Leah the Goldenhearted
It was a dark and stormy night that welcomed the birth of two baby girls. It happened in the Castle of the
Distant Horizon, where earth and sky were said to be joined. The mothers were Queen Charisia and one of her waiting
ladies, whose name was Elspeth.
The babies were washed and dressed, then given to their mothers. Queen Charisia's daughter was christened Amarantha,
while Elspeth's daughter was given the simple name of Leah. Leah was smiling and pink in her tiny white gown, all
wriggles and coos. Amarantha, however, was pale with a perpetual frown on her thin face. But both mothers were equally
happy and couldn't wait until they were fully rested to lavish all their worldly goods upon their little angels.
As time went on, Leah and Amarantha grew to be very different people. While Amarantha spent her days shut up in her room
with her dolls, Leah ran and played with the village boys (which was frowned upon), coming home every night with
tangled hair and dirty clothes. Elspeth tried to keep her from doing so, but Leah was too stubborn and strong-willed to listen.
"My lady, you are so fortunate to have such a wonderful daughter," Elspeth confessed to Queen Charisia one morning.
"Aye, I am," she agreed, twisting a lock of her honey-gold hair around a slender finger. Then the meaning of what
Elspeth said was understood. The small, rosebud-pink mouth that was so accustomed to smiling turned into an unhappy frown.
"Leah...makes you unhappy?" she asked her friend hesitantly. Elspeth sighed and stood up, walking to one of the many
bedroom windows.
"Nae, not unhappy," she said at last. "Bless the child, for she loves me with all her heart, but she acts like one of the
village boys! She dislikes dresses and all things feminine, and I'm sure when she's old enough to go to court with me I'll have
to plead with her..." The woman broke off, not knowing how to continue.
"I have pity for you, Elspeth," Charisia replied kindly. "But perhaps when Leah is older she will become more of a lady."
Elspeth frowned doubtfully but nodded. At that moment, seven-year old Amarantha came into the room. Her face was as usual calm
and unemotional, but if anyone had really looked they would have seen her turquoise eyes were stormy and cold.
"Mother, who are you talking about?" she asked solemnly, clutching a worn-out rag doll tightly against her. Her dress was
made of blue satin and was still fresh and unwrinkled. Her raven-black curls framed her pale face like a dark halo.
"Nothing, dear. Run along now and play with your dolls." The Queen smiled.
"I will find Leah and ask if she will play, too." Amarantha had turned around by this time, so no one could see the smirk that
turned her fragile beauty into alarming evil.
Leah was climbing trees with the boys when Amarantha strolled purposefully toward them. All laughter stopped as if it had
been taken from the children's mouths and blown away. Leah was the only one with enough courage to face the
Queen's daughter.
"Your clothes are dirty," young Amarantha pointed out with mock innocence.
"Aye, and so will yours be if you stay," Leah retorted.
"You are nothing but a dirty old boy," the princess accused cruelly. "I heard your mother say so! She is
unhappy that she has you!"
"Nae, nae, that is not true!" Leah shrieked. "Leave, you awful girl! Leave!" In emphasis, Leah kicked a large amount
of dirt onto Princess Amarantha. Angrily the other girl stormed off, black curls bouncing.
As time passed, Leah kept to her old ways. At fourteen, she was old enough to attend court with her mother but was strongly
opposed to it. Exasperated, Elspeth yelled at her and forced her to go. Scowling, Leah slid on her dark, green silk dress,
then looked at herself distastefully in the mirror. She looked like a goddess, with her pale blond hair falling over her shoulders
like a golden waterfall, but she refused to acknowledge the fact. She sat through the royal dinner with a sullen, unhappy face. Queen
Charisia and King Hestel pulled Elspeth aside later on to talk to her.
"Elspeth, we hate to have to tell you this, but..." Charisia's voice faltered and her husband had to
take over.
"If Leah cannot willingly attend court and be cheerful, she will have to leave the castle and live
with someone else," he told the woman.
"But she is still only a child," Leah's mother protested. "Surely you could give her more time?"
"Nae, we cannot. You must tell your daughter to make up her mind: if she will mend her ways she can stay, but otherwise
she must leave."
Elspeth bowed slightly and returned to the table. When she told Leah what had happened, the young girl's face flushed
red with fury. She stood up and glared first at her mother, then at the king and queen.
"So that is all I am to you?" she yelled. "The next in line to 'serve Her Majesty and indulge her every whim'? And
if I don't I must leave the castle? Well, if that must be so, I will stay with someone else who loves me!" Leah
glared at her helpless mother once more before storming out of the grand dining hall.
"That was completely uncalled for," Amarantha stated. She smoothed out her black dress and brushed back her long
raven tresses. Over time she had become even more consumed by vanity.
"Amarantha, hush up," Charisia admonished.
