The Bird Maiden
Chapter 1
"By the wind moonlight,
And looming Goblin fate,
Send me to his Majesty,
A falcon on his gate."
These are the words I chanted each morning. They are not just words, you know. They are a spell, a spell that only I can use. My name is Evangeline, and I am an elf.
I am also a gypsy. Our caravan has traveled all over the Underground world, but now we dwell mainly in the vast, enchanted woods near the Goblin City. As in the Aboveground world, gypsies are not always welcome guests to a town. The goblins of the City don't care who we are, so long as we can sell them jewels and weapons. However, those of higher status do mind. The goblins that run the Armory can't stand having us as competition. The jewelers and tailors hate us, because many goblins would much rather have the exotic jewels and clothes that we sell, than the everyday trinkets sold in the city's shops. The Goblin King had never reacted much to our presence, but he is royalty. What's to say he wouldn't scorn us as well?
That is why I used the spell. Every elf in our band is given a certain power on his or her thirteenth birthday, in the form of a spell. Anastasia, one of the old storytellers and a good friend of mine, was given the power to age only when she chose to, for she was a very beautiful and agile dancer in her youth. My power was the ability to transform into a falcon, for my vision was sharp, and I had yearned for the skies ever since I was a child. My spell was formed of the wind and moonlight, and those were its most powerful words. The rest was up to me, and only I knew the spell's exact incantation.
On the morn of the 12th, I rose early, as always. While the other Dark Elves were asleep, I ran silently through the woods to the Goblin City's high walls. I had to make the journey through the woods on foot, so that nobody could see me transform or hear the spell. Once I reached the wall, I whispered my sacred incantation;
"By the wind and moonlight, and looming Goblin fate, send me to his Majesty, a falcon on his gate."
Although I did this every day, the transformation still thrilled me. I watched the world swell around me as I took the falcon's form, then shrink again as I soared through the skies. I flew over the wall, beyond the Goblin City, dodged past the castle's majestic spires and towers, and finally alighted upon the royal garden gate, waiting.
I didn't have to wait long, for soon after I landed, I saw the Goblin King, Jareth, strolling through the gardens. He was dressed in a loose, black satin shirt, open slightly in the front, revealing a silver, fishtail-shaped pendant with a gold infinity in the middle. He wore his usual dove-gray tights and tall boots. He smiled when he saw me (in falcon form, of course!), and let me step onto his wrist, greeting me warmly, saying,
"Hello, my friend. Time for our morning hunt, isn't it?"
I noticed, for the thousandth time since I had learned my spell, how handsome he was. If only I were a princess from another kingdom, sent to seek his hand…but no. I was but a gypsy, sure to be banished if his Majesty knew who I really was. To him I would have to be a hunting falcon, nothing more.
It felt good to be flying again, swooping and circling above the woods, with the wind in my face and the world to myself. I had flown just yesterday morning, but for the sheer joy of flying, a day on the ground felt like a year. I was enjoying my winged freedom, when suddenly I spotted a movement in the forest below. It was a rabbit, and a fat one at that. I circled again then dove, rising back up with my catch in my talons. With one last triumphant swoop, I dropped the rabbit into Jareth's hunting sack, and then landed expertly on his wrist again.
We returned to the royal gardens, where I washed my feet in the fountain, as I always did after a hunt. He sat on a fancily carved stone bench, and I sat on his wrist.
"You're a fine hunter, aren't you?"
He said, stroking my feathers affectionately. I was tempted to transform back into a maiden and reveal myself then and there, but the fear of banishment stopped me. Finally, Jareth pulled a small scroll from some unseen pocket and fastened it to the silver ring around my leg. "Would you mind delivering this letter? Give it to Sarah." He reached again into the unseen pocket, producing this time a small strip of roasted meat, probably spared from a royal dinner.
"Thank you, you are a noble bird!"
He said, giving me the meat. Knowing that the rest of the band would be rising soon, I flew off, with the letter on my ankle.
I quickly found Sarah, sitting alone on a fallen tree trunk. I transformed several meters away, and then entered the clearing. Sarah Williams was my best friend, and a mortal. Usually mortals were forbidden in the caravans, but Sarah was a determined girl, and she managed to get along without our Dark Elfin magic. A few years ago she had defeated the immense Labyrinth that surrounded the Goblin City, and ever since, Jareth had been trying to win her affection. However, with each attempt, Sarah turned him down. As she read Jareth's letter, she looked deeply disgusted. She folded the letter and gave it to me.
"Return his letter, and tell him I cannot love him. Oh, why can't he leave me alone?" She moaned.
"All right, if you say so." I said, adding playfully, "Farewell, cruel Sarah!"
Sarah answered this with a handful of moss, neatly aimed at the back of my head. Laughing, I threw it back at her. Finally we both collapsed in a fit of giggles, until I told her I had to find the rest of the caravan.
That afternoon, after I had finished my chores, Anastasia and I were out collecting medicine herbs, a subject that she had taught me much about. While we collected we chatted idly.
"Maria's expecting, you know."
