One of the Huldu (standard:fairy tales, 2388 words)
Author: Otilia Tena	Added: Jul 09 2010	Views/Reads: 3042/1967	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
The story of Unna Ishildur who falls in love with Alfarr and becomes a hidden one.

One of the Huldu 

That small music box had triggered my first confused wishes and even now
it is difficult to render how a little girl can have the feeling of a 
vague remembrance which seemed to come from somewhere else than her own 
childhood. If it hadn't been for it, I wouldn't sit here, waiting for 
my flight. 

Cooking and sweeping were not her favorite pastime and all hard work,
she let it slip through her fingers. She spent her days reading old 
tales or singing, though nothing of all this could compare to her 
grandfather's enchanting stories. He, in exchange, was very upset that 
she seemed to disregard her homely duties and used to scold her many 
times: "You are lazy and clumsy and you expect to live only with 
singing and combing your hair. You do it on purpose, don't you?" "No, 
grandpa, you see, something weighs on my heart, something I can't tell 
you about..." "Why, Unna?" "Because I can't find a name for it. It's 
more like a sort of grief... each time the music box plays...it sounds 
so far away..." "Sometimes I think you were not made for this world. 
You are visible, you eat, you breathe, yet you don't belong here, Unna 
Ishildur. A child would bound you more to this life." 

I took  a break to fetch myself a coffee but then my flight was
announced. I shut it down quickly and five minutes later my passionate 
thoughts met the cloudy window which had probably kept company to many 
others like me. To be a lady teacher was the foremost feature of my 
life, but to be a lady teacher in Iceland sounded quite exotic to me, 
almost like raspberries with a touch of ice on a usual breakfast plate. 
My dreams about the unknown mingled with the embroidery of my story. 

Their village belonged to an unknown lord, whom people referred to as
"the hidden one" because nobody had seen him nor knew where he lived. 
This may be why they feared him so much. One day Unna and her 
grandfather and many other people saw a caravan of nomad wagons camping 
close to their house. A woman with milk – white skin came to Unna, 
carrying her two children. "I am ready to serve you with anything, 
miss, I want a bath for me and my children". "Who's next?"Unna asked. 
"The whole caravan? Take your children and go away!" "No, miss, it's 
just us. I'll do anything you ask me to". "Anything? Very well", Unna 
said,"then give me one of your children for good. Grandpa said only a 
child can keep me in this world." "You can have my child and I can cook 
and sweep", the white nomad said. "That's good because grandpa isn't 
satisfied with the work I do. You can stay". The old man asked what her 
name was and the nomad woman said they called her Nuri Peperuga. They 
found out that she was believed to be a night murderer and that the 
nomads had banished her. Unna saw the hidden notches on her body while 
she was taking the bath. She swore that nothing of this was true and 
begged them to let her stay. The old man was pleased with her work and 
considered her arrival a fortunate event, since Unna had adopted the 
nomad woman's child and he had a new grandson. Nuri Peperuga loved the 
old man's stories, since she had never heard of elves or hidden people 
before. One afternoon Nuri was cooking and Unna was combing her hair 
and singing. She ignored her grandfather and the children, as she often 
did. "Who is the lord of this village?" Nuri asked suddenly. The old 
man startled with a shiver. "Nobody knows", he said. "People fear to 
mention him even without a name. So it is better not to talk about 
him". "I am not coward like you all! Why do you have to be afraid of 
him?" "You and your nomads should be even more scared, since you are 
intruders", the old man said. "He'd better fear us, me and my people! 
Nay, he'd better fear me alone! My knives can cut anyone!" "You, 
foolish woman! If he heard you, you are lost". The following day, Unna 
was home alone. Nuri had gone out to buy some food and the children 
were playing with their neighbours. The old man was out telling stories 
to the people. Unna heard someone knock at the door and opened. She saw 
a tall man, his face half covered by the hood. "Are you Nuri 
Peperuga?"he asked. "Yes". "The woman who said she is not afraid of our 
lord?" "Yes, I am". He stepped inside but his face was still under the 
hood. Unna offered him cookies made by Nuri. He ate and asked: "Who 
made the cookies?" "I made them", she said. Then the man stood up and 
uncovered his face. Unna instantly dropped the tray, such a beautiful 
youth he was. She closed her eyes and kissed him on the lips, as if 
struck with fever. Then one sound slap on her cheek woke her up. "You, 
shameless woman!" he said. "Come! Our lord sent me to bring you to him. 
You will receive your punishment directly from him". He took Unna with 
him on his horse and she leaned her head against his back as they rode 


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