"Nae, I will not!" she objected heatedly. "I do not want my mother and father to be ridiculed in front of the
whole court by a worthless wench who considers herself a--"
"Be still!" King Hestel snapped irritably. Angered, Amarantha continued eating her dinner. Elspeth pushed her
plate aside, quietly excusing herself from the table and running from the room. The court was silent for a long while afterwards
Things got back to normal after awhile. Leah was happy with her new family, and Elspeth had grown accustomed to
the loss of her daughter. Amarantha was the only one who had changed. It was rarely that she was seen outside of her
room, and some of the servants were saying that she was practicing the dark arts. However, no one could prove this.
It was the night of Leah's sixteenth birthday that she was visited by the first shade. It came in a cloak of soft
green light and hovered over the girl in her bed. When she tried to scream, no sound emerged. It was as if the shade had
taken her voice so she couldn't scream and awake her family.
"I am not here to harm you," the shade said, floating away from her. Her voice returned. "I am here to
ask your help."
"My help? What does a shade need my help for?"
"Someone in the royal family is sick--" the shade began.
"Let them die," Leah interrupted coldly. "I have nothing to do with them any longer."
"You must help," the shade insisted. "Do this one thing for them and you will not have to
be bothered by them ever again."
Leah sighed in exasperation. "Tell me what I must do." She sat up in bed and waited with an
expectant look on her face.
"In order to save this person you must bring back three apples from the sacred tree of Or."
The girl leaped from her bed, her ankle-length, pale gold hair flying in disarray. "Are you out of
your mind? Nae, I can see you are not. But I cannot go to the sacred tree! There must be another way!"
"There is no other way," the shade responded, its form beginning to fade. "Go to the tree and get the
apples..." And with that it was gone.
Early next morning, Leah walked the dirt path up to the Castle of the Distant Horizon. She had planned
on consulting the elders of the Royal Council but didn't know if they would accept her or not. Her heart fluttered
nervously as she pulled the rope bell that announced her presence.
"Please state your business," the guard said with a voice that showed he'd done it plenty
of times before.
"Before I state my business, is it true that someone in the royal family is sick?"
"Aye, that is true." The guard eyed her suspiciously, but with a lustful gleam in his eyes. She
glared at him and he went back to what he was saying. "It is the king. He has been sick for months,
but just the other day it took a turn for the worse. We don't know how to help him."
"I know a way, but I must speak to the Royal Council first," Leah told him. "Could you take
me there, please?"
The guard looked her over once more, then nodded. "But don't expect too much from them, for they
don't give advice to just anyone." He turned and led her down the familiar hallways. When they reached
the door, she opened it and walked inside without thanking the guard.
Inside, the council members were quietly discussing one of the many issues plaguing the kingdom of
Dimern. They fell silent as Leah stepped inside, for although they recognized her they never expected
her to show her face in the castle ever again.
"Aye?" The head of the council raised his bushy gray eyebrows expectantly.
"Good morning to you all." Leah walked up until she was only a few feet away from the table. "I am
sorry to be bothering you, but I need to ask a question. Wait, before you say anything, let me explain. Last
night I was visited by a shade."
"A shade?!" the leader echoed. "What lies are you telling us? Go back to your village home, you peasant; you
are not wanted here."
"Nae, I will not leave!" Leah declared vehemently. "You have thrown me out once, and now it's my turn to
say my piece. Now you listen to me, for what I say is true!"
Several people whispered quietly to each other, furtively glancing at Leah. She ignored it and began her
story. Slowly, the whispering stopped and all attention was directed on her. When she finished they were silent. Twenty
pairs of astonished, wondering eyes were fixed on her angry red face.
"You cannot possibly pick apples from the sacred tree of Or," someone murmured. "It is a mortal sin to
do such a thing. Those apples are for the gods."
Leah had by this time retreated into her shell of stubbornness and defiance. "I see it was of no use talking
to you. I thought you would give me good advice, but instead you try to stop me. Do you want your king to die? I
am going to that sacred tree, and I will get those apples." She turned sharply on her heel and walked out of the
council chamber.
The sacred tree of Or was a day's travel on foot, through a forest and a town of thieves. Leah took only her
long ash bow, quiver of arrows, a long hunting knife belted at her waist, and a dagger hidden inside her boot. She
told her foster parents where she was going and left before getting a response.
The day was warm, and the sky was an endless blanket of pale topaz. Leah slowed down as she walked to enjoy as much
as she could of her journey. She unbraided her hair and let the breeze riffle through it, smiling suddenly at how relaxed
she felt. Under the circumstances she should have been in a hurry, but the day was too beautiful to rush by it all. However,
she knew what she had to do and quickened her pace once more.
