Ring of the Enchanter

Author’s Note:

I originally wrote this story in 2013 for a college short fiction class. The prompt was to base a story on a proverb, so this story directly came from Proverbs 11:22—“As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion.” Revisiting this story now over seven years later was a lot of fun for me, especially in seeing how making this story influenced my writing and my style. Also, it led to many of stories featuring “the Enchanter.” I hope you enjoy it!

Ring of the Enchanter

There’s no going back now, thought Tabitha, as she sharpened her dagger. At that hour of night, the blacksmith slept while Tabitha used his tools as stealthily as possible. However, She did not worry whether he would awaken. The herbs in the tea she persuaded upon him hours earlier assured her of this fact. In another life, she could have been a gardener, or perhaps worked miracles from an apothecary. 

But this was her life. For too long, she pondered what could have been. No longer. That coming day, she would take action. Every night on the street reminded her of the sharp bitterness which inflamed her heart. She scratched to stay alive day by day. Long ago, her family abandoned her.  All that she had was her beauty. At least once every week, there would be a knight or noble who tried to take advantage of her. She often wondered why they assumed beggars could not fight. She shamed anyone who dared look at her wrong. If they never remembered her name, the scars she left them with would remind them not to mess with her. 

She smiled as she exited the blacksmith’s place of business. The full moon brightly illuminated the abandoned village road. Tabitha walked down the road out of the village toward the shadowed forest. As she walked, she beheld her reflection in a pond on her left.

“The King will be stunned,” she said to her image, whose bright green eyes stared back at her. She paused to look at herself, at her shoulder length wavy brown hair, at her clear white skin. Tabitha noticed that men seem to look at her longer than most other women, if only for a few seconds. Nobody cared about poor Tabitha, barely surviving on the streets, but everyone wanted to look.

Tabitha was determined. It was her turn to take advantage of them. They wanted her best, so she would take their best. All her life led up to this point, where, if successful, her plot would shame the kingdom and win her a fortune at the same time.

Tabitha continued into the forest along the windy road, alone with only the flattering clothes on her back and the leather bag in her left hand. Inside the bag she hid her dagger, along with a gift for the King. She knew it would help her gain access. Tabitha knew he would never refuse a woman half as pretty as she. All men are the same. Tabitha planned to steal his crown after he falls into his satisfied slumber. Then, she would have her vengeance. She knew she probably would not enjoy the experience, but it was crucial, if justice were to be served.

As she continued down the road, the trees grew taller and darker. Two hours into her journey, the crunching sound of unconcerned footsteps rang her eardrum. She reached her right hand into the bag, grasping the dagger’s hilt. Who could be walking in the forest at this hour? The steps came closer. From around the bend in the road walked a man in a black cloak with long scraggily hair.

The man looked into her eyes and said:

Tabitha walks proudly yet plotting her shame
In grieving her maker I must give thee a sign
To trade beauty for vengeance and disgrace your name
Reduced to a ring thy head be the form of a swine

To restore thy beauty Tabitha must pass the test
Must find my dwelling in the forest o’er yonder
If your image be to e’er find its rest
Consider the truth of thy maker and ponder

Before she could respond, an invisible force threw Tabitha off the road, and she fell unconscious.

~       ~       ~

Tabitha awoke to daylight. She knew not how from the road she was, and was very confused as to what actually happened the night before. Who was that guy? In front of her was a clear creek. She walked forward to kneel down and get a drink when she saw a pig’s face in the water.

“Ah!” she screamed, more from startle than fear. On her knees, she scooted forward, and from that angle saw nothing but the creek. When she finally leaned over, face directly above the water, she saw the pig again, and realized it was not a face, but a reflection. Is there a pig hanging in the tree above? she wondered. As she turned her head, to her horror, she noticed the reflection turn with it. 

Her reflection. Tabitha reached up and touched a snout. Her snout. Attached to it was the most beautiful gold ring she had ever laid her eyes on. But, in the nose of a pig head, it only magnified its repulsiveness. Her repulsiveness. 

Tabitha squealed in sorrow. “Why me? Why God? Why? Why?” she cried, after many long screams of an incomprehensible tantrum. For nearly two hours, she wallowed in shame hoping, praying she’d wake up. She thought about the words of the mystery man. I must find him. A waterfall streamed from her eyes. Only when she heard a voice through the trees did the flow slow down.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” The voice came from a man who emerged from the trees. At one sight of Tabitha he jumped back and drew his sword. He was dressed in the armor and chain-mail of normal knights, but on his breastplate was a crest she did not recognize.

She drew her dagger. “Who are you? What Kingdom does that crest represent?”

