Sanctuary

Sanctuary

         I stood alone on the cliff above the waterfall, knowing that I shouldn’t be there.  The sliver of a moon gave off very little light though the sky was clear, letting the faint glimmer of starlight wash over the silent forest beneath me.  The roar of the falls drowned out all other sounds and there wasn’t even the hint of movement in the forest below.  There was a hushed anticipation in the air coupled with a sense of slumbering magic slowly stirring back to life.
         My father would have soundly whipped me if he had known I was there; all my people knew that the Sanctuary was a holy place that must remain inviolate.  Not even the wisemen of our tribe remembered why anymore; they just handed down the dictates that their grandfathers had passed on.  Curiosity had stirred in me and I had dared to break the rules that night for the first time in my young life.  I never knew why it must be but I knew that I simply had to see the Sanctuary with my own eyes.
         I gazed down in wonder at the ancient forest, so strange to my eyes and was inexplicably drawn to its power and its majesty.  My tribe lived in grass huts on the plains beside the mighty river that formed the falls.  There were trees in our lands but nothing like the massive specimens that grew in abundance in the Sanctuary.
         Something in the night air encouraged my madness and even urged further daring from me.  Why was this place called the Sanctuary?  Why was it a holy place to my people?  The stories said that once the tribe was welcome in the Sanctuary where they took communion with the magical spirits that dwelled there but that there was a misunderstanding that led to our exile from the Sanctuary.  Nearly a woman grown, I found it hard to place much stock in such silly tales even if they were the most cherished tales of my ancestors.
         I stepped closer to the edge of the cliff but could see no safe way down into the Sanctuary.  I greatly desired to walk amongst those trees, a desire that was both new and strange, but could see no way to achieve my desire.  Finally, I started to turn away to sneak back into the village and my abandoned bed before I was missed.
         It must have been the glint of moonlight that drew my eye to the steep, heavily eroded stair cut into the cliff wall.  I certainly had no idea it was there before that night and would not have known where to seek it even if I had known of its existence.  I could see that the way would be perilous and one slip would mean my doom.  I even told myself that there was no guarantee that the stair even went all the way to the bottom but no logical argument could dissuade my foolish heart that night.
         I made my way down the stair cautiously with only the light of a sliver of a moon to guide my way, cursing myself a fool for not bringing a torch.  There were several places where the stairs were so badly eroded that they no longer formed a level place to stand and I had to stretch across these gaps.  The descent was difficult and twice, I nearly turned aside from my ill-considered course.  Both times, I persevered and in due time, I made it safely to the bottom.
         There was even less light here on the forest floor than there had been on the cliff, the trees blocking the light of moon and stars alike.  I stood gazing around in wonder for a few moments, reluctant to leave the base of the stair for fear of being unable to find it again.
         Finally, I moved away from the stair, pushing deeper into the thick foliage.  I could smell the freshness of growing things, the musty scent of the earth and the tang of pure, clear water all around me, though the only sound was still the roar of the falls.  I walked for what seemed a very long time, making my way deeper into the forest.  I had lost all sense of direction soon after leaving the stair and could have been walking in circles for all that I knew.
         Ahead of me, the trees suddenly seemed less dense and I caught glimpses of flickering lights dancing in the air.  Drawn by these strange lights, I willingly followed in the direction that they led.  Before long, I found myself in a small clearing filled with the dancing lights.  One came towards me and I instinctively put out my hand for it to land upon.
         I was startled to realize that I held a tiny woman with golden wings in my hand.  She was completely naked but heart-stoppingly beautiful with long golden tresses that matched her wings.  The light radiated from her entire body so that when in flight, she would appear as simply a dancing light.  She weighed nothing in my hand, being as light as air on her strange perch.
         “Come and dance with us,” she invited and flew back to the others.
         Enchanted, I walked out into the clearing among the fairies.  My heart was lighter than it had ever been, filled with an intense joy and a profound peace.  There was music in the air though I knew not its source.  Uninhibited, I began to dance with the fairies, delighted by the curiosity they showed towards me.
