A Winter Story: Lionhearted by Melissa Snow

In celebration of Christmas, I invited readers to write a story about the painting below. Enjoy the short stories submitted and have a Merry Christmas!

Lionhearted

By Melissa Snow

Winter was a very joyous time in Faelyn, a small kingdom off the shores of Varia.  The fortress of Faelyn was atop a high hill that was surrounded by the village houses and beyond that a deep forest known as Marwood.

In the village, the people were festooning their shops and street corners with freshly cut pine boughs tied together with bright red ribbons.  Windows all along the street shone with a cheerful glow from within as villagers hung up bundles of holly, and the maidens made the last preparations for the great meals that all the families would eat.  Outside, the sun had just set and a light snow had begun to fall.  There were calls of “Merry Christmas Eve” from one villager to another as they made their way to their homes for the holiday feast.  The air was cheerful and everyone had smiles on their faces as they shut their doors against the cold night to enjoy time with their families on this special winter occasion.

Far above the simple, but jovial cottages, was the castle of Faelyn.  It was not adorned with pine or holly; hardly any windows were even lit.  The soft snow fell on the hard black stone of the barracks.  There were no sentries along the walls as they had all gone home to spend the holiday with their families.  In the fortress it was no brighter, with only a few torches along the cold passages.  No one celebrated on that wintry night.  How could they, considering what had happened on this night ten long years ago?

The coldest of all the chambers in the castle was the Great Hall, where the golden throne of the king sat empty.  The Hall should have been lit with a huge roaring fire and many torches.  However, only one torch lit the room that night and it made it look even darker and foreboding.  The one who had brought the torch sat before the throne, head bowed.  Dark locks fell over her shoulders and tears stained her pale cheeks.  She shook, despite the crimson cloak she wore.  The torchlight flickered in her blue eyes and vapor came from her lips.

“Arame’?”

The girl whirled around at the voice.  The speaker emerged from behind one of the great columns that lined the Hall.  He also carried a torch and was about seventeen, two years her elder.  “Thinking of Father again?” he asked, kneeling beside her.

“Oh, Orrin,” she sobbed, not able to hold in her tears, “how can I not think of him?!  It’s been ten years to the day and still he hasn’t returned!”

“He’ll come one day, Arame’,” said Orrin, trying to comfort his sister.  Tears welled up behind his eyes as well, but he fought them back.

Their father had once reigned justly over the people of Faelyn, but one Christmas Eve he had gone out hawking with some of his men.  Some ill fate met them and when the riders returned the king was not among them.  The men told terrible tales of how they had met a huge golden lion that had swallowed the king whole!  At the time, the royal family refused to believe it and half the kingdom searched for him.  His horse and hawk were found unharmed, but not the king.  Some days later it was reported that a huge golden lion had been sighted in Marwood.  By order of the eldest son of the king, who was now ruling, all the able-bodied men of the town and palace were to hunt the creature and kill it.  Many set out on horseback and with hounds.  All of the king’s sons went as well, which totaled five.  They saw the beast once by an old stone footbridge, and the eldest brother loosed an arrow upon it.  The shaft sliced its ear, but the cat got away and hadn’t been seen since.

That was ten years ago and ever since then Christmas was not celebrated in the castle.  The townsfolk still made merry, though they never forgot their king.  But the royal family could not, and all was bleak and cheerless in those days.

“You should probably get some rest,” Orrin suggested.  He helped his sister to her feet.  “Christmas will soon be over,” he said, “and then we can go back to normal.”

“I don’t just want Christmas to be over,” Arame’ said, “I want my father back, and until he holds me in his arms, nothing will ever be normal!”  She took her torch and went from the Hall, her tears chilling on her face.  Orrin watched her go, and was soon alone with his own sad thoughts.

***

Arame’ did not go to her chamber for rest; rather she went through the dark passages, meeting no one, and out into the courtyard.  It had stopped snowing and the grounds were freshly covered with it.  A bright full moon shone above and its light glistened off the white powder like thousands of cut diamonds.  The princess doused the torch in the snow, the moon providing enough light for her to roam without.  Then, hardly making a sound, she opened a small side door in the stone wall and disappeared beyond it.

Marwood was made mostly of pines and the snow from the past several days stuck to their forever-green needles.  The moon shone down on the forest, creating shafts of light through the trees.  A small frozen stream wound its way along the frosted ground, and everything was still and silent; not even a slight breeze stirred the boughs above.

Here the young princess walked along the frozen streambed, alone with her thoughts.  She would have continued to cry, but she feared that her tears would turn to ice on her cheeks.  Pulling her cloak tighter, Arame’ followed the shining stream deeper and deeper into Marwood.

