Gentle Spirit, a Dragonheart (Einon/Oc) fan fiction.
Chapter One: "The Faerie Princess."
Synopsis: One day while out riding, Einon meets a beautiful peasant girl who, despite his best efforts, captures his heart. Although she is at first repulsed by his arrogance and obvious entitlement complex, she soon learns to care for Einon as well. But will Einon's lies tear them apart? Or will this gentle, spirited girl prove to be the only thing that can tame the heart of this wicked king?
It was dawn when Einon stormed out of the castle, trying to evade his mother's early morning whining over the state of the nation. Sometimes he had to wonder if she didn't care more for those wretched peasants than for him. It was certainly possible.
Einon barged into the stable and barked at the little sleeping stable boy to saddle his horse immediately, and to be quick about it if he didn't want a good whipping. The boy woke, startled, and saddled Einon's horse in record time. Einon mounted, kicking the boy to the ground.
"Tell anyone that you saw me and a good whipping will be the least of your worries. Do I make myself clear?" Einon said, leaning toward the boy menacingly. The boy nodded his head vigorously, terror in his eyes. Einon laughed at the child's fear and galloped away, making a mental note to whip the boy later anyway for amusement.
He galloped through fields and over hills, going fast and far as he could. He felt an inexplicable urge to just keep riding, and soon he was farther than he'd ever been on his lands. When he did finally stop, he found himself in a meadow filled with wildflowers. There was a tree about ten yards in front of him, with a stream next to it. He dismounted and went to take hold of the bridle when he heard a voice softly singing. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard. He dropped the reins he'd been holding, and hypnotized, walked toward the voice which became louder and clearer with every step. He crept quietly up until the tree was directly in front of him and, ever so slowly, peeked around the tree until his eyes could just barely see the girl leaning against the trunk as she sang softly.
She's like the swallow that flies so high
She's like the river that never runs dry
She's like the sunshine on the lee shore
I love my love and love is no more
*
Twas out in the garden this fair maid did go
A-picking the beautiful primrose
The more she plucked, the more she pulled
Until she got her whole apron full
*
Twas out of those roses she made a bed
A stony pillow she had for her head
She laid her down, no word did speak
Until this fair maiden's heart did break
*
She's like the swallow that flies so high
She's like the river that never runs dry
She's like the sunshine on the lee shore
I love my love and love is no more
*
I love my love and love is no more
The girl finished even softer than she had begun, her head tilted sadly at a wildflower she twirled in her delicate, mud covered hands. While this girl had sung so sadly, Einon had been appraising her silently. He had taken in her tattered clothes, patched in many places; her shoeless feet; her long, shining coal-black hair, which hid her face from his examination; and her delicate hands, callused from years of hard work. She couldn't have been more than a child if her stature was anything to tell by.
Einon had been hypnotized by the sound of her voice, and had found himself unable to move before. But the song had ended and now he wished for nothing but to be a thousand miles away. Disappointment burned heavily in him. She's just a child, he thought bitterly, not certain what else he had expected her to be – not certain why he even cared. He was in a foul mood though, and when he got back to the castle, someone, he didn't care who, was going to be executed. Einon was just about to pull his head back around the tree when -
"Sad, wasn't it?" Einon froze. She couldn't possibly have heard him. He'd been so quiet. Her hair hid him from her line of vision, so he couldn't have been seen. Maybe she wasn't talking to him. Maybe she was crazy and was talking to herself-
"The song, I mean," she said, continuing her previous statement. "You know, I have the strangest ability of knowing when someone else is near when I can't see them. It comes in handy sometimes - like now." It barely registered in Einon's mind that she sounded nothing like a child before she looked up at him, hypnotizing him once again. She's beautiful. That was his first coherent thought. And she's not a child, was his second.
The girl's heart-shaped face was pale with the lightest sprinkling of light brown freckles, her emerald eyes, almond-shaped. Her nose was exactly right for her face, turning upward ever so slightly at the end. Her lashes were as dark as her hair and were so long that they touched her eyebrows. The girl stood, giving him full view of her figure. Shapely curves, a woman's bosom, and a slender waist. She didn't look quite sixteen and her beauty put to shame ladies and queens, sirens and goddesses, even Faeries and nymphs, if such creatures did exist. With that voice of hers, her being a siren isn't all that far-fetched, he mused silently.
Einon suddenly became aware that he was no longer hiding behind the tree, and began to feel very exposed, as she was now returning the favor of his examination.
A strapping young man of twenty-six, slightly tall, and more than a little gangly, Einon had no illusions about his looks. With his reddish-orange hair and pinched face, he knew he wasn't handsome and never would be, and went out of his way to make sure any handsome men he met were no longer handsome after meeting him.
How could he compare to such a creature as beautiful as this? Even in his finest attire, he wasn't much to look at, and yet here was this divine angel, though dressed in mud and rags, looking like the Faerie Princess he knew she must be.
Once again, he wished for nothing more than to be a thousand miles away from that lovely peasant girl.
That same peasant girl smiled up at him, seeming to not notice the deficiency in his features.
"Your clothes suggest that you are a man of rank. Are you a knight?" the girl asked, tilting her head to the side in curiosity. Einon glanced at his clothes for a moment, and then looked back at her. The girl's eyes must have had some sort of hypnotizing power, if his answer were anything to judge by.
"Yes, I am," he said. He had not meant to say it, but the words just seemed to roll off of his tongue without any mind to what he wished. Without thought, he furthered his lie. "I am Sir… Ethan. From… a very distant land. I had been traveling for some time when I heard your voice. You must be a Faerie, for I cannot think how else I could have been enchanted so." The girl seemed rather pleased by his flattery, for her smile grew even wider, giving her an appearance of pixie-ish glee.
"May I ask Sir Knight, where you've left your shining armor today?" Einon, not understanding her joke, gave her a look of bewilderment, which only seemed to further her amusement.
"What? Do you not know Sir Knight? If you are to properly do your duty as a knight, you must have a suit of shining armor! That is how it is in all the stories. The knight in shining armor rescues the damsel in distress. Then they marry and live happily ever after." The girl seemed to absolutely glow at the last part, but Einon was only further confused by her explanation. The girl seemed to catch on to his bewilderment.
"Have you never heard the story? Would you like me to tell it to you, Sir Knight? After all, how can you be a good knight if you do not know what your job entails?"
In five minutes this girl had completely captivated Einon to the point of distraction. Saying "no" to her never even crossed his mind. Instead, he sat down next to her, signaling that he wished to hear her story. Gleefully, she began her tale.
"Well, I suppose we should start at the beginning of the glorious tradition of knights rescuing damsels. Once upon a time, long ago, in a far and distant land, there lived a princess…"
A/N: I know, it sucked. Please review anyway. If you do, I'll mention you in the next chapter (yes, I'm bribing you). Please remember that this is a work in progress, and that I will be updating and modifying soon. Thanks for reading.
~ Jane McB.