Rampion
Prologue
There was once a husband and a wife who wanted a child. They wished and they prayed and finally, they were blessed with a baby girl.
Their life was filled with glee and all seemed well until a strange illness struck the wife and she began to demand equally strange things of her husband.
She ordered him to fetch her some rampion from the garden of the woman who lived behind them, and because he loved her and he wished to please her, the husband ravaged the garden and stole most of the herb.
The wife ate and ate and ate, and demanded for more during the night. And because he loved her and he wished to please her, the husband returned to the garden to fetch some more rampion. But alas, the garden belonged to a young sorceress and she was waiting for him when he returned to her garden.
"How dare you?" she hissed "How dare you steal my herbs and destroy my garden? You will pay!"
The husband was paralyzed with terror and could not run nor speak as the sorceress advanced upon him.
"You will give me that child that is growing inside of your greedy wife. When she is born, you will give her to me or I will kill you and your wife."
The man was so frightened that he agreed and when the dreaded day came, he took the child away from his sleeping wife and handed her to the sorceress.
The sorceress then took the child and locked her in a tower, until the day came that the sorceress could properly use the child.
Their life was filled with glee and all seemed well until a strange illness struck the wife and she began to demand equally strange things of her husband.
She ordered him to fetch her some rampion from the garden of the woman who lived behind them, and because he loved her and he wished to please her, the husband ravaged the garden and stole most of the herb.
The wife ate and ate and ate, and demanded for more during the night. And because he loved her and he wished to please her, the husband returned to the garden to fetch some more rampion. But alas, the garden belonged to a young sorceress and she was waiting for him when he returned to her garden.
"How dare you?" she hissed "How dare you steal my herbs and destroy my garden? You will pay!"
The husband was paralyzed with terror and could not run nor speak as the sorceress advanced upon him.
"You will give me that child that is growing inside of your greedy wife. When she is born, you will give her to me or I will kill you and your wife."
The man was so frightened that he agreed and when the dreaded day came, he took the child away from his sleeping wife and handed her to the sorceress.
The sorceress then took the child and locked her in a tower, until the day came that the sorceress could properly use the child.