The Maiden Among The Trees

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.