The language spoken by the woman Hector encounters and falls in love with in the Middle Ages is Friulan, a variety of Ladino which is spoken in north-eastern Italy.

[first lines]


The Storyteller:
This is the story of a story. Once upon a time there was this story, and the story said to itself, how should I begin?


Hector:
Try the usual way.


The Storyteller:
What, in the dark with a man and a woman, in a story that is still to tell itself?


Hector:
Well, you've got to start somewhere. Say, long long ago... Or, far far away... Or, another time in a different distant country... Or just, once...


The Storyteller:
That's good. "Far away", so you know the place is close to your own heart. "Once" is nice, so we know that it always happens. Hmm, Once there was this hero...


Hector:
[wryly] Some hero.


The Storyteller:
Some man then. Any man. Say, a man, a woman, and some children. Don't forget the children.