Lila worked in a tavern within the castle gates. The other maids bullied her in envy of her beauty and the attention she would receive. One day, after being beaten and dragged outside, a ragged boy with one arm came by with a kerchief. He spat in it and began to dab the abrasions around her forehead. Lila, in her delirium, envisioned being kissed by the old tavern owner who would often make his way with her. She flailed wildly, cursing at the boy. As the boy staggered away, Lila muttered oaths about the revenge she would have against her abusers.
Years later, the boy with one arm grew into a young man known as Edgar. Working in the castle, he would launder the clothes for the royal family.
One day, Edgar was walking down the street carrying a bundle of new robes for the prince. He saw Lila sitting alone with a broken nose, checking for missing teeth. Dashing behind a corner, he began to change into the satin garments, wetting his hair and styling it. With all the courage he could muster, he straightened himself up and walked up to Lila.
"What is the matter, young woman?" he said, in his most regal voice.
Lila was astonished by the princely-looking man taking an interest in her. She looked down in shame knowing her appearance would be frightful. Patting her arm, Edgar told her, “Come with me, my dear,” and pulled her up. “This isn’t the life for you.”
Lila could not believe her fortune. In a daze, she followed the young prince. Perhaps he found her attractive despite her broken nose and physical problems. But then, he was also deformed. None of the royals she knew of had one arm.
Up a hill they went, far from the gates of the city. The pair sat down and Edgar tore a piece off his robe and instructed Lila to bite on it to stop the blood flow from her gums. “Who are you?” Lila asked.
“A prince due for the throne. And I want you as my bride.”
Lila was taken aback and began to laugh. “You must be mad. I am no one. I have no name or station in life.”
“Nonetheless, I choose you. And if you accept my proposal, we shall be together and rule this kingdom.”
Lila could not find the words. Edgar stood up and walked toward a nearby farm. She watched spellbound as he met with the farmer and spoke with him. On his return, he told her, "We will be staying over there at the farm until your wounds heal. You need rest and time away from the city below."
Time passed and Lila learned from Edgar of the competition he faced for the throne. He was banished from a life in the castle walls because of a deceitful brother. After so many years working for his cousin, he could return with Lila and claim his rightful place.
Lila was dazzled by his grace and poise. And that, despite the privileges of royalty, he could work so diligently in a lowly role. When Edgar asked for her hand in marriage, she obliged him.
Edgar and Lila worked the farm and the years passed.
Several children arrived and with them, there was pressure from Edgar's cousin that not all mouths could be fed or given shelter. Lila persevered with courteousness while Edgar fought with his kin. The time would come, she knew, when she would have her revenge.
Then one day, the cousin threatened the life of her newborn. She ran to Edgar and said they would be leaving straightaway for the castle. This was not the place to raise a royal family. Unfortunately, Edgar had bad news for her. He had visited the Queen and she had told him the time was not yet ripe for his return and they would have to stay longer in their exile. In his calm, regal voice he told her: "My dear Lila, the time is at hand that we shall take our rightful place as rulers of this land. You and I shall sit in the place most high."
Lila worked and tilled the land through the years waiting with anticipation for the day she would be vindicated of her suffering. Edgar instructed her as to the manner and pretense that befitted a ruler. He spoke to her about his lineage and gave her stories about his early days running within the castle walls, his training with the sword, his pranks with the priests. Lila was careful to learn all there was and would sing the day away practicing her lessons. The cousin would watch as she walked around the field with an air of uprightness. She would catch his glances and hear him cackle. But the farmer was callous and stupid. “One day,” Lila said to herself, “he will pay.”
The years dragged on and the cousin finally died. This made her fear her old age.
When her young children lost their baby teeth, her tongue would wrap around the place where she had her own teeth beaten out of her. Edgar told her of a craftsman who made wooden teeth. Or perhaps they could consult the magicians in the West of whom Edgar often spoke. How she loved the stories of his travels.
One day, her youngest boy came up missing. The whole family sought him out frantically but no one could find him. Edgar assured her he would find him. He went on his way alone. After a day or two, he returned dejected and saddened. Lila could not hold back her fear. She shrieked at him, "Edgar, where is our son? What has happened?"
Edgar looked at her and gulped. He turned away but Lila confronted him. "Tell me! What has happened to our son!"
Edgar closed his eyes tight and managed a smile. "Lila, my dear. Our son Bruce is with the priests. His grandfather has taken a shine unto him and has assured his future as the Commander of the Royal Guard."
