Huldre in the Dark

Two cloaked figures moved swiftly through the trees along the animal track. The taller figure led the way. The shorter, thinner figure followed behind. The crunch of their swift footsteps in the small patches of unmelted snow was muffled by the dense foliage and thick mosses that were growing on the rocks and tree roots all around them.

“Won’t she hear all this crunching?” the smaller figure asked.

“It doesn’t matter. She won’t run off. She wants us to find her”.

“Lovely”.

The two continued to move through the dark forest shadows, their dark gray cloaks enveloping them. Each wore thick gloves and wool clothing from head to toe. Their boots had woolen soles to lessen the sound of their steps. Moving through the cold, northern forest this early in the spring could be dangerous. The weather was unpredictable and could be deadly.

The larger figure suddenly stopped and crouched behind a fallen tree. The smaller figure quickly crouched alongside him.

“How much farther, Benjamin?”

Benjamin turned and looked at his companion. “Do you not feel it?”

“Feel what?”

He nodded, stroking his stubbled chin. “I guess you wouldn’t feel it, would you?”

The smaller figure frowned. “Feel what?”

“Her”.

The smaller figure’s eyes squinted, then grew wide. Benjamin jerked his head in the direction of the path they had been taking. His companion slowly raised up and looked over the fallen tree. There was a small opening in the trees about twenty yards ahead. It was dark and a mist obscured the ground. There was nothing there to see but more trees and rocks.

“Are you sure?”

The man nodded with his eyes closed. His jaw clenched tight and his lips pressed together to thin lines.

“Are you ok?” she asked. “How do you know?”

“I can feel her. She’s pulling at me,” he said.

Her wide eyes fixed on him. “What are we going to do?”

The man shook his head. “We aren’t going to do anything. You are going to complete the mission”.

“By myself?”

“Yes. By yourself. As we had planned”.

“Right. The plan. That plan. Right”.

The man grabbed her by the arms. He looked directly at the nervous teenager. The intensity of his dark stare stopped her from fidgeting.

“Listen,” he said firmly and flatly, “you can do this. She is huldre. You can take her”.

He reached in his cloak and pulled out a long dagger. He held it out in front of himself. She reached out and took it from his hand. “Follow the plan” he said.

“You’re not coming with me?”

Frustration flashed in his eyes, but he quickly pulled his emotions back and closed his eyes again. He took three deep, slow breaths. “You know I can’t,” he said through gritted teeth. “If I go any closer, I will fall into her snare. She’d had control of me. Then you would have to fight me and the huldre. Now go! Before she senses me and moves closer”.

She stood up slowly, letting out a deep breath. For a moment, she watched him struggle against something within himself, trying to clear his mind. She looked down at the dagger in her hand. “Can I really do this?” she said under her breath.

She tightened her grip on the deadly implement, then lowered it to her side. The gleaming blade slipped under the cover of her cloak. After another deep breath, she began walking down the path and into the dark clearing. The crunch of her footsteps on the patches of ice and snow that were scattered on the path seemed very loud to her ears now. She placed each footfall with care. 

The path widened and flowed into the clearing. It space was only ten yards wide and fifteen yards deep, but the air was thick and ominous. Despite all her anxiety, she walked into the clearing looking straight forward and standing upright, fighting against her desire to slink about in the shadows. She was the hunter, but had to act as prey. 

She came to a stop in the middle of the clearing and looked about. She saw a small, dark cavity created by several large rocks that had fallen onto each other to her right on the edge of the clearing. Thick moss covered the rocks. The huldre must live inside there, she thought. She took a few steps closer and peered into the crude living space.

“Hello, young one,” came a voice from behind her.

She spun around. The speaker didn’t flinch, but stood tall and regal in her small kingdom. It was calm and smiled at the girl. It was the wicked smile of a trickster, the girl thought. Like a mountain lion smiling at its cornered prey. The feminine figure of the creature began to walk in a circle around the girl, looking at her from head to foot. She, the huldre, began to sparkle in the night. The glow showed off her light colored skin, dark hair, and white slip of clothing. But the girl kept eye contact with the beast. It’s smooth voice came out again,like a song half spoken.

“What is your name, young one?”

The sultry tone of the huldre made her skin crawl. She shook her head slightly. Clear your mind, she thought. Play your role, she scolded herself.

