Day 6: more of the fairytale

So I've been pretty bad about actually getting writing done. Oh well. I'm still plugging away at it. I've been doing a lot of work at computer labs, and specifically at Mac-based computer labs. I'm a Windows user, and I keep forgetting to try bringing my novel files along in an easy-to-transfer format. That's one reason why my wordcount hasn't been updated in a while: I'm not sure what the total is since part of the novel's on this blog and part of it isn't!

This is a continuation of the fairytale from yesterday. Am I spending too long on it? Who knows! It's kind of stalling, and kind of brainstorming plot directions. Also, I got bored of the village. Next time I get back to Etana and Aleth, I'm probably going to have them out of the village and on the road somewhere. At the least, I'm finally on my way to making up some of my wordcount debt -- this section is apparently over 2000 words!

She stopped singing in the middle of the chorus, but the prince kept going for a bit, not realizing that the rest had stopped singing.
"Oh my," said Miss Mirana. "The bird is singing along with us!"
At the outburst, and realizing the sudden silence, the prince stopped.

Great now I'm bored of this section. Moving along, Miss Mirana ends up keeping the prince in her garden. She's a teacher or something. He doesn't fly away cause she's so pretty and stuff, and also feeds him. Food is important. I'm hungry.

It came to pass that one night an old, wizened traveller stopped at Miss Mirana's door. He wished shelter for the night. But the prince, being magical since he had been transformed, could sense that the man was not all that he seemed. He tried to warn Miss Mirana away from the traveller, but she could not understand his song. The prince was surprised when, after Miss Mirana had turned her back to prepare a meal for the traveller, the old man turned to him.
"I know what you are, little bird. And don't think that a puny thing such as you are can prevent me from taking your precious maiden."
"I won't let you hurt her!" The prince was surprised to hear such words coming out of his mouth, but as soon as he had uttered them, he realized they were true.
"There is very little you can do. It will not be enough." He paused for a moment, staring at the prince. "But it comes to mind that you might provide me some amusement, so I shall wait until the morrow to take the maiden."
The prince flew at the old traveller, but was swatted down. He lay on the floor, reeling, as the traveller towered over him. "That was no effort for me, little bird. I can do far worse to you if I put my mind to it. Now behave yourself. We must put on a good show for your maiden." He smiled evilly, and sat down.
The prince flew back to his perch, not taking his eyes off the malevolent traveller. Eventually, Miss Mirana came out from the kitchen and set food down in front of the old man.
"I'm afraid this is the best I have, sir."
The old man was all charm and smiles now. "From your hands, fair lady, it is as the nectar of the gods."
Miss Mirana blushed a little at the flattery. "Come now, it is truly plain fare, as you might find in any house here."
"But no other house would have such a fine companion to the meal." He beamed at her. "Will you not join me?"
"Of course," she said, flustered.
The prince attempted to warn Miss Mirana again, but the old man glared at him, and the prince shivered as if someone had walked over his grave.
"That is quite a noisy bird you have there."
"Oh, my bird." She smiled. "Some of the boys found him on the beach several weeks ago. We discovered that he sings along when I sing, so I decided to keep him."
"I'm surprised you haven't caged him."
"Oh, he's quite tame. He's never even tried to fly away."
"Have you considered clipping his wings to make sure he doesn't?"
At that suggestion, the prince squawked in protest.
"Oh, of course not. That would be so cruel!"
"It is just a thought. But come, the food is growing cold, and it would be a shame to let such a fine meal go to waste."
The rest of the night passed largely uneventfully, although the prince fretted away the minutes and did not sleep. He noticed when the stranger stooped to examine something on the floor, and rose again holding a lock of Miss Mirana's hair. At that, the prince flew at the stranger, hoping to snatch the hair away, but was swatted back again.
"Manners, manners, little bird," said the stranger. "This is mine now, and it's not nice to take other people's property." He grinned evilly; both of them knew that was exactly what he was planning to do. The traveller then retired to the bed -- Miss Mirana had, of course, given him the bed while she took a pallet by the fire -- but not before running his fingers possessively through the sleeping maiden's hair.
The prince made an attempt, near dawn when the old man was snoring fit to wake the dead, to snatch the hair from his grasp. But the old man's fist was curled tightly around the lock of hair, and the prince could not reach it.

The old man rose with the dawn, and murmured enchantments over the lock of hair he held. The prince felt the magic settle heavily over the house as the old man walked to the fireside where Miss Mirana slept. He passed his hands over her, making mystic signs as he did so. Then he knelt, and whispered to her.
"Wake, my pretty one. Come and follow me."
Moving slowly, as if still asleep and dreaming, Miss Mirana sat up and rose from the floor. Her eyes were still shut. Slowly, she opened them, her gaze blank. The old man smirked.
"Yes, my lovely. Follow me." And he threw some sparkling dust in the air and uttered a magical word. Before they disappeared into the air, the old man turned once more to the prince. "You shall not see her again until you come to the castle that lies beyond the Sea of Flames." And then the two of them disappeared, leaving the prince alone and disheartened.