“Please! Don’t hurt me! I don’t know what you are, but I have a sword!”

“Answer me!” she yelled.

“My name is Prince Zacchaeus of the Kingdom of Elsantrace, the borders of which lay not twenty miles hence. I–”

“Why are you here? This Kingdom has no quarrel with yours.”

“I don’t know what you are, but–”

“For crying out loud! I’m a woman. Some man last night turned my head into a pig head, so as you can see, I’m kind of busy!”

“What’s your name?” asked Zacchaeus.

“Tabitha.”

“Well Tabitha, have you heard of The Enchanter?”

“No.”

He sheaved his weapon. “The Enchanter is a man who’s long plagued my Kingdom’s superstitions. The villagers call him that because they don’t know what else to call him. They claim his power comes from a source different than magic. He’s known to change things. As to what and how, I know not.”

“You’re saying he did this to me?”

“More likely than not. I might be able to help you. Are you involved in anything that could be morally frowned upon?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“I’m trying to help you. He seems to like to teach him victims moral lessons. I’ve never seen The Enchanter in action, but I never thought he really even seemed like a bad guy.”

Tabitha sighed. “I left the village late last night to go to my King’s palace. I was going to give him this gift,” she motioned to her bag, “and use my natural abilities to seduce him and steal his crown.”

“I see. And, what’s in the bag?”

“Sheets of Egyptian linen, fit for royalty.”

“How did you get that?”

“You don’t want to know,” said Tabitha.

“Okay then. Let’s find this Enchanter.” Zacchaeus began to walk deeper into the forest.

“Wait, that’s it? You’re not going to scold me or lecture me on how bad I am?”

“I refuse to judge a stranger for sins she has yet to commit. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a woman who’s confused and needs help. And I’ll help you in any way that I can.” said Zacchaeus.

After walking in the forest for a while, Tabitha asked, “What are you doing out here anyways? You never told me.”

“I’m looking for my sister, a princess. She went missing from my father’s Kingdom, and tracked her into these borders. If we find The Enchanter, he might know where she is.”

They continued for a while longer. Tabitha told him what The Enchanter had told her. Thinking back to the legends, Zacchaeus decided it would be best to walk through the thickest part of the forest, for The Enchanter always seemed to emerge out shadows, and always loved to hide. In truth, neither Tabitha nor the Prince knew which way they were going.

A couple of hours later, they stumbled into a clearing in the forest, fifty feet across full of clay and mud. The Enchanter stood in the middle.

“He’s the one!” Tabitha squealed.

The Enchanter spoke:

Thy beauty is contained within snout ring
To e’er see the former beauty on thy face
That in your nose to me you must bring
But you must first pass the test in this place

You must learn the maker’s heart in creation
He in love formed man from the clay
You must experience God’s jubilation
Follow light and form thyself to live this day

The clay collapsed underneath them. What Tabitha assumed was a clearing was really a trap. They landed in a muddy clay pit thirty feet below the forest surface. Both the prince and the swine were covered in mud, and saw no way to escape the pit. For many minutes, they slid around in panicked terror. Because of the thick canopy of trees around the “clearing,” direct sunlight only shined on one spot of the mire pit.

“I think it was a riddle!” screamed Zacchaeus.

“What do you mean?”

“He said to ‘Follow light.’ The only physical light is over there!”

They crossed to the other side of the mud-hole, the prince with much difficulty, while the pig was in her element.

“He said to make ourselves or something like that,” said Tabitha. “I think we have to use this clay to sculpt something.”

They dug in the mire for what felt like an eternity, sculpting nothing intelligible. After hours of frustration, Tabitha took out her anger on their mud pile, clawing at it insanely and incessantly. In this process, her fingers scraped against something.

“There’s something in our mud pile that was not there before!” she yelled. “I can feel it!” Her heart raced with a joy she had never felt before. Zacchaeus started digging at it too. It felt like they were making something, as if something was emerging from the mire.

Their digging revealed a mirror. Tabitha did her best to wipe it clean. Looking into the mirror, she could see the left side of her beautiful hair had restored, though muddy and swine-faced. She realized that finding this mirror, they, in a sense, formed themselves, like the riddle implied. Looking down at the mirror, behind her in the reflection she saw a rope stretched above the pit. How did we not see this before?

“I think I know how to get out,” she said. Tabitha reflected light off the mirror and aimed it at the rope. When the light touched it, the rope snapped, as though burned through. She wondered how The Enchanter could set up such an elaborate trap with an obviously easy way to get out. She knew not how it worked, but she did have a rope that was tied to something at the top and went all the way down to the pit floor.

