A/N: this can be read as a stand-alone, but it is recommended that you have at least read "the six black swans".
The value of kindness
A thedasian fairy tale
...
As the youngest daughter of King Mendanbar, Ilona had always been rather spoiled by both her father and her older siblings. Luckily, she had a gentle heart and an unending well of kindness, or she would have been all sorts of terrible. As it was, she was simply rather naive and ignorant of the world around her.
This was why Beatrice the golden-haired, her older sister and the queen of Denerim, was not exactly happy about the idea of her littlest sister to go off on an adventure when she could be safe in the castle. But Ilona, willful as only a girl of nineteen can be, was probably the only one who could out stubborn her and eventually Beatrice kissed her sister goodbye and made her promise to be careful. And then she was off.
Ilona wandered cheerfully through the city, smiling brightly at anyone she met for she had a good heart. And so sweet was her smile, the people she met could not help but smile back. But she did not find an adventure that interested her at all.
So she left the city, wandering down a dusty road hoping it would lead to adventure. As it turned out, it did not, but she did meet an old woman sitting on a stone by a crossroads.
Ilona, being who she was, stopped and greeted the woman.
"Good day, grandmother."
"Good day, princess. Where are you headed?"
"To seek adventure."
"Then turn left and be joyful, child. And for a lock of your hair, I will give you what you need to find your own true love and to free him from his imprisonment."
"My one true love?" Ilonas pretty brown eyes were wide and bewildered.
"Aye, child. Brave ser Rutherford, turned to stone by a wicked enchantress. Ah, I see from the way your cheeks turn pink that you remember."
Ilona looked down at her dainty shoes, embarrassed.
"I was just a girl" she murmured, trying not to think of how the handsome squire had stolen her young heart away and then broken it.
"He sought you, child. After you took flight. That was how the enchantress caught him - she told him she could free the elven maid whom he loved." Forgetting her embarrassment, Ilona beamed at the joy of hearing that Cullen loved her too. The thought to ask how the old woman knew all these things did not once enter her mind, instead she cried;
"I will give you every lock on my head if you help me save Cullen!"
The old woman then cut a lock of Ilona's deep brown hair, and told her to "be kind to all you meet, and in turn they will help you."
Ilona was a little confused as to how that was going to help her save her own true love, but thanked the old woman and started walking down the long, grassy path that led to the left.
The day was hot and eventually, Ilona found herself tired and thirsty enough to rest by the edge of the wide, wild river. As she removed her shoes and waded into the water to drink, she saw a little fish caught in a net.
"Oh please, princess, help me!" The fish cried. Moved to tears by its pleas, Ilona waded out to it and cut it loose, not noticing how the river took her shoes as it flowed by.
"You have not done this for nothing, princess. I will come when you need me." And the little fish swam away down river.
After Ilona had resigned to walking the rest of the way barefoot, she soon came to an anthill that had been cruelly trampled. The ants were milling around, desperate to restore the damage before the rain which was rapidly closing in. Feeling sorry for the poor creatures, Ilona carefully moved closer, raising her skirts to protect the poor ants from the rain as they laboured. She stood still and quiet even as the rain soaked her to the bone, fearful the ants would drown if she moved.
As the rain departed, the ants came out to see who had protected them.
"You have not done this for nothing, princess," said the ants, "we will come when you need us."
Ilona wandered on, trembling in her wet clothes but determined to be cheerful. Eventually, she came upon a thicket of brambles upon which grew the juiciest of blackberries, and with delight she ate her fill. Once she was done eating, she noticed a tiny, miserable bird nest with three pretty blue eggs inside. Being who she was, she tore long strips from her wet skirt and patched the nest until it was a soft, sweet, pink little haven. Surely the sun would soon make it warm and dry.
"You have not done this for nothing, princess," sang a pretty blue bird as it landed in the nest, "I will come when you need me."
And Ilona wandered on, her fine dress in tatters, but with no fear in her heart. Her thoughts were full of the young squire who had dared to kiss a princess and had stolen her heart away.
As evening fell, she came upon a small cottage and after only a moment's hesitation she knocked on the door and stepped inside.
It proved to be a foolish thing, as she was immediately accosted by a large dog, hissing and snarling as it threw itself at her.
"Back!" A sharp, hard voice ordered and an invisible force threw the dog back, making it hit the wall and crawl away whimpering. The voice belonged to an old woman who sat by the fire. Ilona, who was as gentle as the day was long and naive as a sheltered child did not see the cruel gleam in the old woman's eyes and instead thanked her for protecting her. When the old woman bade her stay, she saw no deceit and accepted gratefully.
