Most myths come from something real, but the true
story has been forgotten. Either that or no one ever knew the real truth and
filled in the missing parts with their wild fantasies. This is one of those
stories.
A girl was born to one of the proudest and wealthiest
houses of the north. Sadly, her childhood was not as well-lived as it should
have been. The houses of the north were always at war with invaders. There were
screams in the night as she slept, screams of men dying. It wasn’t safe for her
to venture outside much at all, so she lived in shadow and fear. No place for a
child. Many enemies never wanted the northern children to grow up because the
children would one day carry out the north’s future.
Despite her surroundings, she grew up to be a
lovely, kind-hearted maiden. One who would soon hopefully start a life of her
own. But war grew worse every year and her family knew that she could never
have a full life there. It struck them with great sadness to move her out of
capital city and into a lovely home in the forest where no one knew her real
name. It was close to some small, friendly villages filled with people she
could become acquainted with.
She took her treasures and moved into her wood
cabin. Some say it had a tower, but that might just be an exaggeration. Her
mother and father told her to be careful who she trusted. They indeed put her
in a safe place, but the world was cruel and wicked.
The maiden stayed in her cabin most of the time.
Sometimes she’d venture out with the ladies from the villages. They’d talk of
happiness, love, and marriage. Most of them had many suitors, but she had none.
Not because she wasn’t beautiful, but because she knew nothing but loneliness.
One windy evening, a traveling merchant from the
east came across her home. He seemed a good man of thought and philosophy. Of
course, she knew to be careful. The merchant seemed quite content in the
nearest village and after a year of them chatting in her garden, she invited
him into her home. They’d spend hours there, just talking and laughing. He said
he cared about her deeply just as much as she cared for him.
One morning, she woke up and realized that her
treasures were missing. Her jewelry, the silver silverware, the fine tapestries.
Gone. Above the open window, there was a note. It read:
“I lied.”
She was heartbroken and wept for months. She sent
her letter to her family asking for a new home made of brick and no windows. It
was built quickly and she remained inside alone in the candlelight. The
merchant traveled far away and her treasures were sold for a high price. He
became a very rich man with a healthy, happy wife. So they say. Most stories
have such a character falling off a cliff somewhere or being torn apart by
wolves. But not this story. He got away and fate served him well.
A long time after that on a snowy evening, a solider
from the west came across her sitting on her doorstep in the cold. She was
staring out at the fresh snow; she couldn’t see anything inside because the
windows were gone. He asked where the tavern was and she pointed him in the
direction of the village.
A few days later he came back and wanted to see her.
They talked of his adventures across the land. He was strong and brave. She
finally let him in her home after he took her to see the ice cliffs that were
miles away. They’d talk of the adventures they’d have together, of the places
they’d go and of the wonders she would see. She looked forward to it. That day
would hopefully come, but for now she was still somewhat wary of any traveler.
One day, he said to her that he must go away soon to
fight in the north. He’d still visit from time to time and brighten her day,
but then the visits stopped. He’d write, but then the letters stopped. He was
gone and she grieved. She sent word to her family for a new home made of stone.
It was quickly built and she kept one burning lamp at her side for light.
The solider was spotted moving from tavern to tavern
on his way to the north. Some say he never made it there and enjoyed the
company of many tavern mates and wenches as he kept traveling along. Others say
he truly did go to the north and died in battle.
Soon after that on a rainy night, a man from the
south appeared at her door. He was well dressed for someone traveling, but his
profession is not known. She pointed him to the way of the town, but he asked
if he could spend the night. She refused, but then he pulled something out of
his knapsack that intrigued her. The earrings her mother gave her, ones the
merchant stole. He offered to give them to her in return for shelter. She asked
how he came to own something so nice. He said he had been on many adventures,
met many people, and came to own many things.
She wanted those earrings back badly, so she went
against her worry and let him inside.
I suppose you think that’s the end for her right
then and there. But no. He just told her of his adventures, but no one has ever been clear as to what they were about. They must have been good though because she fell asleep listening to him. She awoke the next
morning alive and healthy.
As they were about to part ways, he handed her the
earrings and started to walk away. She grasped them in her hand and asked the
man to stop. She asked to go with him and have a different life. He smiled and
told her to keep up. With that, she left her home of stone behind her and she was on to see new things.
As they were walking through the wilderness, he
suddenly dashed ahead at an incredible speed. She ran to keep up with him, but
he was gone and she was lost. She stayed lost.
Days later, friends from the village came to visit
her and found her home smashed to rumble.
Who was the man?
Some say he was with a band of
enemies of the north who’d been tracking her and anyone she knew from the day
she left home, hoping to one day lure her away and give her a false sense of
security.
Some say he was a ghost, perhaps one from the battlefield whom
screams she listened to as she lay in bed when she was a child and he wanted to
destroy her home as his was destroyed by the northern families. Perhaps a bit
of both? Who knows. But if you asked anyone in the nearby villages, they denied
ever seeing such a man.
What happened to the maiden?
Once
news of her disappearance reached the north, they say her family sent 100 soldiers
to search the wilderness. Only one solider thinks he may have seen her, or
something that looked like her. When he was scouting an area, he saw a woman
high up in a tree looking down at him. He climbed up the tree to get her, but
just when he about reached the top, she moved to the next tree. He told her to
come down, but she said nothing and jumped from tree branch to tree branch at lightning
speed until she was out of sight.
His sighting was dismissed and forgotten.
As years went by, more people claimed to see her in
the treetops looking the same as the day she disappeared. Always in the
treetops, her feet never touch the ground. She never comes down. Perhaps in the
trees was the last safe place for her to hide. If you ever hear a rustling at
night in the tree above you and realize there’s no wind, that’s her. It’s
always been her.
It somewhat ends as it began, her hiding in the shadows.
And that is the end of the maiden’s tale.
