Chapter Text
Once upon a time, at that point in the early evening where the sun was approaching the horizon but the sky had not yet changed to the colors of sunset, a young man named Alcryst and a young woman named Céline were walking through a forest.
Alcryst and Céline had known each other for a long time, and they were very close. They spent much of their time together, and on this particular day they were wishing to spend time in nature. They had never been in this forest before, and they found it a lovely place, but with a strange and mysterious air to it.
They spoke little as they wandered through the forest, simply enjoying being in each other’s company. Alcryst quietly looked around at the forest, though his gaze always inevitably drifted back to Céline.
“It’s so beautiful here,” said Céline, looking at the sunlight shining through the boughs of the trees. “But…somehow, being here makes me sad. I don’t know what it is.”
“I feel the same way,” said Alcryst. “I wonder why it seems like this forest is…so melancholy.”
“We should find our way home,” said Céline. “It’s getting late.”
Alcryst nodded. It always hurt being parted from Céline at the end of the day, and he wished that they could stay in the forest a little longer, even if being here did make them feel sad…
Even though he didn’t have the courage to tell Céline exactly why he would rather be beside her than anywhere else in the world.
“Now…which way did we come from?” said Céline, looking around. “Hm. Did we stray off the path somewhere?”
“I don’t see a path,” said Alcryst. “I should have been paying more attention…” He noticed something in between two nearby trees. “Is that a clearing up ahead?”
He walked over to the trees, hearing the footsteps of Céline following close behind him. Carefully avoiding the outstretched branches, he stepped between the trees and into the clearing.
“A castle?” he said in surprise. “Why would there be a castle in the center of this forest?”
There was a rustle, and Céline made it up next to him. “There’s a castle?” she said. “Oh, I see it.” She shook her head. “This is all so strange...”
They each took a step forward, so that they could see the full view of the castle. It was not a very large castle, nor a very fancy one; in fact, it looked dark and foreboding. Alcryst felt a sudden, startling rush of fear as he gazed at it.
“I don’t think the owner of this castle would like us intruding,” he said, his heart suddenly beating so quickly that he could hear it. “We should turn around and go in some other direction…”
He turned to look at Céline. To his alarm, she wasn’t there.
Alcryst frantically looked around, trying to see where Céline had gone. Then he heard a snatch of birdsong next to him, and turned to look.
On the ground where Céline had been standing moments before, there was a small nightingale, its eyes wide as it sang up at him.
At that moment, there came the sound of an owl hooting overhead. Alcryst turned, fear turning to horror, just in time to see an owl swoop down to the ground.
And then the owl began to change. Wings turned to arms, a beak turned into a nose and mouth, and feathers disappeared as though they had never been. In less time than it takes to write it, a woman with long white hair stood in the clearing, a calm but cruel smile on her face.
Alcryst tried to take a step away, tried to pick up the nightingale that was Céline, tried to flee from the clearing—but he couldn’t move. He tried, but his body was as still as a statue. He couldn’t open his mouth to cry out. He couldn’t even blink.
As Alcryst struggled to move, the woman strode over to him, then chuckled a little to herself as she bent down and picked up the nightingale. Céline beat her wings as she struggled to free herself, but the woman held fast. All she did was click her tongue in response when Céline pecked her hand.
“You’re one of my prettiest birds yet,” the woman said, looking at the nightingale. “Now come with me and become a member of my collection.” She gave Alcryst a look of false pity, then turned and walked toward the castle, the transformed Céline clutched in her hand.
Alcryst stared in horror and anguish as the woman—who must be a witch—took Céline away and brought her into the castle. He couldn’t move, no matter how desperately he tried. All he could do was watch.
That witch…that horrible witch had changed Céline into a nightingale and taken her captive. Céline, whom Alcryst loved far more than he had ever loved himself. He couldn’t live without her.
Would he just be frozen here forever, staring at this witch’s castle until his suffering finally came to an end?
The witch stepped out of the castle again and strode back over to Alcryst, coming up right in front of him and gazing down at him as if she was pleased with her handiwork.
“I suppose I can release you now,” said the witch. She snapped her fingers, and Alcryst realized that he could move again. He immediately lunged at the witch, but she took a step back and blocked him with a transparent wall of magic.
“Let Céline go!” Alcryst shouted, trying again to run toward her. “She doesn’t belong to you! If you have to have a bird for your collection, take me instead!”
“You?” said the witch. She hit him with a blast of magic that caused him to fall hard to the ground. “What use would I have for you? No, it’s young women I want. My new bird—what did you call her? Céline?—you’ll never see her again. I bar my door with magic to prevent horrid intruders like you. Now leave this forest before I make you leave.”
Alcryst pushed himself upright, wincing with pain, and managed to stare directly into the witch’s eyes.
“Leave this forest now,” said the witch, raising her hand as if to cast another spell. “Your Céline is mine now, and I won’t trade her for you or anyone else.”
Realizing that there was truly nothing he could do, Alcryst turned and ran, just in time to dodge another spell that the witch cast at him. He tore through the forest, getting scratched by branches and shrubs, until finally he was out, with the night sky growing dark overhead.
Céline was a nightingale. She was under the spell of the witch—in her power, even. And Alcryst had been helpless to do anything except watch as his love was led away.
What could he do now?