The Raven Princess and the Skinwalker’s Curse

Long ago, in a valley cradled by whispering pines and watchful mountains, there ruled a mighty chief whose spirit was as steadfast as the river’s current. At his side was a noble wife, a woman of quiet strength and kindness, whose laughter was as soft as the breeze through the high grass. Together, they were blessed with a daughter whose hair fell like black waterfalls down her back, whose bright eyes saw deeply into the souls of those around her. The people called her Raven Princess, for she embodied both beauty and wisdom, and they believed she would one day lead them into a season of peace.

But not all spirits in the forest wished the family well. One dusk, as the chief’s wife went to bathe under the singing branches of cedar, she was unaware of the sharp eyes that watched her from the shadows. A silent owl, wide-eyed and patient, perched upon a twisted limb. It was no ordinary owl but a skinwalker, a spirit of corruption that yearned for power it had not earned.

Stepping from the feathers of the owl’s form, the skinwalker became a woman, her eyes glinting with cunning as she approached the chief’s wife. “Let me help you prepare, noble one,” she said, voice like honey laced with thorns. But as the gentle wife turned her back, the skinwalker threw a deer hide across her shoulders. In a breath, the chief’s wife became a black-haired deer, her eyes filled with fear as she bounded into the forest, lost to her husband and child.

When the chief realized his wife was gone, sorrow claimed him, but his people urged him to take another wife for the sake of the Raven Princess, who wept every night for her mother. The skinwalker, craving the chief’s power, consulted her own dark kin. Her eldest brother, a twisted sorcerer, instructed her to craft a bread of three drops of her blood, a cactus flower, and a lock of her own hair. She fed it to the grieving chief, and under the spell’s weight, he took her as his new wife.

Though the skinwalker now ruled beside him, the Raven Princess felt the ice of hatred in her stepmother’s gaze. Sensing danger, the chief entrusted his daughter to the wise Shamaness, who taught the princess the language of birds and the whispers of the wind. The Raven Princess learned to listen, to honor every living thing, and to call upon the forest’s creatures in times of need.

Time passed, and the skinwalker bore a daughter, a child with wide, predatory eyes, whom the people called Owl Girl. Unlike the Raven Princess, who brought warmth wherever she walked, Owl Girl’s laughter was sharp, and her jealousy grew like thorns. She ripped the Raven Princess’s dresses, pushed her into mud, and hurled cruel words like stones. Yet when the Raven Princess pleaded for mercy on her sister’s behalf, the chief’s love only deepened for his firstborn, leaving Owl Girl’s bitterness to rot her spirit further.

One dawn, the Shamaness took the Raven Princess deep into the forest. There, a sleek black-haired deer approached and spoke, “My daughter, it is I, your mother, and I have always watched over you.” Joy returned to the Raven Princess’s heart, for she could speak to her mother again.

But Owl Girl, driven by envy, demanded to follow and saw the deer with her own eyes. She returned to her mother and told her everything. The skinwalker, recognizing her rival, ordered the chief to hunt the black-haired deer. When the Raven Princess wept to her mother, the deer nuzzled her and said, “All creatures meet their end, but our spirit lives on. Before I go, take these gifts.” She laid before her daughter a pair of boots and a necklace, whispering, “If danger comes, drop the necklace, then the boots, and they will protect you.” The Raven Princess kissed her mother’s soft fur, and the deer disappeared into the forest, fulfilling her destiny.

A feast was held to honor the chief’s hunt, but neither the Shamaness nor the Raven Princess would partake of the flesh. War clouds gathered, and the chief rode to defend his people, leaving the Raven Princess under the rule of her stepmother and Owl Girl, who turned the princess into a servant, forcing her to sweep ashes and sort corn with bleeding fingers. Yet the princess no longer complained, for she knew strength came from quiet endurance.

When news came that the chief had returned victorious, the village erupted with joy. A great feast was prepared, but Owl Girl, seething with envy, ruined the Raven Princess’s clothes with ash and mud, forcing her to sort corn kernels before she could join the celebration.

Alone, the Raven Princess called upon the eagles and coyotes, feeding them bread as they helped her sort the kernels swiftly. She bathed and dressed in her mother’s shimmering boots and necklace and entered the feast, her presence like dawn breaking after a long night. The people’s eyes turned to her with love and hope.

During the feast, she volunteered to gather berries, unaware that the skinwalker planned her death. Deep in the woods, the witch lunged at her with a knife, but the Raven Princess threw down her necklace, and blinding light halted the attack. She threw a boot next, and a swarm of bees erupted, stinging the witch until she fled, defeated.

At that feast, Noble Eagle, a chief’s son from a neighboring tribe, laid eyes upon the Raven Princess and knew he wished to marry her. When he found her lost boot and necklace, he sought their owner, but the skinwalker claimed they belonged to Owl Girl. Forced to take Owl Girl, Noble Eagle noticed blood from her feet and the heaviness of the necklace, realizing the deception.

The Shamaness intervened, revealing the truth, and Noble Eagle found the true Raven Princess, asking for her hand in marriage. But on the morning of the wedding, Owl Girl and the skinwalker enacted their final betrayal. They took the princess to the lake to prepare her, throwing raven feathers over her. Instantly, the Raven Princess became a bird, and the witches returned, showing her wet clothes and claiming she had drowned.

Noble Eagle wept for the loss of his beloved, even as Owl Girl tried to win his affection. But the Shamaness brought him the raven, whispering, “Keep this close.” Owl Girl, enraged by the bird’s presence, killed and swallowed it, but was struck with violent sickness, vomiting the feathers.

The Shamaness instructed the prince to lay the boots in a cross, place the necklace atop the feathers, and call to his beloved. At once, the Raven Princess returned, radiant as the dawn, freed from the spell. She returned to her father’s village, where the people rejoiced, and the skinwalker’s lies were undone.

With her necklace, the Raven Princess forced the witch to confess to her mother’s murder and the harm done. The chief ordered a pyre, and the witch and Owl Girl met their end in flames. Noble Eagle’s warriors hunted the skinwalker’s kin until none remained, freeing the land from their corruption.

At last, the Raven Princess and her mother’s spirit found peace, and she returned with Noble Eagle to his people, where they ruled in kindness and strength, their love a promise that even in the face of darkness, truth and courage would prevail.

And may we all live as bravely and kindly as the Raven Princess, finding hope even after the longest winter.