***

Orrin walked into the passage that led from the Great Hall and felt a cold draft coming down the tunnel.  Usually he would have thought nothing of it, but somehow it felt different from the overall chill of the palace.  When he reached the end, the prince discovered the door that led to the courtyard was ajar.  He went to close it, but saw the abandoned torch.  Looking out farther, he saw the side door open and guessed the rest.  Wasting no time, Orrin donned his cloak and slung his bow and quiver over his shoulder, and rushed out into the dark, also discarding his torch.

***

Arame’ had walked for some time and eventually broke away from the cover of the dark pines and came into clearing.  The stream cut right through it and went under a small stone footbridge.  The breath caught in the girl’s throat for a moment as she recognized it.  Slowly, she left the overshadowing pine boughs and, looking from side to side, stepped onto the cold stone.

She had hardly stepped on the other side when she saw a little form coming toward her.  At first she withdrew in fear, but then she saw what it was: a little kitten and, strangely enough, with the brightest blue eyes Arame’ had ever seen.

“Oh,” said the princess, “what is a little kitty doing out here?”  The kitten sat and looked up at her with its beautiful eyes.  The girl bent to stroke it, when an arrow whizzed inches from the kitten’s face.

“Arame’!” someone yelled from the bridge.  “What are you doing?!  Run, Arame’, run!”  In her surprise she fell back and watched as the kitten scampered off and vanished through the far line of trees.  Her brother rushed to her side and helped her up.

“What were you doing?!”  Orrin asked, holding her shoulders. “Were you trying to get yourself killed?”

“It was just a little kitten, Orrin,” Arame’ said, shaking loose from his grasp.  “What harm is a little kitty?  And now it’s gone!”

“A kitten?!” Orrin looked at her in astonishment.  “That was no kitten, Arame’!  That was the golden lion that took our father; I saw the slit in its ear!  And he was about to take you!”

“But I saw a tiny kitten,” Arame’ said, bewildered.

“I assure you,” Orrin said, as he retrieved his arrow from the ground, “that was the lion.”

***

“Never do that to me again, Arame’.”  Orrin reprimanded once they were safe in the walled courtyard with the door bolted behind them.  “What would I tell Mother and our brothers if I let something happen to you?”  He paused.  “What am I going to tell them now?”

Arame’ turned her large innocent eyes upon him. “Oh, please don’t tell them anything!”

“Of course I have to tell them!  We saw the lion!”

“You saw the lion,” his sister corrected. “I saw a pitiful kitten that would never have hurt me.”

“It was the cold getting to you,” Orrin reasoned, as he opened the door that led into the fortress.

“I know what I saw!” insisted Arame’. “How could I mistake the beast that has haunted my nightmares for a kitten?  Please don’t tell yet, Orrin!  You know what this would do to Mother and the rest; it would devastate them!”

The prince thought for a moment and then said, “Alright, I’ll keep my mouth shut for now, but as soon as Christmas is past, I must tell them.”  Arame’ nodded, satisfied.  Speaking no more words, they each went to their chambers to get some much needed sleep.

***

Finally alone, Arame’ changed into her night-gown and hung her cloak by the warm fire that a servant had made in the hearth.  She pulled the heavy quilts up to her chin and stared up at the velvet bed curtains.  The princess knew what she had seen.  Yes, it was a kitten, and yes, she knew that it would never hurt her, but there was something about its eyes.  She recognized them somehow!  As she drifted off to sleep, the image of her father came into her mind, and without a doubt she recognized those eyes, too.

***

Christmas day came and went.  Arame’ saw her mother once, and as usual, her eyes were dull and skin pale.  She saw her brothers a few times, but as they were so much older than she, they were very busy with affairs of state.  Orrin had kept his word and didn’t utter a word about their excursion in Marwood.  However, she did notice that he watched her like a hawk all that day, suspecting her to go off again.

The princess stayed inside all afternoon, and soon night was upon the black stones of the fortress once more.  Arame’ was sent to bed with Orrin following to make sure she actually went to her chamber this time.  She did, and without a word, she closed the door.  Satisfied, the prince went to his own room.

***

Arame’ waited until she was sure everyone had gone to bed, then changing into a silky blue dress and wrapping her cloak around her shoulders, she tip-toed from her room and into the corridor, holding a candle in a bronze sconce to light her way.  Soon she reached the courtyard and discovered it was snowing again.  Drawing her hood over her dark hair, she soon was beyond the wall and making her way to Marwood.  Again the girl followed the frozen stream, cupping her hand protectively around the candle’s little flame.  The moon had been shrouded by clouds and the forest looked darker than ever.  Still she walked, the falling snow covering her footprints.  Then the stone bridge came into view and this time the princess did not hesitate, but strode over it bravely.  When she was on the other side, she set down her candle and looked desperately for the kitten.  However, it was nowhere to be found, so she sunk to her knees, not caring that her dress was getting wet.  Tears burned her eyes and finally she stopped fighting them; they dripped down her face as she buried her head in her hands.  “What am I doing?” she sobbed to herself.  “Did I actually think that the kitten had anything to do with him?  Why do I keep hoping when he will never come back?”  She lifted her head to the midnight sky and shouted, “Where are you!!!”

