*~*Out then spak the Queen o Fairies, and an angry woman was she:
'Shame betide her ill-far'd face, and an ill death may she die, for she
taen awa the bonniest knight in a' my companie.
'But had I kend, Tam Lin,' she says, 'What now this night I see, I wad hae taen out thy twa grey een, and put in twa een o tree.' ~ The Ballad of Young Tam Lin (an ancient Scottish legend)*~*
The Faerie Goblet
Chapter 25 ~ "No Heart of Stone"
"Gimli, have you ever killed a woman?" Legolas whispered quietly as they crouched in the underbrush beside Rivendell's crossroad.
"What?! No, of course not! Well . . . unless you count female Orcs as women . . ."
"I do not," Legolas said, revulsion coloring his voice. "They are an affront to womanhood."
"Very well. Have you then? Killed a woman, that is?"
"Nay." There was silence and Gimli thought the Elf might not continue. Then Legolas turned and moonlight gleamed in his dark eyes showing the anger within. "But I could do it now. The Faerie Queen had me, but she will not keep Alede. On my own life, I swear that! If I must kill the Queen to get Alede back, I will."
"And I will be right beside you!" Gimli declared. "That Queen is no woman! She is but a monster. When I think of what she did to you! I should have killed her right then. If Alede had not interfered . . ."
"Alede did what she thought was necessary," Legolas interrupted. "I too, wish that she had not. But I realize she was showing her faith in me and in her father. She knew that we would find a way to save her. I think her first and foremost desire was to get us out of immediate danger. She was as terrified for you as she was for me."
"I suppose you are right," Gimli grumbled. "But still, what the Queen did was . . . After touching your mind and seeing how she tried to taint your soul . . . I cannot bear to think what she did to you, for it makes my blood boil!"
Legolas shook his head, some of his own anger draining away due to Gimli's fury. "Do not fret for me, my friend." He clasped Gimli's shoulder tightly. "You have healed me. Once again you have proved a valiant friend to me Gimli and I will not forget it. As much as I loath to say it, I am in your debt . . ."
"Nay, you owe me nothing . . ."
"But I will repay you, I promise. Alede gave me a gift that I have wished for a thousand times over, your immortality. Can you even guess what that means to me?"
"No," Gimli looked slightly embarrassed, "for I cannot fully comprehend it myself. I . . . I will outlive all of my kin . . ."
"For that I am sorry," Legolas said sincerely. "But you will be able to come with me to the Undying Lands."
"What? I . . ." Gimli looked thoughtful. "I hadn't thought about that. I suppose . . ." His look of consternation turned to one of hopefulness instead. "I have dreaded the hour of your leaving and it would be good to see the hobbits again . . . and old Gandalf. And . . ." suddenly all uncertainty fled from the dwarves face, "I will see the Lady Galadriel again!"
Legolas grinned. "And a merry meeting I am sure it will be. For my own part I look forward to seeing Lord Elrond again and my grandparents. They say that the Undying Lands are not unlike Middle Earth, but there is not the grief and strife that this world holds. I would . . . Do you hear that?" Legolas broke off suddenly, turning his head to a distant sound.
"I hear nothing."
"Bells!" Legolas' heart quickened and adrenaline surged through his veins. Alede would be among them, for this was Midsummer night, the night when Faerie's went on procession. "They are coming!"
"Legolas, are you certain about this plan of yours? It seems . . ."
"Hush! Yes, I am certain. But wait until I act."
"I will. But . . ." Gimli suddenly stopped in astonishment.
Beyond the bushes where they crouched, horses appeared as if from nowhere. Upon them, richly clad, came the Faerie Host riding through the crossroad of Rivendell's main paths.
Four black horses came first, bearing armored guards. Behind them came trumpeters and then the Queen herself. She wore a silver gown and a bright crown circled her fair brow. Her palfrey was milk white and shown as bright as the moonlight. Legolas felt nauseous at the very sight of her. His hand strayed to his knife hilt, but he caught himself in time. He must concentrate on finding Alede. That was the more important goal. If the chance arose to take his revenge, then he would have it. But Alede came first.
All around Legolas he could hear and feel the Elves of Rivendell tensing. They were to wait for his signal though . . .
And suddenly Legolas saw her. Far back in the Faerie procession, a maiden rode a pale palfrey. An enchanted smile was set upon her lips, but her hands were rigid upon the reins and her eyes were glassy. One wrist was swollen and hideously discolored. Her hair hung in dusty tangles down her back and there were welts upon her face and throat.