“My name?”

“Yes, your name. How else shall I address you if not by your name?” the huldre said with a smirk.

She thinks this is good sport, the girl thought. A huldre with a fish in her net. Play along.

“I am Poul,” she said.

“Poul? A wonderful name. Perfect for a strong young man such as yourself”.

She walked about, inspecting him. ‘Poul’ stared forward into the eyes of the huldre, following it as it circled her. She was sweating and her knees felt ready to buckle. She felt like a meal waiting to be consumed. But she had to exude confidence, not fear. She clinched her hand around the dagger under her cloak and cursed her shaky nerves. Play your role!

“Who are you, fair maiden? Why do you walk alone in the woods?” the girl said, as she had rehearsed.

The huldre smiled widely. She continued to move around . “Aren’t you a polite young man?” she giggled softly. “Are you worried that I am lost? Or alone?” 

“Yes, fair maiden. One so fair should not be left alone in the woods. It is too dangerous in these woods for such a delicate beauty as yourself”.

“Oh, I like the woods. I am not scared of the creatures out here. However, I do grow lonely out here. There are few others here to keep me… company”.

The last word came out as a temptuous hook. The plan was working, She thought.

The beast spoke again. “The sound of your voice belays your age, my young boy. What brings you so deep in the woods on a dark, cold night? You must be brave. And bold to seek for me. Very curious”.

“I would stay with you awhile, with your leave, fair maiden,” she said, trying her best to sound eager.

Suddenly, the huldre stopped circling. She turned to face Poul directly. “Oh? Would you?”

The huldre began walking again, no longer circling, but slowly closing the space between them. “You seem unsure, young one. Many others have come here before, men young and old. But they have always been sure. They don’t ask to stay. They beg me-”

“I beg of you,” Poul blurted.

The huldre smiled wickedly. “You beg poorly, young one. I do not believe you. And do you know why?”

The ruse is up, Poul thought. Be ready.

“No, fair maiden. Why do you doubt me?”

Now the huldre laughed loudly. She glared at ‘Poul’. “Child, you clearly have little experience with men. Perhaps you are too plain, too thin to garner their… attention. You dress too far masculinely for their taste, I figure. Ha! You even had me fouled for a moment”.

‘Poul’ didn’t like to be toyed with. She dropped the charade. The adrenaline surged through her. She had passed the point of nervousness. She was now committed to the fight. No turning back. “What convinced you otherwise?” she asked.

“Your eyes, young one. Your eyes don’t follow me as those of a man do. Any real man under my spell would fasten his gaze onto me unblinkingly. You look me in the eyes. No man would do so; not under my spell and with my charms before them. They would have no choice but to devour me with their eyes. They continue to gawk as I devour them piece by delicious piece”.

Poul winced. A foolish mistake. She scanned the huldre now. She now saw that the pale skinned creature had long dark hair that flowed over her body like dark water. But it shifted about her body on every breeze. She was not naked. She wore a flowing white cloth wrapping that shone in the darkness. It covered little of her curved, glowing body and was so sheer that only the minutest detail was left to the imagination. She would have been considered underdressed for a harlot, she thought in disgust. The feminine beast returned to circling her.

“Forgive me for seeing you as you really are,” she spat.

The beast scoffed and her evil smirk widened. “What is your name, girl? Surely it is not Poul”.

“Sigrid”, she answered.

“Sigrid. Well Sigrid, you have gotten yourself into trouble, haven’t you? Clearly you could not imagine just how dangerous I can-”.

The beast stopped circling her abruptly. It jerked its head towards the path where Poul, or Sigrid, had entered. It gave three bestial sniffs, then turned to face her again. Its smile was gone and it glared at her with malice. 

“Who is with you? A man has come near to my clearing. I sensed him entering. I am no fool. I smelled his scent. At first I thought it came from you. But you are a fraud and I smell him still! Why is he not here with you? Where is he?”

Poul gripped the dagger. Wait for the right moment. 

The creature began to change as its anger grew. Its feminine countenance darkened as its glow faded. Its hair rose like a dog with its hackles up. Its hair appeared more coarse. Sigrid could now see that all the hair was not just from its head, but grew down from the entire back half of its body. The dark hair had been obscured by its glowing skin in the night. Its long tail, dark like the rest of its hair, swung out from beneath the sheer wrapping. The creature bore its teeth, which had seemed the normal human shape before, but were now more pointed and wolfish.

