Ellowynthe

Any resemblance to anyone alive or dead is simply a fluke. All characters are 18 years of age or older. Thanks to Selenakittyn for her edit, and Dampy for the idea.

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Ellowynthe lit upon a budding cherry tree. She was a wood sprite, a magical creature of the forest. Ellowynthe had never been to this village before. It sat at the northernmost regions of the land.

Spring had arrived and the snow had retreated to the base of the surrounding mountains. Bits of budding plant life were visible in the countryside. The sun had regained its warmth and shone down upon the land and the people.

She looked at the villagers with interest. It looked like it was a festival day. The villagers were dressed in their best finery. The women all had bright ribbons tied in their hair—red and blue ribbons for betrothed women, yellow and violet for women that were promised to a man, and white and green ribbons for maidens that were available for courting. Men that were married and those men awaiting marriage wore feathers in their hats, single men wore nothing in their hats.

It was the festival of Neuvenschlatt, the new planting. Today the village would celebrate, and tomorrow the planting would begin. This festival was to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of a new year. A successful festival would ensure a good harvest.

Tables were lined up in the main square of the village. Women labored at their stoves and ovens preparing dishes that had been handed down from mother to daughter for generations. Breads and cakes of all sorts were heaped upon the tables. Smoked meats and cheeses were placed on platters. Dried fruits stewed in bowls laced with sugar and brandy.

Farmers from the surrounding area brought in casks and kegs of wines and ales. Some of the wines had been put down nearly a generation ago and were well-aged. Men spoke in hushed tones of vintages of years gone by. The ales and lagers had been brewed from the grains that had been harvested the previous autumn.

At the head of the main table sat two empty places, these were the places for Vadervynte, the winter spirit and, Vaderzummi, the spirit of spring and summer. The best of everything was placed on plates of silver as offerings to the whimsical spirits of the seasons. It was the farewell meal for Vadervynte, and the welcoming meal for Vaderzummi.

The villagers sat at the tables with the men at one side, and the women at the other. The eligible bachelors and maidens sat at their own table. Many a marriage had been the result of the pairing at this table. The seating arrangements at this table were supposed to be a random pairing, but it was common knowledge that arrangements were sometimes made to pair up certain young men with certain young women.

Ellowynthe assumed the form of a brown chickadee and flew close enough to hear the conversations of the villagers. A small group of the young eligible girls stood huddled near the tree that Ellowynthe sat in and were discussing who they hoped they would be paired up with. This year was uncommon in that there were exactly the same number of boys and girls. No one would forced to sit by themselves this year It was considered to be an ill omen to sit alone at a table with no one of the opposite sex across from them.

"Oh, I don't care who I get," remarked Jillith.

Leyna carefully straightened her top and gave the other girls a haughty look. "Well, I know who I will be across from. My mother paid three gold crowns to assure that Johann sits across from me." Leyna was beyond pretty. She was perfect and her long blonde hair shone like the sun. Her skin was smooth and creamy and she had eyes the color of the sky on a clear winter day. Some of the older women would comment that maybe her top was cinched in a bit too much and that her blouse showed just a little too much cleavage.

While Leyna may have been the most physically attractive of all the girls in the village, she was not well-liked. Her obsession with her beauty, and her obsession with getting what she wanted, no matter what the cost, had left her with few real friends.

Lisa lifted her soft brown eyes from the ground. "I'm with Jillith. I don't care who I get, as long as he is nice."

Leyna's voice was almost a sneer. "If that's the way you feel, then I hope you get Sven."

Several of the other girls tittered and covered their mouths. Sven was considered by most of the girls to be the most unattractive of all of the possible prospects. If any of them were to explain why they found Sven unattractive, they would be hard pressed to find a concrete reason. The seeds of dislike for Sven had been planted by Leyna years ago in school for an incident that was long forgotten.

Rheanna made a sour face. "I think I would sooner sit with a pig than have to sit with Sven." She was about the only girl that liked Leyna. She was a lot like Leyna, pretty and shallow and she came from a well-to-do family.

