Heart Spell

Chapter 8

A moment passed before the stag spoke again. "The throne."

Evolet gave him a quizzical look.

"You see, the princes were half-brothers actually. The elder brother was born of the queen, but the younger brother was born of the woman the king actually loved."

"So how did this promise come about?"

"Well," the stag moved to sit back down on the ground, and Evolet followed, curling her legs beside her while the stag tucked his underneath him. "After the woman the king loved died, the younger brother was taken into the castle. Growing up alongside his half-brother was no easy task as he was already well advanced in his studies and liked to show so. The young prince always tried to prove himself but yet always seeming to fall one step behind. After the queen died, and the king weak in his health, the pressure for the crown was obvious as both were sons of the king.

"So, the young prince grew rash and began finding a way to prove himself. The opportunity came from the older brother, who offered him the promise, 'if you come catch with me this doe, I will give you half the throne. But it is possible the older brother did not mean this at all."

"What do you mean?"

"The older brother was rash and known for being a trickster, but the younger brother, desperate to prove himself and gain at least part of the throne, accepted the offer.

So, one morning, they both set out, the older prince astride his black stallion and the younger prince on his chestnut gelding, into the Forest after the white doe." The stag adjusted himself, "they finally caught sight of it and took chase. As they continued onward, they rode deeper into the Forest, farther than the boundary marker. As soon as they were passed it, something changed in the atmosphere."

"Like temperature?"

"No, more so like magic. The light changed to a color that seemed lighter yet brighter. The leaves became greener and the air fresher. They had passed into the realm of Fae."

"Is that here?"

"Yes, all around us. Merchants and travelers pass through here occasionally, but it is mostly inhabited by Fae Folk, living but unseen."

"So, did they ever catch the doe?"

The stag dipped his head the tiniest bit, almost Evolet didn't catch it. "Yes."

The reply had a weight to it that Evolet could feel.

"When they caught up to it, the elder brother gave his prized bow and arrow to the younger, saying that if he brought down the stag, he could claim a part of the throne. So the young prince, bent on proving himself, took up the bow and aimed the arrow. With a single draw and release, he brought down the doe in a graceful leap."

Evolet held her breath in her throat and only stared at the stag as he continued.

"Arriving at its spot, the princes dismounted and walked up to retrieve the body. But before they could get within two steps of it, a whirlwind picked up around them out of nowhere. It entrapped them, and before them, over the body of the doe, appeared a green orb of light. It expanded until it was tall and wide and from within it emerged this beautiful enchantress. She was neither young nor old. Her hair was like snow and her dress green as the fresh nature of earth. Her eyes glowed but then burned with a fury as they looked upon the princes."

Imagining the scenario, Evolet could only think of the beauty and rage the enchantress beheld.

"The enchantress, who was the Goddess of the Forest, shouted at them, ordering them to look upon her child which was the doe. Confused the princes looked down and watched as the doe changed from animal to a young woman – a nymph of the Forest. The doe was the daughter of the Goddess."