Patchwork Heart

Once upon a time, in a forest long forgotten, there lived a great beauty named Lorna. Lorna had grown up surrounded by books and not much else. Her mother had told her growing up that she was the daughter of a great and powerful king, but they could not be together. So, he sent books for his daughter so that she would one day be able to provide for herself, and possibly even rule the kingdom after his death.

So, as she grew, she read. She taught herself anatomy, physics, astrology, and so much more. Every book she read made her feel closer to her father, so she absorbed every book with careful precision.

But then, her mother died and for the first time, Lorna was truly alone.

Filled with grief, Lorna packed her books and left the forest for the first time, leaving the life she shared with her mother behind.

She made her way through the mists towards her father’s castle, not knowing how she would be received. Trepidation filled her steps as she imagined seeing her father after all this time. For years, he had been a faceless benefactor that filled her life with books, but now she would be completely at his mercy.

As she approached the giant castle doors, Lorna found herself at a loss for words. Would he even want to see her? What was she to do if he refused her? Could she go back to the small house that held so much grief within its walls? After much deliberation, she forced herself to knock on the ornate door and hope that her father would take her into his home.

Almost immediately, the door opened and a servant stood before her, glaring down his nose at her.

“Are you lost?” The servant asked snidely.

“I wish to have an audience with my fa- an audience with the king.” As Lorna spoke she was reminded that her mother told her never to reveal her parentage to anyone, “Please, it is of great import.”

The servant glared at her, as if looking through her very skin to see what was hidden within, and as if he was unable to find anything of use, he stepped aside.

“Very well, you may enter.”

Lorna picked up her bag of books and scurried into the castle. The servant led her into the state room where her father, King Edward Alpin, sat in a jewel encrusted throne.

“What’s your name, girl?” The servant asked impatiently, “I have to introduce you.”

“Oh, uh, Lorna..of uh, Mistwood.”

“Very well.”

The servant stepped forward, his voice louder than seemed possible.

“Introducing Lorna of Mistwood!”

Lorna stepped forward hesitantly, unable to believe how lavishly her father lived. She gazed up at him with a quiet love in her eyes, but he returned her no such glance.

“What is the purpose of this visit, Lorna of Mistwood?”

Lorna looked around sheepishly as she approached the throne, her voice a whisper. “It’s me, your daughter. Mother is dead and I-”

Fury grew in King Alpin’s eyes as he jumped to his feet. “I have no daughter!”

“But sir, I can prove it! Here!” Lorna dumped the bag of books out onto the marble floor, “You sent me these!”

As King Alpin glared suspiciously at the old books, his eyes began to soften and he looked as if he were about to speak, but a set of footsteps echoing through the chamber stopped his words.

“What is the meaning of this?!” The woman shouted, “How dare you empty your bag on the royal floor!”

Both Lorna and King Alpin straightened their posture in response to the woman’s outburst. As the woman approached Lorna, she glared down her nose at her, just as the servant had.

“Ah, good morning dear.” King Alpin said as he stood up and led her to the seat next to him.

The Queen took her seat, but her eyes remained on the pile of books that Lorna was hurriedly trying to get back into her bag. As the light hit one of the anatomy books, the Queen stood up in a hurry.

“Excuse me, where did you get that book?” The Queen asked in an accusatory tone as she approached Lorna, “That book has been missing from the royal library for ten years!”

Before Lorna could speak, the Queen tried to grab her arm and take the book back, but Lorna was fast and ducked away from her grasp, running back through the castle and out towards the door.

“Guards! Get her!” The Queen shouted.

Despite the burning in her throat, Lorna ran as fast as her legs would take her back into the depths of the forest. She forced herself to hold back her tears, now was not the time to grieve her father’s rejection. She told herself that if she made it back home and away from the guards, she would grieve then.

Lorna sped down the forest trail, the branches of the pine trees scratching her arms and face as she passed them by, until she saw her home through the mists. Lorna threw open the door, slammed it behind her, and hid herself away under the bed; where she would stay until she was convinced that the guards had given up the chase.

She waited so long that she fell asleep on the dusty floor under the bed, and in her sleep she had the most peculiar dream.

She dreamt that she was walking down the forest path, the one that she had walked so many times with her mother, but this time it seemed off. Mushrooms glowed along the edges of the trail, vines stretched out towards her feet, threatening to trip her with every step she took. Even the mist seemed to whisper in her ear as she passed through it.