Ellowynthe didn't know much about people, but she decided she didn't care much for the one called Leyna. She could feel why Leyna wanted Johann. It wasn't so much that she liked him, it was more that Leyna saw there would be advantages with Johann due to the stature of his family in the land. There would be opportunities for Leyna to leave the village and be seen in the court of the King. Ellowynthe flitted off in her chickadee form and set about trying to find the boy called Sven. She wanted to see him for herself.

The boys were found gathered around a small cask of ale that one of them had spirited away from the square. Their faces were bright with mischief and glee. Laughter continually rang out as they talked.

Ellowynthe immediately sensed that the aversion the girls had for Sven was not shared by the boys.

Olaf wiped some of the foam from the ale from his lip. "Sven, which of the girls do you want to be across from?"

Sven blushed and shook his head. "It matters not a whit to me. None of them seem to care much for me anyway."

Sven's father's farm was one of the poorest in the area. More than once, villagers had joked that his land always produced the best crop of rocks in the area. As a result Sven was poor and it reflected in his clothing. Sven's shirt was clean, but the collar and cuffs were frayed in places. His vest was well-worn and had seen better days. Signs of fine mending were visible here and there on his trousers. His boots were clean and polished, but worn out.

Ellowynthe could feel Sven's soul deep inside of her and there was a richness to it. He was a simple and honest boy, full of kindness. Ellowynthe smiled. She liked what she felt. There was a love of nature in him that she found attractive. He was tall and lean, his face tanned from being outdoors. There was great strength in his arms and shoulders from working the land on his father's farm.

"What about you, Johann, do you think that you will be paired up with, Leyna?" Olaf grinned. It was correctly assumed by the boys that Leyna's mother would have paid out money to ensure her daughter got what she wanted.

"I hope not." Johann took another swig of the ale from his mug. "I was hoping for Jillith."

Mikhail joked, "I pity the poor fellow that Leyna traps. I know not if there will be enough room in the wedding chamber for him, her, and her swelled head."

A bell rang out announcing it was time for the celebration to start. The eligible boys sat in order of eldest to youngest. The girls lined up by age to draw a piece of paper with a number written on it from a silver bowl. Ellowynthe watched, when it came to Leyna's turn, the woman slipped a piece of paper with a number on it into Leyna's hand.

Leyna smiled as she looked at her slip of paper, and then took her place across the table from Johann. "I am so surprised that I got you."

Olaf nudged Sven in the ribs and whispered. "Oh yes, big surprise there. I wonder how much her mother paid out?"

Sven didn't say anything. He just chuckled under his breath and nodded his head. He wondered who he would get. Sven didn't really care. He just wanted the celebration to be done with.

When Jillith sat down across from Sven, he felt slightly better. At least she had never been openly antagonistic towards him, although perhaps not exactly friendly towards him. Jillith nodded politely at Sven and tried to ignore the snickers of derision coming from Leyna and Rheanna.

Ellowynthe was too busy watching the young people at the table to see the small boys creeping up behind the tree where she was perched. All she felt was a blinding pain as a rock struck her in the back of the head. Stunned, she fell to the ground.

"I got it! I got it!" yelled the boy who through the rock.

His friend yelled excitedly, "You killed it! You got it with your first rock."

Sven frowned at the two boys and got up from his chair and picked up the small bird in his large hand. "Why did you do this?" He looked at the two boys standing before him.

"'Tis only a chickadee, who cares?" sneered the boy that had thrown the rock.

"Was the chickadee threatening you?" asked Sven. "Perhaps you were hungry and wanted to make a meal of the bird?" With a gentle touch Sven stroked the feathers of the small bird. "It would seem that this bird would make a pretty meager meal for lads like you."

The second boy was about to say something when Sven stood up and towered over both the young boys. "Just because you are bigger and strong, that is no reason to pick on a creature that is so much smaller and weaker."

Both boys understood Sven's implied meaning and scurried off to find their parents. Sven returned to his seat and looked at the small, brown bird in his hand. He smiled as he felt the rapid jackhammer beat of the small bird's heart and saw the blink of its eye.

Leyna pursed her lips and her face had a look of disdain. "Oh, Sven, you big bully. Those boys were only having fun. It's only some dumb little bird."

