...everybody gather on the magic carpet...
Lady of the
Wilds
Weary Warriors
Tears of Joy
Test of Love
Green light filtered down through the thin canopy of leaves above the forest floor. A soft breeze stirred those same leaves, bringing refreshing life to the stuffiness below the canopy. A small bird, venturing to the ground in search of food, stopped and cocked its head to one side. The slight breeze dissipated, and the air was still yet again. An acorn in its mouth, a busy chipmunk stopped and stood up, sniffing the calm air. A single leaf fell from the canopy above, floating gracefully to the forest path below. Cautiously, a curious rabbit looked out from its dark borough, its nose wiggling in anticipation. Slowly, the breeze stirred the stifling air, bringing with it the fresh scent of a flowered glade in spring. The rabbit slowly came from his hole, sitting bolt upright at the side of the narrow path. The air, swirled by the breeze, became cool, almost sweet to the senses of the chipmunk as he dropped his acorn and assumed the posture of the rabbit. The sound of a gentle brook bubbling down its course, barely audible, mingled in with the hushed tones of the forest. The bird, seeming to realize the source of his wonder, stood rigidly still, his beak raised slightly. Soon, the natural noises of the forest stilled themselves, listening to the sound of running water that seemed to creep closer and closer. As the sound of running water became so loud in its hushed tones, and the scent of spring seemed overwhelming in its sweet subtlety, a lone figure appeared. Complete silence reigned. The sound of running water had subsided, but the scent of spring still held its place in the air.
Silently and gracefully, the figure knelt upon the path amongst the few animals gathered. The figure, shrouded in a dark green cloak, looked at each of the forest people in turn from the depths of a dark hood. As each was acknowledged, the small forest animals fell prostrate upon the forest floor. The bird, wings splayed upon the ground to each side, the chipmunk, tiny forepaws covering his little head, and the rabbit, his ears not quite totally covering his eyes, waited, their little bodies quivering in anitcipation.
Slowly, the figure moved a delicate hand to its hood. Suddenly, thrusting the hood back, the figure revealed itself to the animals. A beautiful smile met each of the animals expectant gazes. the bright blue eyes held the animals' gazes, freezing them in their places, even as the flowing brunette hair, source of the scent of spring, called them to come and play in its softness.
The cloak having fallen from the perfectly tanned shoulders, the figure became the body of a lovingly sculpted young girl. Her raiment was simple, yet beautiful. Light green fabric hugged her body, hanging from around her voluptuous neck to wrap itself around her lithe figure. Motioning gently with a wonderfully perfect hand, she called the animals to her. Immediately she was surrounded by animals who had gathered among the first three animals to show their love for this girl fo the forest. Twittering and singing gleefully, birds of all sizes lighted upon her shoulders and delicate arms. Down upon her knees, chipmunks, rabbits, mice, and other small forest creatures swarmed into her lap. Those not finding places upon her lap gathered as close as possible. The girl laughed gently, and the soothing sound of running water filled the forest again. Smiling beautifully, the girl touched each of the animals in turn. looking off into the distant and dark forest about them, she broke into full song. The perfect tones of a babbling brook turned to those of a soothing waterfall, stretching into the surrounding darkness. Soon, larger animals appeared in the bubble of fresh air and beautiful light created around the beautiful girl. Humble does and great stags knelt a knee to the ground in respect for the apparition among the other animals. Great bears and wildcats followed, likewise showing their respect before approaching the ring of animals. Each new arrival was met with a smile and a motion to join the company of forest creatures. Soon, as the last of the new arrivals joined the gathering, the girl stopped her singing. The silence that took its place was just as beautiful as her song reverberated among the trees and within the minds of the animals. Perfect, sweet silence filled the forest as the animals formed a close ring around the girl. Birds found places upon the stags' antlers while the smaller animals found places in the front. The wildcats and other animals of the feline persuasion lay, tails flicking, but otherwise intent upon the girl. The mighty and fearsome bears sat alongside the noble stoags, awaiting their beloved's voice. All attentions were focused upon the very being of beauty in the center of the ring.
The girl sang once again, her melody now seeming to be that of the surf upon the shore. The animals sat long into the night, intent upon the girl's unceasing song. As the sun began to come up above the canopy, and the morning sunlight started to penetrate the leaves above the gathering of animals, the girls song changed to a soft and soothing lullaby.
