Lily of the valley

5

Lily and Katherine awoke together in a clearing, the mythical shadows and darkness of the forest had been pulled away now that they had faced its cruel ordeal. Bright golden sunlight streamed through the leaves, the forest floor was covered in ornate dappled light. Like all of the spring flowers that surrounded the women Katherine leaned instinctively towards the light, feeling the rich warmth of the sun on her skin for the first time. They were not unscathed by the screaming voices of the night mist, but they were strong enough to discard their sorrows and journey on. Lily unfolded the piece of notepaper that Gustavo had slipped her, the scrawl was elegant and foreign but legible.

Flower of the mountain, Lily of the valley,

See two fair ladies cross mountain passes and desert storms,

With their fistfuls of gold and skin of milky pearl,

Travelling through darkness and war for love,

The flesh of the Lily so enticing and sweet,

The bud of the flower fierce against man's cruel touch,

They will end their journey at the great green sea,

Where the flower of the mountain will find love,

And the Lily of the valley will soothe her lonely heart,

A martyr for love.

G. I pray to my Gods and yours to see you again Lily of the valley

Lily pressed the note to her heart, her eyes were wetted with the pain of what she had thrown away, but for Katherine she would do it a thousand times over.

"Who did you hear?" Katherine asked Lily, while plaiting her long white hair. Lily lay in the grass, limbs weighted down by depression and guilt, she near blinded herself staring up at the sun.

"Gustavo... and my family... who did you hear?"

"Lord Ves; and the forest witch."

"I heard her too. Are you alright?" Lily moved to sit beside Katherine, her desire to comfort her young ward pushed through the depressive catatonia.

"I have to be." Lily draped her arm across Katherine's shoulder and held her close.

"Yes, you do. We both do." The forest had robbed them of their riches and their hoofed beasts, they were without food, money or shelter. They had no map and no heading, they had only the clothes on their back.

"What's the plan?" Katherine asked, eager to keep treading ground.

"Keep moving I guess."

"In what direction?" Katherine looked about the glade, there was no way of telling which way was North or South, there were only trees and a grand matte blue sky. Lily moved around the clearing and found a tree, with sturdy low branches, something that she could climb. The climb was easy, the branches were all strong and close together. The view at the top was sublime, the forest of shadows stretched on and on, all she could see was treetops. They must have moved miles and miles through the night, the mountain was out of view. Lily turned and saw what she had been looking for, in the far distance the ocean of trees broke revealing the beginnings of a great meadow; Gustavo's home.

"What can you see?" Katherine called up to Lily.

"If we don't stop walking we should get out of the forest by nightfall." Lily shouted back, relishing in the view. The sun warmed her skin so delightfully, and a swathe of swallows danced about the sky overhead. The majesty of nature never failed to overwhelm her, she would give up all of her riches and all of her intelligent humanity to life as a bird. To spend her days soaring over everything, to taste true freedom. There was no witch in all of Fayrith that could grant her that. Lily climbed back down into the shade of the glade.