Something nudged against her sodden knee.  She looked down to see the kitten!  Removing her hood so as not to scare the creature, she peered down at it and into its blue eyes.

“Do not cry, young one,” said a soothing voice.  Arame’ looked around, but saw no one.  “Why do you mourn?”  Suddenly, Arame’ realized that the voice was in her head.  She looked back at the little creature purring at her side.  It stared up at her as she heard the voice repeat his question.  It was the kitten who talked to her, though it sounded like a grown man.  

Though she did not know why, she answered.  “My father has been missing for ten years!  Everyone thinks him to be eaten by a great lion.  At first I didn’t believe the rumors, but now… what else can I do?”

“You can hope,” said the kitten.

“I have hoped for so long,” said the princess.  “All I want is for him to be with me again.”

“Daughter, you are certainly pure of heart if you do not see what stands before you.  For indeed I am the lion that prowls these woods!  But it was not always so.  Ten years ago, I was a man, a king, a father.  On the day that I disappeared I had fallen upon an enchanted lion skin that was hanging on the stone bridge yonder.  No sooner had I touched it, that I myself was turned into the beast.

“After the transformation an evil Whither from Talone’ emerged from the woods to slay me, so that he may have two lion skins.  There was a short battle, but I was victorious.  As the creature slowly turned to ash—as is their way when they leave this world— I heard him utter, ‘Thou shalt be a beast forever, unless all thy people see you as a harmless kitten.’  He laughed as he said, ‘But only those who are pure and brave in heart can do so!’  Then he was gone, blowing away in the wind.  Ever since then I have roamed and have tried to come near to my people.  But they do not see me as you do, and hunt and try to kill me.  My own son shot an arrow at my head, but only nicked my ear!  I wish nothing more than to be returned to my true self!”

Arame’ listened in silence to his tale and when he had finished, she looked once more into his eyes.  They were the eyes of her father and suddenly she knew it was he.  However, she had hardly any time to rejoice as lantern light could be seen from within the trees on the far side.  The reunited father and daughter heard the shouts of the villagers and the princes as they came closer to the bridge.

Arame’ began to cry again.  “Oh, no!  They will not see you as a kitten and will surely shoot you!”

“Do not fret, dearest!” said her father, inside her mind.  “I may yet be saved!  You must make them see!”

Swallowing back her tears, she turned as the first person broke from the darkness of the forest and stepped onto the bridge, calling, “There she is!  Hurry the lion’s here as well!”  It was Orrin, bearing a lantern that shone with pure golden light, but his face was as white as the snow.  “Arame’, quick, come to me!” he shouted, holding up his lantern.   His sister shook her head and said nothing.  The villagers and her other brothers began to arrive on the bank.  They notched arrows to their waxed bowstrings, ready to bring down the lion that stood beside her.

Arame’ held up her hands, then knelt before the lion.  Of course all she saw was the tiny kitten, so she put forth her hand to its mouth.  All those gathered on the bank watched in amazement as the lion stepped forward, reaching to put its nose into their princess’s hand.

Orrin saw it first.  Suddenly, there was no lion, but a small furry kitten!  He stared in bewilderment as it touched its little nose to his sister’s finger.  Then all the others put down their weapons and relaxed their hold on their bowstrings.  They also saw the kitten!  Not a fearsome beast, but a harmless tiny creature.  Then even the kitten vanished from their sight and in its place was a man, a king, and most importantly, a father.  He and all his children had waited for this moment for so very long and at last it had come!  Arame’ was the first to hug him.  Then came Orrin, and finally the rest of his sons.  The villagers and palace guards all cheered around them, for their king had returned!

Oh, what a merry procession made its way back through Marwood and to the fortress of Faelyn!  Once they reached the castle, the queen wept for joy and the king ordered the palace to be lit up again, and a feast be made ready.  Even though it was the middle of the night, all the villagers came to the palace to celebrate.  Once again the hearth blazed in the Great Hall and, seated upon his throne with his family all around him, was the king.

Arame’ remembered that night forever, because it was the happiest Christmas she had ever had, and was likely ever to have.

And after that joyous night—as is always a good way to end such stories— they all lived happily ever after!                                                                            

Merry Christmas!