[Askoga]: 89.Short Stories.The Silver Stag

Inspired by a dream that was cut short (thanks, alarm clock...), that I knew I wasn't going to remember for the five hours until I got off work, this is a tale much like those told by bards, long ago. The beginning and end were inspired by some tales from Romania that I read recently, that begin with more than "Once upon a time" and end with more than "And they lived happily ever after". Due to a fortunate set of circumstances, I *did* manage to write it down, and even expand on my dream. Do please enjoy!

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In a time so long ago that it has long since been forgotten, but for this story, there lived two great magicians, each as powerful as the other. One magician worked only for good, but the other had evil in his heart, and so the two of them never got along. Now it came to pass that one day, the malicious magician challenged his brother to a duel, to see which of them was the greater.

But knowing full well that he could never beat his brother, he determined to cheat. And so, the day before the duel was to begin, the evil one sent a powerful sandstorm towards his brother. The good man knew in his heart that his foe would not play fairly, so he was ready, and at the last moment, he turned himself into a silver stag, with golden antlers. His tower was demolished, his lands devoured by the hungry storm, but the stag stood firm, and so was buried by the sand.

Thinking that his brother was finished, the evil magician, whom we all know was named Filipo the Terrible, began to seek dominion over the entire earth. Because there were none powerful enough to stand against him, all fell to his rule, and very soon, Filipo was king over all. Well, perhaps I should amend this to say almost all.

You see, there was a small, forgotten corner of Filipo's domain that still remembered his brother, and the goodness of the world before the evil one's rule. And in this corner, there lived an old witch, her young daughter, and her son-in-law. The three of them lived here for a very long time, until the old witch died. Now, the young daughter had learned her mother's arts, and began to practice them herself, and thus were the arts passed down through many generations, for a hundred years, and so did their arts keep them well-hidden from their evil ruler, until there was even a small village in this corner.

But when the village was beginning to grow larger, Filipo found it, and he demolished it in the same way he had his own brother's lands. Thus, there was only one survivor: a young girl. This child, who was named Alissandra, was of the witch's blood, and carried with her the talents her ancestor had passed down, but other than this, all she now had in the world was only her beauty. Her beauty was so profound, though, that Filipo had spared her from his wrath. He promised her all sorts of things, including a share in his own immortality, if she would only stay with him, but she declined them all. Finally, in his anger, Filipo cast her out, charging her to leave his lands and never to return to them.

Sorrowfully, the girl left Filipo's palace, but where could she go that was out of his domain? So she hid her beauty, changing her appearance into that of an ugly child. So ugly had she made herself that when once none could keep their eyes off her for her beauty, now none dared look at her, for she was so hideous that none could look upon her for more than a moment. This served her well enough for hiding from Filipo, but now how should she get along?

She traveled high and low, searching for a place to rest her weary feet, and finally she came to an inn, where she so begged for lodging and food that the innkeeper finally agreed to let her in, though he would not look upon her.

“But,” he said with a sigh, “You must work for your food here.”

And so little Alissandra cleaned in the dark of the night, making the inn as sparkling as new. In the morning, when the innkeeper saw how beautifully the girl had cleaned, he allowed her to stay, saying only, “You must not be seen by my guests, or I shall be forced to send you out again!”

As Alissandra grew into ripe womanhood, so too did her ugliness grow, so that one could not even glance at her, for fear one should faint, or be ill. But in the time just before the dawn, Alissandra would go out into a clearing in the woods, and would look up at the moon, and in that moment, all of her ugliness would fall away, and her perfect beauty would shine through, calling up the sun for the new day. As soon as the sun was awake, though, Alissandra would don her vile disguise again, and return to the inn to sleep behind the stove.

Then, Alissandra grew restless, and, hearing one day the sorry tale of Filipo's brother, she went to the innkeeper and told him that she was going to find the good magician, for she did not believe he had died in the sandstorm. The innkeeper, though he could not bear to look upon her, begged her to stay, for he had grown fond of this ugly young woman, but he could not sway her.

The next morning, she was gone, bringing with her only the pony that the innkeeper had gifted to her, a change of clothes, and as much provisions as she could carry. She searched high and low, and finally, in the far corners of Filipo's domain, she stopped to rest. But when she sat down on the earth, it sank beneath her. Startled, she leaped up, but before she could move more, the earth gave way, and she tumbled down into a hole in the ground. Desperately, she looked up, but the sky was high above her. Silently, she blessed the Tree that she had not hurt herself in her fall, but now she did not know how to get back out.

Alissandra sat down and began to weep morosely, and presently she felt someone put their arms around her and heard a pretty voice say, “Hideous One, what has got you so sad?”

