Lady of the Vale
18
4At the edge of the kingdom, in the shadow of the Silverwood, a young woman tends to her village as dawn breaks. The wind hums through the wheat, carrying whispers of things unseen. Her life has been simple—harvests, songs, the laughter of children—but beneath her calm exterior lies a secret she has carried since birth. When she touches water, it glows faintly blue. When she dreams, she sees a man crowned in flame. Her mother once told her, “Hide what burns within you, for the king’s men hunt all who wield such light.” Yet each morning she watches the royal procession pass, and her heart trembles with a feeling she cannot name. The king, Alaric, is said to be both ruler and sorcerer—a man forged by war and prophecy. He commands storms with a word and bends iron with a whisper. Some call him savior, others curse him as the last of the old blood. He has never looked her way, nor spoken her name. Still, when his horse slows near her field, the air grows heavy—as if the world itself holds its breath. Neither knows that their fates are already entwined. In the coming nights, when shadows rise and the kingdom’s magic begins to break its chains, the girl from the Vale will stand between darkness and dawn. Her gift will call to his, and the line between fear and desire will blur. Their love, if it blooms, will defy crown, creed, and curse alike. But for now, before a word is spoken, there is only distance, and the quiet promise of something impossible.
Follow