Skule's past as a Huldra can be found here. High-light to read the entire story, but be aware some stories don't end pleasantly.
t was a common occurrence to see the Huldra seated near to forest’s sole stream, legs tucked under her while she watched the fish make their way back and forth in the river’s depths. The creek was deep inside the woods, located within a mile of a small, cozy village. Often, young men from the town would wander in, past various trees and wildlife towards the stream, hoping for a mere glimpse of what they all believed to be a mere beautiful maiden. Usually, the Huldra would be wearing an elegant gown that would normally have been quite unsuitable for a young lady to be wandering through the forest in.
When she was spotted by the intruding humans, she would not flee as would some of her brethren. Instead the Huldra would offer a coy smile, beckoning with a hand for the youth to sit beside her. Without thought, her offer would be taken up, and soon enough her companion would be near her, already engaged in the possibility of wooing the strange lady of the woods. One by one, these visitors would be rejected, either by the lady making her leave, or a single remark on how she did not wish for such an intrusion. The few who chose to be rude and imposing would be introduced to the Huldra’s temper and surprising displays of hostility and strength. It became so that the mysterious lady’s presence was somewhat legendary in the village, and there was much competition between the young men to see who might win her apparently nonexistent heart.
However, that sort of lifestyle could not last for long. After some years of watching their sister’s display of affection towards the humans, the Huldrefolk became quite sensitive towards the issue. Time after time the Huldra was pressured or threatened to either pick a mortal groom, or return to the Underground with her kinfolk. No matter how much the maiden tried to argue, the others of her kind would simply not listen to a word of it, and eventually she was drove to a decision. Despite her misgivings, the lady decided to open herself up to the next young man that caught her fancy. It was barely a week before such a soul came upon her, yet another supposed suitor making his way through the forest. He spoke to her, and his words were a gentle sort of poetry that would have made a lesser woman swoon. His features were attractive, and he was roughly the proper age for marrying. The Huldra believed herself to be in love, and perhaps she was, because when this human asked for her hand in marriage she gave it to him. They agreed to meet at the town’s church the following week, though the lady assured her fiancée that none of her family need attend the ceremony.
When her husband-to-be left, the Huldra stood, stretching out her limbs as she had been sitting in that one spot for quite some time. She pulled up the hem of her dress, allowing her cow’s tail to poke out from underneath it. As she walked deeper into the forest, one could see that the gown fit awkwardly along her back, testament to the fact the woman did not actually possess one. While all Huldra had the fringes and barest edges of a back, the majority of that area dipped in to show a large hollowness like an old tree trunk. Naturally, the lady did not mind these attributes of herself, but she knew they were quite undesirable to humans. Thus, she chose to hide herself completely from her betrothed until the day of her marriage, making sure he would not become aware of her secret beforehand.
The wedding day came, and the church was packed full with villagers both joyful and jealous towards the young man’s marriage of the secretive woman of the woods. They all waited with impatience for the bride to arrive, her fiancée standing near the priest while the rest of the townspeople whispered and joked amongst themselves. Fortunately, they did not have to wait too long before slender hands opened the door and the Huldra walked inside of the first building she had ever been permitted entrance to. For some long moments she stood in the doorway, looking simply stunning in a wedding dress that was more silver than white. Slowly, so has to not show the secret of her less-than-human heritage, the Huldra made her way down the aisle, stopping only when she stood before the man-of-the-church and beside her betrothed.
The ceremony went smoothly from there on, up until the priest officially named the two youths husband and wife. As soon as the words left the man’s lips, the maiden started to shake, her eyelids fluttering as she fell to her knees. The church fell into an uproar, the general belief being that the bride was suffering some illness and had fallen into convulsions. In the crowd’s panic, it was easy enough for the Huldra to reach under her skirt and pick up her now disconnected cow’s tail. She threw it far into the shadows behind the altar, hoping it would only be found later, and then not connected to her. Suddenly, hands caught her underneath both of her arms, and she was hauled to her feet. It became apparent the person holding her was her husband, as he held her close, her now existent back pressed against his chest. With grim satisfaction the Huldra smiled, for now that she was married she would appear the same as any other human bride. Eventually, the turbulence within the church ceased, and the happy couple were allowed to go to their home to start up a life together.
Yet, living happily ever after is merely an ideal, not a reality. While the Huldra did receive her wedded bliss, it did not last for long. She soon became boring to her husband, and little more than a trophy wife. When around others, particularly the Huldra’s ex-suitors, her partner would boast about how he had “captured” the long sought after lady, never minding aforementioned lady’s feelings on the subject. There was no longer beauty in the way he spoke to her, and it was expected that she remain completely obedient to his requests. As time went on, try as she might, nothing the Huldra did was ever good enough for her husband. It became so that the she sorely wished she had never left the woods, and had avoided all human men in the first place as some of her sisters had insisted she should.
One day, the Huldra decided she had enough of her husband’s negligence. When he commanded that she prepare dinner, she put her foot down and refused. Fists clenched at her sides, she demanded that the man treat her with the respect she deserved, and no longer tell her what do so as though she was some mere servant. Irritated with his wife’s disrespect and hungry from a long day working at the blacksmith’s, the man stood up from his old wooden chair and made a phenomenal mistake. He dared to outright hit his inhuman wife.
His hand hit the Huldra with a loud crack, and immediately the entire house fell into an eerie silence.
When the woman began to scream, it was instantly obvious she was not merely in pain from a single slap. Beginning from the very top of her head, it seemed as though the Huldra was splitting in two, her face and hair falling apart as something grotesque made its appearance. It was like a snake shedding its skin, as what had once been a beautiful lady became a shapeless mass on the floor with a monstrous being emerging from within it. If it had been possible for a person to die from fright, the Huldra’s husband just might have. For her own part, the Huldra ignored the male, instead looking at her now wart-covered, clawed hands with near-hysterical self disgust. A beat passed, and she stormed out of the cottage like a whirlwind, breaking down the front door in her effort to leave her home as soon as possible.
She fled from the village as fast as she could; ignoring the gasping and shouting townspeople she passed on the way. Her designation was the forest she had grown up in, for now that her inner nature was revealed as her outer skin, there would be no acceptance from her human companions. There was only one option, and that would be to hide deep within the forest with the other Huldrefolk, never to be found by her husband or the villagers again.
It took very little time for the Huldra to make it to the beginnings of the forest, and through the foliage and saplings she made her way. To the home of her brethren she might have made it, too, if she had not chose to stop by the stream she had once spent the majority of her time gazing upon. As the Huldra’s eyes looked deep into the calm, crystal water, she was able to see her reflection and with it came despair. She began to look away, but as she did an arrow stabbed her in the chest, going straight into her rapidly beating heart. Letting out an inhuman growl, the Huldra wavered back and forth, ultimately falling from her stance into the river she had so admired. She thrashed for a few moments, desperately trying to raise herself from the water, but in the end she went very, very still.
Satisfied that the monster he had come upon was dead, the hunter put down his bow, and beckoned to his friends to carry onward. They were going to stop at the next village over for supplies and now possibly a reward as they had killed a beast that must surely have been a danger to the good, honest citizens. For a moment, the huntsman truly believed everything was right with the world.