“Wow! I can’t believe that worked!” said the Prince. “But, can you help me? I got stuck in the mud.”

That was kind of fun, she thought, temporarily distracted. God’s jubilation. . .

“Please? Some help here?”

Back to reality. “Thanks for the help. Good luck in finding your sister. You’ll get out eventually, but I just can’t have you slowing me down. But, really: good luck.”

Tabitha climbed the rope, and continued her quest through the forest. She saw human tracks, made by bare feet. Did The Enchanter wear shoes? She could not remember, and truly would not be surprised either way. She pressed further, heard a noise behind her, and drew her dagger from her bag. Turning around, she saw a man, eyes wide, in a red silk robe and sandals, with a six-inch beard.

“Ah, your head!” he screamed.

What is it with all these random men in the forest? she wondered. “I know, it’s a pig, I’m looking for The Enchanter so I can change it back. And who are you?”

“Wow, sounds like you’ve been through this before. That’s kind of creepy.”

Tabitha rolled her eyes.

“Anyways, my name is Jacob. I am a King’s eunuch from a faraway kingdom. I’m looking for the queen, who ran away a few months ago for unknown reasons.”

Tabitha was not convinced. “If I did not know you were a eunuch, I’d think you were checking me out from behind.”

“No, ma’am. I would never. I was just following those tracks; I think they might be hers.”

“Fine; we can look together. I prefer to work alone, but I’ll allow you to live. For now.” Tabitha was impatient, but she smiled at how easy it was to exploit his fear of her.

After a couple hours of walking in silence, they saw the mouth of a cave. “The tracks lead in there!” screamed the Eunuch.

Tabitha looked, and saw The Enchanter appear, standing at the cave. “Come on!” she yelled as they rushed towards and into the cave. She could not see The Enchanter anymore, so they went deeper into the cave. The ground shook, and rocks cascaded behind them.

“The entrance is blocked,” said the Eunuch.

“I still see light,” said the swine. “There must be a way out at the end.”

They continued, and after turning a corner, they saw The Enchanter. He stood at the end of the cave, illuminated by sunlight. Between him and them, however, was a deep chasm, with fire and lava at the bottom. A stone bridge went three-quarters of the way across the chasm. The end of the cave where The Enchanter stood was about fifteen feet above the bridge, nothing but a platform and a stone cross jutting out of it horizontally.

The Enchanter spoke:

Thy beauty is contained within snout ring
To e’er see the former beauty on thy face
That in your nose to me you must bring
But you must first pass the test in this place

You must learn the maker’s heart in mourning
That sin brings man down into the fire
Thy life apart from cross need be scorning
Tabitha must give up her sin to go up higher

He disappeared again. “There’s no way out! There’s no way out!” screamed the Eunuch.

“Act like a man and stop talking!” yelled Tabitha. “I gotta think this through.” She stepped out on the bridge, and thought about the words The Enchanter spoke.

“We’re gonna die!”

“Shut up! It’s a riddle. He’s done this to me before. You’ll find your queen before you know it.”

Tabitha looked into the fire, mesmerized by the death it is known to bring. She sat down, peered into the chasm and started to cry. You must learn the maker’s heart in mourning. . . 

She knew about the maker, but always equated him with the Kingdom’s corrupt politics. But now, looking at life from this perspective, Tabitha realized how she had changed over the years. She hated every man that tried to defile her, but she herself wondered if entertaining thoughts of vengeance had defiled her heart. 

She thought back to the words of The Enchanter. Thy life apart from cross need be scorning. . . She looked up at the stone cross protruding from the platform. Apart from the cross. She looked at her bag. Tabitha must give up her sin to go up higher. 

“Egyptian linen,” she said.

“What?”

She pulled the sheets out of her bag. “We use this as a rope. Help me roll up these sheets and tie them together.”

“Okay,” said the Eunuch, still slightly confused.

They made the rope, and she tied a loop at the end of it. She thew the rope from the bridge across the rest of the chasm, and the loop hooked on the stone cross. The both of them climbed to safety, and emerged from the cave. 

There at the cave exit there was a mirror, and Tabitha saw that somewhere along the line, she gained the rest of her hair back, though her face was still that of a pig. From the mirror, she saw tracks that led into the forest, so they followed them. 

After an hour of tirelessly trekking, the Eunuch out of breath, they reached the top of a hill. At the crest, she could see an enormous castle down the forest to their right.

“The Enchanter must live there,” Tabitha said.

“The tracks go to the left, though,” protested the Eunuch. “I think we should follow them. It might lead me to my troubled queen.”

“What if we lose the tracks? There would be no landmark, no place to continue searching. The only sure way to find anything is to go to the castle. It must only be a mile or two away.”

