Lineik and Laufey

Lineik and Laufey

Once, on an island whose high cliffs overlooked the cold sea, there ruled King Ring and Queen Gita. They had two children: a son, Siegfried, and a daughter, Lineik.

The brother and sister were close friends. They read old books together, rode horses, and walked along the shore. Whatever happened, they knew they would never abandon one another.

But one year the queen became seriously ill. Before her death, she asked her husband for two things.

“If you marry again, don’t be too quick to trust a stranger simply because of kind words. And never let anyone come between you and your children.”

The king promised.

For a long time, he grieved. He hardly left his chambers and neglected the affairs of the kingdom. At last his advisers persuaded him to return to his people.

"The kingdom needs you," said the first minister. "And perhaps, in time, you should find a life partner again."

The king did not wish to look for a companion himself, so he entrusted the task to his minister.

It so happened that during the sea voyage, the advisor's ship ended up near a small rocky island. There he met a majestic woman named Brunhilda and a young girl Laufey, whom Brunhilda called her daughter.

She was friendly, spoke softly and willingly agreed to go to the king.

No one knew that Brunhilda was actually a giantess sorceress. She knew how to change her appearance and loved power above all else.

The wedding was magnificent. But Siegfried and Lineik were not even invited to it. The king was so taken with his new wife that he began to see his children less and less often.

Lineik was worried.

"It seems that dad has become different," she told her brother.

“He hasn’t changed,” Siegfried replied. “I think someone’s shadow has fallen over him.”

Soon, people who argued with the new queen began to disappear from the court. In fact, Brunhilda used magic to send them to her distant island so that no one would interfere with her plans. And she told the king that they themselves had left the country.

One day, Brunhilda convinced her husband to go on a long sea voyage.

Before sailing, the king visited the children. He looked tired and anxious.

“I don’t know why, but my heart is restless,” he said. “If I don’t return for a long time, go east. There, behind a steep cliff, there is a narrow valley. In it grow two amazing trees: one with green leaves, the other with bronze. Inside they are hollow, but from the outside you can’t see it. You will be safe there.”

He hugged the children and sailed away.

At night, a terrible storm arose over the sea. The ship disappeared in the fog, and for many weeks there was no news of it.

That same night, Siegfried had a dream: his father stood by his bed, all wet from the sea water, silently placing the crown on his pillow.

In the morning, the brother and sister realized that it was dangerous to wait any longer.

They took what they needed most and set off east.

As they began to climb the cliffs, Brunhilda appeared behind them. She could no longer hide her anger. With each step she grew taller, and her cloak billowed out like a black sail.

“Quicker!” Siegfried shouted.

They reached the narrow valley and found the two trees. Lineik hid in the one with bronze leaves, Siegfried in the green-leaved tree. Inside, it was warm and dry. Through curious cracks in the bark, they could see everything around them.

Brunhilda searched the valley, but the magic trees did not betray their hiding places.

Time passed.

And far to the south lived Prince Tellus. He had heard many stories about the clever and courageous Princess Lineik and decided to visit her country.

Brunhilda learned of his approach and conceived a new deception.

“From now on you will be Lineik,” she ordered Laufey.

The girl turned pale.

“But I am not Lineik.”

“You will do as I say,” Brunhilda replied coldly.

Laufey had been afraid of the sorceress since childhood. Brunhilda had once kidnapped her from her native land and since then had introduced her to everyone as her own daughter. So the girl did not dare to argue.

When Tellus arrived, Brunhilda told him that the king had disappeared at sea, Siegfried had also died, and the sad Laufey was Princess Lineik.

Tellus did not know the truth. He suggested that the girl go with him to Greece, where they could get to know each other better before the wedding.

Laufey silently agreed, because this was her chance to escape Brunhilda.

The ship sailed away. Soon a thick white fog enveloped it and carried it into an unfamiliar fjord.

Tellus went ashore and saw two extraordinarily beautiful trees.

“Such trees will decorate my palace garden,” he said.

The servants carefully dug them out with the earth and carried them to the ship. No one guessed that Lineik and Siegfried were hiding inside.

As soon as the trees were on board, the fog cleared.

In Greece, Tellus placed the trees in a large, bright hall of his palace.

Following custom, he gave Laufey three lengths of silk: blue, red, and green.

