Author's Note (a.k.a The Best Part of the Story): I don't know what my goal was with this. Explore the character of the Woodsman's daughter? Maybe. Cure my writer's block? Hopefully. Anyway, I wrote this in the hospital where I've been for two weeks with nothing to do, so your guess is as good as mine :p
Enjoy and don't forget to review!
She hated it here.
She didn't know how she got here or even where she was, but she knew enough to decide that wherever she was, it was boring. As far as she could see, there was fog everywhere, covering the ground, so one couldn't see his feet below him and blotting the air, so one couldn't see his arms outstretched in front of him. No matter how far the young woman ventured, this never changed. For that reason, she rather enjoyed viewing the sunrises and sunsets that persisted each day, the brilliant rays of light brightening up the dismal landscape she was stuck in. They were the only things that reminded her that time was passing, and every day that passed was a day reluctantly spent without her father.
Oh, how she missed him!
Her memories of how the two became separated were a bit hazy, to say the least, but she vaguely remembered that the Beast was involved. As a child, she had heard many stories about him and she had been warned many times by many adult figures in her life to avoid the dreaded Beast of the Unknown. For some time, she hadn't been sure if he was real or mythical, as she felt that seeing was believing, but she knew full well now that he was as real as the Edelwood trees he had created from the poor, helpless souls he had devoured out of greed rather than hunger. Thinking back at that, the Woodman's daughter felt surprised that she wasn't an Edelwood yet, considering that transforming people into those was kind of the Beast's "thing".
Maybe he's toying with me, lulling me into a false sense of peace. Maybe this is the calm before the storm. Maybe it's only a matter of time before my arms become branches and my feet turn into roots and my skin transforms into wood.
The more she thought about her current situation, the more the Woodsman's daughter resented the Beast. What did he want with her? Why did he keep her trapped in this...place? What was his purpose? All these questions were driving her crazy, and unfortunately for her, she probably would not get an answer, considering that she hadn't seen the Beast since he had transported her against her will to...wherever she was now.
"Show yourself, you cowardly Beast!" she yelled, shaking a fist at the sky in frustration. She squinted her eyes, trying to focus her gaze at a fixed point in the fog, noticing some activity. Suddenly, the golden rays of the morning sun poked through the mist, and as they did, a slight breeze began to blow at the young woman, her dress billowing out at its whim. That was odd. There was rarely ever any winds in this place, the Woodsman's daughter had noted, but she enjoyed it nonetheless, until it began to pick up speed and she was left wavering off-balance, on one leg, completely at its mercy. As she frantically tried to regain her balance, a distant figure soon caught her attention. It was difficult to discern details through the mist, but a pair of glowing white eyes were all the young woman needed to put two and two together and place a name to the stranger.
"Beast!" she exclaimed, still on one leg, the other bent, and with her arms outstretched. She had a furious expression on her face, but given her current pose, it had appeared far from intimidating as she had hoped.
You must be the daughter of the Woodsman, the Beast stated after his chuckles subsided. As he spoke, the strong winds subsided as well.
"Who do you think I am? You brought me here." She had regained her posture now, and had her arms crossed across her chest.
This isn't the first time I've done this, you know. Sometimes I leave souls here if deals are not kept and I forget of their existence.
"Deals?" Who would ever make a deal with the Beast?
What if-
"Did my father make a deal with you?"
Ahahahaha! The Beast's laugh was deep and guttural, but unsettling to the Woodsman's daughter. Why did he laugh so much?
"I don't see what is so comical about that question. Did he make a deal with you or-"
Your father thinks you are dead.
Well, this was news to her. "Dead? Why?"
Because he is a fool. Fortunately for him, I have made an offer he cannot resist. I will place your soul in a lantern. All he has to do is grind Edelwood into oil so that the lantern will stay lit, therefor keeping your spirit alive. Something like that, anyway.
"Is this where I am? Am I in the lantern?"
No, that's impossible.
"But you just told my father-"
I told your father that because he is a gullible man. In reality, my soul is in the lantern that he carries, and he is really keeping my spirit alive, not yours. Funny, no?
The young woman's blood boiled at the thought that her father had fallen victim to the Beast's lies. Father must have really thought I was gone in order to be desperate enough to make a deal with the Beast. But why? What happened before I got here? Why can't I remember? Where am I really?
