The Snow Maiden (Part 4)
by BLZBub
So far, things have been going well between Natasha
and Lel. Their ‘dates’ seemed more about finding time to talk to each
other, but she knew he was enjoying her company very much. He was too
polite to try and claim she was his girlfriend
yet, but she knew it was just a matter of time. At the rate things have
been going, she’ll have won Lel’s heart long before spring.
But Natasha didn’t dedicate all of her time to
winning Lel. Her parents still needed a little help with gathering wood,
though Natasha thought that was a little unnecessary with all the money
she had been given. She even had her own car
and the knowledge to drive it. But her parents refused to leech off of
Natasha’s good fortune so they continued to work as they always did and
Natasha felt oblidged to help them.
As Natasha was bringing in another heavy sledge of
lumber, she noted how much stronger she was now. As a snow child, she
could only budge a sledge like this a bit at a time. As a woman, she was
not as strong as men, but she was strong enough
to make this job less burdensome. But she didn’t mind this manual labor
too much, especially since she was prone to gaining and losing weight
now. “Lel’s more impressed with a working woman than a housewife
anyways,” she muttered to herself, “This log-hauling
is more work than winning his love will be.”
“Things are rarely that easy, my dear,” croaked an
ancient-sounding voice. Natasha turned around to see an old woman
standing not very far away. Her clothes may have been like the village
grandmothers, but there was very little motherly
about her. Her huge nose was more disturbing than endearing and her
eyes had a wicked gleam in them. Most alarmingly, there was a string of
skulls hanging around her neck and when the old woman gave Natasha an
unfriendly smile, she could see that her teeth
were iron fangs.
Natasha shuddered in horror. She had heard stories
about this old woman, a terrifying witch that lived deep in the old
forests in a hut that stood on chicken legs within a fence made of human
bones. This old crone was known to fly in a
giant mortar and pestle and snatch away children for her supper. “Baba
Yaga,” whispered Natasha in fear.
The hag grinned wider, showing more iron teeth.
“So, my name hasn’t been forgotten in this village after all, good,” she
said with a dark chuckle, “Well, snow child, I hope the old tales give
you some idea of what you’re up against.”
“Why are you here?” asked Natasha.
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m your Obstacle,” said Baba
Yaga, “The Gift you’ve received is too great to be with only a Price.
Your trial demands an Obstacle and I was happy to volunteer for it.” Her
eyes narrowed and she said, “I have a score
to settle with you.”
“What could I have ever done to you? I’ve never done you any harm,” said Natasha, “I’ve never done harm to anyone.”
“That’s just it. You’re too good,” said Baba Yaga,
“Such sweetness makes my teeth ache. Not to mention you’ve been such a
good role model for the children of this village that they’re too
well-behaved. I’m only allowed to take away naughty
children and you have been cutting into my fun.” She gave a crooked
smile and said, “So it’ll give me pleasure to make things harder for you
to get your precious Lel.”
“You’re not going to kidnap him, are you?” asked
Natasha, “Are you going to take him far away from here, east of the sun
and west of the moon, and force me to come and rescue him?”
Baba Yaga snorted through her big nose and said,
“Who has time for that rigmarole? But I will be taking him from you, not
just the way you suggested.”
“What?” asked Natasha.
“I shall be taking your precious Lel’s heart. No,
not to eat it, just winning him over. Your trial would be too easy
without competition and I’m going to give you a run for your money,”
said Baba Yaga.
Natasha raised an eyebrow and said, “I doubt Lel could be seduced by an ancient witch.”
“Is that what you think?” asked Baba Yaga before there was a sudden flare of magic around her.
When the flare faded, a beautiful woman was
standing where the ugly hag had been. If Natasha hadn’t seen it happen,
she’d never guess the two were one in the same. “I trust your Lel will
find me more appealing now?” asked the young woman
with a lovely voice, “I may be a few centuries out of practice, but I
know how young men think.”
“Lel isn’t going to fall for your charms that easily,” said Natasha.
The young woman laughed and said, “You have much to
learn, snow child. Speaking of which, if you tell Lel who I really am,
you’ll be a puddle of water faster than you can say ‘snegurochka’. But
you’ll have a fighting chance, our only weapons
will be feminine wiles. You better pray that you can master them in
time.”
The disguised witch did not waste her time. She
introduced herself to Lel the next day as ‘Vasilisa’. She said she had
recently moved to this town and, being an old friend of Natasha, she
wondered if he could show her around. Natasha would
have said that she was not her friend, but Vasilisa gave her a burning
glare that made Natasha’s bones felt like they were going to melt.
Natasha was going to be able get rid of her rival this easily.
To Natasha’s distress, the disguised witch was
better than she had thought. Natasha had expected Vasilisa to act like
an old woman, but all of her mannerisms were identical to a normal young
woman’s. Apparently the old hag has been observing
the changing times. Natasha had been hoping to pounce on a mistake that
Vasilisa would make, but she acted no more out of the ordinary than
Natasha ever did.
The worse part was that Vasilisa was genuinely
charming. She had a cheerful personality and was able to keep up an
interesting conversation. Lel was also obviously attracted to her
beauty. She had several outfits that while they weren’t
obviously seductive, they did flatter her figure without making it look
like she was showing off. If it weren’t for the occasional fiery look
that Vasilisa gave Natasha, she could have forgotten this young woman
was really an old hag.
Vasilisa seemed to know how to flip all the right
switches. She wasn’t a prissy girl who wouldn’t dare try to do any form
of labor. She was willing to do some heavy lifting of her own and work
until she was fairly sweaty. Natasha wondered
how Baba Yaga could have known Lel well enough to know that he
preferred a woman who was willing to get blisters on her hands from hard
work rather than one who’d only work on getting dinner ready. But then
again, Baba Yaga is a witch of no little power and
obtaining such knowledge would have come easily to her.
Natasha became more worried as Vasilisa became
closer to Lel. She had been trying to get Lel’s attention as well, but
it seemed like whenever Lel and she were alone, Vasilisa would ‘happen’
to show up and insert herself in. Lel obviously
still like Natasha, but it seemed more like a friendship than actual
romance. Natasha’s worry had grown to the point that her hair was
starting to lose some of its luster. What would happen if Lel actually
chose Vasilisa? Would Baba Yaga get a new boy toy
while Natasha would become nothing but a puddle of water to eventually
dry up? Lel wouldn’t really choose Vasilisa over her, would he? What
could Natasha do stop her?
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