Chapter 13

"Why did you lead me to that terrible town and those awful people?"

The horse snorted and neighed, hanging its head as though ashamed - which it was. He knew, to his sorrow, that he had repaid the young Princess's fearless rescue of him very badly indeed by leading her into such danger and pain. Like her, he was not a free agent and must go where the Fairy Queen dictated.

Sara had paused to rest some eight hours after leaving the mysterious healing lake, which, when she looked back, had quite vanished, being replaced by bare and arid land. She drank from the water bottle, filled from the phantom lake. At least that water had not evaporated! Far from it! She noticed, to her amazement that the bottle was still full to the brim, despite the copious draught she had just swallowed, and the water was ice cold, despite the heat of the day that had just passed.

After putting her through such a dreadful ordeal, it seemed that the unseen spirits were making amends for their cruelty. She found a comparatively soft spot to rest her head. She slept and soon dreamt that the Fairy Queen was talking to her.

"I do so deeply regret what happened to you in that town at the hands of those cruel zealots, who have all perished, but you were wrong to sleep with that boy the other day. You did it not merely for him - to give him warmth and protection, but more for yourself, to satisfy your perfectly understandable and, in many ways laudable, desire for human contact. I know that you had no thought of making love to him and that you remain a pure virgin, but you wilfully disobeyed the injuction that you remain alone for one year. Contact of that kind is forbidden and you must avoid all unnecessary dealings with people in future.

"We turned a blind eye to your weeks with Martha, who had been vilely and unjustly used by one of our number, but this night with the youth was too serious a matter for us to overlook. We could not permit such an infraction to go uncorrected. You were severely punished and, but for the intervention of your feathered friends, would have suffered far more before we allowed you to be released from your torments. Another such offence and your fate will be a great deal worse - immeasurably more painful, and there will be no healing to follow - you will bear the marks of any future punishment for ever, throughout this life and into the next."

When she woke she pondered these stern words and the awful warning she had been given. The Fairy spirit had the power to make good her threat - she was all too well aware of that after yesterday! Even so, she could, at least partially, diminish the power that the unseen spirit world had over her with the help of the animal world. Despite this, she hesitated to provoke their anger again, for she could not bear the thought of being maimed and scarred for life. Or could she bear it, she subconsciously thought? Would she one day decide to defy these unseen forces in order to be herself and live her own life - exactly as she pleased?

What is the body's worth compared to that of the soul? If her freedom could only be purchased by undergoing permanent physical damage, then ought she not be willing to pay that price? A seed of defiance against the tyranny that had brought her from security and luxury to poverty, pain, loneliness and danger was germinating inside her. Then she saw the face of her beloved before her, and all thoughts of rebellion fled from the mind of this lovesick girl. Love makes the most abject slaves of even the proudest.

A month had passed since the lovely Princess Sara's brutal flogging at the hands of those wicked people. The physical agony might have been taken away and the wounds may have healed shortly after the horror, but the memory of the ghastly pain and the public humiliation she had experienced had not left her. She was justly proud not to have cried out for mercy to those despicable people, but ashamed of the way that she had been on the verge of meekly letting go of her hold on life, surrendering herself to death many long years before her time was due and her duty done.

Even now she was not permitted to ride on the white horse, which she still had not named. She preferred to address him with endearments, such as "darling", "my sweet companion","Precious love" "my faithful friend" or "Sweetheart" and many, many more. Now that all human love and companionship, even of the most perfunctory and innocent kind, were forbidden her it was only the birds and animals, her beloved mount in particular, who sustained her through the loneliness of her exile.

Flocks of birds were always overhead, following her for every step of the way. Her protectors would never allow themselves to be absent again in any hour of her need. In addition to the birds overhead, there were always beasts prowling about - foxes, wolves, wild cats and dogs, all fiercely ready to protect her from harm to the best of their ability. She speculated from time to time whether these creatures would be able to shield her from the full measure of Fairy wrath, should she ever do anything again to incur it. On balance, she was not inclined to put it to the test!