The huldre hissed and sneered. “You thought you could come and play tricks on the me? You thought yourself safe, not being a man? Well, little girl, my power goes beyond intoxicating the weak minded. I am a devourer of all flesh, not just of men!”

The creature rose up to its full height and leaned out over her. Its fingernails now showed themselves to be razor sharp claws. “Tell me where he hides, or I will slash you to pieces and tear the flesh from your bones!”

Sigrid stood frozen. After a moment, the beast growled impatiently. “As you wish”.

“Wait!” Poul cried. “I will tell you! I will tell you where he is!”

The beast paused, but still loomed over her. Poul squatted down low, cowering before the creature. The beast towered over her, saliva dripping from its jaws onto Poul’s cloak. The huldre hissed into her ear, “Where is he?”

Poul’s arm shot out and pointed towards the fallen tree. “He hides over there”.

The creature turned and stepped two paces towards the fallen tree. But it stopped and turned back towards Sigrid. 

“He hides? No man under my spell can bear to hide from-”

It barely turned far enough towards Sigrid in time to see Sigrid flying through the air towards it, dagger above her head. She thrust down with all her weight and strength. The blade buried itself into the neck of the creature. 

The huldre fell to its knees. It gasped and gurgled. Sigrid jumped back, buffeted by grasping claws. She moved out of the creature’s grasp. The hairy heap crashed to the ground and writhed in a steaming pool of its own blood. Sigrid watched it twitch until the arms and legs fell to rest on the cold, hard earth.

The girl moved forward and stood near the creature’s head. Its eyes were locked wide in shock and pain. Sigrid reached down and pulled the dagger from the creature’s neck. The creature’s body gave an involuntary jerk, but the eyes stayed frozen in place, fixed on Sigrid. 

“You will no longer hunt men, foul creature”. 

She swung the dagger into the creature’s neck, cutting a gash into its skin. She slashed again, then again, and again until the head was fully severed. She stood there over the steaming corpse, breathing heavily. She turned away and walked a few paces off before stumbling onto her knees and elbows in exhaustion. Her head rested on her fists, her breathing rapid, her eyes closed. She tried to control her breathing. 

“It’s over, Sigrid. It's over”, she told herself.

A hand rested on her shoulder. She nearly jumped out of her skin. In a flash, she was in a fighting stance with the dagger out and ready to strike. But she recognized the large man that stood in front of her. He was smiling at her, hands out in front of himself. “It’s just me. It’s just me”.

Sigrid dropped the dagger and fell back to her hands and knees. She gasped several times, then vomited.

Benjamin knelt down at her side, uphill from the mess on the ground. Once she finished, he reached one hand around her back and the other under her arm. “Let’s get you up”.

He helped her stand and kept hold of her until she was steady on her feet. He moved in front of her and held her shoulders. “Look at me”.

Sigrid looked the man in the eye. He was smiling at her. Here in this dark, cold, and bloody clearing, he was smiling at her. Why?

“I did it”, she said.

He was grinning ear to ear. “Yes, Sigrid! You did it!”

“I actually did it”, she muttered. 

Benjamin grinned at her like a fool. She smiled back. He laughed and pulled her into a suffocating embrace. He lifted her off of her feet. “I knew you could do it!”

She stumbled a little on the uneven forest ground as he let her loose. She smiled at the man. “I thought she was going to tear me to pieces, but then I-!”

He laughed. “You flew through the air and finished her off in one strike! I was worried for a moment when she found you out and then you told her exactly where I was! But you finished the job. Oh, it was amazing!”

He pulled her into another strangling hug. “I am so proud of you, Sigrid!”

After a moment, she was released from her mentor’s bearhug. She grabbed the huldre’s head by the hair and lifted up and into a thick, leather sack that Benjamin held open for her. It squelched as she dropped it into the sack. She took the sack and slung it over her shoulder. Benjamin lifted the rest of the creature and tossed the corpse into the small enclosure. 

The two moved back out of the clearing and down the path, not quite as silently as they had before. They laughed and chatted as they hiked through the dark forest and back to their village. There would be mead and roast goat for them tonight. Sigrid had rid the land of a monster who had taken many men with its snare.