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| Photo Credit: Ryan McGuire |
Once upon a
time, in a beautiful kingdom near the Loire, there lived a princess called
Ciel. She was an adorable little girl, whose curiosity was only surpassed by
her great kindness.
When Ciel
was old enough to leave the castle, her mother, seeing the princess’s
insatiable curiosity, gave her a warning.
“You can
take any road you like, my dear, and visit any place in the kingdom… except the
Silent Forest. There lives a demon who devours every living being that dares to
enter those woods.”
On the last
day of Spring, Ciel drifted away from the palace’s garden. She walked for many
miles, chasing the last butterflies of the season, giggling with their
iridescent tickles. She only noticed she was lost after the sun had hid behind
the ancient pines -on the moment when the last butterfly was swallowed by the
icy mist that was crawling into the woods.
Ciel looked
around and shrieked. She was in the Silent Forest! Remembering the queen’s
warning, she ran and ran, looking for a way out of the woods… But the more she
ran, the deeper she got into the forest.
Darkness
had taken over the place. All she could see was the black silhouettes of the
skeletal trees against the moon.
Ciel sat
against one of the dead pines and cried. She was cold, tired and hungry, lost
and alone in the middle of the Silent Forest. And right then, to make things
worse, she heard the demon’s haul. It was her doom.
A lark
heard her lament, and came flying to her rescue. Of course, being so small and
harmless there was nothing he could do to save the princess from the demon, so
he did the only thing he could: he sang. His song was so beautiful that the
princess stopped crying and smiled. She forgot all about her hunger, and the
cold. She no longer felt alone, because the lark was keeping her company. She
didn’t feel afraid anymore either, despite the demon’s haul was getting closer.
Sitting on
top of the tree, the songbird could see the light of many torches nearby, right
in the outskirts of the forest, approaching from the North. They were looking
for Ciel! They weren’t that far from her, but the demon was much closer, and if
she stayed there he would find her before her parents could get to her.
The bird
decided to bring Ciel to her family, taking her away from the demon’s reach. It
so happens that this monster was binded to the forest by a powerful spell, so
he couldn’t leave it. If the lark managed to take Ciel out of the forest, she’d
be safe.
The lark
flew down to her side, landing on her shoulder and looked at her with love,
silently asking her to follow him. He then flew towards the light, guiding her
through the darkness, with her following close behind. Before long she was out
of the forest, back into safety, in her family’s arms.
They were
so glad that Ciel was safe, hugging her and kissing her, that they didn’t see
the demon’s flaming red glare observing them behind the bushes. As Ciel turned
around to thank the lark, the monster swallowed him up.
“No!” she
cried. And before the demon could disappear again into the woods, her father
shot him with an arrow, killing him instantly. Although everyone cheered the
king for having saved the kingdom forevermore from the terrible monster, Ciel
cried for losing her friend.
All of a
sudden, the monster’s jaws parted wide open… and a song emerged from his
entrails. Everyone looked at the demon, still lying on the ground. There was
the tiny bird, standing victorious on the monster’s tongue.
Celeste
rushed to his side and thanked him, caressing him with gratitude. The king and
the queen invited the songbird to live with them at the palace.
They all
lived together, happily ever after.
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Wednesday Muse!
Here's a list of all the amazing wordsmiths in our cyberspatial society (you'll most definitely want to check them out!):
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