Ahhh, I know this place, thank you for reminding me of it, it has been sooo long...so very long...
I was the infant child, found in the basket, floating slowly downstream, discarded as trash by my mother back in that awful city, only to be found by the wood faeries as they bathed in the enchanted stream, down by the meadow, and pulled from the water, trembling and hungry, yet wide-eyed, and not afraid.
Adopted by the mystical ones, adorned with raiments of silk, and fine linen, decorated with precious stones, and tiaras of fine silver, a favorite playmate of all manner of creatures, great and small, a rider of unicorns and wolves, a climber of tress, and a passenger upon the backs of the raven and other birds of prey. I was sheltered by the tallest of trees, and warmed by the dry grasses of the plain, shown the hidden majesty of all the wilderness, and all the magic therein, as I supped of the wild roots, and succulent berries, and the sweet leaves of tender greens...
I was guarded by giants, and schooled by the wise ones, washed and dressed and groomed by elven and faerie hand-maidens alike, so very loved by all, in innocence, without carnality, for who would dare besmirch such a girl, such a pure, wide-eyed, sweet, innocent, and precious little girl?
My joy was always the joy of the free ones, the magical, mystical, humorous, and noble ones, I was raised as a princess in exile, allied with the dwellers of the forest, the dancers upon moonlit meadows, and the sage storytellers, lit by warming fires..
For countless ages, I lingered there, never reaching the age of fertility, always clinging to my purity, and my hope, and the dream that someday, someway, somehow, my true love would come into the forest and find me, and my truest love, he would take me from my wondrous sojourn in this enchanted, pastoral paradise, and he would teach me the ways of humankind, and womanhood, and the ways of his world, and show me who I was truly born to be...
Living in exile, I never pondered the world beyond the forest, I was mostly content to frolic and dance and play and sing and swim and listen and learn and enjoy the marvels of such exquisite and magnificent forms, so when the trumpets of the watchers of the edge sounded, and the tingles ran down my spine, the tears began to flow from my face, and they fell wet upon my blouse, and my hands began to shake, because all my friends and allies and protectors, one and all, began to turn, and look to me, and their eyes were full of sadness, and then I knew, I knew in my very soul, that my time with them was growing short, for someone of my kind, somebody great, somebody with authority, somebody full of true righteousness, was entering the forest, and he was entering unopposed, for all the dwellers therein knew why he had come, for his mission was just, he had come for ME.
And so, my time amongst the faeries, and trees, and elves, and giants, and snakes, and wizards, and unicorns, and all the other noble creatures, great and small, had come to pass, and the age of womanhood was now upon me, so they came to me, one by one, and hugged me, and left a trail of soft kisses upon my rosy cheeks, and they then disappeared back into the trees and left me sitting there, in the meadow, with the sun glistening in my long blonde hair, and when this man emerged from the dark wood a moment later, and entered the meadow, he saw me, and his face lit up like the stars, and his sweet, strong, intelligent eyes, they looked deep into my very soul, and a smile broke across his handsome, rugged face, and my heart melted, and I stood up, and I ran to meet him, and he swept me up into his arms, and he wept as I wept, and he carried me away.
And it was good. It was so very, very good.
