{"id":547,"date":"2010-11-04T10:33:31","date_gmt":"2010-11-04T14:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.old.caraghobrien.com\/book\/?p=547"},"modified":"2010-11-04T11:22:41","modified_gmt":"2010-11-04T15:22:41","slug":"twins-of-the-dead-forest-continued","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.caraghobrien.com\/book\/writing\/twins-of-the-dead-forest-continued\/","title":{"rendered":"Twins of the Dead Forest (Continued)"},"content":{"rendered":"

(This is a continuation of the fairy tale started here<\/a> on November 1st.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Years passed, and the farmer, who had learned a cruel lesson, made a point of reaching out to her neighbors and fellow farmers.\u00a0 She begged them all not to tell Artemis about her lost twin, and in time, many of them even forgot Salma had ever been born.\u00a0 All learned to love and care for young Artemis, who grew into a strong, smart, peaceful girl with flowing blond hair and sharp aim with her bow.\u00a0 Yet Artemis always felt that something was missing in her life, and shortly before her fourteenth birthday, she found the farmer in the barn, crying.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you weep, Mother?\u201d Artemis asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wish I knew your sister was all right,\u201d the farmer said.\u00a0 \u201cI miss her so!\u201d<\/p>\n

Out came the tale of the christening, the witch, and the theft of the twin.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy haven\u2019t you gone to rescue her?\u201d Artemis demanded.\u00a0 \u201cMy sister needs us!\u201d<\/p>\n

The farmer cowered, wiping her nose.\u00a0 \u201cI never thought I could,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cThe witch was so powerful.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get ideas in your head.\u00a0 I can\u2019t lose you, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Artemis had ideas in her head.\u00a0 That very evening, she tied her hair in one thick braid, slung her quiver of arrows over her back, and packed a meat sandwich in the pocket of her overalls.\u00a0 With her bow in hand, she headed off into the dead forest, determined to find her sister.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The Dead Forest<\/p><\/div>\n

For many days and nights, she traversed the forest, searching for her sister and for any game she might shoot, but nothing lived there except the great trees, tender grasses, and a few birds that kept high in the branches out of the range of her bow.\u00a0 Yet Artemis was never hungry.\u00a0 Magic clung about her like invisible dust, drawn to her courage, and her meat sandwich was always fresh and replenished whenever she reached in her pocket.\u00a0 When at last she came to a small cabin deep in the forest, she took an arrow out of her quiver and sat behind a tree to watch carefully.<\/p>\n

In time, she saw a boy come out of the cabin, draw a bucket of water from the well, and head behind the cabin to a garden, where he began to hoe the beets and beans.\u00a0 An old, gnarled woman came out with her cane and sat on a wooden bench, where she turned her face to the sun and closed her eyes, smiling.<\/p>\n

\u201cSam,\u201d the old woman called.\u00a0 \u201cBring me my tea.\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy left the garden and went back into the cabin, emerging later with a mug of tea, which he set beside the old woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything else, Mother?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you feed the animals yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just going to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Artemis watched silently as the boy headed around the cabin toward the barn.\u00a0 She longed to peek in the cabin to see if her sister was inside, but there was no way to do so unobserved, so she decided to spy on the boy instead.\u00a0 Yet the moment she took one step, the old woman turned in her direction, zeroing her eyes into the forest.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou there!\u201d the old woman cried.\u00a0 She stood, pointing her cane directly at Artemis.\u00a0 \u201cCome out immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Artemis gripped her bow tightly and notched the arrow.\u00a0 Stepping carefully, she eased out of the woods.<\/p>\n

The old woman laughed.\u00a0 \u201cPut down your bow and arrow,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cYour weapons have no power here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s my sister Salma?\u201d Artemis asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s out back.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Have you come to join us?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve come to free her and take her home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The old witch laughed evilly again.\u00a0 \u201cWhat makes you think your sister wants to leave?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me talk to her,\u201d Artemis said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalk to her all you want,\u201d the witch said.\u00a0 \u201cIn fact, I have a present for you.\u00a0 It\u2019s your birthday, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Artemis nodded, uneasy.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Witch's Apples<\/p><\/div>\n

The witch took an apple from a tree that grew in the corner of the garden.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake this apple,\u201d the witch said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve transformed your sister to disguise her and keep her safe.\u00a0 If you give her this apple and she eats it, the spell will be broken.\u00a0 But if you give it to the wrong one, she will remain the same, and you must remain here as my own child.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a bad bargain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the only bargain, your birthday special, and it only lasts until the sun goes down.\u201d\u00a0 The witch thrust the red apple into Artemis\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cGo.\u00a0 Your sister\u2019s in the pasture.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Artemis rounded the corner of the cabin, she saw the boy in the pasture with a white horse, a gray goat, and a large black dog.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know which one is my sister under a spell?\u201d Artemis asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea,\u201d he said, folding his arms across his chest.<\/p>\n

