I will always love you

This has been in my reserves for a while now so i thought to finally finish it :"" hope you guys enjoy

[WP] Long ago a man fell in love and promised to the Mountain's Goddess. "Every time you feel sad or lonely, I'll pop back up as a Dandelion to make you smile." 200 years later the mountain stands blanketed with vibrant yellow flowers.

None dare treaded up the dark mountains. As much as it could offer a quicker route to the neighboring villages, the precarious peaks and steep paths were definitely ones that no sane traveler would ever take. Or at least, that was what the rumors say since none who attempted ever came back. Eventually, legends of creatures dwelling in the mountains soon circulated in our village and even in the forest areas that surrounded the mountain. Some even say that a force was hell bent on keeping humans as far from the mountains as possible.

Normally one would avoid those mountains when rumors were already in circulation yet for some reason, Cain seemed to want to prove that it was just all in their heads and that maybe the first few travelers just got lost or had managed to find a reason to stay in their current destinations. He always had reasons, logical ones which were near impossible to disprove with how hard headed the man was.

His hard headedness persisted quite so that once he had gathered enough supplies for a few days, he had made his journey to the dark mountains.

He had thought it was nothing but a mountain blanketed by a luscious green forest. The hike to the foot of the mountain wasn't even much a task and didn't take up that long a walk from his village. He kept thinking that if roads got built here, the traveling time going around the mountains could be reduced by half. It would entail better trades. Thoughts of quicker travels had filled his head by the time he had started up the mountains. It wasn't even as steep as the rumors say. Walking up was basically like climbing the small hill his hut was situated on. And if tunnels could be dug somewhere, he was sure as hell that they could even keep their produce fresh to fetch a better price than the results of their trades now.

Perhaps halfway up the mountain, he had decided to come to a stop, the sun was setting and of course he needed to set up camp for the time being. Rest was well deserved and so far, no creatures or beasts nor steep slopes halted hos traveling. And he definitely wasn't lost so it made him conclude that the rumors were definitely false.

Later on in the night, he soon figured out why it was called the dark mountains. The thickness of the trees that covered it were enough to block out all passing moonlight that could have kept him company. Everything was pitch black. Not even a fire could illuminate enough. But what spooked him the most was a pale glowing figure that kept peeking out from the trees. Perhaps it was a ghost. He could never be so sure but at least he was sure on one thing, this apparition wanted him to leave.

All throughout the night, repeatedly the glowing figure would appear and tell him to go away and he would do uis best to ignore and hope for a good night's sleep. As morning came and the sun's rays made it pass the thick leaves and jnto the forest, he felt relieved. Despite not getting enough sleep, he packed up and went on his way to the peak of the mountain.

The closer he got to the peak, the more the trees cleared and the more he coild notice that the top was nothing more than a field of grass. As he went exploring a bit more, a familiar figure came into view. It was the same figure that was driving him away just hours before.

"I knew you weren't a ghost" he had exclaimed as he approached the woman in white. The closer he got, the more he realized, she wasn't human either. The silver glow of her hair that could put the moon too shame, the silky fair porcelain skin, the plump red lips that could be conpared to rose petals. Her beauty was not of a human's.

"I had told you to leave! You do not belong here! Go back to that human dwelling which uou had come from." Her voice was stern, icy and I would have followed right away had I not been mesmerized by the beauty that stood before me

"I apologize but I simply cannot do that" Cain had lowered his head apologetically "perhaps I can offer something in exchange for letting me be on my way?"

The woman seemed intrigued. Perhaps it was new to her but she had contemplated on the offer for quite some time. He wondered how long a pause she made but after a while she had spoken again.

"Give me a treasure of yours" Shocked by the request of hers, he immediately checked his pockets, then bags for things he considered a treasure. Each item he pulled out from his bag seemed to fascinate her in more ways than one. And by the time he had emptied out his bag, it was already dusk and he needed to set camp again. She had too many questions with each item he had and it seemed as if each item was basically a treasure to her.

