Week 14 Story - The Exchange

(Image taken from Live for Film)

Burnt amber danced through the air that mid-autumn afternoon in Transalpine Gaul. It was the stormy season, as the local kook would violently announce. With large trees shedding their leaves into the rivers  and winds howling through the valleys it was quite an easy to believe him, although the locals did question that instinct. There was something raw in the air, a secret passed through the land from the lips of the wild wind. Many miles to their east, a curse was being cast upon a prince. The autumn transitioned into winter and snow began to cover the land. Life was normal and the village people were happy, until spring sprung and the snow did not melt, the green of the plants did not return, and the trees continued to stand naked in the outstanding whiteness of the climate. Their village would not thaw. The villagers began to worry as months of snow turned to years and their livestock grew feeble and died off. A people of farming and ranching turned became hunters and gatherers. Large families became smaller and men were sent out to all corners of the land to find sustenance. Families with many daughters began to worry and although many were ready to serve as hunters, the culture of the time hindered them from joining. Tradition was killing the traditional people.

The Angelinis were a family of four that lived in this village and they were "the most unfortunate," a neighbor would describe, because Anthony Angelini had been "cursed" with three daughters instead of sons who could have helped him in the hunts. Anthony, a man turned gentle after the passing of his wife many years ago, refused to believe such remarks. He had not been cursed for he had three beautiful daughters had home, each with something to contribute to him. His eldest, Rosina, was perhaps the best chef in the land and she proved it by converting even the most grotesque of meats into fine cuisine that the entire village would crave. His middle daughter, Marietta, grew famous in the community for her dedication to the sciences and therefore her ability to determine toxicity of the seeds from the few bushes that were able to survive the harsh tundra conditions. And his youngest, sweet Zelinda, was a spitting image of his late wife and although she lived in the shadows of her sisters' talent, her immense kindness and love of books made her the sweetheart of the entire village.

Anthony Angelini left home at sunrise with the group of huntsmen that returned to the village without him at sunset. The Angelini daughters were told that their father had been devoured by a giant wolf (or by some accounts, a man-beast). The huntsmen gave the girls half a deer carcass and departed to their individual homes. Cold and now alone, the Angelini sisters began to pray, the last source of hope for one so defeated. The wind carried their prayers to the ears of one castle inhabiter many miles to their east. "I must see the man in question," the inhabiter demanded of his guards, "it seems that fate may have a twist in our story after all."

Anthony Angelini was alive, though barely so, and he was being dragged to the court of the Transalpine Prince. He embellished the state of his situation once seeing the fabulous rugs beneath him for he believed a man had saved him from a horrid beast. His excitement was killed when he laid his eyes upon the judge, an ox-sized beast with a wolf's snout and teeth to compliment a bison's set of antlers. The beast opened his mouth and in perfect speech interrogated Anthony, "Why did you pick my rose?"

"Pardon me?" Anthony responded in shock.

A thunderous response echoed, "Why did you pick my rose?"

Humbled by the strange creature, Anthony confessed his sin came from a desire to please his dearest daughter, Zelinda. "She is quite delicate and has never seen a rose, you see. They went extinct in our village many years ago."

"Very well," the beast responded, "as an eye is exchanged for an eye and a life for a life, so shall your rose replace the one you picked from my garden." In the blink of an eye the royal guards rushed towards the village and within moments they returned with a fair lady. "Is this your rose, guilty one?" the beast questioned.

Anthony's eyes filled with tears as his eldest daughter, Rosina, had been brought before him. Rosina, in a panic began to scream very loudly. The beast freed her from her bounds and offered her the chance to exchange her life for her father's. Without hesitation Rosina chose her own. The beast, in shock of her treachery to her father, had her returned to the village. A true rose would have exchanged places. Almost instantly, Marietta was brought forth and she chose her own life just as Rosina did.

"Perhaps it was not fate after all," the beast muttered to himself, "where is the last girl?"

"She was no where to be found," the guards responded.

At that exact moment the mahogany court doors busted open. "I am here," Zelinda announced, "and I will take the place of my father."

"Is it an act of true love?" the beast inquired.

"It is indeed."

The winds burst through the entirety of the castle and hideous gargoyles fell from the towers. The beast was launched into the air and a layer of burnt amber leaves devoured his skin. Anthony and Zelinda watched in awe. A man descended from the body of the beast and presented himself with a smile. "My name is Valentino," he introduced himself, "and many years ago I was cursed by a witch for not knowing acts of love. I refused her shelter in my home, a mistake I shall never repeat again."

The Angelinis laughed as Valentino told them more of his tales. They encouraged him to accompany them to the village, snow dripping into the newly grown patches of grass along their way. Valentino asked for Zelinda's hand at their approach of the village and Anthony reluctantly consented. Spring had finally arrived.


Author's Note:
This is by far the story I am proudest of this entire year. It was very difficult to include the feeling of the story that I wanted without having to shift the dynamic of the main story. I think it is important to level with the truth in that as much as I was inspired by the reading, I was also inspired by the hit Disney film "Beauty and the Beast" (which I think was also influenced by the original story). "Beauty and the Beast" is based in France while this story is supposed to be in Italy, so to make things even I placed my story on their border. I think it is valuable to incorporate gender roles at the time while also showing some form of resistance to them so I made sure that the daughters did more than just get married.

Bibliography: Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Frederick Crane can be found on MythFolklore blog.