Alede.
Anger boiled up in Legolas so hot that he thought it might strangle him. What had they done to her?
She rode abreast of where he crouched hidden. With a tremendous leap, Legolas sprang foreword, dragging Alede off of her horse. At the head of the column, the Faerie Queen halted and turned back. With an angry cry, she threw a spell at them. The docile white palfrey that Alede had sat now turned screaming upon them. White fur turned to scales and the horse struck at them with fiery hooves. Legolas dodged to the side, dragging Alede's semi-conscious form with him. But the demon horse came after, raking the air with its hooves and trying to snap Legolas between its fangs.
A furious roar erupted behind Legolas. Gimli charged around the encumbered Elf and swung at the horse, lopping off one of its flailing legs. The Faerie horse screamed in agony and changed back into a palfrey. Uninjured, it reeled and galloped away from them.
But the Faerie Queen was far from done with her enchantments. Alede suddenly cried out in pain as a spell hit her. Writhing, her skin turned black and hard and Legolas found himself holding on to an enormous snake. The snake twisted, sinking long fangs into his arm. Legolas cried out, but he had the presence of mind to stop Gimli, as the dwarf would have hewn the snake's head from its body.
"Nay! It is still Alede! Do not harm her! This is the Faerie Queen's enchantment."
Griping tighter, he did not allow the snake to slither away. It wrapped its gleaming coils around his body and squeezed. Still Legolas did not let go, even as bright lights sparked in front of his eyes from lack of air.
Shouts and cries reached his ears as the warriors of Rivendell sprang forth and gave battle to the Faerie knights. Elrohir's furious war cry was the loudest and Legolas could dimly make out the Elf swinging his sword in bright deadly arcs.
Legolas sucked in a huge lungful of air as the snake suddenly stopped crushing his chest. Slick scales turned to heavy, foul smelling fur and Legolas found himself holding onto an enormous bear. He struggled as the enchanted creature raked him with huge claws and he desperately tried to avoid the gaping jaws.
Swords suddenly rang in front of him and he saw Elrohir with his back to him. The Elvin prince was fighting two knights at once, his sword flashing like lightning as it arched and cut through his enemy. Two more knights rushed at him and he cut them down. Gimli fought to his other side with what appeared to be a four legged bird. It was immense in size and snapped a sharp beak at the dwarf. Gimli avoided its deadly bite and rushing beneath its tremendous wings, lopped off its head.
Another enchantment hit Alede. Once more she changed, this time to a hideous hobgoblin. Grimly, Legolas held on, unmindful of the claws and teeth that tore at him. Beneath this foul magic was his Alede. He would not forsake her. Not now, not when he was so close.
Enchantment after enchantment hit them and still the fight wore on and still Legolas held on. Finally, when he was near the end of his strength, the creature in his arms went limp, scales turned to soft skin it was Alede who sagged in his arms. The fighting abruptly ended as well.
Legolas glanced up. The Faerie Queen stood up in her stirrups and for a moment Legolas thought she would hurl another spell. But instead she looked at him coldly.
"If I had known that you were so besotted with an earthly maiden, I would have cut out your heart and given you one of stone! You have won back her body. But I will keep her soul!" ***
And with those words, she disappeared and what was left of her company disappeared as well.
Abruptly, Legolas lifted Alede in his arms and hurried to one of Rivendell's many pools, wading into it until Alede was bathed in the clean waters. Her eyelids fluttered as the cold seeped into her torn clothing.
"Legolas . . ?" she whispered. And then she gasped as if struck and rolling up her eyes, she fainted.
~ ~ ~
"But why does she not wake?" Radagast fretted worriedly as the healer Lomomir bent over Alede's recumbent form.
She lay in her own bed in her chambers. The blood and dirt had been washed from her and her broken wrist set and splinted. Her face was pale and her hair still a tangled mess, but she breathed evenly and Lomomir had confirmed that her heart beat strongly. Radagast had found no signs of lingering enchantment about her.
But she did not wake.
It was Legolas that finally answered. His own wounds had been tended and he sat down on the side of the bed and pushed a strand of Alede's unruly hair off of her forehead.
"She still battles with the Faerie Queen," he said quietly, his voice shaking slightly with emotion. "Somehow the Queen still holds her soul and they combat in each others minds. The Queen's hold is so tight Alede cannot escape it."
