~ by Amanda Pizzolatto
Once upon a time, there lived a knight who had three children. His two sons had already grown up and left their father’s castle to become knights like him, and his daughter was not far from reaching adulthood as well.
Soon, the knight’s castle would be open not only to merchants, travelers, and entertainers but also to suitors. And come suitors did, from miles around, doing everything they could to obtain the love of the knight’s daughter, and the good opinion of her father. However, only one man caught her eye and her attention, and that was the son of the head merchant in those parts.
Her father’s only problem with her choice was that the merchant’s son’s state in life was lower than that of his daughter’s, and the knight could not approve of the match until the merchant’s son had risen to a higher status. But the young man couldn’t think of a way to raise his status, or find a way around the knight’s decision – at least not until a rival knight attacked the castle one afternoon.
The castle was thrown into instant turmoil, the chaos spreading like wildfire to the neighboring farms. Those who were not citizens of the keep were ordered to evacuate with the farmers. Everyone in the traveling groups immediately complied, except for the merchant’s son. He, instead, raced towards the tower where his beloved’s room was located, seeing that she was trapped by the battle raging outside of her door.
When he got there, her father had disarmed the soldiers and was taking her out of harm’s way. The young man followed quickly, doing what little he could to keep their backs covered – nearly losing sight of the knight and his daughter a couple of times.
It was only when they arrived at the guardhouses just outside the gates that things took a turn for the worse. The knight and his daughter were separated during a surprise attack by the rival knight, and the merchant’s son quickly stepped in to get her to safety. The two of them disappeared into the shadows.
No one knows what happened to them after that. Her father didn’t live to see another day, and, after they had avenged their father, her brothers could find no clues as to where she and the merchant’s son had gone.
To find the answer, it may be best to ask them yourself, for many believe that it is they who haunt the castle as the sun sets – appearing just as the sun is nothing but a sliver on the horizon. You can sense their presence when the guardhouses are lit with an eerie purple light. Sometimes one is filled with the aromas of exotic spices and the sea; the other is filled with the scent of roses and lavender. The lights and the scents then move from the guardhouses to converge on the drawbridge, before traveling over the bridge and disappearing into the night.