“Go where you must, then. I’m gonna follow the tracks.”

“I don’t think that’s wise.”

“Say’s the silly girl with a pig head.”

“I just saved your life, and this is how you treat me?”

“Women aren’t exactly known for their sense of direction.”

“What should they be known for, then? Are we known for anything other than our God-given ability to entertain pretentious men?”

“My lady, maybe you should listen to the man’s advice in such matters.”

“Says the eunuch! Fine, follow the tracks. Good luck finding your queen, but I’m going to the castle.”

“I’m following the tracks! Have fun with your Enchanter friend, if you ever find him!”

Tabitha was thankful to be alone. She pursued the castle, uninhibited by unwanted company. The journey through thick forest seemed like forever to Tabitha, who still hoped to wake up at any point from this nightmare. She persevered and finally approached the castle entrance. 

From far away, sheltered among the trees, she could tell that it was big, but she did not expect its true enormity. This isn’t a castle, she thought. This is a fortress! The entrance was an open drawbridge, big enough for seven chariots to cross it side by side. There was no need for a moat, because the castle began at the edge of a canyon. She could not even estimate how far down the foundation of the fortress began. She started to step onto the drawbridge when she saw The Enchanter standing in the middle of it. He clapped ominously and stared at her. He grinned slightly, and slowly shook his head.

The Enchanter spoke:

Thy beauty is contained within snout ring
To e’er see the former beauty on thy face
That in your nose to me you must bring
But you must pass the final test in this place

You must learn the maker’s heart in sacrifice
How he knows your beauty and his heart is love
The throne room sees that what you lack is nice
But he defines beauty by his adoration above

The Enchanter disappeared. 

The final test. “I have to find the throne room,” Tabitha said to herself.

She walked across the bridge and entered the courtyard. It was a vast area, surrounded with walls and halls of stone, perhaps the most brilliant masonry she had ever seen. There were multiple grassy areas, with their own gardens and fountains, separated by the cobblestone paths that led to each doorway. The courtyard ended with stairs going down into further depths of the labyrinth of the castle. The central path, however, led to a small stairway that went up to a narrow marble bridge that, from what Tabitha could tell, seemed to stretch across the entire complex. She knew that if it did not directly lead to the throne room, she would at least be able to see more of the castle and navigate to its true location.

As Tabitha started towards that central bridge, out of one of the doorways sprinted a woman, distraught and in tears, wearing what looked to be a modest nightgown. Her face bore three deep scars of different shapes and sizes. She slammed into Tabitha, seemingly unaware of her pig head.

“You have to help me! You have to help!” she cried in between sobs. Then she looked into Tabitha’s eyes and said, “He’s here!”

“Woah, it’s okay, you’re okay,” said Tabitha, trying to comfort her. “Who’s here? The Enchanter?”

“He’s here! He’s been hunting me. Oh, please help—Are you a pig?”

“It’s a long story. That’s why I’m looking for The Enchanter. Did he do this to you? Who are you? How did you get here?”

“My name–” sniff, “–is Annabel. He is going to kill me.” She finally–for the most part–had gained her composure. “He hates my scars. He says I’m ugly. He kills ugly.”

“Does he happen to speak in rhymes?”

“What?” asked Annabel, more confused than ever. “No, never. But there was a guy who did. He said, um, that if I eat the world’s prettiest ring, I can be beautiful.”

“Well, that is the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard,” said Tabitha.

“Well, you are the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,” countered Annabel, smiling for the first time is what must have been weeks. “Uh, I, I like your ring.”

“What ring?” Tabitha had never been known to wear jewelry.

“On your snout.” She smiled again.

“Oh, no, sorry. I need to give this ring to The Enchanter. You know, so I can change back.”

“Who?”

“I don’t have time for this!” said Tabitha. “The Enchanter, you know, the weird guy who rhymes. He can change me back. You can come with me if you want.” Tabitha started to walk towards the marble bridge.

“Okay, I’d love–no! No! We can’t go that way! You can see everything from up there!”

“Which is exactly why I’m going that way.”

“You don’t understand! He’ll see me! He kills ugly.”

“The Enchanter will know what to do. Come on. Taking you with me is probably part of my test.”

“I can’t. He’ll see me!” Annabel ran away back into maze.

Tabitha felt terrible, and her heart wrenched for Annabel, but she was as good as lost in such a place as this; Tabitha could think of no way to help her now. She walked up the stairs and onto the bridge. From that vantage point, she finally understood the incomprehensible vastness of The Enchanter’s fortress. The end of the bridge had to be at least one thousand feet away. Her eyes could barely make out the image of The Enchanter standing at the opposite end. Between her and him, she could see into the top of countless chambers and courtyards. Every fifty feet or so on the bridge, stone stairways on both the right and left descended into the adjacent rooms. With no roof of any kind, Tabitha had to wonder what The Enchanter did on a rainy day.