The prince had heard of a wise woman who lived in the nearby hills, and he decided to visit her and see if she could help him find the Sea of Flames. He picked at the pot of stew Miss Mirana had meant to have for breakfast, for it would likely be the last cooked meal he had, and then he flew off.
It was many days before he reached the wise woman of the hills. Along the way, he had nearly been caught and eaten by a hungry hunter, but his experience with the boys had taught him how better to avoid capture. When he finally reached the hills, he saw a squat hut on the tallest one.
"That must belong to the wise woman," he sang to himself, and flew up to it. Thinking that it might be best to display manners of some sort, he landed in front of the door and beat it with his wings, curled up a talon, and knocked on the door. After a moment the door opened and woman who seemed to mostly be made of twigs came out.
"Now who could be knocking at my door?" She asked as she looked around. Seeing nobody, she began to close the door.
"Wait!" Trilled the prince. "Please let me in."
The wise woman heard him, and looked down. "Ah, an enchanted prince, I see. Well, since you have knocked so politely, I shall invite you in." And she held the door for him.
The prince flew in and perched on one of the chairs within. It took him a moment to get used to the dark interior. That part of him that was a bird was tempted to panic, as the inside of the hut was so cramped and cage-like.
"Now, my dear, what did you want of me? To be restored to your rightful form, perhaps?"
The prince had not even thought of asking the wise woman to restore him to human form. For a moment, he was tempted. But then he thought of Miss Mirana in the clutches of that evil old man, and he shook his head. "No. My love has been captured and taken to the castle beyond the Sea of Flames. How can I save her?"
At that, the wise woman laughed with delight. "Ah! You are the first enchanted one I have found who came seeking to help another. For that, I will gladly help you, although the way is perilous, especially for a bird such as you."
"I will take the risk," said the prince.
"Are you sure? You may well die, and leave your love with no hope of rescue. Why not stay? I can turn you back into a prince, as you once were."
"No. I cannot abandon her."
"Who is she to you that you will not?"
"I -- she -- she treated me kindly, knowing nothing of me, and her songs touch my heart in a way that it has never been touched before. If I abandon her now it will be the same as if I had perished trying to rescue her."
"You are truly noble, then. Follow me." The wise woman stood and walked to a chest in a dark corner of the room. The prince had to strain his eyes to see in the darkness. Then she opened the chest, and the room filled with a soft golden light. The old woman took a glowing chain from the chest, and placed it around the prince's neck. He felt a warm tingling as it brushed his feathers, and then a sense of peace descended upon him.
"This chain holds great power within it, but it can only be used for the sake of another. To you it will provide protection as you quest. It has other powers as well, but those you must discover yourself."
"I thank you from the bottom of my heart, wise one."
"Without that chain, you will surely fail in your quest." She reached into the chest again, and this time pulled out an old map. "The light in here is not enough for me to read it. Let us go outside."
Once outside, she spread the map out. It was like no map the prince had seen, not even those of his royal cartographers. It was larger, and incredibly detailed. He could see the house that Miss Mirana had dwelt in, and the hut beside which they now stood. The wise woman pointed to the hut.
"This is my home. Here, to the east, is the Forest of Woe. Fly over it as quickly as you can, and land within it only if you must. If you do land within the Forest, you must neither eat nor drink anything in the Forest."
The prince nodded in understanding.
"Further east are the Titan's Jaws. These mountains are too high for you to fly over, but there are ways through." She outlined one of the passes. "That is likely to be the safest for you. Giants live within the mountains, and while most would consider you to be a tasty snack, the giants here are larger than most. You will be beneath their notice, as if an insect."
"Will they not then try to crush me."
The wise woman smiled and shrugged. "Probably, but they will not bother overmuch to find and catch you." She turned to the map again. "Here, now, is the Sea of Flames." That section of the map was covered in a blaze of orange. "Beyond it is the Castle of Last Hope." She paused. "I need not tell you that to land in the Sea is to die. You must make be strong and well-rested before you attempt a crossing. I would fly high above the flames, high enough that the air thins somewhat, so that when your strength begins to fail you can rest by gliding and not fall into the flames."
"And what of the Castle?"
"The creature you seek makes his home in that Castle. He collects young maidens, imprisoning them in pillars of glass that he might more conveniently admire them."
If the prince had been a carnivore, he would have been growling now. Instead, he squawked in anger. "The fiend! What must I do to slay him?"
At that, the wise woman sighed. "It will be most difficult for you to slay him in your current form. I can give you only this advice. He has a spot of magical vulnerability, and if you were to somehow puncture that spot, he would perish. Unfortunately, I do not know where this spot is located, but if you observe him while in the Castle, I am certain you can find it."
"And how do I free the trapped maidens?"
The old woman smiled. "That is simplicity itself, if you have slain the creature. The pillars are held in place by his magic, and will dissolve upon his death. If you do not slay him first, then you will have to find the wand where he keeps his magic, and use that to dispel the pillars."
"Thank you, wise one."
The wise woman rolled up the map and walked back inside. "You have had a long journey behind you, and a longer journey ahead of you. Will you not stay for the night, rest your wings, and strengthen yourself for the coming trials?"
The prince nodded. "Again, you speak words of wisdom. I will stay the night, but then I must be gone."