"Ah, my beloved," replied the princess, "though I cannot see you and you be but a voice, you are the voice of one who loves me, and that to me is dearer than all the world. I cannot return to my father, for now he is dead, and my sisters have cast me off because I was portionless; but I myself shall seek this cruel king and beg him to set you free."
"Seek this cruel King Ironheart!" exclaimed Godfrey in dismay. "Surely, Yvonne, you know not what you say, for never in all the world before was known such a tyrant! Men he casts into prison, nor does he ever release them, but condemns them to dig beneath the earth that he may fill his treasury with gold; women must toil all day in the fields and for a few coppers; while their children die of hunger, this King Ironheart has granaries filled full of good grains. King Ironheart has vast armies, each soldier of which is as cruel as his master, and were you to go to the Westland Kingdom, these same soldiers would seek you out and enslave you with the rest of my people. You must not go, Yvonne; as you love me, promise me that you will not."
"The more you tell me of the sorrows of the Westland Kingdom, the more I am resolved to seek this cruel Ironheart. If I fail, I fail, but what is my life to me unless you be set free, Godfrey?"
"But, Yvonne," pleaded Godfrey from his dungeon, "think of my suffering, should you do this for my sake. What powerful weapon have you to use against this wicked Ironheart?"
"None but courage and a good heart," replied the princess. "In the past they have worked miracles, and so may they work miracles now. Deny me no more, Godfrey, but tell me the way to your kingdom, that I may all the sooner return to free you, for I will not fail."
No words could move her, and at last Godfrey gave her her will.
"Dress your feet in the slippers of bark which you will find beneath a pine tree close to the mill. They will serve you for your travels until you return again to this forest," said he. "Then watch closely in the east, and when the sun rises, start at once to follow him as he journeys across the sky, neither stopping nor staying, and at sunset you will find yourself on the borders of the Westland Kingdom. Should you grow weary or should your courage fail you, Yvonne, sing, and my spirit will fly to cheer you."
So with the coming of the dawn, Yvonne bound her golden hair and dressed her feet in the slippers of bark. She looked toward the east for the first beam of the sun, and when she turned once more to the mill it had disappeared. In its place stood a great oak with green grass smooth as a carpet growing beneath it. But Yvonne had no time to marvel at this new wonder, for the sun rose from the clouds and straightway began its journey above the world. All day long Yvonne followed after, now wading shallow mountain brooks, now fording rivers wide as any sea. Now she walked through cool green forests and again over hot, sandy desert plains. She grew weary and longed to rest, but remembering Godfrey's words, she sang instead. And so it was at sunset she found herself upon the borders of the Westland Kingdom, and too weary for aught else, she begged shelter of a peasant woman and slept soundly until morning.
The Westland Kingdom, in the days of Prince Godfrey, had been the pleasantest place in all the world, but now there was not a sadder spot on earth. From his desert throne, King Ironheart had long coveted its great forests and fertile fields, its rich mines of silver and gold beneath the earth. He had not dared meet Prince Godfrey in open battle, for Godfrey was a fierce warrior and his nobles were brave soldiers. So it was secretly and in the dead of night, when Prince Godfrey was away from his land on a journey, that King Ironheart entered the Westland Kingdom and conquered it by force of arms. At the same time he caused Godfrey to be imprisoned in the mill which sank beneath the forest by day. Then having done thus much, he offered riches and high honors to all Westland subjects who would swear allegiance to him as their sovereign lord. The people with one accord refused to listen to his ministers and remained faithful to Godfrey.
King Ironheart was furious, but he gave them seven days in which to change their minds. At the end of the seventh day, he called a council of the Westland people and was gracious in his bearing toward them; but from the highest noble to the lowest peasant, there was not one in all the kingdom who would bow the knee to King Ironheart. From that day, the reign of cruelty began. King Ironheart bade his army drive the men to the mines beneath the earth, and when this was done, he rewarded his generals and soldiers with the palaces and houses of the Westland people. Driven thus from their homes, there was nothing left for the women and children but to seek shelter where they could find it. Some lived in wretched huts; others toiled at cutting logs to build rude cabins, and all were forced to work like slaves. King Ironheart meant to punish the Westland Kingdom and spared no one.