Inside the short expanse of forestland, the air turned damper and cooler. Sunshine filtered through the thick canopy of
leaves overhead and dappled the ground beneath. Once again Leah slowed down to enjoy the smell of the forest and the sounds
of the animals. She reached the edge of the forest in the late afternoon. As she was walking away, she heard a rustling
behind her. Turning swiftly, she saw a small boy staring at her with wide brown eyes. He looked to only be twelve or
thirteen. Leah smiled at him and he walked over cautiously.
"Don't worry, I don't bite...often," she teased in her usual carefree manner.
"My name is Jiv," the boy replied softly. "I was watching you when you came through the forest."
"Where are your parents?"
"I don't have any."
Leah frowned, then held out her hand. "Well come along with me then, and I'll be your family." Jiv clasped her hand
tightly and walked along beside her. They reached the town of thieves at dusk, when the sky was turning to a gorgeous saffron.
"Isn't that pretty?" Jiv murmured, pointing to the glowing orb setting behind the huge stone castle in the distance: it was
Leah's former home.
"Aye, it is," she agreed. He turned and looked at her.
"You're sad," he declared without question. "Why, Leah? What makes you so sad?"
"We can talk of that later." Leah forced a smile on her face and squeezed the boy's hand quickly in assurance.
For awhile, the town they walked through seemed to be empty of inhabitants. Leah would have rather just gone around the
infamous town, but that would have taken another half a day, and she couldn't afford that. So she and Jiv walked straight through,
their eyes darting to every dark corner and every window and doorway for anything unusual.
Then from up ahead walked out three men, strolling so casually that it seemed as though they had nothing to worry
over. They turned to face Leah and Jiv with evil, leering faces. Jiv became frozen in place, his grip on Leah's hand
loosening. Leah glared back at them, hiding her own fear beneath a mask of anger.
"Behind us," the little boy whispered, without even looking anywhere but ahead. Leah turned and saw five more men
approaching. With quicksilver speed the girl had her bow in hand and an arrow fitted to it. All five went down in seconds. The
remaining three men screamed in horror and ran off. After that, they had no more trouble.
"Jiv, how did you know those men were there without even looking around? I didn't even hear them!"
"My mother--before she died--told me that it was a gift I had, something of value that I should never forget. I
can sense things that others can't."
Leah listened attentively, and with each heartfelt word the boy became more endearing to her. Leah began to feel as if he
actually was a part of her family rather than a vagabond orphan. She smiled down on him and rumpled his dirty brown hair affectionately.
Upon nearing the sacred tree of Or, Leah instructed Jiv to stay back. If she was to become tainted by touching the fruit,
she didn't want Jiv to suffer as well. So he concealed himself in some overgrown shrubs and watched as Leah approached the large,
majestic tree. Its apples shone like small golden orbs in the pale moonlight.
As Jiv crouched within the thick foliage, chills ran over his skin. Something was wrong, but he was so tired that he couldn't
concentrate on the source of the feeling. So he watched in silent anticipation, praying to the gods above that Leah wouldn't be harmed. It
was then that he realized what the feeling was coming from. Clambering noisily out of the bushes, he yelled to Leah.
A group of armor-clad warriors sprung forth from the shadows, their swords drawn and their faces concealed. Leah saw them and drew her bow,
glaring at them menacingly. The warriors had lost their surprise attack, however, and began to retreat, seeing no point in furthering the
attack. Leah quirked an eyebrow in puzzlement but kept her gaze fixed on the warriors until she was sure they were gone. She thanked Jiv
but told him to stay where he was and then turned back to the tree.
It's a mortal sin to pick apples from that tree, Leah thought, the council's shocked words running through her mind. Her
slender hand hesitated as it reached up to pick one of the apples, her eyes searching for some other alternative. It was then that she
noticed several apples lying on the ground, shining just as brightly as those on the tree. Grinning, Leah grabbed three of them and rejoined
Jiv.
"You got them," Jiv murmured, an admiring smile on his face. "And you didn't take them off the tree, either. That's good, right?"
"Aye Jiv." Leah smiled and clasped his small hand. "That's very good."
On the way back, Leah and Jiv met up with another person. This time it was a dwarf whose name was Gilan. He had been thrown out of his
community because he was different, so Leah automatically sympathized with him. He joined their small group, bringing with him his strength,
skill with weapons, and brutal honesty.
The council members were horrified when Leah produced the golden apples, for not only was she a social outcast, but now a heavenly outcast
as well. After Leah explained her story they calmed down, but Amarantha was in a rage when she found out later. No one understood why, but she
didn't emerge from her room at all for the rest of that day.
Jiv and Gilan went to live in the nearby forest, but made Leah promise to visit them all the time. She promised, then went back to her
home and fell asleep almost immediately. The journey had been long, and she hadn't slept for awhile.
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