Lady of the Wood

Here is an excerpt from a short story I am currently writing titled “Lady of the Wood”.

Sir Victor of Monzon dug his heels into his steed, Salvator’s sides urging it faster. Already it was nearing midday and the castle was still nowhere in sight. He squinted his eyes at the horizon, but found it littered with large dark trees sprouting like bamboo. Where was the marked pathway; had he passed it already?

“Make haste,” he hissed at the white stallion, its only response a withering neigh. “At this rate, we’ll be lucky if we make it by evening,” Victor continued and adjusted his chest plate.

“Return where?” A singsong voice questioned.

Victor humphed, “The castle, of course.” He scratched his perfectly trimmed beard

Trees seemed to shift as he continued forward, parting like flesh when it met a blade. Peculiar that his companion did not remember their destination when Victor could scarcely think of anything else. Companion?  

He glanced down wide eyed at his horse and leaned forward, searching for any indication that it had spoken.

“What’s at the castle?” Victor jumped in his saddle as the voice chimed again.

In his alarm he pulled the reins hard, and Salvator lurched, rising on his hind legs to toss Victor like a sack of potatoes. He cried out as his back hit the forest floor with a thud. Victor groaned and listened to the thunder of his horse’s hooves as they faded into the forest. With it, his sword and belongings.

“Oh my. That sounded like it hurt.” The words pattered his ears like summer rain. It was a soft voice and somehow refreshing to the senses.

He blinked away the stars clouding his vision and managed to slowly sit up. Then he peered up at the leafy canopy above and wondered where the voice had come from.

A question drifted down to him, “Are you alright, sir?” It echoed off the trees, seemingly everywhere at once.

Victor nodded, “…I think so.” Unless he was losing his mind. “I suppose now that my horse has abandoned me, it’s safe to assume you are not him.” He brought his fingers to his lips and whistled. It sounded shrill to his own ears and made him cringe, but Salvator likely heard it wherever he was.

“A horse!” The exclamation was said with laughter, “That is a first.” 

A twig snapped to his left and he turned, half expecting an evil spirit to hurdle towards him. Instead, a petite figure stepped into view. A woman with raven hair and glowing pale skin. The underbrush tugged at her long dress, so thin it hung like a gossamer. Her feet were bare as she moved lithely over a fallen branch.

Victor muttered, “Not a horse. Definitely not a horse.” 

“I’m sorry. I didn't mean to startle you,” She said as she reached him and offered her hand to help him to his feet. “It’s been so long since a visitor has come this way. I suppose I got excited.”

He rubbed at his forehead as he rose, “This way? My lady, I always ride this way when I have business at the castle. Although, I don’t remember a forest like this. I thought the path…” He trailed off, searching his surroundings.

The woman grabbed his hand between both of hers and smiled, “Well, welcome to my patch of woods. My name is Terra.” Her eyes shone like the sky on a clear day. They seemed endless. He marveled at the ring of gold circling her pupil.

“Thank you, Terra.” He said and found himself smiling too. Then the familiar whinny of his horse drifted on the wind. Victor jerked his head to the right, listening. Where was that darn creature?

He disentangled his hands from hers and said, “I really must be traveling on. The king has requested an audience with me, and I am not fool enough to keep him waiting. He is going to announce his support of my engagement to his niece.” Victor felt a peculiar tingling sensation where she had touched his skin. He flexed his hands absently and continued, “It is a fine match for me. I will have more lands than my family will know what to do with, and a pleasant bed to keep warm.” He snapped his mouth shut. He had been held captive at the Battle of Summer’s End and revealed less under torture than he had just revealed to Terra in less than a minute.

She began to walk backwards, smiling still. “A horse now a bride later,” She chuckled. “Follow me. I can show you the way to your stallion.” Her gown clung to her pale skin as she walked, dancing and swaying along with her hips. 

“Thank you,” He said again and followed as she turned and headed deeper into the forest. They rounded a tall shrub and were greeted with a steep decline.

“Careful.” She said and began to descend the hill through a series of rehearsed foot and hand placements. Terra instructed him to follow her exact movements and they reached the bottom swiftly. He heard his horse again, no doubt panicking in the unfamiliar territory. A big coward, he mused.

Victor moved ahead, “My horse,” he said aloud. Terra’s hand lashed around the gauntlet covering his arm. He stopped immediately and swore the steel of his armor sunk slightly at the pressure of her grip.

“Please, stay with me. It would be a shame for you to wander and get dreadfully lost. Trust me, this forest is full of creatures you would rather not meet.”

Victor’s horse whinnied again somewhere towards his left. How did it even get down that drop? “Why is it that you are here then?” He asked, glancing at her hand. She began to loosen her grip but did not let go.

“I live here.” Terra reached forward and push a lock of hair behind his ear. The sudden intimacy startled Victor and he stood speechless for a moment, a declaration of love bubbling to his lips, but then Terra released him and began forward again, heading to the right.

Victor shook his head to clear the ridiculous thought and said, “I heard my horse from the other direction, actually.”

She did not glance back at him, but instead said, “There is a stream this way that all the wild horses drink from,” and continued to step through fauna.

“Yes, but—

“Victor, please.” Terra said sharply, finally turning to look at him. Her eyes seemed darker, nearly black, Victor blinked, and they were sky blue again.

“Victor?” He asked, frozen in place, the tingling in his head growing into a sharp pain.

“Yes, Victor. Right this way is—”

“How do you know my name?”

“What?” Terra asked as she moved towards him.

He took a step back. “How is it that you know my name? I never spoke it.” Just then a sharp pain cracked through his head and brought him to his knees where he cupped his head.

“Yes, you did.” Terra crouched before him. She grabbed one of his wrists and lowered his hand so that he looked at her.

“No, I didn’t,” He whispered. Sweat began to blanket his forehead.

“Yes. You did.”

“I would remember.” He said, looking into her eyes. They were so endless. He could see eternity there, it expanded before him like a tunnel.

“Sir, you could not even remember where your much journeyed path is.” Terra cupped his cheek with a cold hand, “I suppose you hit your head rather hard when you tumbled from your horse.”

He squeezed his eyes shut “I could have sworn…I thought…I’m sorry. This is…I’m just confused.”

“It’s not a problem. These woods have that effect on people. Follow me and I can help you find what you need.”

They walked along for what felt like hours, but the sun never dipped any lower than midday.