She said, picking a handful of tiny wildflowers. I laughed,
"Again?"
Maria already had four children, two of which were twins.
"That silly girl is like a cat. She should finish raising one litter before starting on another,"
Hmphed Anastasia disapprovingly. The look on her face made me fall into a patch of huge dandelions, trying not to laugh, but being unable to stop myself when my fall raised a cloud of giant-dandelion fluff. Anastasia could be silly herself, but she acted like everybody else's mother when they did something foolish!
When we finally emerged from the dense forest, we were in some sort of huge meadow. Anastasia pointed to something in the sky.
"Look over there, Eva. Do you see that?"
I followed her gaze to a strange, shimmering, iridescent shape, far off in the distance.
"Would you believe," she said, "That that bubble is actually part of the castle?"
"Really?" I asked, anticipating the fantastic tale that Anastasia would surely tell.
"Oh, yes. It's the ballroom. I've only been inside once. It was a few years ago, back when I was young and beautiful…"
Anastasia had chosen to let her age catch up to her quite recently, so she was 'young and beautiful' about a year ago.
" It's empty now, but every 13 full moons, there is a grand ball, a masquerade. I haven't been to the most recent ones, but I can remember the one that I attended, in my youth. I wore my finest dancing gown and mask. The music, the food, the dancing…I can still feel the festive atmosphere."
"Was Jareth there?" I hardly dared to ask.
"Oh, he was indeed. I was one of the many girls he danced with."
"What was it like, dancing with him…?" I knew this was really over the top.
"Oh, he was a good dancer. And he looked so handsome and princely. He danced wonderfully with me, but…nothing compared to the way he danced with that one girl…"
"What girl?" The words tumbled out before I could stop them.
"Oh, nobody knew her name. I remember her being very pretty though. She had on a lovely white dress with an enormous skirt and sleeve puffs. Strange though, she was the only girl there without a mask."
"Yes, but what did she look like?" I didn't mean to be so rude.
"Well, she had long hair…black hair, I think, with lots of pearls woven through it. And, pale skin. I think her eyes were dark, but I didn't see her close enough to tell for sure. The way he danced with her…it seemed to put all us other ladies to shame."
"Do you know what happened to her?"
"I'm afraid not. Nobody does, really. She disappeared so suddenly, before the ball was over. Poor Jareth wouldn't dance with anyone else after. Told us all to go home, sorry for the inconvenience and all that. Nobody ever saw her again, and Jareth knew who she was but wouldn't tell anybody…"
Poor old Anastasia never got to finish her story. The impulsive girl I was, I was already running toward the bubble, panting my spell, transforming before Anastasia's very eyes. I wanted to know who the girl was, how to get into the bubble, when the next ball was. I flew toward the glinting shape with all my might, but whenever I got any closer, the bubble got farther away. Finally I spiraled to the ground and chanted my reverse-spell, trying not to add unnecessary curses in frustration. I walked wearily back to where Anastasia was standing, and we both walked home, too exhausted (Anastasia from working and I from flying) to talk much.
That evening, it was my brother Cyprian's turn to entertain our band. He was going to tame a wild bear, but after Anastasia's sharp warnings against it, he finally decided to tell a story. It was about a brave young man who had tamed a wild bear, which we all found very amusing. Then came the dancing. Maria's sister Bella performed a flamenco that kept its audience so captivated, that nobody noticed me slip out of the crowd, and neatly into Anastasia's covered wagon. I could see my prize; a mahogany chest, not large, but fancy enough to carry something precious. I lifted the lid, and gasped in amazement. It was a folded piece of burgundy satin. As I lifted it from the chest it unfolded, revealing itself as a beautiful gown. It was all deep red, with a bell-shaped skirt and long sleeves, gathered at the cuffs. It was a bit old-fashioned, but strangely beautiful. Folded in the dress was a mask.
It was the strangest mask I had ever seen. It was black and snub-faced, with small ram's horns protruding on either side, making it look for all the world like a snarling goblin. Tiny red jewels were set into the mask's edge, giving it an odd sort of glow. This couldn't have been any other than the gown and masque Anastasia wore to the masquerade. I stepped up to Anastasia's old mirror to try the dress on, when a sharp cry was heard from the crowd; "FIRE!"
The cry alarmed me. I transformed faster than ever before, and crabbed the dress and masque in my talons as I took flight. Looking down, I could see that almost a third of the caravan was ablaze. I flew even faster, trying to escape the burning caravan's panic.
Soon I was far away from the caravan, and I felt strangely calm. The night was mine. I had the dress; nobody at the ball would know I was just a gypsy. I didn't even bother to think about how I would get into a royal event, or if there even was one this year. As I swerved gracefully around the castle's tall spires, all I noticed was the cool night air ruffling through my feathers, caressing me. I could almost hear it whispering, 'you're a fine hunter, Evangeline…A fine hunter. And you are beautiful, my Evangeline…'
I was jerked unpleasantly out of my fantasy when I almost collided with some airborne object. From what I saw of it, zooming past me, it appeared to be another bird.