To be perfectly honest, I have no idea where you are. This is somewhere I place souls whenever I trick people into taking care of the lantern for me. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine.
"...Did you just read my mind?" The surprise nature of what seemed to have occurred made the Woodsman's daughter temporarily forget her anger and at the same time, become more curious about her kidnapper.
Nothing is safe from me here, Child. Not your mind, not your sanity, and certainly not your soul, the Beast snarled.
"So I'm guessing you know everything about me then."
Not really. I don't know your name, for instance.
"Really?" After a brief pause, a smug smile began to creep on the young woman's lips. "Well, I'm not telling. You can just leave if you're expecting me to give away my name."
But wait a minute. If he leaves, then he'll continue to trick my poor father. And if my father defies the Beast, I may be stuck here forever! It's so boring here. I can't let the Beast leave...wherever this is.
But before she could carry out any plan she may have had, the Beast caught wind of what was going on and purred In a mock sweet voice, Oh, were you planning on escaping? He waved a hand, and the mighty gales that had plagued the Woodsman's daughter upon the Beast's arrival struck again. They whipped around her face and ears, lashing at them until they burned. The Beast only chuckled at this. Sorry, I can't let you go. As for me, well I'll still be here in the morning...
o000o
When the young woman woke up from a sleep she didn't even realized she was in, all she could recall was that she had heard a furious howling and had had a numbness in her mind. But when she tried to remember more, she drew a blank.
Where...am I?
Everywhere she looked, there was mist so thick it was near impossible to see anything through it. Surely she would remember a part of the Unknown that was as misty as this. And yet, she couldn't. Perhaps she had wandered off and gotten lost? Yes, that was it. She should probably take a look around and see if she could find her way home, she decided. With great effort, she rose up from the soft grass she had been resting upon and brushed away the stray blades out of her hair and dress. Perhaps due to the mist, everything appeared a faded grey here, even the grass, which unnerved the young woman a bit.
Hours passed, miles were walked, and still no sign of anything familiar, or even another soul to ask for directions. It was becoming rather tedious seeing the same scenery over and over. She wondered how long she had been doing this, and if she would ever get a break from all the grey mist and fog. Suddenly, as if to grant her wish, the sun began to shine high up in the sky. At first, she didn't notice, having had her gaze forward, intent on discovering something that would help her find her way home. But when small patches of light began to dance on the grey grass, the young woman's gaze couldn't help but avert to the skies to see where the source was. She wasn't disappointed, and took pleasure in the star's brilliant, warm light.
Beautiful, isn't it?
Thinking she was alone, the woman gasped upon hearing a voice that wasn't hers and she whipped her head around frantically trying to find its owner.
"Who's out there?"
Why it is I, the Beast of the Unknown.
"Who?" Try as she might, she could not place an image to that name.
Hm, perhaps I've done too much damage.
"What was that? Who are you really? Show yourself!"
My dear, you would not be able to see me anyway; this fog is so very thick. But I have already introduced myself and that should be enough.
"Why won't you come out?"
It saddens me that you do not know who I am, the Beast continued, ignoring his prisoner. No worries, though, you will find out in time. Now tell me, who are you?
"Me? Why, I'm-" Suddenly, her own identity seemed as foreign to her as the Beast's. Who was she? A young woman nearing adulthood. A young woman who was lost. A young woman who couldn't even recall who she was. When she tried to remember more, she struggled. Who was her mother? She did not know, although she felt deep down that was always the case, and not due to her recent amnesia. Who was her father? To her joy, she managed to recover some memories of her father, memories of him whittling her miniature figures of beautiful dancers from shows they couldn't afford to go to, memories of him teaching her how to whittle, much to her delight, even thought it was considered a boy's hobby, and memories of him chopping trees and gathering wood for home use while she drew water from a nearby well and did numerous household chores, trying to fill the role of her mother. These memories she had cherished enough so that they had been immune to the Beast's magical influence. These memories of days spent with her beloved father made up for the fact that she couldn't remember her mother, and they were what had kept her going in this austere landscape she was in. She had someone to go home to, someone waiting for her. She was his world and he was hers.
She had an answer for the Beast now.
"I am the daughter of my father, the Woodsman. I am the Woodsman's daughter."
And that was all anyone needed to know.