Fire lit in Lila's eyes. It was a blessing from God! They were not forsaken. Although they had languished for years, this was a sign. For days on end, Lila was under the spell of joy.
But the years flew forward and she pined to see after her son. Edgar told her repeatedly not to spoil their goals but she yearned for him. In spite of Edgar, she determined to see her son on her own, keeping her plans a secret. Picking the ripest berries and baking them into a pie with grain she had saved, she packed a basket with the pie and a few other trinkets to remind Bruce of home. With no clear plan, she relied on the help of guiding spirits to assist her.
It had been years since she had seen the insides of the city. So much had changed. She would stop and watch the poor in the street. When she sat on the throne, their mouths would be fed.
And then there was the tavern where she worked as a young maid. She stood before it with eyes full of malice. Her youth had been stolen and her dreams dashed. Hours passed by as Lila swore the many oaths she had made over the years. “For such a pestilence,” she said under her breath, “the only solution is fire. This house will burn.”
But luck was not on her side when Lila presented herself to the guards at the castle gates. Repeatedly, she explained that she was the mother of the young man who was destined to be their commander. The guards would not hear her and turned her away.
In the depths of night, she saw an opportunity. As the moon faded behind a cloud and a guard was distracted, carefully, she slipped through the doorway and scurried up the court. Sneaking through the inner halls of the castle, she looked from room to room.
After covering all the places she thought her son might be, Lila wandered into a bed chamber with a sense of defeat. As a couple slumbered nearby, she walked over to a stately couch and sat down, exhausted.
She began to watch the sleeping couple. Could these be related to her Edgar? She got up and searched their faces in the dim light as they slept, looking for a resemblance. Suddenly, the years of treachery her husband had experienced filled her mind with ugly thoughts. She thought of how old she had become, all the many years she had waited and waited to no avail.
Wrested out of sleep by strange noises and a sick feeling, the young woman in the bed awoke to see a ghastly figure with a wicker basket muttering to herself. She screamed in abject horror. The man awoke to her scream and saw the old woman on their couch rocking back and forth. "Great God, a witch! A witch!"
Ceasing her utterances, Lila watched in shock as the man reached for a weapon. Meanwhile, the sound of footsteps came from the hallway. Soon the door burst open and torchlight filled the room. Lila stood up and shouted at the top of her lungs, "My name is Lila, wife of Prince Edgar, the future king! I demand to see my son, Bruce!"
For a brief moment, the people in the room were stunned. Then an order rang out, “Grab her!” and the guards moved in. As they took hold of her by each arm, her wicker basket filled with gifts fell to the floor, the pie’s filling spilling out. She looked back in horror as they dragged her away. Fiercely, she resisted, screaming with rage. She cursed them for their persecution. “Unhand me you wretches! Let go you beasts!”
Then, from the shadows, a small band of dark figures appeared and barrelled through the guards. Using the small window of time purchased by the surprise attack, the strangers strong-armed Lila away from her captors. They picked her up and whisked her back through the halls of the castle out into the court and through the gateway. A thin man with one arm appeared at their vanguard, shouting orders in loud whispers. In the excitement, she realized Edgar had come for her. Recognition of the bandits then flooded her awareness and she saw that it was her family taking her back through the streets.
A small horde of torch-bearing infantry was in hot pursuit. But her family was too cunning. The buildings and thatched huts of the city blurred past as they made their way. After two of her daughters carried out a clever distraction, Lila and her family came to the secret opening in the gates of the city. As Edgar pushed each of his children through, a presence drew Lila’s eyes to her side. There, an old beggar was appraising her with twinkling eyes. Loose skin and tattered clothes could not hide the likeness of the old tavern owner. A toothless mouth grinned at her and bellowed words through laughter, "Lila, it is you! How ugly you have gotten! What is this mischief you are causing?"
A formless fear caught Lila's throat and she froze. Edgar grabbed her and directed her through the opening. As her children lead her away, a shriek tore through the night - cutting out a moment later. Edgar emerged soon thereafter to follow his family home.
In the safety of their farmhouse on the top of the hill, time slunk forward. The days turned into months and the family ignored Lila more and more, wishing to discourage her from leaving again. Lila spent mornings on a ledge looking out over the town from her vantage point high above. She thought of Bruce and what he might look like.
