by Allan Cole
Hilde was seized with an uncontrollable fury. She raised the sword on high. Strangely, Swann cowered.
"You’ll pay! You’ll pay!" Hilde shouted.
She started to swing. But just then a voice came from nowhere, crying, "Stop, child!"
Hilde stopped. She looked around and saw a misty figure floating across the creek. It was a woman, with long hair, a willowy form and a beautiful face.
"Nerthus!" Hilde breathed. "You’ve finally come!"
The figure of Nerthus flowed between Hilde and Swann. The blacksmith was frozen in fear at this apparition.
"No matter how much you hate him," Nerthus said
to Hilde, "you can’t harm your father."
"But he killed my mother," Hilde protested. "He should pay!"
"It’s not for you to set the price for his crime," Nerthus said. She held out her hand. "Give me the sword, child."
Hilde felt a sudden glow of rightness and purity. She willingly handed over the marvelous blade. The misty figure turned on Swann. The blacksmith was weeping, frightened out of his wits.
"Don’t hurt me," he wailed. "I didn’t mean it. It was an… an… accident! That’s all! An accident!"
"I’m not here to punish you, friend," said the ghostly figure that was Nerthus. "But to offer you a boon."
Swann looked at her, surprised. "A boon?" he asked. "What do you mean?"
"I’m taking your daughter with me," she said. "To a much better place than this."
Then she held up the sword. A beam of light lanced down from the heavens, striking the blade and making it glow like pure gold.
"Behold!" The Goddess said. "The sword henceforth known as Joyeuse!"
She turned the flat of the blade toward the crowd and all could see that the magical light had etched that word upon the blade in elegant script: JOYEUSE.
Nerthus said, "Know that this sword – Joyeuse - is destined to be wielded by a great king. A king beloved by the people for his generosity. A king who will unify all the lands of Europe under one holy banner.
"I shall keep it safe until the day comes for it to be delivered into the hands of that king."
Swann got a greedy look in his eyes. Goddess or not, he saw opportunity here. "What do I care for kings?" he said. "Anyone can see the sword is of great value. What will you give me for it?"
Nerthus paused, gazing down at this avaricious man. Then she smiled and said, "I’ll give you anything you wish, blacksmith. Speak and it will be yours."
Swann gobbled. "Anything?"
Lady Nerthus nodded. "Only make certain," she warned, "that it is your deepest, most heart-felt desire."
Swann sighed heavily. "All I’ve ever wanted," he said, "is a bit of peace."
He was about to say more, to say that he required a chest of gold and more to secure his wish when Nerthus spoke: "Then peace you shall have."
She waved a wispy hand. And Swann’s wish was granted.
A few moments later the villagers rushed up and found Swann lying by the bank, eyes staring at the clear morning sky. He was motionless, but quite alive.
Hilde and the wondrous sword were nowhere to be seen. The villagers searched for her all that day and most of the night, but she was never heard from again.
As for the blacksmith, they carried him to his hut and laid him out on his pallet. He lived for twenty years after that, although he never required food or drink.
In all that time he didn’t move, or even blink.
And the only words he ever spoke were these:
"Peace. Just a little peace."
The End
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About The Author
ALLAN COLE is a best-selling author, screenwriter and former prize-winning newsman. The son of a CIA operative, Cole was raised in the Middle East, Europe and the Far East. Among his works is the fantasy classic - The Timura Trilogy. His other speculative works include The Far Kingdoms series and the Sten series - which he wrote with the late Chris Bunch. To investigate other e-book and short story offerings from Allan visit his Smashwords site: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/alcole His homepage is at http://www.acole.com and his bookstore is at http://sites.google.com/site/colesnewspreviews/Bulletins/allan-s-bookstore, And be sure in to read his popular blog: My Hollywood MisAdventures at http://allan-cole.blogspot.com/
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