In the days of grand castles, valiant knights, and fiery dragons there was a King who was not kind to his people. His Queen, however, was a very kind-hearted woman and would beg her master on behalf of the people. She bore many bruises but always managed to smile softly to her people when in public with the tyrant King. There were no children in this cold gray castle. The King wanted a son to inherit his kingdom, and told his Queen that only a son would be allowed to live. She was very afraid to tell her King of her pregnancy. Only her nurse knew.
Late one night a child was delivered, a tiny girl with her mother's very bright red hair, and not a hint of the King's features. The nurse quickly fled with the baby, whom the Queen named Adel. The King, while helping one of the brazen servant girls from his quarters, saw the nurse hustle down the hallway with a bundle. Growing suspicious, the King burst into the Queen's room, to find her recovering from the delivery. "YOU will pay for this!" he growled, and turned to peruse the nurse.
By the time the King had retrieved his bow and quiver (he was an excellent archer) the nurse was at the edge of the woods. He took aim, released, and watched his arrow plunge into the round nurse's back … yet she continued to run. He set his best hunters and their hounds to find the nurse with orders to bring the body of the girl to him. He returned to the castle, but only to find that his wife had breathed her last and he would not be able to have his revenge on her.
In the woods, the nurse continued to run until she could no more. She sat and cradled young Adel, and cried to the winds for help. Her spirit had left her body by the time the small glints of light began hovering near the tree against which she leaned. The lights danced around the newborn, then flitted off into the woods. Soon many animals began to appear … and a hawk gently lifted the baby onto the back of a doe and they disappeared just as the hounds came crashing through the underbrush. The hunters found nothing but the nurse, still cradling a blood-stained cloth. The King was furious, and every hunter lost his head in the courtyard.
Many years later, the people revolted, and a new kind King held the throne. His son, Prince Derek, was obsessed with the stories of a mysterious woman with hair of flames that haunted the woods. She was said to be very beautiful and very fast, and only a few who had been into the deepest part of the woods claimed to have seen her.
Meanwhile, Princess Adel had been raised by the animals of the forest. She was playful as the squirrels, lean and fast like the deer (the doe having been her mother figure), keen and sharp like the fox, silent and wise as the owl, and cunning as the hawk (her father figure) who was always near her. She had long curling red hair, bright as flames in the sunlight. Her skin was dazzling white and speckled with freckles. Her eyes were sharp piercing green, and her lips were petal red. She wore clothing fashioned of leaves for her by the fairies, and it was coated with their dust making it shimmer. Her legs were long and fast, and she could move through the forest without a sound. The fairies had also given her a bow and arrows. The hawk had taught her to hunt, and she was very good. She only hunted for food, however, and usually ate fruit and nuts with her family of forest creatures. The fairies had taught her to speak, the entire forest helped her become a very sexy young being for they knew that one day she must find a male of her own kind and leave the home they had made for her.
It was a hot summer day when Derek ventured farther into the woods than he ever had before. His blond hair dripped sweat from time to time on his forehead, and he reached up to wipe it from his clear blue eyes. He did not carry a sword, for he knew if he saw this creature he would not want to frighten her, that is if she existed. He sat and was about to take out a skin of light wine when he saw her. She was looking right at him, holding a bow … aiming right for his heart. He wondered how long she had been watching him across the clearing. He put down the skin and stayed very still. She was beautiful! More so than he had dreamed so many times. He could see the outline of her breasts, which were full and firm. Her exposed belly was slender and soft looking, her legs long and shapely … and her eyes. It was as if she could see into his soul. He sat breathlessly watching her stare at him. Suddenly she cocked her head sideways, as if she were listening to something. Derek looked, and there was a hawk in a branch above her. Could she communicate with the animals of the forest? Suddenly her eyes turned back to him and she lowered her bow. "Should I move?" the Prince asked himself.
She listened intently to the hawk: "He is the new King's son, a perfect match for you my dear. Lower your weapon and do not run." He was the most amazing example of her species she had seen. His blond hair was wet with sweat, his blue eyes were inviting, and his body … lean and tan … sent shivers down her spine. She remembered what the animals had taught her about what men like in a woman. She slowly took the green fairy clothing from her body. Her firm breasts glowed in the afternoon sun, and her belly curved down to inviting hips, and between them a small mound of light red curls glistened invitingly. The Prince's mouth dropped open and she smiled at him and walked into the middle of the clearing and knelt. "My name is Adel."
The Prince gasped, "You speak?"