The winter months came and a cruel wind drained Lila. She repaired to her bed to shake off a violent fever. As she drifted to sleep, demons from the next world jeered at her. In the distance, an angel with a kind bearing awaited her. There too was her son Bruce. Every time she tried to crawl away from the demons, they seemed to wrap around her tighter. Finally, she cried out for deliverance. “Oh God, have You turned Your eyes from me? If You will not avenge me, then who will give me justice?”
The angelic woman would come visit her the following nights during her sleep. Demoly was her name and she would be there when it was time to move onward.
“It isn’t my time to go!” Lila would protest.
“My dear sister,” Demoly would say, “people have harmed you. But you harm yourself with your lust for revenge. God is the best judge. Watch what desire you sow in your heart.”
It was a calm winter morning when the sun arose from the mountains onto the city below. Lila sat out front watching as a ray of light flashed out from the distant lantern of sun. Demoly was on her way.
Edgar came out from the house and sat beside her. He looked at her thin and ravaged body and cried tears in silence. Deep inside, somehow he knew she would be leaving him.
Lila sensed he was there but remained dazzled by the spectacle. The ray of light had become a ball of flame that curled out towards her. It danced in the sky - sailing up, down, and around, glowing brightly.
Without diverting her gaze, Lila told her husband, "Edgar, the angel is coming for me.”
Edgar looked down and remained silent.
“Bruce is with her… our son is no longer among us.”
Edgar silently watched his wife’s eyes shift wildly. He knew he could not keep the truth from her any longer.
“My husband,” Lila said. “Is it true you have lied to me all these years?"
As he began to speak, Edgar noticed the relief he felt at finally stating the truth.
“Yes, Lila. Our son Bruce was killed when he wandered away from us. It may have been a bear or some other creature.”
Lila’s head fell in her hands and she began to cry. But was it for her fallen child or for the betrayal she felt in her soul?
“Edgar, what lies you have told... And to think I believed you…”
Edgar looked out on the vast landscape below. He felt a gnawing fear grip his midsection. But there was no use keeping up the facade. “Lila, when I saw you, I wanted to take care of you... I wanted you for myself.” Edgar then shook his head in self-hatred. “But who would marry a deformed man?”
Lila turned to Edgar and seemed to see him for the first time. He was deformed to be sure - but his one arm was the least of his flaws. He was not who he claimed to be. Had she always known?
Suddenly, from a distant memory, she could see a boy with a kerchief in his hand reaching toward her. Tears flowed as she finally felt compassion grow in her heart - compassion for Edgar and compassion for herself.
“Edgar,” she said, “Among the men I’ve known, there are few so noble as you.”
Years later, the boy with one arm grew into a young man known as Edgar. Working in the castle, he would launder the clothes for the royal family.
One day, Edgar was walking down the street carrying a bundle of new robes for the prince. He saw Lila sitting alone with a broken nose, checking for missing teeth. Dashing behind a corner, he began to change into the satin garments, wetting his hair and styling it. With all the courage he could muster, he straightened himself up and walked up to Lila.
"What is the matter, young woman?" he said, in his most regal voice.
Lila was astonished by the princely-looking man taking an interest in her. She looked down in shame knowing her appearance would be frightful. Patting her arm, Edgar told her, “Come with me, my dear,” and pulled her up. “This isn’t the life for you.”
Lila could not believe her fortune. In a daze, she followed the young prince. Perhaps he found her attractive despite her broken nose and physical problems. But then, he was also deformed. None of the royals she knew of had one arm.
Up a hill they went, far from the gates of the city. The pair sat down and Edgar tore a piece off his robe and instructed Lila to bite on it to stop the blood flow from her gums. “Who are you?” Lila asked.
“A prince due for the throne. And I want you as my bride.”
Lila was taken aback and began to laugh. “You must be mad. I am no one. I have no name or station in life.”
“Nonetheless, I choose you. And if you accept my proposal, we shall be together and rule this kingdom.”
Lila could not find the words. Edgar stood up and walked toward a nearby farm. She watched spellbound as he met with the farmer and spoke with him. On his return, he told her, "We will be staying over there at the farm until your wounds heal. You need rest and time away from the city below."
Time passed and Lila learned from Edgar of the competition he faced for the throne. He was banished from a life in the castle walls because of a deceitful brother. After so many years working for his cousin, he could return with Lila and claim his rightful place.
Lila was dazzled by his grace and poise. And that, despite the privileges of royalty, he could work so diligently in a lowly role. When Edgar asked for her hand in marriage, she obliged him.
Edgar and Lila worked the farm and the years passed.