When Ilona woke in the morning, there was a chain around her poor neck and manacles on her feet. Now a slave, the old woman forced the young princess toil endlessly on the farm, until her soft hands bled and her back ached. And each night, she was made to sleep on the cold dirt floor as the vicious dog stood guard. Was it any wonder that she cried herself to sleep each night?
Ilona did not know how long she had been enslaved, but each morning she shared her meager food rations with the dog and in time they became firm friends.
One morning as Ilona was scrubbing the hearth her mistress went over to her and tugged harshly at her hair to draw her attention.
"To-day" said the old woman, "comes my daughter to marry her knight, whom I have imprisoned here. I shall kill you then and serve you up for their wedding feast."
Ilona pleaded for her young life, but it was no use. Finally she fell to her knees weeping, and only the dog cared for her tears. As the witch left the cabin, it licked her face gently, and eventually Ilona smiled.
"Thank you" she whispered. "Oh, how my heart aches knowing I will never see my Cullen again."
"Took you long enough" the dog barked and Ilona gaped at it in a very undignified manner.
"Cullen?" She squeaked and was rewarded by another lick.
"I couldn't speak to you until you spoke my name. And then only for a few minutes." He explained.
"Oh Cullen" Ilona sobbed, throwing her arms around his neck, "I am to die to-day!"
"No, you are not. And I will ensure it. Now wipe your eyes, and listen carefully. When the old witch comes back, she will take you outside to put you in the great oven she is preparing outside. She will unlock the chains and that is when you must strike. Push her in and slam the door shut behind her. Then you must outwit the daughter."
Ilona felt sick to her stomach at the thought of throwing an old woman into the oven, but then she remembered that if she did not the witch would do it her.
"Alright" she said, "what do I do about the daughter?"
"Tell her you are a familiar" Cullen ordered. "Then you-" but whatever else he was going to say only came out as increasingly desperate barks.
Ilona pressed her cheek to his and wound her arms around his neck.
"I'll save us" she promised.
As it turned out, getting rid of the old witch was frighteningly easy. Ilona put up as much of a struggle she could, so when the old witch finally managed to get the young princess over to the large oven she was exhausted. Having unlocked the chains and turned her back to the girl, she pulled the heavy metal door open and Ilona took the chance. One hard push, and she slammed the door shut behind the shrieking woman. Her terrible deed done, Ilona sank to her knees and pressed her hands over her ears and cried.
And no matter how much Cullen whined and licked her face, he could not comfort her.
As the evening came, so did the enchantress that had enchanted Cullen. Ilona met her at the door, pale but regal as only a born princess can be. Inviting the woman in, Ilona claimed herself a familiar like Cullen had told her to.
"Killed the old bitch, did you?" The enchantress crowed in cruel joy. "Excellent! Well, I am more clever than she and I will outwit you, girl. In the morning you will face my challenge and you will lose! Then I will have both you and my man." Ilona, not knowing what to expect but trusting Cullen to not have led her astray, slept fitfully by the fireplace that night. Close to her, guarding his princess, lay the large watch dog.
In the morning, the enchantress took three barrels of grain and emptied them into the large washing tub. She then stirred the different grains together thoroughly. Finally, she turned to Ilona.
"You have until I return at sunset to sort the wheat from the rye and the barley, and the barley from the rye. If a single grain lies in the wrong barrel, my husband and I will eat your heart for our wedding feast. You may use these to help you." She placed four dishes on the ground next to the tub. Then she left, dragging poor Cullen behind her in a rope. His head and his tail hung low as they disappeared amongst the trees.
Ilona kept her wits about her until she was once more alone, but then she fell to the ground weeping bitterly. Her shaking hands started picking at the grain, but soon she realised that no matter how quickly she sorted she would not finish the task in time. But as she wept, she remembered the old woman at the crossroads. Help others, and they will help you. Drawing a deep, shaky breath, Ilona cried:
"Ants! Little ants whom I protected from the rain! Please come help me sort the grain, or by sunset I will be dead!"
Barely had she finished calling, for the ants all came marching up the road. Ilona filled a dish with mixed grain and placed the other three on the ground, and the ants set to work. As the hours passed, it was all Ilona could do to keep up with giving the ants grain to sort and filling the barrels. But as the sun began to set, Ilona carefully sorted the very last handful, tears slipping down her cheeks. But it was tears of relief and gratefulness that fell this time as she watched her little friends hurry away to hide before the enchantress arrived back.
When the enchantress returned and found not a grain in the wrong place, she turned red with rage.
"Demons helped you, girl!" She snarled, but had to concede defeat.