~ ~ ~
For two days Legolas paced Alede's chambers. There was no change in her condition. Lomomir and Radagast had exhausted every technique they knew for removing Alede from the Queen's control. Legolas had spent countless hours trying to reach her himself. He occasionally caught a panicked flicker of Alede's emotion, but mostly he felt a wall. It was if a mist of emotions, or rather non-emotions blocked him out.
As he paused in his mindless pacing, he looked down at Alede. She had been bathed since he'd first brought her here. Her hair was spread out upon the pillow in waves and warm blankets were tucked beneath her chin. Her long eyelashes cast shadows upon her cheek.
He found himself desperately wishing to hear her voice again. He remembered the light scolding tone she had used with him when he was recovering from his own injuries, the awe when he'd told her tales of the Ring, her soft bubbling laughter . . .
Now that he realized how precious she was to him, he did not think he could bear to lose her before sharing any kind of a life together . . .
"I wish her mother were here."
Legolas nearly jumped. Radagast had been so silent, seated on the other side of the bed that the Elf had almost forgotten about him in his musings.
"Her mother? Could she have brought Alede out of this?"
Radagast shrugged. "That I do not know, but her presence would have been comforting. She had that ability that Alede has, to make one feel as if she had everything under control. And more than that . . . I miss her."
"How did your wife die?" Legolas asked softly, almost afraid to hear the answer. Had Radagast known his wife for such a terribly short time as well?
Radagast straightened in his chair and cleared his throat. "She had gone to a village beset with plague . . . It had nearly decimated the population so there was little she could do. But she stayed nonetheless. Some . . ." he paused, mastering some great emotion, "travelers came through the village. They were Zealots. They . . . believe that all magic is evil, no matter what it is used for. They apparently thought she'd brought the plague. Somehow they must have tricked her and bound her with iron . . . Then they burned her."
Legolas drew in a breath of astonishment. He'd heard of a tiny group of people who took their religion to extremes, burning and killing those that did not agree with them, but he'd never heard of anyone who'd actually had dealings with them.
"I did not find out until many weeks later," Radagast continued. "I had stayed home to look after Alede and did not expect my wife home anytime soon. When I . . . went to the village . . . her body had not been buried. The villagers, what few were left, were afraid to touch it . . . and so they left her there on the stake . . ."
The old wizard stumbled to a stop and covered his face with his hands. Legolas crossed the room and laid a hand on Radagast's shoulder.
"You are such a thoughtful soul," Radagast said, gulping a little as he awkwardly patted Legolas' hand. "It is no wonder that Alede loves you so. We've got to find a way to bring her out of this. There must be someplace we can take Alede, somewhere that the Queen's magic cannot reach her!"
Legolas' head came up and he stared at the opposite wall, not really seeing it.
"Nay, not somewhere that we can send Alede, but rather, somewhere that we can send the Queen instead . . ."
~ ~ ~
A/N: Uh oh, looks like Legolas has got one of his ideas again! What's he about to rush off and do this time?
Actually, there is a solution. Has anyone seen it? :D I'll give you a hint . . . it was inspired by the same theory that explains black holes. ;D So, brush up on your astronomy, and meet me back here next week for chapter 26, "The Faerie Goblet"! ;)
Special thanks to all of you who have reviewed! And especially those of you who defended me against the flames! ;) You're terrific, each and every one of you. I feel really blessed to have such terrific readers. You guys rock! I can't thank you enough! :D
*** True love is a common theme in many of the ancient tales. The story of Tam Lin is no different. Tam Lin was an earthly warrior imprisoned by the Queen of Faeries. He was able to escape the Faerie realm from time to time and walk amongst the real world. There he met a Scottish maiden named Janet and made love to her. But Faerie always called him back. One afternoon while he dallied with Janet, she asked how she might free him. He told her to wait upon the crossroads and to pull him from his faerie steed. If her love for him were true then she would be able to withstand all the transformations the Faerie Queen would cause him to suffer.
Janet did as she was told and Tam Lin turned in her arms first into a snake, then a bear and so on. But so great was her love for Tam Lin, she never let go. Finally, he turned into a rod of iron and Janet threw him into the cleansing waters of a well. There, he was restored to his natural form and the Faerie Queen was forced to concede her failure. She said to Tam Lin as he woke, "Had I but known that an earthly woman would win you away with her Love, Tam Lin, I would have taken out your heart of flesh and given you one of stone!"