She had walked almost half way across when she heard the clanging of swords. She looked down to her left a few chambers over to see two men in a duel. Rage boiled at this new distraction, but she could not keep quiet.

“Hey, you swordsmen! Get out of here! You don’t know the power that lives here.”

They both stopped, obviously startled.

One of them turned and yelled, “Stay out of it, pig-lady!”

She leaned towards them and looked closer. It’s the Eunuch! What is he–

“Tabitha?” yelled the other.

Prince Zacchaeus.

“What are you two doing here?” she yelled.

“He’s going to kill my sister!” cried the Prince.

“He’s trying to kill the queen!” accused the Eunuch.

The chamber they fought in was a small courtyard-garden near where Tabitha thought to be a kitchen area. Suddenly, before any of them spoke again, vines from the garden and the wall wrapped around Prince Zacchaeus as tentacles of the sea monster would seize a ship. He swung his sword at the vines, but to no avail.

Then, Tabitha heard screaming to her right down in a nearby chamber: “He’s going to kill me! He kills uglyyyyyyyyyyyyy!”

The eunuch ran towards the voice, while Tabitha ran down the nearest flight of stairs towards the Prince.

“You have to stop him!” The prince’s face had gone pale and he was trembling.

“The eunuch?”

“He’s not a eunuch! He was once an honorable man in my father’s court, until his wife was maimed by wolves. Impersonating a eunuch is one of the twisted ways he preys on innocent women. He’s a sadistic man who’s inner darkness compels him to kill the ugly. When my sister got the scars, she disappeared. When I saw this man, I finally understood why she ran. You must help her!”

“What is you sister’s name?”

“Annabel.”

At that, she knew he was telling the truth. Tabitha ran through the chambers, trying to recall the layout from above that she saw only minutes ago. She drew her dagger and removed the ring from her snout.

She burst into the room and stood between them, as the “eunuch” Jacob was about to charge Annabel. While Jacob considered his next move, Tabitha put the ring in Annabel’s hand and whispered, “It’s okay.”

Annabel swallowed the ring as the “eunuch” raised the sword chest-level. Knowing it to be no match for the superior weapon, Tabitha threw her dagger. It sliced his hand, and the sword clattered to the ground about fifteen feet behind him. He turned to retrieve the sword as Tabitha dove for it. She picked up the sword and turned back to see Jacob with her dagger in his non-bleeding hand. He pushed Annabel against the stone wall, relishing the moment. Just as he was about to cut Annabel’s throat, her body glowed and all her scars disappeared.

Annabel was still immobilized against the wall, dagger pressed against her throat, face to face with the man who she so desperately ran from. Trembling, Annabel said, “You can’t kill me now. I’m beautiful.”

“You’re right,” he said. “I won’t kill you, but I can do far worse.” He whispered in a rasp, “I’m not a eunuch. . .”

At that, Annabel shoved her knee violently into his groin. He fell to the ground, shocked and in pain. Before he could pick up the dagger, Tabitha stepped forward and stabbed him with his own sword.

Tabitha shed a tear, glad to save a life, sad for another reason. I will never be beautiful again.

Annabel hugged her. “You saved me! Thank you!”

The Prince walked in. “Annabel? You’re alive!”

“How did you get out?” Tabitha asked.

“It just let go. I don’t know.”

“You’re father must be so proud to have a daughter like you!” said Annabel.

“Actually, I don’t have a father,” admitted Tabitha.

“Come with us then!” said Zacchaeus. “My father the King will have a feast in your honor regardless of if you’re there or not! Come, if nothing keeps you here but bad memories.”

“You know I’m not worthy of such respect.”

“You proved yourself today. From when I first saw you, I believed in you. And you saved my sister. Come with us.” He smiled.

“There’s one more thing I feel I must do,” said Tabitha. They walked up the stairs to the bridge, across to where she last saw The Enchanter. The throne room was abandoned, like the rest of the castle.

Tabitha held back tears. She didn’t regret giving Annabel the ring, but even so, she mourned the loss of her real face.

The three of them left and journeyed toward Elsantrace.

After a while of walking, their path came alongside a slow, peaceful river. “This river leads directly into my father’s kingdom,” said Prince Zacchaeus.

Walking by the banks, Tabitha heard a noise to her left. She looked to see The Enchanter, smiling on the other side of the river. She peered down at the reflection to see her beauty restored.