Night's Enchantress: Part 2

The young Enchantress and her stallion, Night, slept in the barn together. She would not leave his side. Though the sun still shined, their eyes were heavy and the straw was welcoming. As the hours passed, Night and Enchantress slept in peace, breathing deep and steady. When they awoke, feeling restful and renewed, the Enchantress decided she would visit the village. She wondered what people were saying about this glorious day that never ended.


To her surprise, there was a great deal of fear spreading throughout the village. People claimed that this eternal sunshine was a curse, sent to doom them all for their sins. The Enchantress could not see it that way. She saw the eternal sunshine as a blessing. She had the Night as her friend and companion and in return was blessed with an environment that would satisfy her mood. Annoyed and angry at the villagers’ ignorance of the bliss around them, the Enchantress returned to her confidant.

“People are dumb.” The Enchantress said to Night as she ran her comb through his mane. “If they can’t understand that the sun is a gift and not curse, then I do not think they deserve to enjoy it.” She contemplated their ignorance. “We will enjoy it. Let us go for a ride.” She smiled greatly at the idea, and walking from the barn, was happy to find Night close behind.

With the help of her stool, she climbed onto the broad back of the strong horse. “Let’s fly across these plains, Night!” She grabbed a handful of his mane and urged him forward with her legs. She had been a young girl when she had last ridden a horse and the excitement from the moment soon overpowered her. She laughed aloud and threw one of her arms in the air, while the other held firmly to the mane which kept her from falling off.

Night’s power was great. He thrust himself forward through the tall grass, cutting through it with no effort at all. His feet hardly touched the ground as he moved with speed and accuracy across the miles of open land. He did not tire of exhaustion. He did not grow weary. With the power within him, he captured the lands the Enchantress had never before set her eyes on. The world was theirs and as the sun hung high, they were free.

For many hours they ran. The Enchantress had no desire to return to her little garden with its little vegetables. With the strength of her horse, she was able to go more places, see more things, and become more than she ever had. She vowed she would never return. After a long journey, the Enchantress grew tired. She and Night stopped in a town, some miles from her home, to rest and eat, but the Enchantress had no money to buy food. Her thoughts returned to her little garden and she wondered if she had made a mistake.

“Beautiful horse you have there, missy.” A man with dirty beard and even dirtier clothes slurred. The Enchantress was appalled that the man should address her, an Enchantress, and her horse, the Night, with such impropriety. “I’ll give you 50 shillings for a horse like that.” He laughed as he patted Night on the neck.

The Enchantress was about to reproach the man for bringing up such a stupid idea, when she thought better of the situation. “Alright,” She said, dismounting her steed. “You have a deal. But he is hungry and thirsty, and you should feed him, straight away.” The man agreed heartily and pulled the money from his pocket. The Enchantress whispered to Night, so that the man may not hear, “You shall have your food and when you are full, come to me outside of the town, for I will have eaten as well, and we will be on our way yet again.”

As she took the money from the man, the Enchantress felt slightly guilty for robbing the man of money, but as she could see of no other way to get food, she continued into the town to find some lunch. The man took Night away to the stables to feed and water him.

Food and a large cup of fresh water were easy to come by. The Enchantress ate until she could eat no more, with plenty of money still rattling in her pocket. She walked from the town, content with her trickery. It wasn’t until she had spent some time waiting outside the borders that she began to worry of her folly. What if Night did not have the power to escape the stables? What if he did not want to? After several minutes of anxiety, the Enchantress was about to return to the town when she saw Night’s graceful movements come galloping across the plain. Relief washed over her as well as a feeling of excitement as her plan succeeded.

When Night was close enough, though, the Enchantress realized that she was too short to get on the back of her great stallion. Beginning to feel like she would be caught and thrown into prison for being a thief, the young girl begged Night to come up with a solution. He was quick in his reactions and bowed low for her to climb onto his back. Happily placed on his back, the Enchantress urged Night forward and they continued on their journey.

They traveled for several more hours, crossing all types of lands and going through many different towns. Soon, they were once again exhausted and the Enchantress and her Night stopped in a large town. Having spent the whole of the day, or what they could figure, traversing the country side, the young Enchantress looked forward to resting in a bed. She stopped at an Inn and asked for a room.