One by one, the smaller animals curled up next to each other and began to sleep, their little hearts warm and full of dreams given them by the girl. Slowly, the larger animals began to stretch out and fall off into the world of blissful sleep. The forest cats, purring fitfully, paws flitting at the air above them, slept next to the bears, who themselves made a sound something like a giant cat purring. A great stag, the many points of his antlers held high, his eyes solemnly intent upon the girl's song, was the last to feel its soothing, sleep inducing effect. Looking slowly around himself, the noble stag looked upon his sleeping brothers. While gazing around, his wise eyes took in the gently purring forest cats, the fast breathing chipmunks and squirrels, and the great snoaring bears. Shifting his calm eyes back to the girl, he found her intense eyes upon him. With a smile, the girl indicated the sleeping gathering of animals with a graceful sweep of her arm. As her lullaby lifted in power and beauty, she motioned to the ground beneath the stag's hooves. For an instant, the two beings of the forest, the girl in her wild beauty, the stag in his equally wild nobility, looked into each other's eyes. Then, after a look of appreciation, the stag knelt respectfully, then took his place upon the ground. After a final look at the girl who loved the forest animals, and whom the forest animals loved, the stag rested his head upon the soft forest floor, and slept.
Colors blazed in the wake of the devastating fire. Hues of red and burning gold danced across a desperate face. A lonely tear, coursing its way down a dirty cheek, glowed gold in the deathly light of the eternal furnace. Drawn metal shown bright, reflecting heated light. Hard, weary eyes challenged the opposing fire, shining their own cold light. Tired and desparate, still strong arms held fearsome weapons of cold rebirth. Flames belched forth, spewing waves of heat to beat away the cold breath. Melted sulfur advanced slowly, threatening the steadfast warrior. Cold eyes intent, the weary warrior held his ground, glistening shield raised. Sweat, tears, and blood mixed on that dirty, haggard face. Yet absolute strength dwelt in the eyes, piercing forward, unrelenting, meeting the blaze head-on. The furnace, uncontrollably consuming all it touched, gathered intensity, its battle almost won. But still the arms firmly held the weapons; still the eyes would not turn away. The fire, slowly, lighting the bruised face with flickering light, advanced. The eyes suddenly turned downward, the muscles relaxed, the weapons held but loosely. Softened, yet somehow stronger, the eyes stared back up into the flame. An armored foot, clad in purity, stepped forward, and the warrior was consumed. A rough, deep, dying voice rose above the roar of the blaze: "I have fought a good fight! I have finished my course! I have kept the faith! Now I go to meet my first love!" The furnace shrank back, and another Christ-clad warrior stepped up to face it's deathly face.
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Tears of Joy
The midnight darkness wasn't enough to squelch the flashes of the emergency vehicle lights. In between siren blares and hollered commands, a woman's bitter weeping could be distinguished. The television camera panned across the scene, taking in the blazing wreckage, the crying woman, firefighters, paramedics, and two bodies covered by sheets. I stared at the tv screen, shuddering at the sight before me. I stared at the covered bodies, you could distinguish the figure of the body, but nothing more. I knew who one of those bodies belonged to. I knew it because I recognized the car, although it was simply a piece of flaming debris now. I knew who it was because I knew the time it happened, because I knew that was the place he'd be at that time. He had been going home after a party. I did not know who the other dead person was, or who the woman was that clutched at the body even as the paramedics tried to comfort her and pull her away. I sat there on my nice comfortable sofa, in my nice warm apartment, and watched firefighters attempt to distinguish the fire coming from the guts of Nate's car. But Nate didn't know his prized posession was in flames, I suppose right then Nate didn't know much of anything, because he was the one under the sheets.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My best friend was gone, the one I had talked to only moments before, and I was watching it on the television. A newsvan had passed the wreck shortly after it had happened, apparently, and had decided to air what they found. I wanted to kill the idiots. How could they put that on the television, perhaps allowing the victim's loved ones to not even know about their friend's death before they saw it in gory detail on their TV sets? I hated them. But worst of all, I hated myself. Why did this have to happen? Why did it have to happen to Nate? Why now? Why him? But I did know why it happened, I just didn't want to admit it. It happened because Nate left that party drunk one too many times. Now he was gone, and he had taken someone with him. But how many times had I left parties drunk like that? I'd done it just as often as he had, so why did he die and not me, or someone else?