In exchange for the question she had somehow managed to keep giving him, Cain was permitted to set camp that night in the meadows she had always slept in. That night, she was taught how to set up a fire from twigs and she was given a taste of the cured meat he offered her. After what she had decided as "one of the best offerings she had ever received" she guided him to a certain spot by the edge of the cliff. There he stood in awe with the sight before him. The overgrown forest seemed so peaceful and the stars seemed to shine brighter than when he was in the village. The image burned into his head and he hoped he would get to see this again.

The rays of the sun had roused them from their slumber and he had just realized that they had managed to fall asleep close to the cliff. Even the morning view was something to be in awe with but what struck him the most was the being that was settled next to him. He had wanted to wake her but eventually went against it. I stead, he simply whispered in her ear that he would return to visit her again soon to give her more offerings. After doing so, he packed up silently and went on his descent from the mountains.

The trip down the mountain was much quicker than he had initially expected and before dawn he had managed to arrive safely to the neighboring village where he offered his village specialties for trade and for sale. All which fetched him a hefty price because of the rarity of the items to be in such good condition.

The next day, with new stocks, he began his travels back up the mountains and by dawn he was back at the peak where the white being was

"I've been waiting for your return" a smile graced her plump lips as she approached him

"Today I want to show you this dandelions I found on the hike back" I uncovered the dandelions then handed her one of them. Her gaze was fixated on the flower so it assured him that she had never seen one before. "Now you should know that when you blow on it and you blow off all its petals, you can have a wish" she was confused at first but when he blew out all the seeds from the dandelion he held, she soon followed suit, probably excited by the thought of being granted a wish. The anticipating grin was enough to tell. From then on, she had asked that each time he would travel, he would bring him an offering and a dandelion. She never did tell him the wishes he made but with wach of his returns, she would be there at the peak, awaiting him and the dandelions he would bring. At some point she had admitted that it had become her favorite flower and that he had become his favorite human.

Jealous merchants soon heard news of one trader who would travel by the mountains and always came back unscathed despite what people say about those dark mountains. Petty thieves were hired to follow Cain. Both by merchants and those that simply couldn't believe of his smooth travels.

The people that followed him on his next travel. They went unnoticed on the duration of his trip but once he reached the peaks, the white being made a face that he had never seen before, one of pure hatred. He was about to inquire what had caused her to give such a reaction when she had always greeted him with a smile but he fell short on his tracks when he felt a piercing pain on his back; the next thing he knew, a number of arrows had already impaled his body and he was falling to the ground.

The being on the other hand... her eyes flashed white and a loud shriek echoed across the meadow. For a few moments, everything was white and before he could even ask what she had done, he saw men pierced by the roots of what seemd like the trees of the forest and she was rushing to his side.

Tears fell from her once bright eyes and she did everything she could to hoist his body up and hold him as close as she had did in the many times he would go see her.

"Hey... don't cry" he reached up with what little energy he had left and wiped away the tears that wouldn't stop falling

"Don't leave me.." her voice was cracking. It was painful to see her like that

"I'll never leave you... I love you too much" blood came with each fit of cough he was emitting and it seemed to make her cling onto him more "I'll be back... as your favorite flower..."

"Will you grant me my wish too?" She had buried her face against his chest. She was sobbing now as she could feel him grow weaker yet she didn't have the means to heal him

"Anything"

"Come see me when I get sad or lonely. Like you always do when I wish on the dandelions you brought me"

"I promise" he offered her the dandelion he had brought her this time then she made her wish then continued to hold him til his last dying breath.

She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep, but when she came to, Cain's body was gone but what was left behind was something that made her heart ache and swell at the same time. Before her was a field of dandelions. Ones whicb reminded her of Cain so much and would continue to do so for the next few hundred years that would come

A bit long 😅😅😅 sorry but I got carried away with this prompt