Fearing to look up, lest she scare away her new companion, the young woman let her head hang, her hair covering her face like a veil as she replied, “I am stuck here in this hole with no way to get out. Can you not see how high the sky is above us, and how deep into the earth we are?”

“Oh, but Homely One, were you not seeking the great Demetin?”

“Aye, I was, but what use is that when I cannot leave this hole?”

The youth only smiled mysteriously and removed her arms from around Alissandra. She rose and stretched, saying, “Come! We have a long way to go before we reach him, and many dangers await us. Are you ready?”

Startled, Alissandra did now look up, and she was that the girl before her could not have been over seven years old. “But, where can we go?” Even as she spoke, though, the woman found herself rising and stretching also.

Smiling, the child, who seemed to have no trouble at all looking upon Alissandra's hideous complexion, beckoned to her. Then she began to dig in the soft earth. “Come, help me! It will take too long if I do it myself, and I cannot go the way I came, for you could not follow then.” And so Alissandra began to dig beside the child, and was startled to find that the soft sand seemed at once reluctant to move, and yet more than willing. Some of it stuck fast, and the child instructed her to leave those clumps be, but most came away so easily that it seemed to hardly need her to touch it before it spilled past her. Soon, the two of them were a good way into the earth, away from the hole.

After a day of digging, though, Alissandra became weary with hunger, and would have stopped to rest and eat a bit, but the child pressed her onward, saying, “It is not much farther now, and if you stop, we shall not be able to get through!” And so, Alissandra continued to dig. But it seemed to her that as they pressed forward, the lumps that refused to move became more numerous, and soon she and the child were in single file, with Alissandra before, and the child after. Then, suddenly, she saw light through the hole they were digging, but the opening between the lumps that would not move was so small that Alissandra feared she would not be able to squeeze through. She did manage, but only just barely, and behind her, the hole closed, capturing the child within.

Frantically, Alissandra dug at the earth, but to no avail. Then, with a suddenness that startled her, the child burst through the dirt nearby, smiling happily. “You need not have worried so for me, Ugly One. I can get through much easier than you!”

The two of them continued onward, through the tunnel, which had no source of light that Alissandra could discern, but yet it was lit well enough to see. Soon, though, the child stopped her and whispered, “Here there is a dragon. He is mighty and seems fierce, but truly he is as gentle as a pup, if you only dare to go up to him and scratch just behind his wing.”

The young woman nodded, thinking that this could not be so bad, and they continued forward, until they reached a great cavern, filled with all sorts of precious jewels, gold, and other rich things. In this cavern, there lay, curled up, a great dragon, the largest she had ever seen, and covered in beautiful scales, of all different colors and hues. When the dragon breathed out, little bursts of flame shot from his nostrils, and there was a small puddle of melted gold before him.

The moment the child and her older, ugly companion stepped into the cavern, the dragon awoke, swinging his head towards them. “Who do you bring to my cave, Little One?” he asked ominously.

In answer, the child replied, “I bring she who is a hundred times richer than thee, and yet who is the poorest wretch on the earth.”

“Then you have fulfilled my riddle, and you may pass,” said the dragon as he moved his tail from before the door at the other end. The child gaily bounded through, but as Alissandra was about to follow, the dragon blocked the door again. “Oh no, Rich One, you must prove to me that you are both a hundred times richer than I, and also the poorest wretch on the earth.”

Alissandra quivered and quaked in her shoes. What could she do? Finally, she bowed her head low and said, “All I have in this world is what I carry with me, but I do not know how I could be rich at all, least of all a hundred times richer than you, Great Dragon.”

The dragon huffed and snorted at her in annoyance, and the great blast of hot air blew her hat off her head. The small, hungry flames that followed it ate up all her clothing, but also ate right up all of her ugliness. Seeing this, the dragon seemed taken aback, for her own beauty made her richer a hundred times over than was this dragon. But he was so very lonely here, and so he said, “I see that you are very rich in beauty, though you hid it so well even I would not suspect, but I am lonely here, will you not stay and keep me company for a little while?”

Seeing that she had no choice, Alissandra nodded and went over to the great beast. Trembling, she sat herself next to him and began to scratch the scales just above his wing. The dragon purred with delight as she scratched, and presently, he fell asleep, his tail falling away from the door. In naught but a moment, the young maid leapt up and dashed out the door, following to where the child yet awaited her.

“Welcome, welcome, Pretty One! I see that you have made it through, as I knew you would!” The child gaily pranced about, then took her hand and lead her once more. This time, they passed through a maze of tunnels, but the child went forth unerringly and confidently, and finally they were out once more.

“There is just one more danger before us, before the final one to free the great Demetin. But this time I will not be able to help you at all. Have no fear, though, I am sure that all will be well once more!” The child danced through the doorway ahead, and Alissandra followed close behind, wary of what she might find.