I sank back into the sofa, knees up under my chin. I closed my eyes and envisioned Nates face as I had seen it just a short time before. He was laughing, but for some reason his eyes seemed sad, like he wasn't really happy; he'd been laughing to cover it up. But what was he covering up? Did he really have sadness in his eyes or was I adding that part as I remembered him? No, he really was sad, I had seen that look before in him, but I never knew what it meant. For some reason I knew now, he felt empty inside, just like I did. But now he was gone, did he still feel empty? Did he feel anything at all? The grief, mingled with these thoughts, caused the tears to come to my eyes and stream down my cheeks. I was never much of a crier, and I never cried in a blubber-like fashion. I don't know what's wrong with me, because I felt bad for not being able to weep. I just sat there staring at the flashing television screen and let the tears flow.
"Danny?" I looked around behind me. A friend of Nate and mine was standing in my doorway. I hadn't heard the door open.
"Did you see-" I actually choked up. I couldn't speak.
"Yeah, I saw, I rushed over here, I wanted to talk to you," he said, standing there in the doorway. His name was Dan, too. Only everone called him "Daniel", because he was a Christian, and he tended to remind people of the Daniel who went to the lion's den in the old testiment. For as different as Daniel and I were, I was glad he had come. I sat there, leaning on my knees, looking up at him, he still stood in the doorway. His eyes were sad, too, but it was a different sadness than I saw when I envisioned Nate's eyes. He wasn't crying, but he looked like he was about to.
"Come in," it took alot just to say those two words.
"Dan-" he said as he came in, shutting the door behind him. He didn't know what to do, I could tell that, but he spoke anyway, "Dan, I-"
"He's gone, isn't he?" I interrupted. Now I could talk again, and the words came out in a flood, mixed with sobs,"He's gone, isn't he? He really is. You were right. He's gone now, and there isn't anything we can do, is there?" I looked at him; he moved closer to me. I had slipped from the sofa and now sat on my knees looking up at him from the floor. He knelt down in front of me, his eyes never leaving mine. Daniel had talked to Nate and me before about Jesus. I thought it was bull. I thought he was a nice enough guy and everything, but he never did anything that Nate and I did, so we weren't really close friends, but somehow I knew he loved me like a brother. It made me nervous.
"No, we can't do anything now," he said softly, "but there is something we can do for another."
He was talking about me, I knew it, and suddenly anger came up inside me. I started to say something stupid, and he sensed it. His eyes got very sad, very tired, and it struck me as strange. I never got that angry reply out of my mouth, because tears took its place. I sobbed and collapsed against my friends chest. He put his arms around me and held me tight. If I had been an onlooker I would have wondered what was going on, but at that moment, his arms were the most comfort I had yet received. I knew then that he really did love me. I knew that he loved me as a brother, and I didn't understand why. I also knew that he had loved Nate too. I pulled away from him, wiping my eyes and nose on my arm. When I looked up at him I saw something that I'll never forget. I saw Christ on the cross in Daniel's eyes. I saw it as vivid as sunshine. He hung there, dying, then he faded away, but I could sense that He was still there in Daniel's eyes. His love was there, in Daniel's eyes. The way Daniel looked at me, I knew that He loved me, that Jesus loved me.
"Daniel, what do I do to become like you? I don't want to hurt anymore. I don't want to be empy anymore, I don't want to be alone anymore," he started to say something, but I interrupted again, continuing," he was empty, too, just like me. Nate didn't know any better either, did he? He's gone now, isn't he? He's gone to- to-" my tears streaked down my face, I could feel them as they fell from my chin.
