Long, long ago, in the kingdom of Neige, there lived a witch so powerful that nothing and no one could match her. Rumor had it that she used her evil wand and stagnant water to poison the region of Cours Florissante. This gossip went far beyond mere chatter.
A stolen cow? It was the witch's fault. A child eaten by a pig? It was her fault again. A fire, a fight, any illness became an easy excuse for accusations. These had grown so widespread that the very existence of this enchantress was reported to the king of the country. He immediately sent his men to search for the evil woman, but they returned empty-handed at the slightest allegation. This charade continued for days, even months, without finding any trace of her. It even went so far as to pull a few hairs from the regent's head.
So let me tell you the story of Damien, an exiled prince who became a hunter, and Alaën, a sorcerer cursed to turn into a fox. Although this part in the kingdom of Neige was important, let's go back much further.
It was a year ago, when Damien's brother's country fell into the hands of a cruel partridge. A demon bird that terrorized the land of Aurora. It was then, through a strange grudge, that the Kingdom of Twilight fell. It began to wither, the animals died, and the inhabitants fell asleep. Brambles grew so high that they formed a barrier. The region was barricaded.
Damien, who had become a hunter after his exile, heard the news and set off for the lair of this harpy. The young man rode for days and nights and finally reached his long-awaited destination.
After falling into various traps and managing to escape, he finally arrived at a huge steel door.
Observing his struggles and efforts closely, noticing the bravery of this human, the partridge decided to meet him. She hoped to find an adversary worthy of her.
"Sir hunter, by your courage, tell me what brings you here."
"I beg you, Lady Partridge, to lift your curse..."
The demoness lost her temper:
"How dare you! Partridge, get out of here!"
And she raised her arm to strike the shameless opportunist. But Damien replied:
"I beg your pardon, Lady Partridge, how about a bet?"
His interlocutor lowered her claw, surprised by the unexpected request. A sharp-toothed grin appeared on her feathered face:
"That is an amusing proposition, to say the least, Sir Hunter."
Damien held his breath and then exhaled. Even though the danger had begun, he did not relax. With clenched fists and furrowed brow, he waited. And the rest soon followed. The grouse's smile deepened, without losing its sinister gleam.
"How about accomplishing three tasks?" she asked, raising three of her claws. "In return, the life of the Twilight Kingdom will be saved. If you succeed perfectly, I will disappear from this land. You will have three months to do so. Not a day more, otherwise," the partridge sneered, "you will be mine."
Damien accepted without thinking. Without thinking for a moment that, in the near future, he would regret this decision. The room, the lair, and the demon vanished in the blink of an eye. A scroll landed in his hands. He put it in his bag and set off for the Black Forest, the location of his first quest.
What the bird and Damien hadn't imagined was the presence of a fox. It had hidden among the stones and eavesdropped on the conversation. How had it ended up there? In fact, it had been following Damien from the beginning, resting only very rarely. With a little magic, it had managed to enter the room unnoticed. Once the two figures had left, shortly after midnight, the animal transformed into a young man with dark skin and curly hair. Frowning, he exclaimed:
"Damned partridge, after stealing my powers and turning me into an ordinary fox, you want to touch what belongs to me? See how I will kill you!"
Then he disappeared. This fox, named Alaën, was a well-known sorcerer in the Kingdom of Snow. After being damned and wounded by this partridge, he had been rescued by Damien. By spending time with him, he had fallen in love. And it was only through his death, at the hands of the one he desired, that he could be saved.
***
Setting off on foot, Damien rented a horse. After two days and one night, he finally arrived at the edge of the forest. He crossed paths with a young man with a melancholy expression.
"Can I help you with anything?" he asked as soon as he was close to him.
The golden-haired individual met his gaze. His face lit up and his full lips formed a bright smile.
"Certainly!" he exclaimed.
Touched, Damien introduced himself:
"Damien, at your service...?"
"Blaire," he replied before letting out a long sigh. He continued. "You see, an old witch lives in an ancient castle in the Black Forest. My fiancée and I were walking when she turned my Isabeau into a dove and took her away."
The end of his sentence turned into a sob. Damien, unfamiliar with this kind of love, patted him on the back to calm him down. Then Blaire continued his story.
