Coexist

Coexist

A fairy tale

By Anna Tan

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2016 Anna Tan

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

For:

Arlee Bird, Damyanti, and my fellow A to Z bloggers.

This story wouldn’t have started without you;

Lohera, who scolds me into doing stuff; and

My beta readers & editor who made me rewrite everything.

Contents

Title Page

Chapter 1: The Cottage in the Woods

Chapter 2: The Adlet’s Story

Chapter 3: The Long-Forgotten Question

Chapter 4: The Unexpected Visitor

Chapter 5: The Glade’s Protector

Chapter 6: The Ghillie Dhu’s Decision

Chapter 7: The King’s Secret

Chapter 8: The Closing of the Gates

Chapter 9: The Rejection

Chapter 10: The Mother’s Fear

Chapter 11: The Imaginary Dragon

Chapter 12: The Witch’s Deal

Chapter 13: The Imps’ Mischief

Chapter 14: The Woman in the Glade

Chapter 15: The Crossing of the Boundary

Chapter 16: The Closed Portal

Chapter 17: The Queen’s Wrath

Chapter 18: The Witch’s Risk

Chapter 19: The Queen’s Judgement

Chapter 20: The Crone’s Tale

Chapter 21: The Story’s Unravelling

Chapter 22: The Dragon’s Solution

Chapter 23: The Shape of the Future

About the Author

Other books

Chapter 1: The cottage in the woods

1954

Jane hurried home. A cool breeze whipped her hair across her face and she brushed it aside.

Beware the dusk. Never stay out in the forest once the sun dips.

Very good advice, she agreed—and yet here she was, the sun dangerously low. There was a faint rumble in the distance. She eyed the sky, noticing the heavy clouds on the horizon for the first time.

Half-forgotten stories of creatures that emerged in the night to eat unsuspecting stragglers raced through her brain. Part of her fifteen-year-old mind rejected them as ridiculous—and yet, she couldn’t help shuddering. What if they were true and not just fanciful stories told to frighten young children? After all, there had to be a reason why their village was enclosed by six-foot walls—and why they barred the gates after sundown. Whether wooden walls would actually be able to protect them against mystical creatures was another thing altogether. Jane couldn’t help feeling sceptical but she didn’t want to get locked out either.

‘Were those herbs worth it, Jane?’ she imagined the village sentry asking as he refused to open the gates. She wondered who would be on duty today—hopefully not Mr. Rowan. He rarely ever took sentry duty these days but when he did, he seemed to delight in making trouble. It didn’t help that he hated her father.

Yes, they keep my mother alive, she said aloud to the wind. Her heart skipped a beat. Mother will be so worried. If she doesn’t kill Father first for letting me go. At least Mary’s not here to slow me down. The path seemed to stretch out in front of her and she tried to take longer strides, her basket thumping against her hip. At this rate, she might just make it home before it got dark—if the weather held. That was a big if, she figured, looking up at the sky again.

Thunder rolled, followed by a howl in the distance. The icy wind sent shivers down her spine. Jane picked up her pace. Old enough to go out on your own? Hah! You were stupid enough to forget your watch and even stupider for not keeping track of the sun.

Barely thirty steps later, the rain began to pour in torrents. Jane tried to shield her eyes with her arm as she desperately searched for a place to wait out the storm. A dim light just off the side of the path attracted her attention.

Lightning flashed. She hitched up her skirt and ran.

The light she had seen shone from the windows of an old-fashioned cottage. Jane hurried under the shelter of the covered porch and pushed her blond hair back from her face as she looked around. The bareness of the porch and the lack of the customary lighted lamp by the door caused her a vague disquiet, but she was so grateful to be out of the rain that she soon dismissed the feeling. She set her basket down by the door and bent to squeeze the water out of her skirt.

Hello? Jane looked around again, pressing against the rough wood of the cottage walls to stay out of the rain. From her current view point, the cottage seemed unlived in—and yet, there was the light that still streamed past her from the windows.

Is anyone home? she called again, knocking hesitantly on the door. No one answered, so she peered through the windows. Through the dirty glass she could see various articles of furniture scattered sparsely across the room—a chair, some rugs, pillows—but other than the occasional flicker of the fire in the grate, nothing stirred. Behind her, something howled again, much closer than before. She looked around uneasily and tried the doorknob.

The door swung open silently.

Standing on the threshold, she looked back and forth between the growing storm behind her and the welcoming fire in front of her. The rain lashed harder, drenching her again. It almost felt as if the wind was trying to blow her into the house. She noticed with dismay a small puddle of water forming at her feet. Taking a deep breath, she stepped in and closed the door behind her.

Still, she stood with her hand on the doorknob, her eyes roving the quiet house, wondering if someone would emerge from the shadows. Minutes passed and Jane slowly relaxed her guard. The warmth of the cottage enveloped her and she soon found herself skirting the low table in the middle of the room and sinking down on the rugs that were piled up by the fireplace. She had almost fallen asleep when the door slammed.

Who’s that? Jane’s voice was shrill in her ears as she sat upright, clutching at the rugs.

There was the sound of scuffling before a deep voice answered, "Shouldn’t I be the one asking? This is my house, after all."

I didn’t mean to—

No, don’t turn around!

Jane froze mid-turn, her gaze settling on the curtains. She could see faint movement from the edge of her eyes. Her imagination ran wild. She squeezed her eyes shut as she imagined him sneaking up on her, wondering if he would have a monstrous face, if his body would be twisted, if he would cook her first, or if he would eat her alive.

You can stay. Just don’t look at me.

Jane tried to speak in measured tones, her heart still pounding. Why... why not? Is there… is there something wrong with you? He didn’t sound dangerous. In fact, he could be anybody from her village or the next. She relaxed her body as she turned back toward the fire, squinting her eyes to try to catch a glimpse of him. The fire was casting shadows in the wrong direction for her to see anything.

No—nothing. You’ll just... Just don’t.

Jane kept her eyes on the fire, trying not to react to the noises behind her or the growing smell of wet dog. The queasy feeling returned.

What are you? she blurted.

There was a sudden silence. What do you mean?

Jane gathered up her courage. There wasn’t much to begin with but she didn’t want to be eaten without ever seeing the creature. She took a deep breath and turned around.

She saw his face first and smiled. He was a good-looking man, with soft brown curls framing a pleasant—but slightly worried—face. He was in the midst of rubbing himself down with a tattered towel, which he hurriedly