Once upon a time, in a distant land, there was a king called The Great Charles, who was proud to be the most powerful king in the whole region and its surrounding areas, for no enemy was standing that did not succumb to his powerful army.
His capacity to execute the combats in battle together with the effectiveness of his generals made him invincible. Every province bowed to the iron hand of the Great Charles.
But one day fate showed him wealth and power were as ephemeral as dreams and even lost their meaning. It was that tragic day when his only daughter fell prey to a terrible disease and no matter how hard the great doctors of the palace and even wizards of great name tried to cure her, they could never succeed.
"O great Lord of Heaven, why do You punish me? Don't You see that I do everything for You?"
In anguish, the king cried out to heaven every day and yet he saw his daughter more and more lost in her illness. It clouded her mind and made her irritable and monstrous as time went by. The delicate and gentle princess that he had known since she was a child would fade away day after day.
In desperation, the King sent all his most precious knights and the seekers of the region to find the cure in all corners of the world and beyond.
The days passed, one after the other, turning into weeks and these in turn into months; the hope of a cure grew dimmer as time went by, for no word came from any of those he had assigned to the task.
The daughter's cries and curses began to flood the palace halls daily, tormenting the servants and subjects; who believed that she had been possessed by demons, and as such, feared being possessed as well. Terrified, few accepted the duty of attending to the needs of the princess. They preferred to receive lashes or other punishments, even to be locked up in dungeons, rather than face the madness of the King's daughter.
The news spread through all the villages near the palace. This is how Alexandra, the daughter of the baker of one of the villages, found out what had happened.
Alexandra used to bring the best bread baked by her father to the palace, but she was never allowed to enter the royal kitchens, much less the palace.
Alexandra, concerned about the state of the princess, volunteered to serve the needs of the king's daughter. Seeing the devotion and determination in her eyes, the royal nurse decided to put her to the test and let her serve the princess.
It was not easy to deal with the princess in that state, however, Alexandra was willing to do everything possible to care for her, even if she was physically and verbally abused.
The king, grateful for Alejandra's dedication, ordered a room to be built in the palace for her. Alejandra rarely used it, since she spent most of her time with the princess, and in her free time, she visited her parents.
In the short moments that she visited her parents, she cried on her mother's legs to vent her impotence to be able to help the princess more. Despite everything she did and making sure all the medicines were administered, the princess did not show any improvement and deteriorated more and more.
Fortunately, when hope was almost gone, one of the knights who had left, in search of the cure, returned with good news. He had finally found an ancient healer who lived in a cave at the top of a mountain, who gave a hint for the cure of the king's daughter. Only the elixir created from the rattlesnake flower could restore her health and avoid the tragic fate to which she had been subjected.
But this flower could bloom only once a year, at the end of autumn, days before winter. And to everyone's difficulty, it only bloomed in the depths of the forbidden forest.
This forest was a very dangerous place, not only because of the ferocious creatures that inhabited it but also because of the legends passed down from generation to generation, indicating that it had been cursed by witches who were burned many years ago. It was said that no man had ever returned alive.
The king, to encourage all people, had a great reward for those who managed to bring the medicinal flower. So great was the value of the reward that it could only be compared with the value of half his kingdom.
In the beginning, many offered themselves to earn the reward that would make them rich for the rest of their lives. However, few were those who managed to leave the forest alive, fleeing in terror from what they found inside it, with their hands empty.
Knights, soldiers, warriors, bounty hunters, vassals, villagers; in the end, they all gave up. However generous the reward, it was not enough to give one's life for it. No one wanted to perish in the quest for the cure. The fate of the king's daughter was doomed to her terrible suffering and ending.
Alexandra, seeing that everyone took for granted the future of the princess, even the King; decided to go into the forest by herself and look for the cure.
She asked the king for permission to do the task. Many laughed when they saw the madness committed by the girl, a simple villager; who was not comparable to the great knights who had failed in the attempt.
They were sure she would not last a day before losing her life or abandoning the mission.
Despite her mother's pleas and her father's prohibitions, she kept her decision and without looking back she left for the forest.
She left at dawn, hiding from the eyes of curious onlookers who might weaken her argument and conviction. Alexandra made sure to take a bag of provisions for several days.
The entrance to the forest was covered with a thick mist, making it look even darker. A cold ran down her back.
"Have courage, don't look back," she said to herself over and over again.
She put one foot in front of the other and continued on her way without knowing what she was facing.
The shadows of the large twisted trees cast her into a cumulus of doubt, then she realized how foolish she had been. She hadn't even brought torches or weapons, how would she defend herself against the creatures of the forest?
As she wandered her footsteps crunched under her feet. At first, it was the dry leaves of the trees, but soon the sounds increased. A scream caught in her throat as she realized it was someone's bones, perhaps those who dared to enter the forest. Distressed she huddled at the foot of a tree.
"What the hell am I doing? These were knights, men trained in the arts of war and dedicated to defending the palace and the King. Yet they perished.
"I'm just a stubborn one. I do not have the training of these warriors."
"I'm such a fool!", she hit her head with her palm.
"Why you lose your faith so soon?"
A deep, familiar voice pulled her out of her trance, soothing her like a strong drink of hot wine.
"You didn't think we were gonna let you be left alone with the reward, did you?"
Another voice sounded on the opposite side.
It was Mike and Jason. Two old friends, she used to drink and hunt with.
“God damn it! Sons of the great bear that bore you! I would have told you never to follow me, this forest is too dangerous!”
"Since when do we listen to you," Mike grumbled
"I'm glad you're here," she wiped away a tear that was peeking out of her eyes.
"We heard about a crazy woman wished to go for the King's reward", said Jason
“We thought it was a joke at first, but if there was someone like that, it would just be the craziest person we know.”, Mike added.
"But you still know that we're equal parts with the loot," Jason added.
"Here, you'll need it."
Mike threw a bow and a bag of arrows at Alexandra.
Alexandra curved her lips, now things had changed.
And so the three adventurers went deeper into the forbidden forest. Mike, with his large stature and thick rope-like arms, plowed through the undergrowth with his huge axe, clearing the way. He used to be a warrior, was part of the king's army and fought many battles, tired he devoted his axe skills to chopping down large trees and selling firewood. Jason, on the other hand, was a thin man, with defined musculature, he was not as tall as Mike, but he slipped through the branches like water in the sand. Alexandra loved it when Jason played his lute, his inseparable stringed instrument that put everyone in a good mood when they frequented the travelers' refuge, the local tavern in the shire.