The young man opposite me on his knees took hold of my shoulders, looking deep into my eyes. His gaze was different now, more serious I think, but no less loving. "Yes, he has left us here, but we must leave his destination to God, alright? We can only have hope that perhaps he knew down inside of himself what he was doing, and maybe God took care of him in His own way, ok? We can't do anything for Nate, but we can do something for those he left behind. You've heard me talk about God and about Jesus' love, right?" I nodded my head. "You know what to do, Danny, just do it, and do it sincerely, and you'll be my Brother in Christ and we'll have the joy that only God gives. If you want, I'll help you." I couldn't speak, but I nodded my head again. Daniel inched closer, his arms around my shoulders, his head bent forward. I did likewise, my tears stinging my eyes. "Danny, I"m gonna say some words now, and if you want to make this commitment, you say them after me, outloud. But listen to them first, and only say them if you mean them, and only if you mean them sincerely, alright?" I nodded my head again. Something was happening already. It scared me, I felt something inside my chest, and a lump came into my throat. Daniel spoke again, and after he paused, I'd repeat what he said:
"Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I know that this separates me from you. But I don't want to be separated from you any longer. Jesus, you love me, and you died for my sins. Lord, please forgive me for my sins. Take my old life away from me and make me a new person in your name. Come into my life, take it over, and do with me what you will, because I know that what you have in store for me is best. Thank you for your love, and thank you for the mercy you have given to me. Amen."
As I spoke those words, I knew that i meant them. And God knew that too. I felt something I never felt before that night. I felt love. I knew that never again would my eyes look empty as they had before and as Nate's had. I knew that now I had something inside me that would never leave. I wanted to spread it around to everyone. I wanted everyone to know why Christians believe. Its because of the love that they have. The love that He gave them- and me, and you, if you reach out with both hands and grasp it. I held Daniel even tighter, sobbing yet more tears, as did he, but these tears were tears of joy, His joy.
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Slowly the downpour that had tormented Jonathan in his travels tapered off, leaving him soggy and forlorn beneath the dripping canopy of the Great Forest. After many days of torrential rain, the sun finally dawned bright and clear through a few promising holes in the overcast sky above. The cool breeze turned suddenly warm and comforting as the lone traveler scanned his surroundings.
Jonathan stood a stone's throw away from one of the main paths through the Great Forest. He had seen no one in his travels through the Forest, but he didn't exactly wish to be seen by anyone either. He called himself a professional mover; others called him a no-account drifter. The Great Forest was a treacherous place to travel, but with the coming of what could only be called civilization, the thieves and cut throats of the Great Forest were being captured or driven off. Vagabonds and drifters were often suspect of crimes they did not commit, so men like Jonathan walked with a soft step and kept a sharp eye about.
Taller than most, Jonathan was a quiet man with a quick smile and good humor. His woodsman-ship was excellent, and generally speaking, if he did not want to be seen, he wasn't. He had few real friends, for he kept to himself, but loved the company and idle chatter of other travelers and such. Yet even in these situations, he usually kept his own mouth shut and listened intently to the speaker, gleaning information for future use.
As he stood beneath the trees, he turned toward the path. He did not like the path, for it was well traveled and guarded by local militia from the castle to the north. Many of the soldiers who went on such patrols did not much care who they arrested and took prisoner as long as they looked somewhat shady, and after spending many months in the wilderness, Jonathan looked particularly shady. These militia men were generally despised by most well meaning, honest men, but nonetheless they had been given authority and therefore were very dangerous men.
As he stood in the shadows of a huge valor wood tree, Jonathan became aware of the sound of a horse approaching along the path from the south. Slipping further back into the shadows of the foliage along the edge of the path, Jonathan waited. A few moments after concealing himself, Jonathan saw the horse as it came around a bend in the path. It was a very beautiful horse. Jonathan could see that right off. It was well groomed, showed signs of good breeding, and its bridle and saddle were ornate and quite exquisite. Slightly more impressive than the horse itself was its rider. Even beneath a thick riding cloak, a beautifully shaped body could be distinguished. The rider slowed and then stopped. Jonathan held his breath, fearing that he'd been seen. Slowly a delicate hand reached up and removed the hood that had been obscuring Jonathan's view of the rider's face. As if on queue, a shaft of light fell upon the rider, illuminating the girl's delicate facial features and setting her cool blue eyes afire with cold flame, as a cool breeze swept vibrantly golden locks of silky hair about her face. Jonathan gulped and remembered his hidden state just before he let out a long sigh. It had been months since he'd seen a girl, let alone such a beautiful one. But such was life in the wilderness.
The girl scanned the forest about her, and for a second her eyes seemed to lock with Jonathan's, but her gaze soon continued on its journey past him. Apparently Jonathan's woodsman-ship had helped him evade detection once again, yet this time, he was not so sure he wanted to go unnoticed. But then again, what kind of an impression would he make on a beautiful girl with his road worn cloak and mud caked buckskin pants? Silently he cursed himself for his shoddy appearance. Then, as he watched, the girl turned her mount and plunged into the forest on the other side of the path.
