Do faery tales always have to end with "happily ever after"? Do they always have to have a "knight in shining armor" to rescue the damsel? Do they always have to have a prince charming to save or simply woo the girl? Do they always have to have people in the highest place in hierarchy to be labeled as the hero? Do they?
Well, if you say "yes" to any or every question, then let me tell you that you're pathetic. Not all faery tales are like that. The girls don't always have to be the victim of despair and distress then waiting for her knight to rescue her. Whatever you've heard, whatever you've read, forget about it. The traditional faery tale pf a knight saving a damsel in distress —forget about the traditional faery tales! I mean, haven't you noticed that the only people who tells, listens and talks about those kind of faery tales are young, star-stricken teen girls who could do no better then dream up what they can't and most likely never have?
Well, let me tell you about another faery tale opposite that. A better one. Here's my faery tale.
I spent my early years away from everyone because of my status. I was born illegitimately—a bastard child. I never knew who my father was, but from what I've heard, I'd like to believe that he's a Ranger, a Wanderer of the Wild and protector of the small. But I was only fooling myself and I knew it. So I stopped thinking those thoughts.
The woman who gave birth to me has no meaning to me. She has turned her eyes away from humanity. She easily became corrupt and hate surrounded her heart and mind. Darkness consumed her home. I turned away from her. I shut my heart away from her darkness. Of all her five children, I was the most uncalled for.
I left them all in their little glade, their niche of darkness. For a while I wandered alone in the forest, circling the endless maze of trees and winding roads. In the middle of my wandering I had met my most beloved friend. A young wolf who was so great because he was everything a friend should be. He wandered with me the rest of my time in the forest.
When I finally emerged there were wide fields. I was not on the road when I emerged, but there was one before me that ran left and right when I did. On the other side was a fenced field of plants I had never seen before. A man was working there. He found Alden and me standing on the other side of the fence watching him. Then I was traveling down the road opposite the rising sun, my shadow and Alden's shadow before us.
We only traveled a few yards when we crossed paths with another Wanderer. Like me he had no other human companion, just his stallion. He didn't have to tell me who he is, I already knew. He was a genuine Wanderer of the Wild. A Ranger. The best part of coming across this Ranger was he took care of me and gave me a name to finally be called by instead of "You" or "Girl." He called me Jal.
He was called Rumer. Rumer taught me many things. He taught me swordsmanship. We worked hours enhancing my skills with a sword without end. He taught me lore of the West and North, world known to us. He taught me herb-lore, telling me which is for healing, which is not, and which is edible. He taught me archery and hunting. And when I was big enough, he taught me to ride a horse. A master and his apprentice we came to be.
For a time we traveled together in the Wild. But when I turned sixteen we lost track of each other. When I turned sixteen we were separated. We were traveling on the see going from the Western shores to the Northern lands. A storm struck. We barely made it alive. He went in the care of others. When I left after I healed, he was still in their care. It has been three months now since I last saw him.
I have comeback to the lands I knew when I was younger. Trouble, I have sensed, has aroused since Alden and I left with Rumer. Darkness has risen. Fear stuck itself to every plant, every rock, to everything. It is in the earth, it is in the water, it is in the very air we breathe. Fear was rising in the mist and blowing in the wind.
This is my tale. It has just begun.
The girl called Jal faced the forest from whence she came. Her fear arose inside her heart. Alden, the wolf who has stayed her side for over ten years, barked his encouragement for Jal to face her fears and beat them like he knows she can. He was successful. Jal's courage began to arise and overpower her swelling fear. She gathered her courage and ran through the forest with Alden at her side until they reached the glade from which the source of darkness and fear supposed to have originated. Nothing was there. Something pulled Jal to run a different direction. She ran north and east with a voice in the wind calling to her, In the fields. Run. Faster.
Jal got to the grasslands and found the source of Darkness. It was a pit of shadows, a sphere of terror. It fed on Humanity's fears, terrors, and dread.
You have finally come,I said the voice. It seemed to be female and to have come from the Darkness. I have been waiting for over ten years.
"Who are you?" yelled Jal from yards away. "How do you know me?"
I am one who have given you life, was the reply.
"What do you want from me?"
You have the power I need to rule over all. You have the fear I need. You will be the reason for Men's downfall.
"No!" cried Jal.
You cannot what is true, said the voice.
"You cannot win."
But I already have.
"You will not win," said Jal. "I won't let you!"
It's too late.
In a loud voice, Jal yelled out, "I'm not afraid of you!"
What did you say? demanded the Darkness.
"You do not have control over me!" yelled Jal. "I don't fear you!"
There was a blood-curling shriek that filled and rippled the air. Jal covered her ears and fell to her knees. Alden growled and barked at the Shadow. The Shadow shrieked again in anger and charged at Jal and Alden. Out of nowhere, Rumer ran for Jal and pushed her out of the way.
Jal demanded, "What are you doing here?"
"You think you could just leave without saying a proper 'good-bye'?" was his reply.
The shadow was heading for them again. Rumer pushed Jal aside again, covering her with himself.
The Shadow stopped yards away and said, So, he is your weakness.
Jal and Rumer got to their feet. Jal pulled her sword out and yelled, "You will not hurt him!"
The Shadow laughed. Your weapons will not hurt me.
The Darkness charged for them again. Jal pushed Rumer out of the way but still stood at the path of the Darkness.
I'm not afraid of you, Jal thought in her head, standing her ground firmly.
The Shadow passed through her with no affect. It charged for her again and again with no affect.
Finally Jal yelled after a moment of realization, "I know your weakness!" To Rumer she said, "Rumer, stand by me. Hold my hand."
Rumer did so.
You fools! You will be the reason for the downfall of Men, hissed the Shadow. It charged for them but stopped just inches in front of them, shrieking in pain and fear.
Jal was chanting a spell of the ancient days by the pagan priests of the Ancient Days. They were the chants she learned from the lore of the North. Rumer joined her in the chanting. They gout louder and louder until their chanting filled the air. The Shadow continued to shriek. It began to shrink smaller and smaller until it was a small orb of darkness. Then it burst and was obliterate, giving out a force that knocked the two to the ground and unconscious. When they awoke a short time later, the air was clean of the Darkness. Its other offspring, they learned, had mysteriously disappeared the day Jal left North with Rumer ten years past.
Rumer walked to his stallion, Jal and Alden close behind. He led his stallion by the reins and walked Northward. He then stopped and asked Jal, "Well, Kid, Where do you want to go next?"
Jal smiled. Alden barked in happiness.
This is my tale. Maybe it has a happy ending. But it's not your ordinary faery tale. I had stood up to fear and beaten it, a bastard girl. And as for knights and princes—Rumer, Alden, and I are out to see what their worth. Remember, this is my tale — it has just begun...
December 3, 2004
