Alliencia: A Short Story

There once was a girl with hair as fine as spiderwebs that fell down her back like silk. Her voice was honey, her eyes like whirlpools, and her tongue as sharp as a snake. Snatched from the bosom of the fairest maiden who wept at the river's edge. Who had called out for her love, whose sugar sweet lies had left her with naught. The stolen babe was raised with nothing but venom, on the hips of a cackling stone hag; who clothed her in dresses of skeleton leaves, left her feet cold and bare, and half starved her. Living off cake crumbs, splashed wine, and the sweet morning dew on petals so few, she grew. From that hag she was again stolen and forced to work day and night, needle and thread she sewed the finest gowns, trousers, and suits for a King Cruel as he was careless. Was she fated to be harsh and cruel or would her mother's sweetness eventually seep through.