As Lorna reached the large tree where she had buried her mother, she got the feeling that she wasn’t alone. She looked around, her eyes filled with panic, but saw no one.

“It’s only a dream, I’ll wake up soon.” Lorna told herself as she sat under the tree, “Maybe if I close my eyes.”

No sooner had Lorna shut her eyes when she heard a heavy creaking from above her. Lorna’s eyes shot open and she jumped to her feet, turning behind her towards the source of the noise. To her amazement, the tree that she had been resting on had come to life, and the face that had appeared was staring straight at her.

“My child, I feel your anguish in my roots.” The tree began, “Tell me your story, please.”

Lorna instantly felt at ease by the tree’s voice, it was as if she had known it her entire life.

“My dear mother is dead, and my father has forsaken me. I am truly alone, and I don’t know what to do.” Lorna said as tears formed in her eyes.

“I feel your hopelessness in the air, it poisons the mists.” The tree’s eyes softened, “What if I offered you release from your pain? Would you take it?”

“Yes! I’d do anything!”

“Anything?” The tree asked sharply.

“Yes!”

“Very well, I shall teach you how to bring your mother back, you shall need your books.” The tree paused for a moment, “Just know, this is not a permanent fix, this magic requires a soul sickened by love to work, and it will continue to draw upon it until the soul is no more.”

“How long do I have with her?”

“It will give you one year.”

“Very well, I’ll do it.”

As soon as the words passed Lorna’s lips, she awoke once more on that dusty old floor under the bed, the details of the spell ringing in her mind.

Lorna quickly got to work scouring her books for information and the forest for materials that would make the form to house her mother’s soul. It took weeks to perfect, but once she was sure that it would hold up under its own weight, Lorna went back to the tree and dug up her mother’s grave, gingerly taking her heart out of her chest.

With slow, deliberate movements, Lorna sewed her mother’s heart into the Gollum, and when the last stitch was done, the Gollum began to move. Slowly at first, like the soul of her mother was settling into its new home, the Gollum began to blink. Its eyes traveled around the room a few times before landing, and focusing solely on Lorna.

Days passed, and Lorna spent them in intense study with her mother. She taught her how to walk, how to talk, and how to identify the plants in the forest. The only thing she didn’t have to reteach her, it seemed, was how to love.

As the days turned to weeks, her mother was soon back to the woman that Lorna remembered. Their days were filled with laughter, and their nights were spent in stories. Things were once again as they had been, perfect; so much so that Lorna forgot all about the deal that she had made with the tree.

That is, until two months later, when Lorna awoke with no breath in her lungs.

As Lorna sat in bed, gasping for air, the Gollum panicked. It ran around the house, knocking things off the walls and table, searching for an herb to help. Finally, after five minutes watching Lorna struggling to breathe, the Gollum found the mullein and brewed a tea from it, which it then placed under her nose until she was able to take a breath.

“What happened?!” The Gollum asked with panic in her voice.

“It’s the spell.” Lorna said through deep breaths, “We have to go see the tree.”

The Gollum helped Lorna to her feet and together they walked the forest path to the tree where the old body of her mother lay.

“Mother tree! Please, my daughter is sick!” The Gollum shouted into the mist, “Please help us!”

The tree bark swirled before them, forming into the face that Lorna had seen that night in her dream. Those sad eyes stared back at Lorna and the Gollum, as if it was looking into their very souls.

“You knew the cost, and still you did the spell.” The tree said definitively, “There is nothing I can do. In a few months, you will join the body of your mother under my roots.”

Lorna and the Gollum returned to their home, defeated and overtaken by heartache. The days that followed were silent, as the reality of the situation sunk in. In all their books, there was no solution to the soul magic of the forest.

With every day that passed, Lorna grew weaker. Soon, she was unable to walk, or speak in anything but grunts, but through it all, the Gollum looked after her. Even as her heartbeat grew fainter, the Gollum stood by her side.

Those last few months passed quickly, though every day was agony for Lorna. As she took her last breath, the Gollum wept. For days it sat by her body, rivers flooding from its eyes, until it was finally able to stand and bury Lorna alongside the body of her mother.

Some say that if you listen closely to the sounds of the forest, you can still hear the Gollum’s cries of anguish as it wanders through the trees. Cursed to search for eternity for a way to bring back its beloved daughter.

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Image: Tina Crossgrove

Sound Bites: Pixabay

This story is a level three entry for the Fairy Tale Power-Up Prompt, put on by Bradley Ramsey. You can enter your own here:

Power up Prompt #29: 4.4.26