2Andravine
There once was a maiden, fair both of skin and manner. She was known as the lovely Andravine. Andravine had an older sister named Marianna, who was known far and wide as the most beautiful lady in all the lands, second only to Queen Guinevere. She was to be wedded one spring day to the most handsome young knight who was both brave and honorable, and who she loved most deeply. His name was Sir Enai.
The wedding celebration would take place that night, under the new moon. Marianna asked her younger sister to pick the most beautiful blossoms for her veil from the meadows near the village. She warned Andravine to not wander off in the forest and pick the flowers from the garden of Morgan le Fay, for there was a terrible curse on those who stole from Morgan le Fay. Legends spoke of covetous ladies turned into trees and rocks, forever entrapped.
Andravine assured her sister she would do nothing so foolish and left the village hastily. She wanted to honor her sister on her wedding day and needed time to find the most perfect flowers. She wandered about the forest outside the village and happened upon a clearing. Amazed at the sight before her, Andravine came to an abrupt stop, dropping her basket. There were flowers of deep, rich colors and every shape imaginable blooming. She had never seen this place before in her life. Andravine could smell the lavender and rose wafting from the clearing and she immediately fell about the blossoms, picking the ones which would please her sister the most.
Upon the heat of noon, she grew tired and wished to rest. She found a large willow tree and sat beneath it for shade, weaving the flowers together. As she gazed at the perfect buds, Andravine noticed they suddenly seemed dull, as if the arrangement was missing something. She cast her gaze about, unhappy to present her sister with something less than perfect for her wedding night. Andravine caught a glow from the corner of her eyes and sharply turned her head. There, at the very back corner of the clearing grew a strangely beautiful flower, unlike anything she had ever seen before. Abandoning the veil and likewise her thoughts of pleasing Marianna, Andravine was drawn to the flower. Stepping over the stone fence, she knelt before the blossom, awed by its mystical splendor. Thinking that this would be the perfect flower to adorn her own dress, the flower that would make her more beautiful than even her sister, Andravine plucked the flower at its stem.
At once, the sky clouded and darkness fell. Lightning flashed, and Andravine jumped to her feet, frightened.
"You foolish girl, do you realize what you have done?" The voice was feminine, but harsh with anger. Andravine turned about and stumbled as she saw a flawless woman standing before her, where the meadow of beautiful flowers had grown. Now they were wilted and shriveling into dust. The woman's dark hair flowed around her and her violet eyes blazed in rage.
Andravine stuttered in fear. "I-I-I did not know." In her hand, the flower turned to dust and Andravine was left grasping air.
"Quiet!" The woman silenced Andravine. "You have smashed my garden, with your shoes and plucked my favorite blossom. Andravine looked at her feet, which had trampled the sprouts. She then noticed that the stone fence she had stepped over on her way to the mystical flower had been part of a stone circle. Her fear increased, as she had grown up hearing tales of faery circles.
"And for that, Andravine, I curse you now. For destroying my garden for your own vanity, you shall be for now and forever a great and hideous beast from dawn until dusk." There was a loud flash of light and smoke engulfed Andravine.
Andravine cried out in pain as the transformation ripped through her body. She felt as if her body were being stretched from every direction, her hair being torn out by the roots. She fell to her hands and screamed as they became huge talons before her eyes. Her voice changed as well, as her head became that of a bear, and her dress ripped along the seams, not able to fit a body of a lion. Andravine wept, her mind fading, overcome by instinct and the call of the wild.
Her shrieks could be heard throughout the forest and caught the attention of the villagers. Fearing their lord's daughter had been attacked by a wolf pack, the village men, including Marianna's husband-to-be, Sir Enai, armed themselves and set out to search the forest. They came upon the clearing, as if by magic, and heard the laughter of a woman fade into the forest. The men were horrified to see a beast standing over Andravine's best dress. They sallied forth to avenge their lord's daughter's death, weapons in hand and their shouts echoed in the forest clearing.
Alarmed, the creature that was Andravine shrieked in pain as the first arrow struck her flank. Maddened and seeing only rage in her pain, she lashed out at the villagers, defending herself. Her talons ripped through the first man she saw and she sank her fangs into the next villager, and the next, until she could not see through the blood-lust that had overcome her. Scared witless, the remaining villagers fled from the clearing back to their homes to tell of the fearsome beast in the forest.
Coming back to her senses, Andravine could not believe the carnage that was spread out in front of her. The ground, covered in blood, seemed to spin in her mind as she saw before her Sir Enai, his stomach savaged by her talons. Unable to accept this, she turned and ran into the forest, loosing her path and hoping for death. She found a cave, hours later, and sank to the ground, panting and exhausted.
Andravine woke later, her senses still muddled. She looked down, overjoyed to see her human hands, wanting to believe it all had been a horrible dream. Her happiness disappeared when she noticed the dried blood under her fingernails and only then did she realize she was in a cave, with no clothing on. She sank into despair then, knowing it had not been a nightmare, and she had, in fact, killed her beloved sister's happiness and one true love. Her cries echoed in the cave until dawn.
At this time, a young and valiant knight sat in his chambers, enjoying the sun rise over the trees to the east of Camelot. His name was Sir Gareth, brother of Sir Gawain, next King of Orkney. He was restless for a quest, wanting to somehow prove himself worthy to be a knight at King Arthur's Round Table.