Obviously this was strange behavior, and after regaining some of his sense, Jonathan began to wonder why a lone girl was out on a dangerous trail without any proper guard. And now that unescorted and therefore very vulnerable girl had plunged into the depths of the forest without the aid of path or proper lighting. The path itself was lighted quite well by the sun, but the forest closed in around quickly, almost immediately squelching all but the dimmest light from reaching the forest floor.
Perhaps against better judgement, Jonathan quickly gathered his bedroll and pack, checked his sword in its sheath, and after checking up and down the trail for watchers, plunged into the forest in pursuit of the horse and rider. Even though his target was out of sight, he was soon able to hear the horse some distance ahead as it struggled through the underbrush of the forest. Horses could not move as quickly as a man when it came to traveling through the untamed forest, so Jonathan did not worry about being left behind. Quite soon he had the girl back in sight.
Keeping his distance, Jonathan followed as the girl lead further into the Forest. Although not completely unfamiliar with this section of the Forest, Jonathan could not think of any place that might be a likely destination in this particular section of forest. And yet the girl did not act as if she were wandering mindlessly or without direction. Again Jonathan wondered what she was doing in the forest alone and where she was going. As he was once again pondering this mystery, the girl stopped in a small clearing that Jonathan had been unaware of.
Riding to the middle of the clearing, the girl gracefully dismounted her beautiful steed and set him to grazing the sparse grass. As she sat down upon a perfectly flat tree stump that somehow happened to be in the small clearing, she untied her cloak and let it fall from her shoulders onto the ground. Perplexed, Jonathan watched her as she simply sat on the stump, her delicate hands folded in her lap, staring straight ahead, making no movements. This went on for a full minute before the girl turned her head and stared at Jonathan as he crouched in the underbrush. No other part of the girl's body had moved, only her head. Jonathan felt a shiver race up his spine as he noticed the awkward, mechanical movement. The girl spoke.
"You may stop hiding in the bushes, if you'd like. I know that you are watching me, and have been watching for quite some time." Her voice was not harsh as he would have expected someone's voice to be if they had just found out they'd been spied upon. And while her voice was not harsh, it was far from inviting. Jonathan felt a reluctant urge to step forward into the sunlight, to reveal himself fully, but he hesitated. She spoke again.
"Do not fear, sir, I will not harm you, nor will anything else while you are here." Instantly Jonathan looked from side to side, expecting an unseen foe to jump out at him. The girl continued.
"Please come forward, sir. I am glad you are here, for your presence has brought me great joy in my heart. It would honor me very greatly if you would come before me so that I might speak with my protector from the wild."
Jonathan's mind went wild, racing with thoughts, trying to figure the situation out. He longed to step forward, but for some reason his survival instincts restricted him from moving. The girl did not seem menacing, but yet something in the way she spoke, the way she articulated her speech and seemed to move mechanically, told Jonathan that she was not normal and something to be feared. One thing he had figured out, the girl seemed to be able to tell his feelings and emotions, as what she said next proved.
"Do not fear me, my kind sir, for it is not I that am worthy of fear. There are but few things in this world that are truly worthy of fear."
Finally Jonathan did something. Without moving, he spoke. "M'lady, it is not my wish to cause you alarm by remaining hidden," he said this despite the fact that he knew he neither frightened nor startled the girl, "but I am a poor man of the road, and my appearance would shame me before a lady like yourself."
The girl smiled slightly, but the smile was not comforting. "You have spoken well, my guardian. I perceive your feelings toward me and I find them understandable. I know that you followed me to protect me, even though you did not know me. And I know that there was no evil intent in your heart, as so many men of this world have. Come forward so that I might know you more."
Jonathan rose to his feet from his crouching position. As he walked slowly and warily into the clearing, he became very conscious of his travel stained clothes and of his uncombed and unwashed hair and beard. Jonathan did not like having a beard, but living in the wilderness for months at a time did not offer many chances to shave. He felt particularly ashamed of his beard now. Walking slowly and cautiously, Jonathan finally stood a few feet in front of the girl. He didn't know what to say.
After a moment of deafening silence, which seemed to last forever, during which the girl seemed to inspect every inch of Jonathan's body with her roving gaze, the girl spoke again.
