"Bay Town at last" I say, relief filling me.

"Thank god", she says. "I'm about to fall asleep right now".

"Well do you think you could last a bit longer?" I ask.

"Probably" she replies.

She parks the car next to a small Motel called 'The Four Skull Hideaway' where we plan to stay the night. It looks like nobodies been here in a while, cobwebs lining the outside.

"Let's just do this" I say.

The inside looks much nicer than the outside, clean and pristine, as if somebody cleaned it especially well for the queen. we approach the mahogany counter and ring the bell.

"Just a second" an old ladies voice says. We wait in silence and a few moments later she emerges from a room on our left.

"And how may I help you?" she asks.

"Could we please rent a room?" Delilah asks, unsure if she'll say yes.

"Of course" she says looking at both of us closely. "Here" she passed us our room keys. "Room 13, on the left".

"Thank you" I say. "Do you want us to pay you?"

"No, well not yet anyway. Here, you pay after you stay each night".

"Okay, thanks" Delilah says as we begin to walk towards our room. Inside, it's clean like the lobby and cozy. there are two bedrooms and one bathroom, a lounge room with a T.V. and a laundry.

"Well I'm going to bed", I say and Delilah agrees with me. We go straight to bed without even brushing our teeth or changing into pyjamas. I hopped in and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.