Several children arrived and with them, there was pressure from Edgar's cousin that not all mouths could be fed or given shelter. Lila persevered with courteousness while Edgar fought with his kin. The time would come, she knew, when she would have her revenge.
Then one day, the cousin threatened the life of her newborn. She ran to Edgar and said they would be leaving straightaway for the castle. This was not the place to raise a royal family. Unfortunately, Edgar had bad news for her. He had visited the Queen and she had told him the time was not yet ripe for his return and they would have to stay longer in their exile. In his calm, regal voice he told her: "My dear Lila, the time is at hand that we shall take our rightful place as rulers of this land. You and I shall sit in the place most high."
Lila worked and tilled the land through the years waiting with anticipation for the day she would be vindicated of her suffering. Edgar instructed her as to the manner and pretense that befitted a ruler. He spoke to her about his lineage and gave her stories about his early days running within the castle walls, his training with the sword, his pranks with the priests. Lila was careful to learn all there was and would sing the day away practicing her lessons. The cousin would watch as she walked around the field with an air of uprightness. She would catch his glances and hear him cackle. But the farmer was callous and stupid. “One day,” Lila said to herself, “he will pay.”
The years dragged on and the cousin finally died. This made her fear her old age.
When her young children lost their baby teeth, her tongue would wrap around the place where she had her own teeth beaten out of her. Edgar told her of a craftsman who made wooden teeth. Or perhaps they could consult the magicians in the West of whom Edgar often spoke. How she loved the stories of his travels.
One day, her youngest boy came up missing. The whole family sought him out frantically but no one could find him. Edgar assured her he would find him. He went on his way alone. After a day or two, he returned dejected and saddened. Lila could not hold back her fear. She shrieked at him, "Edgar, where is our son? What has happened?"
Edgar looked at her and gulped. He turned away but Lila confronted him. "Tell me! What has happened to our son!"
Edgar closed his eyes tight and managed a smile. "Lila, my dear. Our son Bruce is with the priests. His grandfather has taken a shine unto him and has assured his future as the Commander of the Royal Guard."
Fire lit in Lila's eyes. It was a blessing from God! They were not forsaken. Although they had languished for years, this was a sign. For days on end, Lila was under the spell of joy.
But the years flew forward and she pined to see after her son. Edgar told her repeatedly not to spoil their goals but she yearned for him. In spite of Edgar, she determined to see her son on her own, keeping her plans a secret. Picking the ripest berries and baking them into a pie with grain she had saved, she packed a basket with the pie and a few other trinkets to remind Bruce of home. With no clear plan, she relied on the help of guiding spirits to assist her.
It had been years since she had seen the insides of the city. So much had changed. She would stop and watch the poor in the street. When she sat on the throne, their mouths would be fed.
And then there was the tavern where she worked as a young maid. She stood before it with eyes full of malice. Her youth had been stolen and her dreams dashed. Hours passed by as Lila swore the many oaths she had made over the years. “For such a pestilence,” she said under her breath, “the only solution is fire. This house will burn.”
But luck was not on her side when Lila presented herself to the guards at the castle gates. Repeatedly, she explained that she was the mother of the young man who was destined to be their commander. The guards would not hear her and turned her away.
In the depths of night, she saw an opportunity. As the moon faded behind a cloud and a guard was distracted, carefully, she slipped through the doorway and scurried up the court. Sneaking through the inner halls of the castle, she looked from room to room.
After covering all the places she thought her son might be, Lila wandered into a bed chamber with a sense of defeat. As a couple slumbered nearby, she walked over to a stately couch and sat down, exhausted.
She began to watch the sleeping couple. Could these be related to her Edgar? She got up and searched their faces in the dim light as they slept, looking for a resemblance. Suddenly, the years of treachery her husband had experienced filled her mind with ugly thoughts. She thought of how old she had become, all the many years she had waited and waited to no avail.
Wrested out of sleep by strange noises and a sick feeling, the young woman in the bed awoke to see a ghastly figure with a wicker basket muttering to herself. She screamed in abject horror. The man awoke to her scream and saw the old woman on their couch rocking back and forth. "Great God, a witch! A witch!"
Ceasing her utterances, Lila watched in shock as the man reached for a weapon. Meanwhile, the sound of footsteps came from the hallway. Soon the door burst open and torchlight filled the room. Lila stood up and shouted at the top of her lungs, "My name is Lila, wife of Prince Edgar, the future king! I demand to see my son, Bruce!"