There came to be a knock on his door and a messenger entered. Gareth turned to listen as the page told him an astonishing tale of a mystical beast that was ravishing the countryside. Once the messenger had finished, Gareth jumped to his feet and ran to find his brother. Gawain was sitting in counsel with Arthur, advising his liege on treaties. Gareth fell to his knees at his liege's feet and begged.
"My liege lord, King Arthur, I beg of you, give me leave to fight for you and rid our lands of this beast terrorizing the countryside." Arthur looked to Gawain, as Gareth was his younger brother.
"Why would you go to fight?" He asked kindly.
"To prove myself worthy of the seat at your Round Table, my king."
Gawain nodded slightly, his face a mask, and only then did Arthur give Gareth permission. That day, Gareth road out in all his splendor to do battle with the mystical creature.
He arrived at the village, and was welcomed with a great feast. He met with the lord, who was much aggrieved, as he had lost not only a wealthy son-in-law, but his youngest daughter as well. His oldest daughter did not speak at all; so much grief had consumed her. Gareth ate his fill, promising to defeat the beast and revenge the lord. This was celebrated with much ale and Gareth received the best chambers in the lord's keep for the length of his stay.
The next day, he woke early and prepared to hunt the beast, vowing to return only when he had killed the monster. He rode in the forest for hours until he grew hungry and stopped to rest. He guided his horse to a giant willow tree and sat in its shade. He drifted off to sleep, the warm sun lulling him to dreams. The breaking of a branch woke him and he started, alarmed to see the great best before him. It was across the clearing, pacing in front of a stone fence. Gareth was shocked to be gazing at such a fiend, with the body of a lion, head of a bear and talons of an eagle.
He drew his sword and stood, silent as night. But as he approached the monster, it took notice of him and ran from him. Puzzled by its unusual behavior, Gareth sheathed his sword and remounted his horse. He rode after the monster, tracking its every turn until dusk. It was always one turn faster and slightly quicker. Exhausted, Gareth stopped for the night, and found himself back at the willow tree clearing, as if he had traveled in a circle. Upon closer inspection, the stone fence was a faery's stone circle. He avoided it, wary of the mystical connotations and superstitions of faery circles. He slept that night under the willow tree and woke to the sound of a woman crying.
Gareth sat up and crept towards the lady. As he saw her better, by the light of the moon, he told himself that this was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes on. Her light hair fell in ringlets on her back and she wept incessantly, supported by the stone ring. He averted his eyes, as she did not have any clothing on. Gareth wondered on her station, as a lady so beautiful could not be any ordinary maid.
He stopped a few lengths away from her, knelt, and spoke. "My lady, what is it that makes you so unhappy?" Startled, the girl jumped to her feet and fled, leaving Gareth to stare after her.
Andravine was sore distressed. She had never seen a man who was more handsome or gentle, even her sister's beloved Enai. This strange man had seen her weeping desperately over her fate and acted kindly, as a true knight would. There was also something familiar about him, something she half remembered, as if it were from a dream. These thoughts were soon abandoned, as she fell back to her misery, seeing the day break through the earth from the east.
Gareth did not sleep much after seeing the beautiful lady, and the next day, as he hunted for the beast, he was half convinced he had dreamt her. On this day, upon seeing the mystical beast for a second time, Gareth was ready with his bow and arrow. He let fly an arrow, and it struck true, wounding the beast in the front forearm. The monster shrieked, making Gareth cringe and his second arrow fly off course. That night, Gareth slept under the willow tree again, in hopes of seeing the lady. He awoke again to her cries and for a second time she ran from his gentle advances. As he watched her leave, he noticed that she held her arm in a peculiar way, but thought nothing of it.
In his dream, Gareth was hunting in the forest back near Camelot, with his brother Gawain. Gawain pointed at something and Gareth drew his bow, ready for the animal to move. Out of a bush flew a giant swan, and Gareth's reflexes release the arrow before he could think. The arrow burst though the swan, but instead of blood gushing forth, bright red flowers tumbled out of it.
Gareth awoke to the gentle chirping of birds. While he got ready his horse, he thought over his dream. He did not understand it, and wished for Merlin's advice, as Merlin was uncanny, and knew the meaning of all things.
As Gareth began searching for the beast again, he vowed to himself that he would not rest until he had killed the beast and had a trophy to show the villagers, who must think him dead.
As luck would have it, Gareth spotted the beast as it was drinking from the stream, its head down and unaware. He snuck up behind it and struck a blow. The monster screamed and began running, trying to out pace Gareth and his horse. The beast gave an extraordinary chase for many hours, but as the day grew long, it tired. It came to rest at the clearing with the willow tree and collapsed at the faery ring, wheezing and bellowing in fear.
Gareth bore down upon it and struck it through the heart without a second thought. As he moved to chop its head off to bring it back to the village, a mystical fog surrounded it, and Gareth could hear a woman laughing. When the fog cleared and the voice faded, he dropped his dripping sword and fell to his knees at the side of the damsel he had approached those nights before.
"My lady, please forgive me, I knew not what I did." He wept bitterly at his fate and the fate of the lady.
"Ah, my knight, I knew not what I did either," she whispered in her last breath as death overtook her.
Knowing that one of the villagers must know her face, Gareth wrapped his blanket around her naked body and carried her back to the lord's keep, where the village was waiting for him.
There was much lamenting in that village for many months, and no maiden was ever let out to the forest alone again, lest she wander into a faery circle and be transformed into a hideous beast.