"I am weary, sir, will you watch over me during the night? In the morning I will then tell you what you wish to know."
Suddenly Jonathan looked about him and realized the sun had crossed the sky and was setting above the tree tops. The forest looked like it was ablaze with a heavenly fire as the sunset splashed its golden light upon it. Bewildered yet again, Jonathan simply asked, "Shall I make a bed of soft pine needles for you, m'lady?"
"No, kind sir, I shall rest upon my cloak," was her answer. With this, she rose from the tree stump, picked up her cloak, spread it before her next to the stump, laid down upon it, and covered herself with it. She closed her eyes and appeared to have fallen into immediate sleep.
Jonathan closed his eyes momentarily. What is going on? he thought. Who is this girl? What am I supposed to do? These thoughts annoyed him with their consistent taunt of remaining unanswered. Sitting down on the stump, he thought about waking her back up but then decided he didn't dare.
Suddenly Jonathan realized that he had become very sleepy himself, and that he had started to nod off into a dreamlike state as he sat on the stump. Alarmed, he shook his head violently in order to wake up, then swayed as his head started to pound. I'll not do that again, he thought. A few moments later he realized that he had started to drift off once more. Why was he so tired all of a sudden? He had put in a hard day's travel, but never before had such a day worn him out like this. In order to stir some life into his body, Jonathan stood up. He had hoped this seemingly unnatural sleepiness was a result of his sitting on the tree trunk, but this proved false as he walked in a small circle around the stump and the sleeping girl, yawning with weariness until his eyes watered. Yet the girl had asked him to watch over her during the night, and he had accepted, so he was going to do his job.
From time to time as he walked, Jonathan looked down at the sleeping girl. Then the more he walked, the more he seemed to look down at her, until finally he realized that he had stopped walking and was simply standing, staring down at her. Then he was kneeling next to her sleeping body. She was still sleeping in the exact same position in which she had first lain down in. Jonathan looked at the delicate features of her face and neck as they seemed to be illuminated by a particularly bright moon. Her face in sleep seemed to convey more emotion than he had sensed while she was awake. He saw tranquility and comfort in the way she rested her head upon her hand, and how her hair fell like a golden waterfall onto her cloak, which appeared to be a glittery silver color in the moonlight. Jonathan had not noticed the color of her cloak before. The girl laying before Jonathan breathed deeply and slowly, revealing that she was in a deep sleep. She did not move at all, but Jonathan found her complete stillness enticing.
Alarmingly, Jonathan felt the need to lie down beside the girl, to feel her body against his, to experience the comfort and tranquility that the girl showed upon her lovely face. At first Jonathan was able to brush these thoughts from his mind, but as he continued to look and watch the object of his desires sleep, the feelings became stronger. When the urge to lie down next to the girl, to experience the excitement he knew she would provide him with, became almost unbearable, Jonathan closed his eyes, sighed deeply, and stood back up. Without opening his eyes, he turned toward the forest in the opposite direction as the girl. He opened his eyes. The night was black and cold, and something was amiss. Now this fact had been prevalent in Jonathan's mind since he first saw the girl all alone on the path, but now he knew that something new was wrong.
Turning around slowly, carefully looking over the girl's body and not down at her, he surveyed the forest about him. He suddenly became very cold, and his sleepiness was suddenly turned to fear. Thousands of eyes were looking at him from the edge of the clearing. These eyes stared at him, blinking out and reappearing, all around him. Some of the eyes were high in the trees above him, looking down at him, some of the eyes appeared to be watching him from just above the ground, and still other eyes filled the spaces between. For an instant fear overwhelmed him, and Jonathan thought he would faint. He did not. Then an ironically curious part of his mortified mind wondered what kind of animals those eyes belonged to. Jonathan quickly learned that his imagination would soon get the best of him, so he did his best to shut out the mental pictures of the horrifying creatures that lurked behind the eyes.
Somewhat afraid to let the eyes gaze upon him without his gazing back, Jonathan gathered a few branches and twigs and managed to light a small fire in the middle of the clearing, next to the body of the sleeping girl, hoping that the presence of a fire would be of some comfort and perhaps even scare the night creatures away. While doing this, Jonathan accidentally looked upon the sleeping girl, but felt no desire to lay with her. This realization brought a sigh of relief to his mind as he finished making the small fire. Looking up from his new companion, the fire, Jonathan realized that the eyes were gone. Yet again fear overwhelmed him as the darkness replacing the luminous eyes seemed just as daunting, if not more so.