For a brief moment, the people in the room were stunned. Then an order rang out, “Grab her!” and the guards moved in. As they took hold of her by each arm, her wicker basket filled with gifts fell to the floor, the pie’s filling spilling out. She looked back in horror as they dragged her away. Fiercely, she resisted, screaming with rage. She cursed them for their persecution. “Unhand me you wretches! Let go you beasts!”
Then, from the shadows, a small band of dark figures appeared and barrelled through the guards. Using the small window of time purchased by the surprise attack, the strangers strong-armed Lila away from her captors. They picked her up and whisked her back through the halls of the castle out into the court and through the gateway. A thin man with one arm appeared at their vanguard, shouting orders in loud whispers. In the excitement, she realized Edgar had come for her. Recognition of the bandits then flooded her awareness and she saw that it was her family taking her back through the streets.
A small horde of torch-bearing infantry was in hot pursuit. But her family was too cunning. The buildings and thatched huts of the city blurred past as they made their way. After two of her daughters carried out a clever distraction, Lila and her family came to the secret opening in the gates of the city. As Edgar pushed each of his children through, a presence drew Lila’s eyes to her side. There, an old beggar was appraising her with twinkling eyes. Loose skin and tattered clothes could not hide the likeness of the old tavern owner. A toothless mouth grinned at her and bellowed words through laughter, "Lila, it is you! How ugly you have gotten! What is this mischief you are causing?"
A formless fear caught Lila's throat and she froze. Edgar grabbed her and directed her through the opening. As her children lead her away, a shriek tore through the night - cutting out a moment later. Edgar emerged soon thereafter to follow his family home.
In the safety of their farmhouse on the top of the hill, time slunk forward. The days turned into months and the family ignored Lila more and more, wishing to discourage her from leaving again. Lila spent mornings on a ledge looking out over the town from her vantage point high above. She thought of Bruce and what he might look like.
The winter months came and a cruel wind drained Lila. She repaired to her bed to shake off a violent fever. As she drifted to sleep, demons from the next world jeered at her. In the distance, an angel with a kind bearing awaited her. There too was her son Bruce. Every time she tried to crawl away from the demons, they seemed to wrap around her tighter. Finally, she cried out for deliverance. “Oh God, have You turned Your eyes from me? If You will not avenge me, then who will give me justice?”
The angelic woman would come visit her the following nights during her sleep. Demoly was her name and she would be there when it was time to move onward.
“It isn’t my time to go!” Lila would protest.
“My dear sister,” Demoly would say, “people have harmed you. But you harm yourself with your lust for revenge. God is the best judge. Watch what desire you sow in your heart.”
It was a calm winter morning when the sun arose from the mountains onto the city below. Lila sat out front watching as a ray of light flashed out from the distant lantern of sun. Demoly was on her way.
Edgar came out from the house and sat beside her. He looked at her thin and ravaged body and cried tears in silence. Deep inside, somehow he knew she would be leaving him.
Lila sensed he was there but remained dazzled by the spectacle. The ray of light had become a ball of flame that curled out towards her. It danced in the sky - sailing up, down, and around, glowing brightly.
Without diverting her gaze, Lila told her husband, "Edgar, the angel is coming for me.”
Edgar looked down and remained silent.
“Bruce is with her… our son is no longer among us.”
Edgar silently watched his wife’s eyes shift wildly. He knew he could not keep the truth from her any longer.
“My husband,” Lila said. “Is it true you have lied to me all these years?"
As he began to speak, Edgar noticed the relief he felt at finally stating the truth.
“Yes, Lila. Our son Bruce was killed when he wandered away from us. It may have been a bear or some other creature.”
Lila’s head fell in her hands and she began to cry. But was it for her fallen child or for the betrayal she felt in her soul?
“Edgar, what lies you have told... And to think I believed you…”
Edgar looked out on the vast landscape below. He felt a gnawing fear grip his midsection. But there was no use keeping up the facade. “Lila, when I saw you, I wanted to take care of you... I wanted you for myself.” Edgar then shook his head in self-hatred. “But who would marry a deformed man?”
Lila turned to Edgar and seemed to see him for the first time. He was deformed to be sure - but his one arm was the least of his flaws. He was not who he claimed to be. Had she always known?
Suddenly, from a distant memory, she could see a boy with a kerchief in his hand reaching toward her. Tears flowed as she finally felt compassion grow in her heart - compassion for Edgar and compassion for herself.
“Edgar,” she said, “Among the men I’ve known, there are few so noble as you.”
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