Normally Sven would have just accepted her comment and would have made no reply. Not today. He leveled his grey-blue eyes at Leyna. "Perhaps you have forgotten what today is. It's Nuevenschlatt, the day we celebrate the rebirth of the earth. Do you think in killing this little bird that we are in keeping with the meaning of this day?" He extended his hand, the chickadee still cupped in his palm, towards Leyna. "What did this little bird do to deserve to be killed today? You may take delight in the suffering of others, but I do not."

Leyna wasn't used to someone standing up to her. She went to say something, her mouth opened and closed several times, some of the boys would joke later that she looked like a trout feeding at the lake.

The titters of derision towards Sven halted and some of the girls looked down at their laps. His words rang true in some of their ears. Satisfied that he had made his point Sven brought his hand back to his lap where he continued to stroke the chickadee's small head.

Ellowynthe regained her senses and began to make chirping noises.

Sven looked down at the little bird. "It looks like you are going to be fine, my little feathered friend." He stood up and let the small bird hop from his hand to the branch.

The mood of the celebration had been dampened, however. The normally loud and boisterous table of young men and women was subdued. After the meal was finished and the tables cleared away, everyone gathered around the tall oak tree in the village square.

The youngest of the villagers formed a circle around the tree. The single villagers formed the second circle and the married folk formed the final ring. The local musicians began to play songs of spring and of rebirth. The people danced around the tree, never breaking their circles. The local priest said a blessing to the spirits and that was the end of the formal celebration.

They began the informal celebration with the musicians playing late into the night. The people danced and sung the night away. Sven was not part of the gaiety, as soon as the formal festivities concluded, Sven bade everyone a good evening and began his walk home.

It had touched Ellowynthe that Sven had come to her rescue. The compassion that he had shown to a small bird warmed her spirit. She thought he must be remarkable. As Sven walked, she flitted from tree to tree and watched him.

Sven looked up at the small bird and smiled. "Are you following me home, little winged one? You can ride on my shoulder if your wings should become tired." He laughed as the little bird seemed to twitter back at him. To Sven's utter amazement, the tiny bird flew down from the tree and landed upon his shoulder.

He reached up and stroked the bird's head and back with his forefinger. "I am glad for the company. What would you have us talk about, if you could talk?"

Ellowynthe chirped away. She felt a fondness growing for this man. He was so big, so strong, and yet, so very gentle.

As Sven began to walk, he replied to the bird on his shoulder, "Which of the girls did I like? None really, none of them care for me." He nodded as Ellowynthe sang back a delightful warble. "No, I don't see a wife in my future." He glanced over at the bird. "No, it doesn't bother me. I have never had a wife, so, how could I miss having what I have never had? I expect I will spend my life taking care of the ground that is mine. I will put the love I would have had for a wife into caring for the earth."

She felt a great sadness for the man. She could feel the love that burned inside of him. There was a passion for things living inside of him that she thought that she only possessed.

The moon had risen, full and bright. A shimmering white glow that seemed magical covered the land in a silvery blanket of light.

"Do you have any children, Mrs. Chickadee?" Sven asked. "I suppose that is what I will miss. I was looking forward to having a son and a daughter. One for the wife to teach the ways of a woman, how to cook, and how to sew. And one for me, to teach the ways of the land and of the forest. Two for the both us to teach how to be loving and kind."

A new feeling came over Ellowynthe, one that she had never experienced before. Love. She never wanted to be separated from this man. She flitted off of Sven's shoulder and landed on the ground several paces ahead of him. Closing her eyes, she made the transformation from a bird into a young woman.

Sven gasped as he saw Ellowynthe change from a bird into a woman. "Ho there! What kind of trickery is this?"

She smiled. "The trickery of a wood sprite. My name is Ellowynthe and I mean you no harm. You saved me in the village, and for that, my life should be forfeit to you."