'But had I kend, Tam Lin,' she says, 'What now this night I see, I wad hae taen out thy twa grey een, and put in twa een o tree.' ~ The Ballad of Young Tam Lin (an ancient Scottish legend)*~*
The Faerie Goblet
Chapter 25 ~ "No Heart of Stone"
"Gimli, have you ever killed a woman?" Legolas whispered quietly as they crouched in the underbrush beside Rivendell's crossroad.
"What?! No, of course not! Well . . . unless you count female Orcs as women . . ."
"I do not," Legolas said, revulsion coloring his voice. "They are an affront to womanhood."
"Very well. Have you then? Killed a woman, that is?"
"Nay." There was silence and Gimli thought the Elf might not continue. Then Legolas turned and moonlight gleamed in his dark eyes showing the anger within. "But I could do it now. The Faerie Queen had me, but she will not keep Alede. On my own life, I swear that! If I must kill the Queen to get Alede back, I will."
"And I will be right beside you!" Gimli declared. "That Queen is no woman! She is but a monster. When I think of what she did to you! I should have killed her right then. If Alede had not interfered . . ."
"Alede did what she thought was necessary," Legolas interrupted. "I too, wish that she had not. But I realize she was showing her faith in me and in her father. She knew that we would find a way to save her. I think her first and foremost desire was to get us out of immediate danger. She was as terrified for you as she was for me."
"I suppose you are right," Gimli grumbled. "But still, what the Queen did was . . . After touching your mind and seeing how she tried to taint your soul . . . I cannot bear to think what she did to you, for it makes my blood boil!"
Legolas shook his head, some of his own anger draining away due to Gimli's fury. "Do not fret for me, my friend." He clasped Gimli's shoulder tightly. "You have healed me. Once again you have proved a valiant friend to me Gimli and I will not forget it. As much as I loath to say it, I am in your debt . . ."
"Nay, you owe me nothing . . ."
"But I will repay you, I promise. Alede gave me a gift that I have wished for a thousand times over, your immortality. Can you even guess what that means to me?"
"No," Gimli looked slightly embarrassed, "for I cannot fully comprehend it myself. I . . . I will outlive all of my kin . . ."
"For that I am sorry," Legolas said sincerely. "But you will be able to come with me to the Undying Lands."
"What? I . . ." Gimli looked thoughtful. "I hadn't thought about that. I suppose . . ." His look of consternation turned to one of hopefulness instead. "I have dreaded the hour of your leaving and it would be good to see the hobbits again . . . and old Gandalf. And . . ." suddenly all uncertainty fled from the dwarves face, "I will see the Lady Galadriel again!"
Legolas grinned. "And a merry meeting I am sure it will be. For my own part I look forward to seeing Lord Elrond again and my grandparents. They say that the Undying Lands are not unlike Middle Earth, but there is not the grief and strife that this world holds. I would . . . Do you hear that?" Legolas broke off suddenly, turning his head to a distant sound.
"I hear nothing."
"Bells!" Legolas' heart quickened and adrenaline surged through his veins. Alede would be among them, for this was Midsummer night, the night when Faerie's went on procession. "They are coming!"
"Legolas, are you certain about this plan of yours? It seems . . ."
"Hush! Yes, I am certain. But wait until I act."
"I will. But . . ." Gimli suddenly stopped in astonishment.
Beyond the bushes where they crouched, horses appeared as if from nowhere. Upon them, richly clad, came the Faerie Host riding through the crossroad of Rivendell's main paths.
Four black horses came first, bearing armored guards. Behind them came trumpeters and then the Queen herself. She wore a silver gown and a bright crown circled her fair brow. Her palfrey was milk white and shown as bright as the moonlight. Legolas felt nauseous at the very sight of her. His hand strayed to his knife hilt, but he caught himself in time. He must concentrate on finding Alede. That was the more important goal. If the chance arose to take his revenge, then he would have it. But Alede came first.
All around Legolas he could hear and feel the Elves of Rivendell tensing. They were to wait for his signal though . . .
And suddenly Legolas saw her. Far back in the Faerie procession, a maiden rode a pale palfrey. An enchanted smile was set upon her lips, but her hands were rigid upon the reins and her eyes were glassy. One wrist was swollen and hideously discolored. Her hair hung in dusty tangles down her back and there were welts upon her face and throat.
