Betrayal of the Shadow Wood - Chapter Two
Betrayal of Shadow Wood
Chapter Two
© Cederwyn Whitefurr
January, 2015
All Rights Reserved.
He never once took their offering, leaving it to rot where it lay. Still, they made new pilgrimages, and their numbers slowly grew with each passing season. He was confused by their adoration of him. He was a protector of the guardian, true, but he was still just flesh and blood not unlike themselves. Being sworn to protect the woodland and its furry people, he was distrustful of the sincerity of these gifts.
*
One night, he came to the Unicorn who lay with her legs folded beneath her as she gazed into the crystal clear water of the pond. Her eyes were unfocussed as it seemed she divined some great wisdom from the ripples and movements of the water. As the Stag's reflection imposed on her vision, she nickered a greeting to him. He smiled and touched noses shyly with her as they shared breath, their mutual greeting. As he remained quiet, the Unicorn frowned then whispered softly,
"Something troubles you greatly my friend - please, speak of that which causes you such pain. I can see it in your eyes, even though you try so hard not to let it show..." She whispered, then cropped at the tender young grass and chewed slowly, watching him.
"Milady - " He began, then flattened his ears and turned away; his head drooping in confusion and shame.
Quietly, she climbed back to her hooves and nuzzled his neck; she comforted him as she frowned in concern and nuzzled him again.
"You may speak freely with me young one - you have more than earned that right as The Watcher of The Woods." She nickered, nuzzling his ears and trying to cheer him up.
"Milady...I...I have served you, these past seasons, without asking for a single thing as reward for my servitude." He whimpered, glancing at her then lowering his gaze again.
"Speak of that which your heart desires my young Stag. If it lies within my power to grant you your wish, then I shall grant it in payment of your selfless servitude." She told him as her ears flicked forwards in curiosity.
"I..." He stammered then turned away, biting back his words as tears threatened to spill from his eyes.
"Please, my Stag, speak of what troubles you. You are burdened; you cannot hide that from me. Besides, such burdens weigh heavily; it would eventually impair your judgement and make you careless for which you would pay a heavy toll...that of your very life. Come, speak of your troubles; let me help you to confront and overcome them so you may return to my trusted Companion whom I love above all others."
He glanced at her again then the tears began to fall. As they trickled down his cheeks, he twisted away and let them fall as they may; his grief and shame tearing him apart from within. He wanted to tell her...he had to tell her! She was his Mistress, The Guardian. If she had whim, she could peel apart his mental defences without even trying and make him tell. Instead, she let the stag cry himself out over two hours until his sobbing wails broke into choking sobs. After his breathing evened out, she laid down beside him and gently nuzzled his neck to comfort him.
"Please my friend - tell me what torments you so, I beg of you - " She whispered, gazing at him.
"For..for years upon years, have I done as you commanded, defended the Woods and its people - "
Nodding, despite knowing he was repeating himself, she listened attentively, letting him tell his tale in his own, disjointed way.
"Much have I sacrificed, in my duties as the Watcher of the Wood - "
"Aye, for which I can never repay..." Sighed the Unicorn.
"I am not a young Buck any more! my finest years are behind me Milady - yet I will serve until the end of my time of this world, if that is your command. I have...done terrible things, in my duties, things which I have buried in my mind and heart for many many winters ..."
"Do not blame yourself, for the actions of others. Did I order you to take the humans lives without first seeking to drive them away? Did I tell you to be as some mindless beast, driven by blood-lust and anger? No - I instructed you with compassion and care, to do all you could to make them see the errors of their ways, and yes - I grieve with you my apprentice, for you are not at fault, for them forcing your actions, when they did not leave our woods. You did what I instructed, you sought to drive them away, to make them afraid to come to our wood and kill our friends, to cut down the trees that give us life and shelter...for this, you are exonerated and guiltless in the crimes they may lay against you."
He glanced at her, sniffling back his tears and tried to smile, before gently nuzzling her in gratitude.
"Yet I sense this is not the root of the tree, whose dark shadow clouds your mind and heart my Buck." She sighed, then draped her head over his neck and tried to give him comfort and solace from the pain that she sensed within him.
"You sense right Mistress - " He sniffled in reply, squeezing his eyelids closed to try and stop the fresh tears. "I...I must speak with you Milady...I beg, please hear me out, before you speak."
With a surprised snort, the Unicorn pulled her head back and blinked, before she made herself comfortable and listened attentively, her ears pricked forwards as the Stag rose and took a quick drink from the pond and a shiver ran from his ears to his tail, as he tried to put his thoughts together in a coherent pattern.
