Two White Stags
I remember very little dialogue, a lot of the dream communication was done in impressions and concepts that I simply knew. The beginning is muddied, some kind of night time celebration of young men, possibly a bachelor’s party? Maybe just a general party that was strictly for men. The character the dream followed was a young woman, very slight of build, long reddish brown hair. The setting was almost medieval, maybe moving towards renaissance. The young woman was possibly prospectively engaged to one of the young men at the party, but there was no real emotional connection, I think she barely knew him. She was intensely curious about what went on at this party, which was a wild affair with costuming and masks and an almost primal Bacchanal air. Sneaking around in the shadows she stole bits of costuming and slipped in. The costuming involved actually being shirtless, but she had such a boyish build she was able to pass. Her costume involved cross straps over the chest, silver but possibly painted leather, which covered her nipples but little more. She tied up her hair to make it look about half the length it was, still about down to her shoulders, and got a very large and well covering mask of a stag. It matched her hair well, reddish browns and real fur, ornate and beautiful, but still fairly flat rather than built like an actual deer head. The rest was almost skirt-like, deerskin and ornaments and a wide belt. The celebration was wild and there was a lot of dancing, and she joined them for a while but somehow she was recognized and unmasked, in front of her horrified father and fiancé and friends. She felt she’d done nothing wrong and was angry over the double standards and exclusion of women in whatever was going on, but essentially she was declared by all to be a ruined woman now, all engagement null and the shame of it on her father. I’m sure the scanty costuming on the chest had something to do with it, but her sneaking into their private male celebration was a major deal. She should have stuck to her needlepoint. She was sent up to her room in the castle (a very proper rambling uncomfortable stone castle, the kind built later on without much eye to defense, more of a massive stone manner house with lots of ornamentation). It was clear to her that she was in permanent disgrace and her life ahead was that of a spinster, maybe worse as well. No one escorted her up, it was assumed she’d be so ashamed she’d obey, and she said next to nothing in protest because she knew it would be useless.
She didn’t go to her room, but out into a shadowy courtyard not far off, where it was empty. She let down her long hair, gave the distant party a resentful look, and snuck off to collect a few things. She’d learned in the celebration possibly, tomorrow was a massive hunt for all the men, a kind of ceremonial search for the white stag, even though no one really believed in it anymore. Apparently she knew more than they did, and was some kind of secret sorceress. She took a few supplies and headed off for the woods, determined to give them a surprise in the form of making herself into a vision of the white stag. She found a clearing in the night woods and the first thing she did was somehow magically bleach her hair out white. It was long and curly down her back. She stripped off the silver straps and most of the costume.
Then as she was looking through her supplies and working on her transformation, the real white stag showed up. He was handsome and fairly big, with a single light brown antler in the middle of where they belong, and he showed no fear of her. She wasn’t surprised at all, and started explaining her plan. She walked up to the stag and caressed him and wondered over how to do the antlers, I think she was planning to use branches. She stroked his single antler and said that they probably wouldn’t appreciate the significance of just one and expect two, and she’d need to bow a little to their limited imaginations. The stag seemed to understand all she said, and when she stepped away again she felt a warmth on her head and a weight and found two antlers from her own head, curving back and each grander than the single one the real white stag had. When she looked to thank him for the gift he was gone.
The next morning she watched from the woods as the hunting party assembled on the lawn on their horses, with dogs, all waiting for the lord of the castle who was very slow in joining them. I’m not clear on if he was her father or not, but I don’t think he was. Impatient, she moved closer through the woods at the edge of the lawn, which was still far enough away it was hard to make out individual faces. She was now in the form of a massive white stag, with long curly white hair around it’s neck and the backward sweeping antlers the real stag gave her. Impatient and unable to see what the holdup was, or possibly wanting to cheat the king out of the view, she came up to the edge and into view of the hunting party, and gave a loud bellow. The whole hunting party turned and was utterly stunned for a moment before pursuing. Once they recovered enough to move they were all after her in a maddened frenzy. Apparently she had the elusive abilities of the real white stag, and also the ability to lure them all into a mindless passion of pursuit. At no time was she in any real danger of being hurt, and although she’d been prepared to fight a few dogs and unafraid of getting her white hide bloodied, it never came to it. Nothing and no one could touch her, the hunting party fell into disarray and scattered throughout the woods, and the lord was left furious and bewildered about them all taking off without him. She separated men and lured them into falling off their horses into mud puddles and briar patches, led dog packs into pit traps, and watched men collapse from exhaustion. One man she led to fall off his horse into a muddy pool, and she stood and watched while he floundered, recognizing her fiancé. As she watched him, the real white stag joined her side. The real white stag was actually smaller than she was, more delicate, with that single horn. It occurred to her that all this being timed with her disappearance, the way the two white deer looked together, and the way her former fiancé was staring from the mud, he might be led to believe (correctly) that she had been turned into one of the legendary white deer. He also might mistake the smaller white stag for herself. Feeling gratitude and affection for the real stag she leaned down to nuzzle him, and he returned the gesture. They hopped off through the woods at what was for them a leisurely pace, knowing there was no chance of being caught even if he pursued.