Alede.
Anger boiled up in Legolas so hot that he thought it might strangle him. What had they done to her?
She rode abreast of where he crouched hidden. With a tremendous leap, Legolas sprang foreword, dragging Alede off of her horse. At the head of the column, the Faerie Queen halted and turned back. With an angry cry, she threw a spell at them. The docile white palfrey that Alede had sat now turned screaming upon them. White fur turned to scales and the horse struck at them with fiery hooves. Legolas dodged to the side, dragging Alede's semi-conscious form with him. But the demon horse came after, raking the air with its hooves and trying to snap Legolas between its fangs.
A furious roar erupted behind Legolas. Gimli charged around the encumbered Elf and swung at the horse, lopping off one of its flailing legs. The Faerie horse screamed in agony and changed back into a palfrey. Uninjured, it reeled and galloped away from them.
But the Faerie Queen was far from done with her enchantments. Alede suddenly cried out in pain as a spell hit her. Writhing, her skin turned black and hard and Legolas found himself holding on to an enormous snake. The snake twisted, sinking long fangs into his arm. Legolas cried out, but he had the presence of mind to stop Gimli, as the dwarf would have hewn the snake's head from its body.
"Nay! It is still Alede! Do not harm her! This is the Faerie Queen's enchantment."
Griping tighter, he did not allow the snake to slither away. It wrapped its gleaming coils around his body and squeezed. Still Legolas did not let go, even as bright lights sparked in front of his eyes from lack of air.
Shouts and cries reached his ears as the warriors of Rivendell sprang forth and gave battle to the Faerie knights. Elrohir's furious war cry was the loudest and Legolas could dimly make out the Elf swinging his sword in bright deadly arcs.
Legolas sucked in a huge lungful of air as the snake suddenly stopped crushing his chest. Slick scales turned to heavy, foul smelling fur and Legolas found himself holding onto an enormous bear. He struggled as the enchanted creature raked him with huge claws and he desperately tried to avoid the gaping jaws.
Swords suddenly rang in front of him and he saw Elrohir with his back to him. The Elvin prince was fighting two knights at once, his sword flashing like lightning as it arched and cut through his enemy. Two more knights rushed at him and he cut them down. Gimli fought to his other side with what appeared to be a four legged bird. It was immense in size and snapped a sharp beak at the dwarf. Gimli avoided its deadly bite and rushing beneath its tremendous wings, lopped off its head.
Another enchantment hit Alede. Once more she changed, this time to a hideous hobgoblin. Grimly, Legolas held on, unmindful of the claws and teeth that tore at him. Beneath this foul magic was his Alede. He would not forsake her. Not now, not when he was so close.
Enchantment after enchantment hit them and still the fight wore on and still Legolas held on. Finally, when he was near the end of his strength, the creature in his arms went limp, scales turned to soft skin it was Alede who sagged in his arms. The fighting abruptly ended as well.
Legolas glanced up. The Faerie Queen stood up in her stirrups and for a moment Legolas thought she would hurl another spell. But instead she looked at him coldly.
"If I had known that you were so besotted with an earthly maiden, I would have cut out your heart and given you one of stone! You have won back her body. But I will keep her soul!" ***
And with those words, she disappeared and what was left of her company disappeared as well.
Abruptly, Legolas lifted Alede in his arms and hurried to one of Rivendell's many pools, wading into it until Alede was bathed in the clean waters. Her eyelids fluttered as the cold seeped into her torn clothing.
"Legolas . . ?" she whispered. And then she gasped as if struck and rolling up her eyes, she fainted.
~ ~ ~
"But why does she not wake?" Radagast fretted worriedly as the healer Lomomir bent over Alede's recumbent form.
She lay in her own bed in her chambers. The blood and dirt had been washed from her and her broken wrist set and splinted. Her face was pale and her hair still a tangled mess, but she breathed evenly and Lomomir had confirmed that her heart beat strongly. Radagast had found no signs of lingering enchantment about her.
But she did not wake.
It was Legolas that finally answered. His own wounds had been tended and he sat down on the side of the bed and pushed a strand of Alede's unruly hair off of her forehead.
"She still battles with the Faerie Queen," he said quietly, his voice shaking slightly with emotion. "Somehow the Queen still holds her soul and they combat in each others minds. The Queen's hold is so tight Alede cannot escape it."