Get a grip on yourself, boy, he thought to himself, you can handle this. This can't be as weird as it feels. Its probably just a dream. But Jonathan knew it wasn't a dream, for at that moment, he smelled the scent of death, and it was coming nearer.
As the violently subtle scent drew nearer, Jonathan started to turn. All he knew he could do was run away, for when death comes, who can stand in its way and yet live through it? Is that not what death is? The eternal depravity of life? And was that very thing not coming nearer and nearer? Yet as he turned, Jonathan saw the girl laying wrapped in her cloak, tranquil and resting. Could he leave her to the thing which approached? No, he knew he couldn't. He stood still a moment, then turned and faced the death.
There was nothing there but darkness. He could distinguish the trees in the moonlight, but the fire offered no visibility because it had mysteriously gone out. Then a black figure, blacker than the very night around it, emerged from the forest. A huge beast, standing upright like a man, stood before him on the edge of the clearing. The beast held in its hand a black sword that was made of pure sin. It wore a loathsome crown of evil. Its eyes blazed with dark fury. Its mane emitted the vile scent of death. The Death began to advance, and Jonathan took a step backward, and then another. His eyes fearfully locked on the apparition before him, Jonathan heard the girl behind him stir briefly and cry out softly in her sleep. That small cry echoed in Jonathan’s mind, for an instant pushing out the presence of Death.
I'm failing her. This thought invaded Jonathan’s mind, and he stopped his retreat.
The Beast stood before Jonathan, watching him, and Jonathan thought he sensed the Beast contort his face into a mocking snear. Death awaited him, Jonathan was sure of that, but it was not the vile death that this creature had to offer him. With this thought in mind, Jonathan swiftly pulled his sword from its sheath at his side. Jonathan held his blade before him at the ready. The Beast looked at the blade, unconcerned, then threw his head back and a vile, sinister sounding laugh echoed into the night. Jonathan stood undaunted, and as the Beast looked back down at him, the sword he held in his hand shone with piercingly bright light, and he leapt forward, driving the shining blade into the Beast, and it became morning.
The sun shown brilliantly in the early morning sky, and Jonathan blinked his eyes. He was upon his hands and knees, his sword lay upon the ground before him. The blade was charred, yet when he touched the hilt, he could not hold its icy chill. Leaving the sword upon the ground, Jonathan stood and looked into the woods. The Beast was not in sight, nor was any other darkness. Off to one side he saw the girl’s horse grazing contentedly. He could not remember if the horse had stayed in the clearing through the night, for he did not remember seeing it again after he turned his attention to the girl, but here it was. As he thought these things, a voice spoke from behind him. It was the girl.
"Thank you." Jonathan turned to face the girl. She continued, "You selflessly stood to watch over me, then put away the temptation to violate the trust I had placed in you. After this you stood against the fears of the night until Death itself approached you and you did not flee, but turned instead and vanquished it."
"But I tried to flee, I wanted to turn and run-"
"Did you flee? Did you leave me alone in the night?" The girl's voice was terse, almost chiding.
Jonathan stammered, "Well, no-"
A smile swept over the girl's face, and it was then that Jonathan noticed how much she had changed even while they had talked. She wore her cloak once more, and it appeared now to be a pale green, flowing away from her body in the slight breeze. Her golden hair was now a soft chestnut with strands of flowing silver intertwined throughout. Her face was softened, her smile broadened, and emotion flowed from her very being. She spoke once more.
"You watched over me as I requested, despite the trials and temptations. Therefore, I shall tell you what you wish to know-"
"M'lady," Jonathan interrupted before the girl could say anything more. "I only have two requests." The girl's smile broadened yet more, excitement and joy pouring forth. Jonathan smiled as he continued. "M'lady, I request nothing but your name . . . and your hand."
The girl stepped toward Jonathan and took his hands in hers. Gently she placed his work hardened hands upon her slender hips and put her own delicate hands upon his scruffy, bearded cheeks. Locking his eyes in hers, which were now a deep blue, deeper than the bluest sky, she drew him closer to her.
She smiled a beautiful smile, and just before her lips touched his, she whispered, “You shall have both.”