There had always been the little problem, as his sons grew older, of where to find them brides.īeautiful brides who could walk in the sun.Īnd then this mortal queen had come to him, begging for aid in bearing children with her fat, foolish husband. And my twelve sons are pining for companionship.” Again the feeling of triumph: the idea of these mortal girls dancing with his sons. “What a pity your daughters do not join you at our little fetes,” he said. The King Under Stone stretched out his long white hand and lifted her chin. There were dark circles beneath her eyes and gray in her hair though she was a young woman still. “I know.” She bowed her head in weariness. “Our first bargain is not yet fulfilled.” “Let us not forget the years you still owe me,” the king said. “Twelve years will I dance for you here below, and in return Westfalin shall be victorious.” “I do.” The human queen’s voice was steady. “Do you understand our bargain?” The king had a voice like a steel blade breaking on stone. He was experiencing one now, as he faced the mortal woman before him, but it took a moment for him to give it a name. Because he had once been human, the King Under Stone sometimes found himself plagued by human emotions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |