Tale 24- The Captive Star

 The Traveler approached the entrance to a new town, where an old woman was selling various pieces of jewellery which sparkled in the light. Knowing she couldn’t afford any, the Traveler nearly walked past, before noticing something strange. One of the necklaces, a gold chain, had a charm attached, a small birdcage. Moving closer, the old lady noticed her watching and smiled, beginning to speak to her. “Are you curious about this one?” she asked, pointing at the necklace, and the Traveler shyly nodded, wordless as per usual. The old lady took it into her hands and gently opened and closed a tiny door on the charm, before musing to herself. “This necklace had a story, once. My son acquired it and gave it to me…apparently it belonged to his best friend…” she thought aloud, the Traveler looking at her in curiosity. The woman noticed her expression and gave a small, resigned smile. “You want to hear it?” she asked, the Traveler eagerly nodding. “Very well then. He called it the tale of ‘the captive Star’”

‘Once upon a time, there was a princess living in a grand palace, where she regularly held balls and feasts to search for a husband, as it was her greatest wish to be married. But, she never found one, due to them all worrying about being below her in status. Becoming frustrated, she began to learn magic, and due to knowing that stars held wishes, decided to cast a spell to drag the most powerful one down to earth. Since she had nothing to contain it with, she transformed her favourite necklace into a cage for the star, and trapped it inside. Many people were infuriated by this decision, since it was selfish of her to keep the star all for herself, so she created a challenge: if any man could free the star, he would be granted the honour of her hand in marriage. One of the men in the kingdom heard of this and decided to take part, though he had no desire to get married. He simply knew the power of the stars and had wishes he wanted to be granted, so he set out to partake in the challenge. Many guards and commoners alike tried to free the star by snatching the necklace from her neck, but none of them succeeded, as she would cast spells when they got too close. Seeing this, the man snuck into the palace during one of the challenges and borrowed a bow and arrow, managing to shoot the necklace and free the star whilst the princess was distracted with other contestants. Not knowing immediately who shot the necklace, she tried to recapture the star, but it flew toward the hidden man and they fled, the man allowing it to rise back into the stars. After many years of granting his greatest wishes, the man eventually died peacefully in the company of his friends, handing over the necklace which he’d grabbed in the scuffle, and rose up to the heavens, where he became immortalised as an archer.’

The old woman gently touched the necklace so it began to swing back and forth, watching as the Traveler transcribed the tale, leaning the book on her arm for support. Curious, the old woman took a peek, before gasping aloud at the intricate illustrations. Startled, the Traveler withdrew, the old woman immediately backing off. She moved back to her table, and the Traveler looked down at the gold chain again, knowing she couldn’t afford it. The old lady gave her a smile, and waved her off as she entered the town, the Traveler giving little more than a slight wave in reply as she disappeared into the dense crowd.

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