In the Village

Keaira didn't wait to hear anything else. She turned and sprinted away, her heart pounding from the shock. She could hear the man call behind her, "Wait! Don't leave!" But she was already gone.

Once the surprise finally wore off, Keaira gained her thoughts back. Wait. Why am I running? That man looks like me. Perhaps I am from the same place he is. Keaira stopped running and stood breathing hard. If Carissa won't tell me anything, I'll find out myself.

Turning back around, she saw the young man running towards her. He slowed when he noticed her standing in place. He smiled slightly but kept his distance, as if she were an animal he did not wish to scare away. "I did not mean to frighten you, miss. My apologies. I am glad you stopped."

Keaira didn't know what to say, so the man continued. "My name is Kaiden."

She hesitated for a moment. "Keaira."

"A lovely name. Tell me, Keaira, are you lost? What are you doing so far from town?"

Keaira wanted answers, but she wasn't sure she could trust Kaiden with the truth. "I could ask you the same question." She noticed his bow at last.

Kaiden saw her looking at his bow. "Oh yes. I am hunting at the moment."

"Hunting…" Keaira repeated the word. She was unfamiliar with it.

"Yes, you know, hunting deer. I was chasing one when I lost my party."

Keaira furrowed her eyebrows. "Why would you chase deer?" Despite not being a fairy, Keaira was still like them able to friend the deer easily.

Now Kaiden looked confused. "Well, to kill them of course. How else will we get the meat?"

Keaira's eyes widened. Carissa had told her there were men who kill animals to eat them, but she believed Carissa was only kidding. "What a horrible thing to do!"

Kaiden stared at her. "Where are you from, Keaira? Has your father never hunted before?"

Keaira swallowed and thought hard. "I live here, in the forest. With my family. And no, we do not eat meat."

Kaiden looked down and smiled. "It tastes much better than it sounds. You have lived here your whole life I am guessing?"

"Yes. My family is very private."

"I see," Kaiden nodded slowly. "And you?"

Keaira exclaimed, "I'm not sure yet. What is it like? In your town, I mean?"

Kaiden stared at her with a queer look on his face at the odd question, but he answered, "Quite repetitive actually. All of the villagers go about each day the same. There's not much to tell. Why do you ask?"

"I… it's only I have never met anyone else in this forest who looks like I. Apart from my family of course," she added quickly. "I only wondered what it is like outside of the forest."

Kaiden tilted his head. "If you would like, I could take you to see."

Keaira shook her head. "Oh no, I couldn't. My family wouldn't like it."

Kaiden shrugged. "They wouldn't have to know. But if you insist against it."

Keaira's heart pounded. This could be her chance to see where she may have come from. She wouldn't have to stay long. She was often left alone throughout the day anyhow. "Yes, I would like you to take me. But it would have to be quick."

Kaiden smiled and nodded. "Then, Keaira, follow me."

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He led her back to a horse, which he promptly mounted. He held his hand out to Keaira, and after a moment's hestitation, she took hold of it and he helped her up. She held on as Kaiden urged the horse on. After riding for about a half hour, Kaiden finally led Keaira to the outskirts of the forest. Keaira stopped breathing as they neared the very edge. She would be breaking the only rule Carissa had given her, which was to never leave the forest. She could still tell Kaiden to stop.

Still, this could be her only chance to see what the world outside was like. She breathed out as they left the forest.

Kaiden continued the horse forward, oblivious to Keaira's internal struggle. Not too much further from the forest was a large village filled with buildings and people. As they came closer, Keaira noticed they were people who looked similar to herself.

Many of the buildings were taller than any of the faeries' houses. The buildings were spread across the village, and they lined the sides of the paved road, while people milled through the village, going from one building or booth to the next. There were more people than Keaira could have imagined.

Kaiden helped Keaira dismount and he began to led her through. Following Kaiden, she couldn't help but stare at the scene around her. She had this odd feeling inside of her, a mix of excitement and fear, which she had never experienced before. She felt so out of place, but at the same time, she didn't. She was an outsider, but an outsider who fit in.

Kaiden stopped at a booth with a man selling some type of bread. He handed a roll to her. "I am willing to gamble you've never tried anything like this."

Keaira took it hesitantly and ate a small part of it. The bread was soft and almost instantly dissolved in her mouth. It left a sweet taste in her mouth. She quickly ate more as Kaiden chuckled.

While they were standing there, a voice through the crowd called, "Kaiden!" A beautiful young woman who looked around Keaira's age moved her way through the crowd towards them. She smiled when she arrived. "I didn't expect to see you back so soon. Were all the deer too quick for you again?"

Kaiden tried to frown, but it turned into a smile. "Of course not. But I did get distracted." He gestured towards Keaira. "Brianna, this is Keaira. I met her in the forest."

Brianna looked at Keaira and smiled, but her eyes seemed to distrust Keaira. Keaira noticed similarities between she and Brianna, and even though Brianna looked at her warily, Keaira could not help but smile.

"Pleased to meet you." Brianna turned back to Kaiden. "It is well you have returned. Father was prepared to send someone to retrieve you. He wishes to see you back at the palace."

The palace? As if the very mention caused it to appear, Keaira finally noticed a large palace in the distance ahead of her. It was grand, and it seemed to loom over the village.

"Very well," Kaiden sighed. "Keaira, if you would like to come…"

"I am certain Keaira is very busy," Brianna interrupted.

"Actually yes," Keaira said. "I must be going back. My family may wonder… But thank you, Kaiden, for taking me here. It is wonderful."

Kaiden smiled and took Keaira's hand. "Please, come back when you can. And I will try to visit you. It was a pleasure to run into you."

Smiling back, Keaira nodded goodbye to Brianna and then turned and ran back towards the forest. She knew she had most likely been gone too long, but this had been the most incredible day of her life.

Author's Note: This story took less from folklore tales and focused more on Keaira's journey to finding her identity. I took inspiration from the story of "The Stolen Bride" by Lady Francesca Speranza Wilde and decided to have Kaiden find Keaira in the woods. In "The Stolen Bride," a man encounters a woman in the woods who is being kidnapped. Kaiden is not saving Keaira in that sense (at least not yet), but he is helping lead her to that. I also changed the idea of changelings a lot from the original idea. In most folktales, changelings are able to magically look like the child they are replacing, so I used that in order to make the changeling look similar to Keaira. This is the reason the faeries, who are fair-skinned, are able to switch Keaira and the changeling, through magic. This confusion was pointed out to me, so I wanted to make that more clear. However, in most tales changelings are normally found out within a few weeks and are soon switched back. In my story, I wanted to play with the idea that the changeling is able to mimic Keaira almost perfectly. She's been able to live with the king without him suspecting that she is not human, and so she has grown with him for fifteen years. Also I also want to explain the names of my characters. Since so many fairy stories have Celtic origins, I wanted to find names which have meaning and are Celtic. Keaira, who was given the name by the faeries, I found is a Gaelic name which means "little dark one," so I wanted it to be the faeries' way of describing her. I chose the name Kaiden because it is also a Celtic name which means "warrior," and also because I liked the sound of it. Brianna means "strong one" and I think you will find out why very soon. As always, I am open to any suggestions on how to make this story better.

Image information: "Medieval Village 2 Day" by Sol (inSOLense), 2012. Web source: DeviantArt

Bibliography: "Changelings" by D.L. Ashliman. September 3, 1997. Source link: Changelings

"The Stolen Bride" by Lady Francesca Speranza Wilde from Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland. Source link: Sacred Texts