Far away, although it didn’t seem to take long to get there, the two white deer stopped and settled in a clearing beside a small stream. The woman turned back into herself, still with white hair, and stroked and scratched the real white stag with her human hands. Wordlessly she thanked them, and thought back on the day. Her body felt strange now, alien, and she realized there was no going back. She too had been caught by the lure of the white stag, in a completely different way, and now she would only be happy remaining in that life. Fortunately there seemed to be no problem with that, and she took her stag form again beside the real one, who seemed to approve. The rest of her life could be spent running with him, away from the world of men.
She didn’t go to her room, but out into a shadowy courtyard not far off, where it was empty. She let down her long hair, gave the distant party a resentful look, and snuck off to collect a few things. She’d learned in the celebration possibly, tomorrow was a massive hunt for all the men, a kind of ceremonial search for the white stag, even though no one really believed in it anymore. Apparently she knew more than they did, and was some kind of secret sorceress. She took a few supplies and headed off for the woods, determined to give them a surprise in the form of making herself into a vision of the white stag. She found a clearing in the night woods and the first thing she did was somehow magically bleach her hair out white. It was long and curly down her back. She stripped off the silver straps and most of the costume.
Then as she was looking through her supplies and working on her transformation, the real white stag showed up. He was handsome and fairly big, with a single light brown antler in the middle of where they belong, and he showed no fear of her. She wasn’t surprised at all, and started explaining her plan. She walked up to the stag and caressed him and wondered over how to do the antlers, I think she was planning to use branches. She stroked his single antler and said that they probably wouldn’t appreciate the significance of just one and expect two, and she’d need to bow a little to their limited imaginations. The stag seemed to understand all she said, and when she stepped away again she felt a warmth on her head and a weight and found two antlers from her own head, curving back and each grander than the single one the real white stag had. When she looked to thank him for the gift he was gone.
The next morning she watched from the woods as the hunting party assembled on the lawn on their horses, with dogs, all waiting for the lord of the castle who was very slow in joining them. I’m not clear on if he was her father or not, but I don’t think he was. Impatient, she moved closer through the woods at the edge of the lawn, which was still far enough away it was hard to make out individual faces. She was now in the form of a massive white stag, with long curly white hair around it’s neck and the backward sweeping antlers the real stag gave her. Impatient and unable to see what the holdup was, or possibly wanting to cheat the king out of the view, she came up to the edge and into view of the hunting party, and gave a loud bellow. The whole hunting party turned and was utterly stunned for a moment before pursuing. Once they recovered enough to move they were all after her in a maddened frenzy. Apparently she had the elusive abilities of the real white stag, and also the ability to lure them all into a mindless passion of pursuit. At no time was she in any real danger of being hurt, and although she’d been prepared to fight a few dogs and unafraid of getting her white hide bloodied, it never came to it. Nothing and no one could touch her, the hunting party fell into disarray and scattered throughout the woods, and the lord was left furious and bewildered about them all taking off without him. She separated men and lured them into falling off their horses into mud puddles and briar patches, led dog packs into pit traps, and watched men collapse from exhaustion. One man she led to fall off his horse into a muddy pool, and she stood and watched while he floundered, recognizing her fiancé. As she watched him, the real white stag joined her side. The real white stag was actually smaller than she was, more delicate, with that single horn. It occurred to her that all this being timed with her disappearance, the way the two white deer looked together, and the way her former fiancé was staring from the mud, he might be led to believe (correctly) that she had been turned into one of the legendary white deer. He also might mistake the smaller white stag for herself. Feeling gratitude and affection for the real stag she leaned down to nuzzle him, and he returned the gesture. They hopped off through the woods at what was for them a leisurely pace, knowing there was no chance of being caught even if he pursued.
Far away, although it didn’t seem to take long to get there, the two white deer stopped and settled in a clearing beside a small stream. The woman turned back into herself, still with white hair, and stroked and scratched the real white stag with her human hands. Wordlessly she thanked them, and thought back on the day. Her body felt strange now, alien, and she realized there was no going back. She too had been caught by the lure of the white stag, in a completely different way, and now she would only be happy remaining in that life. Fortunately there seemed to be no problem with that, and she took her stag form again beside the real one, who seemed to approve. The rest of her life could be spent running with him, away from the world of men.