Dawn

Dawn
White gauze sailed through the stifling silence across the dark silver
of the forest. Softly, gliding, floating like a falling leaf on the
breeze, swirling it moves through the air. Round and round and round it
goes till the sun wakes. Then all is gone.

Enticing its victim to its trap, preparing to take its deadly bite, the
wearer of this white gauze is not for the eyes of you and me. No,
beware, for after midnight, in the deep murky depths of the forest
there you will find them, dancing. And if you see them, it may be the
last sight you ever see. For the dance of the white ladies is not for
the eyes of the living.

This is the story of Dawn, and all those who hear this story listen and
pay heed, because you never know, it might happen to you.

A raven perched on a nearby tree. Its black beady eyes silently watched
Dawn. Never letting her out of its sight, it watched the girl picking
flowers in the dark forest. Her hair poured in the darkness like rays
of the sun. Smiling as she bent down she lit up the four corners of the
world. The raven pruned its feathers never missing any movement. Then
all of a sudden the raven flew away as if it had never been
there.

Like a flame she stood tall and bright in the darkness, but all flames
in the end burn out and are reduced to ashes.

Dawn gathering the flowers in a blue ribbon, walked back to the small
house. In the house, her father and his newly wed wife sat at a wooden
table. Dawn's mother had died giving birth to Dawn. Her father had
recently decided that Dawn needed a mother and had married a beautiful
woman called Hera. The wife with her long black hair scowled at the
sight of Dawn. Putting the flowers in a vase, Dawn saw a blood red
envelope on the table. It had the royal emblem on it. Opening it, she
gasped on realisation.

She had received a royal invite saying there was to be Royal Ball at
the palace as it was Prince Arthur's birthday. The King wished his son,
the Prince to meet every suitable lady in the kingdom and from among
them chose a wife. Dawn was overcome with excitement and joy, for she
had fallen into Hope's trap, so she rushed upstairs to get ready. She
had never dreamed of anything this wonderful.

The raven flew in the air, something white glistened in its beak.

When she arrived at the palace, everyone's eyes were focused on her as
she was the most beautiful thing there. The Prince's eyes met Dawn's
and he wanted her for himself. Quickly, he asked whether she would care
to take this dance with him. They started to dance, addicted with each
other, not noticing anything else around them. But if they had, Dawn
would have seen her step mother's black beady eyes watching with
jealousy.
While Dawn danced with the King, the evil step mother in her disguise
as an old hag slithered up to the prince. Slowly, she spun her web of
deceit, trapping the Prince in her evil; she produced the white circle,
with the picture of the rose on it.
The Prince hungry to win Dawn, sold all he had.
He gave his thanks, turning to see if Dawn was back yet. He asked what
the step-mother's name was, but when he looked back there was no one
there. When Dawn came back, he was anxious to give the little white
present he had to her.
'Dawn, there is something I want to say to you. Here is a present for
you.'
Dawn looked dubiously at it. 'What is it?
'A token of my love.'
A flicker of doubt crossed her mind but she pushed it away to the back
of her mind. He placed the poison on her hand. Swallowing the white
circle, she smiled and said, 'Would you like to dance again?'

They started to dance, Dawn wondering what the present actually
was.
On and on she danced.
Weightlessly she glided in his arms. The walls started to enclose on
her, squeezing and trapping. His face leered at her and she could see
the sweat oozing out of his pores.
On and on she danced.
The music pounded on her head and lights flashed. The Prince pressed
her close to him.
On and on she danced.
Suddenly she had a pain in her chest- no breath left to dance, no
strength to take another step. Then she collapsed. "Why have you done
this?" she cried. Her heart was broken with the thought of his
betrayal. In the far distance, she could hear someone laugh.

In the deep, murky depths of a forest, a patch of freshly dug soil
stirred, heaved and out of her grave stepped Dawn, veiled and dressed
in gauzy white as all white ladies are. She had lost her golden
radiance, instead she was silver like the light of the moon and bathed
in a cool but intense brilliance. Her slippers were like slivers of the
moon and her silver gown shone crescents and luminous circles of light.
Her eyes were silver, cold and exact.
The other white ladies formed a circle around her, pressing closer,
greedy for tales of suffering and woe to feed on. "Tell us, tell us,
tell us," they groaned, shaking the branches on nearby trees. Slowly,
flatly she recited her story without any emotion. At the end, she
paused and sighed. They then let out an awful unearthly moan that would
strike fear in even the bravest of hearts.
Hatred pulsed through their still hearts, ravenous for revenge they
drifted away dancing to a rhythm that was not of this earth. Doomed to
dance for ever, the wraith- like creatures soared and rose through the
darkness, before pouncing on their prey. To the last breath, they
danced their wretched victim. Suddenly, a cock crowed in some faraway
farmyard and a church bell began to ring. The white ladies were
powerlessly drawn back to their worm-ridden graves, till another
night.

A raven perched on a nearby tree. Its black beady eyes silently watched
Dawn.

And every night Dawn carries on dancing forever waiting for him to
come, to seek her revenge.

Look! Now only ashes are left.