         I don’t know how long I leapt and twirled among them, free of doubt or worry.  It seemed as if time stood still it that place until the peace was shattered by an angry male voice.
         “You don’t belong here, mortal,” he declared in a voice that seemed as loud as thunder.
         Startled, I ceased my dancing and turned towards him, noticing out of the corner of my eye that the fairies had fled from his anger.  In his wrath, he was the most beautiful and terrible being I had ever laid eyes upon.  He was taller than my father with long flowing hair of the purest white and his eyes were the deepest green that I had ever seen.  He was dressed in strange flowing garments of a shimmering gold and he wore a silver circlet upon his brow.  He radiated age, power, wisdom, and, at the moment, an all encompassing wrath.
         “I meant no harm,” I told him in a voice that sounded weak to my ears.
         He seemed startled by my reaction to him, the way that I shrunk from his anger.  He blinked those dark eyes and regarded me more closely.  “You’re barely more than a child,” he observed.  “How came you to be here?”
         “There’s a stair,” I explained, “by the waterfall.”
         He looked even more surprised.  “You should not have been able to see it,” he stated, crossing his arms over his chest.  “It should have been cloaked to your eyes.”
         I shrugged uncomfortably.  “I almost missed it,” I admitted.
         He released his anger suddenly and put out a hand for me.  “The powers have their own reasons for bringing you here,” he declared.  “Come with me.”
         I could no more have refused his command than I could have given up breathing.  I put my hand into his and he drew me close to him as he set out deeper into this magical place.  The fairies returned, dancing around us as we walked, though they seemed more of an annoyance to him.
         “Who are you?” I dared to ask.
         “I am Vaulderon,” he replied, holding back a tree branch for me.  “And I am lord here.”
         Curiosity has ever been my greatest fault in my father’s eyes and that night was no exception.  “What is this place, really?” I asked.  “My people call it the Sanctuary but it seems so much more than that.”
         He smiled then and I am certain there was no more beautiful sight under heaven as his smile.  “It is a good enough name for this place,” he decided.  “This is one of the last places in this world where the old powers still hold sway.  Too many of the sacred places have been defiled by mortals, destroyed by their profanity.”
         Somehow, that made me immeasurably sad.  “The wisemen say that once my ancestors were welcome here but no longer,” I told him.  “Why is that my people aren’t welcome anymore?”
         There was an ironic look in his ancient eyes.  “Their choice, not mine,” he replied.  “Once, the people of your tribe lived here under my rule and protection.  They were as precious to me as children of my own body would have been and as spoiled.  They wished to see more of the world, to taste of its delights.  I warned them that if they left, they could never return until their hearts were once again made pure.  They did not heed my warning and chose instead to leave.”
         “And how are their hearts made pure again that they might return?”
I have never seen such sorrow as showed in his face at that moment.  “I do not know,” he admitted.  “I only know that you are the first to return by the stair.  Only those who can see and descend the stair are pure enough of heart to be made welcome here.”
         That surprised me.  “Does that mean I am welcome here?” I asked.
         He smiled again, pure love for me in his eyes.  “As long as you want to be,” he replied.  “For a moment, this single night or until the stars fall from the sky as you choose.”  He stopped and, leaning forward, pressed a tender kiss to my brow.  “I would hope that you wished to remain with me, as your ancestors did not.”
         I nodded, wide eyed in wonder.  I could not imagine ever wanting to leave this magical place of peace to return to the hard life that is the lot of a woman of my tribe.  “I’d like to stay,” I told him, my voice barely more than a whisper.
         He smiled at me and wrapped an arm around my waist.  “Then stay, my child,” he invited.  “I’ve waited a very long time for you.”
         Thus did my life truly begin, that night in a place known only as the Sanctuary.  It was that night that I learned what it was to be loved unconditionally when I entered the court of my fae lord.