"You see, we got lost, and, worried about night falling, we got too close to these ruins. That's what led to this misfortune. To save Isabeau, I need to find the blood-red flower. But I'm just a poor shepherd, and this flower is fiercely protected. I beg you for your help."
Damien thought, so this is my first quest. Feeling a migraine coming on, he asked:
"How much time do you have before it's too late, Blaire?"
Damien raised an eyebrow. Blaire hesitated, then continued, embarrassed.
"Until tomorrow, at first light."
Damien killed himself. One more day and it would have gone badly. Through gritted teeth, he ordered:
"Take me to the place."
After passing through the twisted branches along the path, they arrived at a cave with a cluttered entrance. The hunter went inside and turned to Blaire, saying:
"Wait for me."
Then the man continued into the dark passageway. The darkness inside did not help him to move quickly. He took a candle and a single match out of his bag. Then he continued on his way with sure steps. Alaën, who had arrived at the same time as him, followed him like a shadow. He made no sound to betray his presence.
At times, the corridor became rather narrow, almost extinguishing the hunter's candle. He reached a larger passageway where he could move more easily. He stepped on an old slab and, despite his extreme caution, Damien unwittingly activated a trap. It fired several arrows, which he deftly avoided. However, luck was not on his side, and soon a trapdoor opened, releasing a torrent of stagnant water.
Seeing this happen, Alaën cried out to warn the man. Damien dodged once more. With the danger averted, he turned around, but saw no one. Yet he was sure he had heard a yelp. The sorcerer, petrified in his animal form, hid as best he could behind some rubble. He waited there for a while before continuing on his way when the hunter left. This time, he was careful not to make a sound.
Damien moved forward cautiously, accompanied by his single candle and his silent follower. When he reached the crypt where the priceless artifact was located, he stopped. At the foot of a leafless tree lay a flower as red as blood and as bright as fire, with no sign of danger. Slowly and cautiously, he approached the plant before bending down.
The hunter knew full well that such a precious and, on top of that, shiny material had to be protected. And then, if the partridge had put this task on the list, there had to be a trap somewhere. Just as he seemed about to pick the bud, a huge python emerged from the ground, shaking the cellar, before lunging at Damien.
Damien reached for his hip and grabbed his dagger. Ready to fight, limbs tense, he narrowly dodged the snake's tail as it lunged toward him.
Damien parried, was struck, dodged, and attacked. Just as he was about to be crushed by the reptile, a shadow leaped in front of him to protect him, albeit a little bruised. Time stood still for a moment before resuming immediately. Their eyes met, then looked away. What had saved him was a fox with a fiery coat, fluffy ears, and a soft tail. The animal stared at the monster calmly, almost disdainfully.
The wyvern had detached itself from the annoying human, its red eyes fixed on the quadruped. Cautiously, the hunter moved slowly toward the flower before stopping five steps away, watching the animals' every move. The fox began to growl, the snake to hiss. Alaën, slightly faster, leaped toward the snake. A fierce battle ensued. It lasted a long time, much harder than the previous one, and Alaën nearly lost an eye. The snake lost its life.
Damien had remained motionless during the fight. Having observed the snake's defeat, he approached the flower and picked it. The fox wizard turned to the hunter. Seeing him safe and sound, the flower in his hands, Alaën disappeared.
As he fled, he thought, embarrassed: Hmph, it's not because I like you that I did it!
Damien, who had approached the fox, found himself empty-handed when he saw it run away before he could thank it. Sighing, Damien made his way back and found the shepherd boy waiting impatiently for him. The hunter had spent more than half the night in the cave, and the appointed time was fast approaching. As soon as Blaire saw the man, he couldn't contain himself and tremblingly approached him.
Attracted by the blood-red flower in his benefactor's bag, Blaire reached out his hand. But he was pushed away by Damien, who had become suspicious as soon as he left the crypt. "We don't know what that damn partridge might do. It's better to be cautious," he thought. So, he said a little harshly:
"Blaire, my friend, how about you guide me to the old tower? I doubt we have much time left," he finished, scanning the brightening sky.
Blaire gave him an embarrassed look:
"This way."
