Batya started growing curious as time went by, dwelling in Thule—that's what Sarah called it; this city was called Thule. Strange name, strange land, strange people—Sarah and her daughter Hagar barely went out, and if they did, they only went at dawn and got back before people were awake. She didn't know why they had to live in fear and trembling, but whatever it was they were scared of, it must be great and life-threatening. But why haven't they left? She can't imagine having to live the way they are living.
Caden had woken up, and he was getting better, thanks to Sarah's treatment. The old lady seems to know more about healing than she thought, though she didn't use any powers. Not that she had witnessed her not using any, but so far she had only applied paste and tonics she had concocted from herbs.
"Is there a way we can get out of here safely?" The princess asked the old lady one night as they sat around the stone table inside the hut to eat.
"There is, but it is very dangerous," she replied, swallowing the small fish she had been chewing. Batya had noticed over her stay with them how they valued fish and meat; it seemed it wasn't all the time you got to feed on animals. She didn't ask why; she didn't want to ask too many questions lest she get angry and throw them out.
"Where?"… Caden asked, and Hagar looked at Sarah before she replied.
"Thule is a strange land; once here, either you accept the land or the land accepts you; one way or the other, you are stacked here until the portal that sent you here is opened."
"And if it doesn't open?"
"Then you have to force it open." Sarah replied.
Seeing the looks of total confusion on their guests' faces, Sarah smiled and ate in silence, explaining to them the ways of Thule. Until they understand that Thule comes into existence when a portal is opened, and until no portal is opened, the existence of Thule is only known in books.
***
The castle of Thule sat majestically at the center of the city; its catchy looks and blinks were all it took for everyone to know that those living in the castle experienced nothing but sheer luxury. As people of Thule, even if nothing in the land was worthy enough to boast off to strangers who were unlucky enough to get sent to this land, they could proudly boast of their castle. It didn't matter if only a few of them got the chance to enter there once; at least they got to wake up every day and look at the castle and forget about the harsh living conditions in the land.
Ruled by a man who was so cruel and selfish, the people of Thule only knew to please him and nothing else; curfew and autocracy were what they lived on, and they were fine with it as long as nothing upset the king.
Mistakes were one of the things he loathed, and perfection was always his goal. Dressed like a doll in gold, he looked like a side attraction at an event. He sat on his perfectly carved throne with a perfectly dressed woman seated on his left on a perfectly carpentered stool, surrounded by maids, servants, and court men who stood in perfect order; nothing was out of place. The king smiled, showing his perfectly straight teeth. He waved his hand, and a minister of the court stepped forward to discuss the matter at hand.
"A portal opened a few days ago, your celestial," the minister reported in a voice with just the amount of clarification needed in the court.
"Who opened it and who came through?" … The king asked his face serious now: he prays whoever came through brought no blemish with him or her, and why hasn't he presented himself to him for examination, or did the intruder not know the customs and traditions in Thule?
"We do not know their identities, but the gatekeeper said something about a 'cursed bride' entering, and she reeked of Lilith."
"Lilith?" the king yelled, and his perfectly trained baritone voice sounded a bit off. His golden crown tilted to the left, and the ministers of the court winced and fidgeted at the imperfect way his crown balanced on his head. The king was fuming with anger and hate, and his hand that held the glass of wine trembled with rage.
Everyone in Thule knew that Lilith and anyone who had an association with her was never welcomed in the land. Lilith, according to their king, was tainted with so much darkness that she could poison the soil that Thule thrived on, and Thule was in danger as long as her curse roamed on the land.
"Find them and bring them to me…"He commanded and went ahead to sit back on his throne. No one said anything, and they only focused on the matter at hand: Lilith was nothing but a tainted soul, and Thule's beloved land was indeed in danger with that witch's curse taking refuge here.
***
Lying awake in her bed, Sarah heard the sound of the drums in an emergency. It looks like the gatekeeper already knows someone has come through a portal and is indeed hiding on the outskirts. She knew a portal had to open soon for those two to leave this wretched place—at least if not her, someone had to leave Thule, and she would risk anything to let those two out.
Lilith, she had no idea that witch had enough prowess in her to place such a powerful curse on a young, innocent child. She had stayed in Thule not by her will; she had once been happy, living with her beloved and ruling over her own share of the land. A place of enchantment and wonder, a place on earth that seemed unreal to others, a place she had so much been happy at and was content with, that place had been taken away and sealed, and now it lay in ruins.
If only she had her powers, if only she hadn't lost them; it had taken her centuries already; she had lived on Thule for a third century and counting, and she had been unable to open another portal to send her back to her world. She feared for what her people had suffered in her absence. She stared at her crooked and scarred fingers and at the old, deep scar that rested on the palms of her hands. She has been collecting herbs and concoctions to create the perfect treatment for her scarred hands. Only then could she open another portal. She needed one last ingredient and feared she would never be able to get it, but the gods have brought it to her feet. Now she can open a portal and go back home, back to her kingdom, which she once called the Virgin's Willow and now calls the Dark Forest.