There sat a sphinx, watching them. “Well, Tiny One, I see that you have brought a stranger. Did you answer my riddle?”

“I bring one who is small and yet greatness, young and yet ageless. She will best you in your games, and you shall be ashamed!”

“We shall see about that,” responded the sphinx as she moved turned back to Alissandra. She sat there, primly grooming herself. “Wait a moment, Wise One. You must first find an answer,” she said demurely. As she finished speaking she gestured to three cups of water before her. “Death, to you, is near, in these waters here, and life shall elude, and you shall not intrude. But beware the third, placed here only to deter. Life and death you must find to solve this riddle mine.”

Alissandra frowned, studying the three cups, each exactly as the one before it. Then she studied their positions. Finally, she pointed to the cup nearest her, and said, “This is the water of death.” As she said that, the sphinx glared at her. Studying the last two waters, she finally pointed to the last one, and said, “And that one is the water of life.”

The sphinx growled, then pounced on the child and tore her in two. “True it may be, but this we shall see!” She almost sang. She placed the two halves together and gestured to the child, “Sprinkle the waters you mentioned upon her, and if you chose wrong, then you, too, shall be my meal.”

Alissandra trembled as she took the water of death and sprinkled it over the child. The two halves of the child's body knit together, and the young woman breathed a sigh of relief. Her first choice had been correct! Now, she took the far water and sprinkled it upon the child. Immediately, she sprang up happily, and the poor young woman almost cried, so happy was she. The sphinx moved out of their way, to allow them through the door.

Alissandra ran through after her smaller companion, and just barely dodged the sphinx as she swiped at her. The little child danced about gaily “You see? I knew you could do it!” she sang happily, grabbing the older girl's hands and dancing with her. After a little while of this, she led her down the tunnel yet further. “Come quickly! It is not far now!”

Only a few minutes later, they entered into a third large cavern, and Alissandra saw a most beautiful silver stag standing in the center, his head held proudly high, his golden antlers shining, though there was no sunlight on them. The girl would have walked right up to the stag and caressed his pretty hide, but the child stopped her, glaring at the statue. “You mustn't touch it! This is not Demetin.”

The girl nodded, but could not take her eyes off the statue. It had bewitched her. She heard whispers, calling to her, “Come, come Alissandra! Come and free me from this spell. Come, come!” As the whispers continued, they grew more insistent, and Alissandra struggled against the grip of the child. Finally, she broke free and was almost to the great stag, about to fling her arms around his neck, when a familiar voice, one she remembered only from her childhood and her nightmares, sang out, “Yes!”

Suddenly, Alissandra stopped, only centimeters away from touching the great stag. Her eyes went wide, and she crumpled to the floor at the stag's feet, crying, but she did not touch the statue with even one hair. The child came up to her and put her arms around her, whispering, “Shhhh, he had bewitched you. It happens to anyone that enters this place. Look, just over there!”

Alissandra looked up and, through her tears, saw what the child was pointing to. Covered in dust was another great stag statue, at the far end of the cavern. His head was hung low, and there was a sadness in his eyes. His great gold antlers were bowed before him, protecting him from the worst of the sandstorm, and on his cheek there glistened a diamond tear. Quietly, the girl walked over to the second stag, carefully she brushed away the dust that covered him, and then, ever so tenderly, she reached up and touched the tear, a similar, but real one glistening on her own cheek. As the tear fell and splattered on the back of the stag, he raised his head and looked at her. Then, he shook himself all over, and when he was done, there stood a handsome young man, the great magician Demetin.

Demetin took Alissandra in his arms, smiling beautifully, and said, “Thank you! You have saved me, and I am forever in your debt, oh Beautiful One.” Suddenly, there was a great crashing, and the false stag shattered. Then, there was a rumbling, and the very earth itself began to move. Demetin held the girl close, reassuring her, even as the child danced about and sang.

When Alissandra dared to look up once again, she saw that they were above the ground, standing in the courtyard of a great castle. Servants bustled about, cleaning things and dusting, for the centuries of dust that had gathered here. The dragon and sphinx had regained their shapes as the magician's greatest warriors, and his personal guards. The child, though, had turned into a great firebird, and flew about singing the good news to all in the area.

Demetin smiled grandly, and then went down on one knee before Alissandra, “My lady, would you consider marriage to a humble magician?”

Happily, and somewhat tearfully, Alissandra nodded, “I would be honored!”

Demetin bade her wait until he returned home to her, and set out to defeat his brother, and return the land to the good and prosperous land it ought have been. He returned each kingdom to its rightful ruler, and returned home to rule his own land with his bride.

And the two of them were wed only three days after his return, and there was great feasting and rejoicing at the castle. Even I was there, but I set out on the back of my great horsefly before the celebration even ended, to spread this story to one and all.