“We do not have nights anymore, as you know.” The inn keeper said, flustered. “But we monitor the hours now. You may have a room for ten hours, if that is what you wish.”

The Enchantress felt that was plenty of time and agreed. A young servant boy took Night to the inn stables, where he could rest and replenish his strength. The Enchantress paid the inn keeper with her stolen money, then went to her room to rest.

It wasn’t long when the ten hours had passed and the Enchantress and Night were yet again on their way. They took to the country side, wanting nothing more than to feel the breeze on their face. They began to travel on lesser traveled paths, through fields and country sides. As they passed a particular field, the Enchantress saw that there was man, on his knees, wailing.

“Stop, Night. I wonder what is wrong with that man.” She went towards the distraught man, curious of his dilemmas. “Sir, why do you wail so?”

“Do you not see? Do you not see how I am ruined?” He picked the dirt up from his field and held it in his hands.

“I do not know what you mean.” The Enchantress saw nothing wrong.

“It’s dead. All of it. All of my fields. They’re all dead.”

Finally, the Enchantress saw what the man feared. There was no green in his lands. The plants had all withered and many had fallen to the ground. “What has caused such a disaster?” The Enchantress felt pity for the man.

“This sun!” The man turned to the sky and screamed. “It has dried up all my land. It has scorched the very existence of my livelihood. I am a simple farmer and my crops are my life. But now, with no night, the plants die through the scorching rays of the sun!” The farmer screamed in contempt and pounded his hands on the ground.

Instantly, the Enchantress felt dread spread through her heart. She now realized what had happened. This man’s loss was her fault. She had enchanted the Night and now kept him for her own, but now the plants had no reprieve from the sun and had died.

To her horror, the Enchantress comprehended the folly of her selfishness. But even with the man wailing in front of her, and the fields around her stolen of their lushness, she could not imagine giving up her Night. She had been alone for far too long, and wished never to be alone again.

Night's Enchantress Part 1

There is an old legend, about the young girl who enchanted the night. There are few who still live to believe it, but I will tell it to you now, in hopes that should you not believe it, you will at least learn from it and grow in yourself.

There was a young girl, old enough to have experiences but young enough to still have much to live. She was a strong girl, who worked hard at all she did. But life had dealt her an ill-hand in the game of happiness. She had only one friend, who was dear to her in every way, and an empty barn that only reminded her of the happiness that used to be. She lived alone, had for many years, but in her heart she longed for companionship more than anything. Her friend, though dear, was a farmer’s daughter and left the young girl often alone in her small cottage next to her quiet barn. The young girl, not having a job, lived off what she could grow in her yard. She would spend all day nurturing and loving her plants so that they might bloom into the food she would need to live on. Thus, every day was spent in the garden, but every night, was spent under the stars.

The young girl loved the stars and the moon and would often walk in the stillness of the darkness. She did not fear the lack of light and rather embraced the beauty she felt and knew existed in the shadows. She would walk for hours, singing soft lullabies to the sleeping world around. But most of the night she would spend in deep prayer.

“Stars above, and grass below, how you know me. Moon that shines and lights the way, you can see right through me. So I cannot hide, nor should I try, the loneliness that consumes me. If you care, or might want to share, do send a love my way. Someone to walk along at night and occupy my day.” Such were her prayers to the heavens above, every night as she would meander from pasture to pasture.

For years she had prayed and never been answered. Still she clung to her dear friend for refuge from the solitude. “My dearest girl,” Said the young girl’s friend. “You are more true to me than life.”

“And you to me.” The girl embraced her companion.

“Then you must know, and do not be afraid, that I am to no longer be my father’s daughter.”

“I do not understand,” Said the young girl, “Did he do something wrong?”

“No.” Her friend laughed. “Not in the slightest. But I cannot be my father’s daughter, when I am to be another man’s wife.”

The young girl did not know what to say to her longtime companion. She felt happy, of course, but a sharp pain pierced through her heart and struck her like a knife. Quickly she dismissed her friend and returned to her simple cottage. For hours she cried. Such loneliness no human has ever felt. Such pain in the separation of a loved one had never been truer. As the time slipped by, so did the sun and soon the night engulfed the earth. Frustrated with her plight, the young girl ran out into the night.