They quickly reached the location of the keep. The ruins of the black stone castle cast a sinister glow over the clearing. Vigilant, Damien remained motionless with his back turned, thus avoiding the suspicions of the foolish man behind him. Blaire, trembling, took the opportunity to pull out his knife, furtively, he thought, and then pointed it at Damien.
"If I were you, I wouldn't do anything," Damien began. "Unless you don't want to save your sweetheart."
Blaire jumped, dropping his weapon. The hunter had never met anyone more fearful. Although his dear brother seemed to be of the same ilk. Idiots in love, incapable of seeing the malice in someone who, nevertheless, resembled a poisonous insect.
Damien insisted:
"What did that goose promise you? Isabeau's safe release, along with my death? Or perhaps my capture?"
"I... I'm sorry! If I didn't do it, the demon!"
"And you thought that by doing that, you'd get what you wanted? It was by making promises like that that my idiot brother lost his kingdom and his love," continued the hunter contemptuously. "Do you think Isabeau would be proud of you if she knew what you'd done? You'd have been better off not listening to that old witch!"
His arms trembling with fear at this dark truth, Blaire's legs gave way.
"I'm sorry!" he apologized repeatedly.
"Feeling sorry for yourself won't help us complete this task and save your sweetheart."
The two men entered the tower and wandered through the dilapidated corridors before arriving at a large wooden door. Damien turned to Blaire and handed her the precious flower. When the young lover held it in his hand, the petals opened to reveal a pearl so white and shiny that even the moon could not compare. Blaire grabbed it and approached the entrance. It opened onto a huge room filled with more than a thousand cages. In each of them, parakeets, nightingales, pigeons, and doves were locked away.
Shocked by her discovery, Blaire began to stammer:
"How am I going to find my Isabeau?"
Damien, exasperated, snapped at her:
— For God's sake, are you finished? When your fiancée was transformed, what was she doing? Like, I don't know how to sing or dance?
"I... I don't remember!" replied Blaire, panicked, "and anyway, if it was a song, how could anyone make out the words amid all this cacophony!"
Damien barely managed to stop himself from hitting him when a movement made him turn around. In the middle of a pile of empty cages, a fox stood motionless. It was as if it knew they would follow it. The hunter recognized it immediately. He was delighted to see that its magnificent coat was unblemished. Grabbing his foolish companion by the arm, he began to weave his way between the suspended aviaries.
Alaën waited patiently for them, his tail moving slowly from right to left. His outstretched paw pointed in a particular direction. The hunter shifted his gaze to the specified spot. He didn't wonder why the animal looked strangely human. Perhaps it was, and that intrigued him. Next to the fox, an old mother was stuck between two rocks. It looked as if she had tried to escape but was unable to move.
"Well, Mother, you're in quite a predicament."
"I don't have to answer to you, hunter," she replied disdainfully, despite her position.
The young man behind Damien spoke up:
"That's a fine way to go, old witch."
Blaire approached with confident steps. As the petals of the blood-red flower touched the sorceress, she let out a guttural cry before collapsing. Losing all her powers, she disintegrated.
The cages opened one by one, gradually releasing the transformed young girls. Once freed from the spell, they disappeared, leaving behind a ravishing Isabeau with long brown braided hair amid the feathers. The two lovers, finally reunited, rushed toward each other and embraced tightly.
Blaire! Isabeau! they called out to each other as they embraced.
Turning away from the two fiancés, Damien looked toward the fox, but it had flown away. He felt a sense of loss. Who was he? And why was he helping him? A distant memory of saving someone resurfaced, but it disappeared just as quickly.
He wanted to thank him. His intuition told him that they would meet again very soon. He couldn't wait! Damien led the couple back to the edge of the Black Forest.
"My fiancé and I thank you for your service. And we ask your forgiveness," she concluded, turning to Blaire, who remained silent. Blaire! Say something!
"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly before smiling and saying, "Thank you."
Damien sighed, placing a hand on his forehead, and laughed as he said:
"It was the right thing to do. Have a wonderful wedding," he added as he turned away.
He climbed onto his horse, leaving behind the bride and groom who thanked him loudly. Then he rode off toward his next mission.