"Tomorrow" she said angrily. "Tomorrow you will fail and I will eat your heart for my wedding feast." And that night, Ilona hid her tears in Cullen's soft fur.
The next morning, the enchantress gave Ilona an empty pillow case and a duvet.
"When I return to-night, on my wedding bed shall lie this duvet and this pillow, stuffed with a feather from each bird that flies under the heavens. And there shall be bread baked from the rye and beer brewed from the barley. If you fail, I shall eat your heart for my wedding feast." Then she, and a deeply unhappy Cullen, disappeared into the woods.
This day, however, Ilona wasted no time crying. Instead, she waited until she felt confident the enchantress was out of earshot before she cried:
"Little bird, little bird whose nest I thickened, oh please come help me fill the duvet and pillow case!"
And down from the heavens came the little blue bird and her three chicks.
"Worry not, princess" they sang, "brew the beer and bake the bread, and gather honey and milk and eggs, for tomorrow she will have you bake fine cakes from the wheat the ants sorted!"
And so Ilona brewed pale ale, and baked the brown bread, and she gathered honey and milk and eggs from the animals of the wood who were happy to help the young princess who pleaded so sweetly. And as she toiled, the bluebirds flew far and wide, gathering feathers to stuff the enchantress's bedding.
As the sun began to set, Ilona laid the pillow on the bed. The ale and bread waited on the table, and in a bush outside she had hidden the milk and honey and eggs.
The enchantress turned white with rage as she saw her task completed.
"Demons helped you!" She hissed, but had to concede her defeat.
"Tomorrow," the enchantress hissed, "you shall fetch my mother's gold ring from the bottom of the river, and I shall wear it for my wedding ring. And you shall bake apple pies and sweet berry tarts from the wheat. If you fail, I will eat your heart for my wedding feast."
That night Ilona cried softly, fearing the morning. She would save her own life, but how was she to save Cullen's? The enchanted knight laid close to his princess, whining softly and licking away her tears, but though his heart beat steadily beneath her cheek he could not comfort her.
In the morning, the enchantress brought Ilona down to the riverbank before disappearing into the forest with a deeply unhappy Cullen. Ilona waited, pale but calm, until she was sure she was alone. Then she cried:
"Little fish! Little fish I freed from the net! Oh help me find the old witch's gold ring on the bottom of the river!"
But there was no fish, and Ilona called again;
"Little fish! Little fish I freed from the net! Oh please help me find the old witch's gold ring on the bottom of the river!"
With increasing anxiety, she waited by the bank. But there was no fish. Eventually, Ilona burst into tears and called again:
"Little fish! Little fish I freed from the net! Oh please, please help me find the old witch's gold ring on the bottom of the river!"
And finally, there was a splash and the little fish appeared. In its mouth, it held the gold ring - and a little key.
"Quick, princess, hide the key in your pocket. Bake the tarts and pies, and do not fear. When the enchantress returns to-night, tell her you wish to give her dog a good bath, so he is clean for her wedding. As soon as you are alone, unlock his collar and free him from the curse. Kiss him for luck and send him into the cottage - but do not follow. Wait by the well and think only of how much you love him, and he will return victorious."
"Thank you little fish" Ilona said, smiling. Then she hurried back to the witches cottage.
When the sun began to set, Ilona set the last sweet berry tart on the table to cool, and placed the gold ring beside it. When the enchantress came in, she turned purple with rage.
"Demons helped you, girl!" She snarled, but had to concede defeat.
"Very well. You are free to go." But Ilona saw Cullen's pleading eyes, and hurriedly offered to give the dog a good wash so he would be clean for the wedding. The enchantress, wanting nothing but to be rid of her, agreed with the stipulation that she never set foot in the cottage again or she would be sorry.
As soon as Ilona was alone with the enchanted dog, she pulled the little key from her pocket and unlocked the collar. And with a whoosh, Cullen stood before her as handsome as she remembered him.
His arms immediately found their way around her waist and she kissed him, putting all her heart in it.
"Good luck, my love" she whispered as she pressed another kiss to his lips. Then he disappeared into the cottage, and whatever happened in there she did not know. Nor did she want to know. She simply closed her eyes, covered her ears and thought only of how much she loved him.
Cullen eventually came back to his princess, bearing ale and bread and tarts, and under the moon beside the well they ate and drank their fill. Then he placed the witch's gold ring on her finger, promising to love her for ever.
And as they kissed beneath the moon, as sweetly as they had kissed when they were children in brecilia, this tale came to its end and in its place a new one began.
The tale of happy ever after.