He looked at the woman that stood before him. He had never seen anything like her before. She was tall, almost as tall as he was. Her arms and legs were long and slender, her features soft and delicate. Sven could find no words to describe her beauty—she was like the summer sunset, the winter dawn, and like the flowers that bloomed on the mountains. The way her golden tresses cascaded over her shoulders reminded Sven of a waterfall in a mountain stream. Her eyes were the green of an emerald, they sparkled and danced in the moonlight. The garment that she wore was unlike anything Sven had seen before. It was like finely spun gossamer and was so sheer he could almost see through it.

Sven shook his head and looked down at the ground. "No milady, you owe me nothing. I did naught what any good man should do."

Ellowynthe took a couple of paces forward and raised her hand to his cheek. "Then I offer myself unto you of my own free will." She leaned up and kissed him on the lips and held them there. She felt his arms like the branches of the mighty oak wrap around her.

When her lips touched his, something happened to Sven, it was like the flashes of lightning of a summer storm in his mind. He felt his manhood rise and stiffen and press against her. Sven felt no embarrassment, for reasons unknown to him—he wanted her to feel his readiness.

A fire built within Ellowynthe like nothing before. She felt his hardness against her body and she wanted to touch it, to feel it inside her. She wanted him to join with her and to make the two them as one.

She reached down and with her slender fingers, she undid the lace that kept his trousers closed. Ellowynthe reached inside and grasped his swollen heat with her cool hand.

His hands roamed over her silky-smooth garment, and he found the tie that held it all together. He pulled it and watched as she stood back and let her clothing drop to the ground. His eyes feasted upon her body. Sven undid his vest, and then his shirt. He slipped off his boots, and then his trousers. He faced her nakedness with his own. His manhood jutting proudly out and up towards the moon.

Ellowynthe took Sven by the hand and she lay on the soft, green spring grass and opened herself to him. She guided his thick manhood between her legs and felt him drive deep within her. The momentary pain of his entry was replace with an overwhelming feeling of joy. Their bodies moved as one under the silvery moonlight.

Sven had never imagined that something could feel as amazing as this. The way her body felt wrapped around him was nothing like the whispering he had heard from the other boys. He felt so whole and so complete with Ellowynthe. Her green eyes almost glowed as her passion reached its pinnacle.

They cried out together as they felt the heavens and earth collide and his seed was loosed deep within her.

Sven lay beside her, spent. His hand brushed the hair from her eyes. He felt so full and alive. Nothing in his young life had prepared him for the feelings he had just experienced.

He touched her face with his fingers, so soft and delicate. "I don't want this night to ever end."

Ellowynthe smiled. "I am yours now. I cannot go back to what I was. I will live the rest of my life as your wife." She paused for a moment and looked into his face. "That is, if you will have me."

His voice was as soft as the breezes of a summer evening. "Yes, I will have you, if you will have me. How can I have you, though, if you are a creature of magic?"

A smile formed on her face, her voice full of joy. "Because, when you entered me, you have given me a child. I cannot return now to what I once was."

Sven and Ellowynthe were wed a few weeks later. Whispers flew around the village like crows to the corn fields at harvest time. Where had she come from? Did anyone know her? Some of the young women, especially Leyna, were resentful of Ellowynthe's beauty.

The years flew by. They were blessed with three children, two girls and a boy. The twin girls, Ash and Aspen, looked like their mother, and the son, Alder, looked much like his father. Sven and Ellowynthe were rich. It wasn't a richness of gold or money. It was a richness of happiness and of health. The richness of hard work rewarded. The richness of kindness to friends and strangers alike. The richness of true love. Like a sapling growing into a tree, their love for each other grew year after year.

Sven's farm was the envy of the area. Where once it seemed that only rocks would grow, Sven's crops flourished. In dry times, it always seemed a passing cloud would open up and let loose with some rain as it passed their farm. When the hail came, it always seemed to other farmers that it would just miss Sven's crops.

Ellowynthe's beauty and grace only seemed to increase with age. It hardly seemed possible, but Sven seemed to get taller and stronger with time.

After their children were grown and married, their son took over the farm. It was announced that Ellowynthe and Sven were going on a journey to visit Ellowynthe's family in a faraway land. They traveled far over the sea to a land of magical creatures. Ellowynthe and Sven were welcomed there with open arms. They lived out the remainder of their years in this mystical land.