Artemis approached the dog first, gazing into its eyes while it panted and looked back curiously.\u00a0 She gave it a good, furry pat, and then inspected the goat, which was munching grass and shifted away suspiciously when she reached for it.\u00a0 The horse nudged its great head under Artemis\u2019s hand and watched her with gentle, doleful eyes.\u00a0 Artemis tested her heart, wishing for an instinctive response to clue her into which animal was her sister, but there was no reverberating chord of recognition.\u00a0 In despair, she looked again at the boy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I guess wrong, my sister and I will be stuck here forever,\u201d Artemis said.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe it would be better if I just try to kill the witch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s extreme,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd unlikely to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know how long the witch has had these animals?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as I\u2019ve been here,\u201d the witch\u2019s boy said.<\/p>\n

She looked at him closely, noting his black hair and calm, even features.\u00a0 He looked nothing like the witch, and she wondered for a moment what it must have been like for him, being raised deep in the dead forest, far from anyone else, and how ironic that was considering the witch had punished her own parents for not welcoming an entire community to help raise their daughters.<\/p>\n

She frowned, looking again at the horse, the goat, and the dog.\u00a0 The sun was low over the trees, and the evening light was golden in the pasture, giving even the grass a glowing, amber hue.\u00a0 The animals looked perfectly content.\u00a0 They would never know tomorrow that she\u2019d ever come, but the boy would know.<\/p>\n

Slowly she turned to him, holding out the apple.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I have to stay,\u201d she said, \u201cI want you to be my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

A rumbling started in the cabin behind the boy.<\/p>\n

He reached for the apple, regarding her curiously.\u00a0 \u201cAre you telling me you think I\u2019m your sister?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

The rumbling grew louder.\u00a0 The logs of the cabin began to split apart, and the witch began to grow out of the roof.\u00a0 Her face was contorted with rage, and she was lifting her arms with claw-like fingers extended.\u00a0 All of the trees around began to move in a churning, unnatural wind, twisting and wild.<\/p>\n

Sam stared at the apple, unmoving.<\/p>\n

\u201cHurry!\u201d Artemis said.\u00a0 \u201cEat it!\u201d<\/p>\n

He bit deep into the red apple, and the witch screamed.\u00a0 With a second bite, the witch\u2019s boy began to shake and tremble.<\/p>\n

\u201cEat it all, fast!\u201d Artemis said, and the boy gobbled in bite after bite, even the seeds, until his cheeks puffed and there was nothing left but the stem.\u00a0 His throat worked visibly as he swallowed it all down.<\/p>\n

There was a great blue flash from the cabin, and then it burst into flames.\u00a0 A shrieking noise filled all the forest, and the sunlight vanished behind dark clouds.<\/p>\n

Artemis watched as the witch\u2019s boy twisted in agony before her, changing shape into a slender girl with wide, troubled eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSalma!\u201d Artemis said, rejoicing.<\/p>\n

But there was no time to waste, for the fire from the cabin was spreading, consuming the garden and reaching out towards the pasture and the forest.\u00a0 The sound of the wind lifted to a roar as the horse, the goat and the dog were blown away into the dark air.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to run,\u201d Artemis said, grabbing Salma around the waist and hurrying with her into the trees.\u00a0 A path opened before them, lit with a faint green glow, and as they ran, Artemis could feel Salma gaining strength.\u00a0 They held hands, speeding through the dead forest, until the flames and roar of the fire were left far behind, and there was only the silence of the path before them, beckoning them on.<\/p>\n

Towards dawn, at last, they saw the edge of the forest before them, and the open fields and their mother\u2019s pig farm beyond.\u00a0 They paused in the shade of the last tree, and Artemis looked at her twin and the misshapen boy\u2019s clothes that hung on her new figure.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re free,\u201d Artemis said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a girl,\u201d Salma said.<\/p>\n

Artemis had a moment of doubt.\u00a0 \u201cShould I have left you there?\u00a0 Was it a mistake to change you back?\u201d<\/p>\n

Salma smiled sadly.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know yet,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll take care of you.\u00a0 I promise,\u201d Artemis said, and taking her hand, Artemis led Salma out of the dead forest and into the sunlight.<\/p>\n

And they all lived happily ever after.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(This is a continuation of the fairy tale started here on November 1st.) Years passed, and the farmer, who had learned a cruel lesson, made a point of reaching out to her neighbors and fellow farmers.\u00a0 She begged them all not to tell Artemis about her lost twin, and in time, many of them even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-birthmarked","category-writing","tag-tie-in-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.caraghobrien.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.caraghobrien.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.caraghobrien.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.caraghobrien.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.caraghobrien.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.caraghobrien.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":570,"href":"https:\/\/www.caraghobrien.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547\/revisions\/570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.caraghobrien.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.caraghobrien.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.caraghobrien.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}