~ ~ ~
For two days Legolas paced Alede's chambers. There was no change in her condition. Lomomir and Radagast had exhausted every technique they knew for removing Alede from the Queen's control. Legolas had spent countless hours trying to reach her himself. He occasionally caught a panicked flicker of Alede's emotion, but mostly he felt a wall. It was if a mist of emotions, or rather non-emotions blocked him out.
As he paused in his mindless pacing, he looked down at Alede. She had been bathed since he'd first brought her here. Her hair was spread out upon the pillow in waves and warm blankets were tucked beneath her chin. Her long eyelashes cast shadows upon her cheek.
He found himself desperately wishing to hear her voice again. He remembered the light scolding tone she had used with him when he was recovering from his own injuries, the awe when he'd told her tales of the Ring, her soft bubbling laughter . . .
Now that he realized how precious she was to him, he did not think he could bear to lose her before sharing any kind of a life together . . .
"I wish her mother were here."
Legolas nearly jumped. Radagast had been so silent, seated on the other side of the bed that the Elf had almost forgotten about him in his musings.
"Her mother? Could she have brought Alede out of this?"
Radagast shrugged. "That I do not know, but her presence would have been comforting. She had that ability that Alede has, to make one feel as if she had everything under control. And more than that . . . I miss her."
"How did your wife die?" Legolas asked softly, almost afraid to hear the answer. Had Radagast known his wife for such a terribly short time as well?
Radagast straightened in his chair and cleared his throat. "She had gone to a village beset with plague . . . It had nearly decimated the population so there was little she could do. But she stayed nonetheless. Some . . ." he paused, mastering some great emotion, "travelers came through the village. They were Zealots. They . . . believe that all magic is evil, no matter what it is used for. They apparently thought she'd brought the plague. Somehow they must have tricked her and bound her with iron . . . Then they burned her."
Legolas drew in a breath of astonishment. He'd heard of a tiny group of people who took their religion to extremes, burning and killing those that did not agree with them, but he'd never heard of anyone who'd actually had dealings with them.
"I did not find out until many weeks later," Radagast continued. "I had stayed home to look after Alede and did not expect my wife home anytime soon. When I . . . went to the village . . . her body had not been buried. The villagers, what few were left, were afraid to touch it . . . and so they left her there on the stake . . ."
The old wizard stumbled to a stop and covered his face with his hands. Legolas crossed the room and laid a hand on Radagast's shoulder.
"You are such a thoughtful soul," Radagast said, gulping a little as he awkwardly patted Legolas' hand. "It is no wonder that Alede loves you so. We've got to find a way to bring her out of this. There must be someplace we can take Alede, somewhere that the Queen's magic cannot reach her!"
Legolas' head came up and he stared at the opposite wall, not really seeing it.
"Nay, not somewhere that we can send Alede, but rather, somewhere that we can send the Queen instead . . ."
~ ~ ~
A/N: Uh oh, looks like Legolas has got one of his ideas again! What's he about to rush off and do this time?
Actually, there is a solution. Has anyone seen it? :D I'll give you a hint . . . it was inspired by the same theory that explains black holes. ;D So, brush up on your astronomy, and meet me back here next week for chapter 26, "The Faerie Goblet"! ;)
Special thanks to all of you who have reviewed! And especially those of you who defended me against the flames! ;) You're terrific, each and every one of you. I feel really blessed to have such terrific readers. You guys rock! I can't thank you enough! :D
*** True love is a common theme in many of the ancient tales. The story of Tam Lin is no different. Tam Lin was an earthly warrior imprisoned by the Queen of Faeries. He was able to escape the Faerie realm from time to time and walk amongst the real world. There he met a Scottish maiden named Janet and made love to her. But Faerie always called him back. One afternoon while he dallied with Janet, she asked how she might free him. He told her to wait upon the crossroads and to pull him from his faerie steed. If her love for him were true then she would be able to withstand all the transformations the Faerie Queen would cause him to suffer.
Janet did as she was told and Tam Lin turned in her arms first into a snake, then a bear and so on. But so great was her love for Tam Lin, she never let go. Finally, he turned into a rod of iron and Janet threw him into the cleansing waters of a well. There, he was restored to his natural form and the Faerie Queen was forced to concede her failure. She said to Tam Lin as he woke, "Had I but known that an earthly woman would win you away with her Love, Tam Lin, I would have taken out your heart of flesh and given you one of stone!"