“Why have you done this to me?” She screamed, pleading with the stars. “I live a quiet life with no one to hurt. I speak simple things and dream only of friendship, yet you take away the one thing I ask for?” Throwing her arms towards the sky, she commanded the earth. “Give me a love that I can cherish! That no other can steal away. Give me the one, the truest, to help me through my days! You must do this for me to repay the damage you’ve done!” And as she spoke the words, her heart burst in pain. Collapsing to the ground, the young girl fell asleep from exhaustion.

She woke, the next morning, to a bright and beautiful day. The sun warmed her skin and the grass around her glistened with the moisture of a fresh morning. The night had gone, but it left her more exhausted than when it had come. She could move her body for fear of being too weak. But with tears of anger and remorse flowing down her cheeks, she lifted herself from the soft grass and walked back to her home.

She wasn’t far from her simple cottage when she heard a noise in the barn. Fearful of who might have come to cause mischief, she gathered a garden tool and walked cautiously towards the barn door. Slowly and quietly, she snuck inside. Her eyes took a few moments to adjust from the bright sunshine. Once she was able to see her surroundings, she was awestruck by what she found.

Standing, like a triumphant champion, in the corner of one of the abandoned stalls, was the most beautiful of horses. He was sheer black from nose to tail. Not even the white of his eyes could be called such. He was the most fearsome and handsome creature she had ever beheld and she marveled at him for a few moments. He stood quietly, watching her. With a long main and a forelock that fell with dignity across his face, he looked to be a creature of myths. His muscles were strong and his body was perfectly carved. He stood tall, like the magnificent creature that he was.

The girl wondered where he could have come from and determined it did not matter. He was here now, in her barn, and he was hers. The heavens had answered her pleas. Here was a companion known to be the truest of all companions. The young girl went to her horse, and placing her hand on his neck, promised to never let anything come between them.

The girl spent her entire day looking after the horse. She fed him and watered him and took him to the pastures. The lay together and rode together and she couldn’t have been happier. Finally the world had realized who she was and had granted her happiness. The warm day turned to hot and made the sweat run down the girl and her horse’s skin. The played in a nearby creek to cool off and still the horse’s coat did not shine in the light. The darkness that he was took her breath away. She ran her fingers over and over his silky coat and was amazed by the vibrancy of his blackness. He was beautiful, and wonderful in every way.

Exhaustion soon overcame the young girl, so she took her horse to her garden and fed him whatever he picked. She ate happily, knowing she would never have to be alone again. She had found her one companion and her heart felt full. Once she had finished eating, she lay back and closed her eyes, grateful for the satisfying relief of a nap.

When she finally woke, it felt like hours later, yet the sun was no lower. Still her companion lay next to her and she couldn’t mind the beautiful sun that warmed her. Having regained her strength, she began working in her garden; singing quietly and whispering such loving things that had never been heard. Often she would feed her horse treats she would find, and he would be happy. She worked for hours in her garden, always watching her horse. But even after the many hours of labor, the sun still hung high in the sky.

“Why does it not descend into the land like it always does?” She wondered as patted her horse. “Why does it not give us reprieve into the night?”

A soft wind blew through her hair and whispered in her ear, “Because you commanded it to stay.”

At first, the young girl was frightened and didn’t know who had spoken to her, but as she looked at her new found companion, he stared at her with such knowing eyes that it both calmed and unnerved her. “What could you mean?”

“You made the night repay your lost with a companion. But in return, the night must forfeit the whole day to the sunshine.” The breeze whispered.

“You mean to tell me,” The young girl said as she placed a hand on her horse. “That you are the night?”

“I am the night and all that goes with me. And you are my enchantress.”

“I am no enchantress.” Said the girl, “I am a lonely, quiet country girl who only wanted to have someone to share my time with. I cannot enchant the night.”

“But you already have. Now, I am here as your companion, forever with you.”

The girl could hardly believe her luck. She had enchanted one of the most beautiful things of the world and now it was her companion for life. Wrapping her arms tightly around the horse’s neck, she swore she would always adore Night for the true repayment of her misfortune.