“These are for three tunics for special occasions,” he said. “But take your time. If you don’t know how to sew, tell me and we’ll find someone who does.”

But Laufey couldn’t tell the truth. It seemed to her that Brunhilda would hear her confession even from afar.

When Tellus had left, the girl sat down between two trees and cried.

“I can’t embroider,” she whispered. “I don’t want to deceive anyone. Why did I let myself be drawn into this?”

Siegfried heard her and said quietly to his sister:

“Lineik, Laufey is crying. I don’t think she’s our enemy.”

Lineik was silent at first.

“She’s helping Brunhilda after all.”

“What if she was forced?”

Lineik thought and opened a hidden hole in the trunk.

Laufey cried out when the girl came out of the tree.

“Don’t be afraid,” said Lineik. “I’m the person you were forced to pretend to be.”

Laufey covered her face with her hands.

“Forgive me. I didn’t mean to. Brunhilda took me from my family when I was little. She always said I had nowhere to run.”

Lineik sat down next to her.

“Then let’s start not with punishment, but with the truth. In the meantime, I’ll help you with the tunic.”

Together they cut out the blue silk. Lineik showed her how to hold the needle, how to make an even stitch, how to take her time. By evening, a beautiful tunic was ready with little silver waves on the sleeves.

Tellus was delighted.

The next day he brought the red silk.

Laufey asked for help again. This time she had already done half the work herself, and Lineik only gave her suggestions.

On the third day, it was the turn of the green silk.

“Try to start yourself,” Lineik said.

And Laufey tried.

Her stitches were not so skillful, but each one was her own.

Together, the girls embroidered branches, northern stars, and golden flowers on the green fabric.

They were so absorbed in their work that they did not hear Tellus enter the hall.

The prince froze in the doorway.

Two girls were sitting in front of him, and one of the strange trees was open, like a small room.

“I think it is time to explain everything,” he said calmly.

Laufey immediately confessed.

“I never said I was Lineik. Brunhilda forced me to keep quiet and let you believe it. I was afraid.”

Tellus was upset that he had been deceived, but he saw that Laufey was punishing herself most of all.

“I have no right to demand marriage from you or punish you for something you did not choose,” he said. “Now everyone must decide for themselves what they want to do next.”

Then Siegfried emerged from the second tree.

Laufey told them the whole truth about Brunhilda: she was a sorceress from the rocky island, she kept Laufey with her by force, and she secretly exiled the king’s dissenting advisers so that she could seize power.

“And the storm that caught our father?” Lineik asked quietly.

"Brunhilda bragged that she had brought fog to his ship," Laufey answered. "I don't know what happened next."

Siegfried immediately decided to return home. Tellus offered to help, and Laufey said:

"I will go too. I have been afraid for too long. Now I want to tell the people myself who Brunhilda is."

When the ships arrived at the island, the inhabitants were already tired of the sorceress's power. Seeing Siegfried and Lineik, they came out to meet them.

Brunhilda tried to raise the fog again, but this time no one believed her words. Laufey stood before everyone and loudly told how she had been kidnapped, how the queen had deceived the court and where she had sent those who had contradicted her.

Many missing people were found in the dungeons and on the distant shore. They were returned home.

With no power over people who were no longer afraid of her, Brunhilda shrank into her true form. Her spells faded, and she was sent back to the rocky island for good. From there, she could no longer control other people’s lives.

No news of King Ring ever came. The great sea storm had claimed his ship, and his children kept a loving memory of their father. Siegfried became ruler of the island and restored the advisers Brunhilda had driven away.

And what happened to Lineik and Laufey?

Tellus asked Lineik to return to Greece with him. This time, though, he did not speak of marriage as something already decided.

“Come if you want to,” he said. “First let’s be friends. Then we’ll see.”

Lineik smiled.

“That sounds reasonable.”

Laufey stayed close to her new friends too. She learned the things once denied her: reading maps, keeping household records, embroidering, and—above all—saying ‘no’ when someone tried to decide for her.

In time, Siegfried and Laufey realised they were happy together. Lineik and Tellus also chose one another, freely, without impersonation, orders, or anyone else’s plans.

They say the two magic trees continued to grow in the Greek palace garden, one with green leaves and the other with bronze. When wind passed through their branches, they seemed to whisper:

"The truth can hide for a very long time. But friendship and courage always find a door for it."

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