"I have served you, and continue to serve, as the Watcher of the Woods - for more years than I wish to recall. You took me as a yearling - a fawn...almost - and through countless seasons, taught me the skills I would need to perform the task you had assigned to me. Now, I beg of you mistress, please release me from my servitude! I am the last of my kind, my mother, may the Goddess grant her spirit rest - passed into the Great Glade last winter... I have never known the pleasure of a mate, for such was forbidden to me as the Watcher. Now, I am alone, the last of my kind in these woods - with no mate to love honour and cherish, no offspring to continue my noble line, and no hope for such to be. Can you imagine the pain that fills me, to never know my lovers touch - to feel her body against mine - the joys of bringing our offspring to you for blessing..." He began growing angry and resentful, his ears laid back against his neck as he began pacing in agitation and misery.
Remaining silent, the Unicorn felt a single tear slide down her white cheek, and drip soundlessly to the ground.
"I loved you, I gave myself willing, my seasons of service and celibacy - I done anything, horrible things beyond recount, to protect you, as Guardian of the Wood - I've killed for you, is it to much to ask, for in my final years, I come before you, to beg the touch I have been denied? He suddenly snapped, the tears running down his muzzle as he turned away, his body beginning to shake with the mixed emotions that were tearing at his very soul.
"It can not be, Protector of the Wood - " Come the soft sign of the Unicorn. "As much as I wish I could offer this to you, there are some things even I can not do."
Snapping his ears back, the stag spun about, the look of feral, predatory rage coming over him, and the unicorn's eyes widened - never seeing this side of her Protector, instinctively she raised herself to her full height and stared back at him, her eyes filled with a look of such sadness and love.
"I ask one thing - " He snarled, his anger rising, as it began to consume him. "One thing, to repay my seasons of adoration, worship and guardianship..."
"Be careful Protector, even my patience - has its limits..." Whispered the unicorn, as her tail began to slash from side to side.
"I loved you, sacrificed everything for you - yet you deny me - " He roared.
Defiantly, the stag stared at the unicorn, his head lowered and antlers glinting in the growing shadows. He heard the rumble of the thunder far above, as the clouds began to boil and churn; inky black clouds spreading like oil across the sky. As the unicorn lifted her noble head, she seen the clouds blot out the sun, the shadows racing across the grove in which she stood; and in that moment - she knew what had to be done...
"I loved you!" He screamed at her, his voice breaking with his rage that filled his heart. "I gave my life in service to you - and you betrayed me! I asked only to know the touch of a lover, you scorned me and drove me away..."
"Is this how you show me your loyalty buck?" She whispered sadly, shaking her head from side to side. "You would see them kill me? My blood running black across the loamy soil...where has your pride led you my dear stag? Down a dark, dark path, I fear even I can not turn you from! You know I loved you, I always have - and always will, even as your corpse lays rotting beyond the borders of my domain, will I hold your memory in my heart! I offer yo this chance, please - please! I beg of you, take my offer - turn aside from the hatred and anger that is driving you! You swore as a yearling, to honour, obey and cherish me...now, your foolish pride seeks to enslave you, to make you a pawn of the humans...for they do not care about you! They never have! Once they kill me - and they will try - they will turn on you! You have been a fool, my sweet, innocent young Buck...so I ask, once more...please turn away..."
"No..." Snarled the stag in response, as the tears ran down his muzzle and dripped to the leaf covered forest floor. "I gave you everything - my heart, my soul, my very life...now I see things as they truly are...now shall you reap the harvest of that which you have sewn..."
"You must not!" Whinnied the unicorn, as her eyes widened and she snapped her head up, to look at the dark, menacing clouds that boiled and churned, the flashes of lightning and the crack of thunder growing stronger.
"I revoke my duties, I renounce them before you and the very Gods themselves - for now, until my last days, I will not honour my vows, I renounce them, you and the Gods! No more will I serve, now shall you reap that which you have sown - for the last time - will I bend my knee in subservience!"
Lightning began to strike the forest, the thunderous booms of the thunder deafening in its crashes, as the unicorn stood, her body crackling with the magical energies that began to fill her. A sad, mournful look come over here, before she tossed her head and stared at the stag, her look one of compassion, sadness and grief, yet there was a look on her muzzle - of strength, determination and a force of will - that made him tremble and take a step back...only then - did he realise he had gone too far...
To Be Continued...