Golden (Fairytales Retold) by J. L. Youngblood & Avon Bard

Author:J. L. Youngblood & Avon Bard [Youngblood, J. L. & Bard, Avon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ditch Lily Press
Published: 2025-03-09T00:00:00+00:00

THE COBBLER

The next morning, Tabian was awoken by bright ribbons of sunlight dancing in through the window. He stirred, trying to clear away the remaining cobwebs of sleep. Hazy recollections drifted back like the comforting notes of a nearly forgotten song. He remembered the flutter of nimble, cool fingers against his skin as Katerina tended to his wounds. She’d been surprisingly gentle and tentative, far too comforting for a woman who’d proven herself to be wily and dangerous. He’d refused her help at first, but she insisted. He was coming to learn that Katerina was fiercely headstrong and didn’t like to back down. Their whispered argument had been punctuated by stormy glares and muttered retorts. She’d warned him to keep his voice down so that Bartholomew, asleep in the next room, wouldn’t wake up.

When Katerina insisted that he take her four-poster wooden bed and the mattress made of feathers, Tabian balked, arguing that he’d prefer to sleep on the floor. However, she wouldn’t have it. She spread a blanket on the floor for herself, where she lay down and sang soft lullabies into the stillness of the room until he drifted off to sleep.

He sifted through his brain to recall what Katerina had sung about. He’d told himself last night that the details were important to remember.

What was the song about? He reached into the corners of his mind, grasping until he finally got it. While he couldn’t remember the particular lyrics or tune, the essence of the lullaby came rushing back. A beautiful bird with soft yellow feathers would come and light on a Cobbler’s windowsill, where she would regale him with the most beautiful songs the human ear had ever heard. Day after day, the little bird would come and watch the Cobbler work.

Eventually, she fell in love with him. She went to an enchantress and begged the woman to make her human so she could be with the cobbler. The enchantress agreed—for a price. The little bird was bound to do the bidding of the enchantress for the rest of her life. She was so in love with the Cobbler that she agreed. However, the bird didn’t realize that the enchantress was evil. She wielded great power over the bird-turned-maiden and forced her into servitude.

The maiden and the cobbler eventually had a daughter. After her daughter was born, the maiden realized that she couldn’t be an example of goodness to her young daughter while remaining in bondage to the enchantress, where she was forced to do things that wavered on the edge of right and wrong. To protect her family, she eventually turned herself back into a bird and flew away.

An understanding settled heavily on his chest. Katerina hadn’t merely sung a song; she’d told him her story. He’d wondered which she truly was—a maiden or a bird. It would seem that she was both. A pang of sadness went through him. He and Katerina shared a similar history. Both of them knew the acute loss of growing up without their mothers.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.