Week Eleven Storytelling: Heart's Desire

Aethelreda was a curious child, learning to crawl by the time she was four months old.

As she was the princess of the kingdom, her parents were delighted by her curiosity. Aethelreda grew up quickly, switching from various fascinations once she mastered them.

It wasn’t until she tried to become a knight that she found her happiness. Every day she learned horse riding and sword fighting.

By the time she was eighteen, she had helped everyone she could in the capital city and surrounding towns.

“Father, I long to go on a real quest. I want to find my fated one,” she pleaded.

“Very well, my child. In the treasure room, there is a magic mirror. Use it to find your heart’s desire.” The king smiled down at her.

“Thank you, Father!” Aethelreda kissed his cheek before racing to the treasure room. As soon as she was inside, Aethelreda spotted the ornate handheld mirror.

Staring into the depths of her reflection, she made her wish. “Show me the man who will stand by my side.”

Her image rippled, and the mirror showed a tall man, half-dressed in armor. His muscles rippled in the sunlight, and his shield laid on the ground next to him, the name Artemis emblazoned onto it.

So my fated one is Artemis. She couldn’t explain it, but Aethelreda was disappointed. He was a strong knight, but her heart didn’t move.

But the mirror can’t be wrong. So Aethelreda bid her parents farewell and rode off in search of Artemis.

She followed his trail for a week, stopping to help whoever needed her. By the time she finally saw him, she was in a different country.

Keeping her helmet on and concealing her identity, she shouted at him from atop her horse. “Sir Artemis! Fight me so that I may see you are worthy!”

“Sir Knight, I accept your challenge!”

The two knights crossed swords, desperately searching for the upper hand. As the battle wore on, the two began to tire, but Aethelreda would not give up.

As she threw all her remaining strength into her final blow, she knocked the sword right out of his hands.  

“You…you’ve bested me.” Artemis’s face was contorted in shock. “As the loser of this battle, I shall serve you and your noble quest.”

He’s so loyal. But she did not love the man before her. I’m certainly not going to tell him that he was my quest.

“It is sunset. Let us camp for the night.”

“My liege,” Artemis replied before embarking to make a fire.

“How was this wrong?” Aethelreda studied the mirror in her bag. “Artemis is nice, but we cannot be destined to get married.”

Maybe I wasn’t clear enough, Aethelreda realized, before making eye contact with her reflection again. “Show me the one I am fated to be with and love with all my heart.”

Aethelreda’s image dissolved, and a new one formed.

This time it wasn’t Artemis.

The mirror displayed a woman riding a horse through the woods with reckless abandon. Her silky blond hair flowed in waves behind her. Her pale skin glowed in the moonlight, but her expression was grim.

Aethelreda’s heart skipped a beat. She’s beautiful.

This… she’s what’s been missing. And everything made a little more sense.

“Where can I find her?” Aethelreda insisted, watching the picture change again.

In the image, she was surrounded by dark woods with no distinguishing features.

How am I going to find her? The woman in the mirror glanced behind her with fear before urging her white horse faster. I must find her before whoever she is running from does.

“Artemis! There is an emergency! We must leave at once!” Aethelreda called, and he came running.

“Yes, my liege!” He mounted his horse, and they were off at a breakneck pace.

They rode east, trying to find the land that was already so dark.

They galloped through the twilight, Artemis already proving himself to be a loyal knight. I hope we shall go on more quests together.

After some time had passed, Artemis shouted over the steady rhythm of hooves. “My liege, we must rest or our horses will give out!”

He is right. “Yes, Artemis!”

They came to a stop near a stream.

“May I ask what the emergency is?” Artemis’s words were soft.

“I—” Just as she was about to tell him everything, hooves thundering on packed dirt echoed through the forest. Artemis and Aethelreda jumped on their horses and prepared their swords, waiting for whatever came for them.

Just as the noise became almost deafening, out of the woods shot a pale figure.

It was her. Instinctively, Aethelreda rode after her, her loyal knight following behind.

The radiant figure turned in fear to see two knights chasing her too. She urged her horse again, but it could only go so fast.

“We are here to help!” Aethelreda cried.

“Then do something about that horrible beast!” the woman insisted, her voice like music to Aethelreda.

“I will defeat whatever it is you run from!” Aethelreda declared, spinning her horse around and taking off in the opposite direction.

Aethelreda only had to ride for a few moments before she came across a terrifying creature who looked to be half-giant and half-beast.

“You will cease at once!” she declared without fear, and it roared toward her.

Aethelreda and Artemis fought together, making quick work of the monster.

“Let us return to her!”

They raced back towards where they’d last seen the woman.

Finally Aethelreda spotted her hair dancing in the wind.

When they reached her, Aethelreda dropped to one knee, removing her helmet.

“My fair lady, when I asked my father’s magic mirror for my fated one, I saw your face and have only desired you since. Pray, if my affections go unanswered, you may leave at once. But if there is hope for me, tell me your name.”

The enchanting woman smiled down at Aethelreda. “I am Florence.”

Author's Note: I had a lot of fun writing this adaptation. In the original story, the warrior princess Britomart looks into a magic mirror and sets off after her fated one, Artegall. At one point while she is riding through the woods on her quest, an enchanting woman named Florinell rides by as if running from something. Although I'm not sure whether or not I ever figured out who Florinell was, I loved the idea of her running through the woods, and Britomart going to help her. So, I just changed the initial prophecy a bit and ended up with my fierce lesbian warrior princess. 

As always, I played around with names. I thought about simplifying Britomart's name to something like Brittney, but it just didn't have the same feel. Instead, I found out that her name meant fair maiden, so I picked another unique name with a similar meaning as Aethelreda means "noble maiden." I wanted to change Artegall's name to something like Artie or Arthur, but Artie felt too short for the time period and Arthur is too synonymous with the knights of the round table. So I kept three letters and decided on Artemis. For Florinell, I kept the same first four letters and simply switched it to Florence (probably because I love Florence & The Machine so much that the working title was Florence & the Warrior Queen).

Bibliography: "Faerie Queen - Britomart" by Mary Macleod.

Image Information: "Antique Edwardian Silver Hand Mirror" by Lamerie. Cropped slightly.