I wrote this yesterday. I apologize for the length and all, but suck it up. I reread Epic by John Elderege and this was the result. I hope I “got it right,” I think I did. So enjoy the tale of Princess Stella.
Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom that could be just outside of your very own window, there lived a Good King. He was the very best and most powerful of kings, merciful and just and wise. The leaders of all of the other nations would come to him for guidance and wisdom in their times of need. The King was brave and a strong leader, courageous in battle and kind to the men who served him. The King had a Son whom he raised to be just like him, and the Son loved his father very much. He emulated him and everyone knew that the Son would grow to be just as fair and good as the King. The King loved his Son and took delight in the Son¦#39;s obedience and kindness to the people.
One day, when the Son was still very small, the King took him out to meet all of the people so that he would love them just as the King did. When they were traveling, they came upon a small basket, and inside the basket was an infant girl with green eyes. The King picked her up and held her to his chest, comforting the crying babe and kissing her forehead. The Son kissed her as well, the little boy that he was, solemnly promising in his heart of hearts that he would love the little girl until he died and beyond. The King took the baby girl home to his castle and raised her as his own, naming her Stella after the stars that shined in the night, claiming that she would shine like a star for his people. She would bring them hope through her beauty and love.
As Stella and the Son grew, they became the best of friends. The Son taught Stella how to love, like the King had taught him. The Son watched over Stella and all of her steps, ensuring that she was safe and happy all of her days, and the King watched his children with deep affection and pride. He treated Stella no different than his own Son, caring for her injuries and holding her when she needed to be held. He taught her wonderful things about his people, about their needs, about the world that he offered. And as the children grew even older, a new sort of love began to form, one deeper than friendship or family. The Son longed for Stella¦#39;s affections, despite her failings, but Stella merely began to long. She looked all around the kingdom for something to fulfill her longing. Knowledge, power, seclusion, company; none of them could quench the thirst that grew more dire every day.
The Son watched in sadness. Every night he would take her up to the highest tower in the palace to watch the sunset, offering her treasures that no one else could dream of offering. Most of all, he offered his heart. He would always be true to her and he would care for her better than anyone else she could hope to find. He already was, he said, he was longing for her to return the affections. But Stella said no. She claimed it wasn¦#39;t what she wanted, and she would find it on her own.
This broke the Good King¦#39;s heart, for he longed to see his Son and Stella bonded forever through a holy vow. He cared deeply for Stella¦#39;s happiness, and he knew, being very wise, that his Son would offer the very best to her. And he knew that Stella would be good to his Son, once she finally understood the depths of his love. The King longed to see Stella as his true Princess, united to his Son. But the once-orphaned Stella persisted in doing things on her own. She turned a blind and selfish eye to the palace that had treated her so well and continued her vain search for something to satisfy her.
Far from the kingdom where the Good King lived, there was another far darker kingdom, one where it was nearly always dark and storming. The handsome prince that ruled the kingdom hated the Good King and was jealous of his wisdom and power. And so the prince decided that he would steal something precious from the King in order to hurt him and overthrow his throne. And so the prince disguised himself and rode to the Good King¦#39;s palace, posing as a merchant and bearing all sorts of wonderful trinkets and gifts to sell.
Stella was leaving the palace one day, on her way to continue her search for happiness and love (which she was sure she would find any day) when she found the merchant there. He was handsome in a way she didn¦#39;t quite understand, enticing in a way that frightened her yet drew her. She walked cautiously to his cart of wares, and the disguised prince knew that to take away the child of the Good King would hurt him and his Son more than anything else. And so he leaned in close to Stella¦#39;s ear and whispered promises to her, lies crafted from the dark parts of his heart, telling her all of the things that she wanted to hear. Stella¦#39;s eyes grew wide with amazement and selfish greed and that very moment, made up her mind to run away with this handsome man, who couldn¦#39;t possibly be bad since he was so charming, and wanted the same things that she wanted.
That night, she crept out of the palace, not knowing that from his window, the Son watched with a sad, breaking heart. Couldn¦#39;t she see how much he loved her? Didn¦#39;t she understand that he would give his whole kingdom for her to come and love him? He could have stopped her, but she would have been resentful. Both the King and his Son knew that if she were to fall in love with the Son, it would have to be of her own mind and heart. And so she left without a glance back at the palace that had raised her.
The prince was kind at first; pampering the adopted Princess with everything she could have hoped for. Where the King had taught her to love and care for the people of his kingdom, she now cared only for herself and what her wants and desires were. Self control was lost, as well as tenderness and mercy. She grew to rely on the handsome man she thought she loved, losing sight of reality and the conditions surrounding the rest of the world.
The prince was delighted to see the once honorable Princess sinking lower and lower, her mind and heart growing darker with every selfish desire that he helped to feed. Her beauty began to fade as her green eyes grew hollow from greed and her hands that once did such wonderful things took on the appearance of claws, constantly reaching for things that she did not need. She was lazy and gluttonous and entirely too absorbed with herself to even notice when the prince began to turn on her. His promises began to fade and instead he replaced them with lies and hurtful things. He hurt her, making her suffer in an effort to call the Good King to aggravation.
Stella grew not only selfish, but weak. Not only unloving, but she seemed to have forgotten what love was. The prince who had put on such a marvelous show for her now spat at her and laughed at her despair. She spent her nights cold and alone, shivering in the darkness of the tall tower that the prince kept her in. She cursed herself and the prince, and even the Good King and the Son, who she blamed for her predicament, ignoring the fact that she herself had made the decision to leave.
While Stella suffered, the Good King and the Son did as well. They worried for her, and were overcome with grief over the loss of her. Stella had offered something to them, someone to love and care for, and someone who loved them back. She had been their star, and good to the people of the kingdom. The whole land felt her absence, wishing she would return again.
The Good King could have gone after her, sending his legions of men to rescue her from the tower and bring her back home, but he knew that she would only resent him for it. He could not go to her until she called him, and so every night, from the highest point in the palace where the Son had made his many confessions of love, the two men watched the prison-tower from afar, waiting for the day that Stella would call to them for a rescue.
The adopted Princess lived a miserable life. She had all but forgotten the life that she used to have, where she was loved and lovely, wanted and needed. Now she merely wallowed in self pity and the only world she knew was one where she was the only person who mattered. Her skin turned a gray color and she moved as one already dead. She forgot how to sing, how to laugh and how to smile. The prince from the dark kingdom watched with glee as life and vitality drained away from his prisoner.
At the darkest hour of night, when all but the last threads of hope had been cut, Stella managed to drag herself to the window of her tower, her steps heavy and labored. Far across the land, as clear as if it were directly in front of her, she could see the light of a thousand lamps shining from the palace she once called home, and on the topmost point stood the Good King and his Son, watching her, their faces grave and sad, yet hopeful as they waited for her to call on them. Her heart seemed to break in that moment as she remembered the love that they had shown her. She remembered the King sweeping her into her arms when she fell down, how he would hold her near until the tears stopped. She remembered the honest and true professions of unending and eager love from the Son and his gentle guidance over her years.
As her heart broke, she was only able to utter a single word: ¢Help.¢ That was enough, however, for the King and his Son. The wind carried the gentle plea over miles and seas until it reached the two men in the palace. The King could have sent armies, he could have sent battleships and cavalries and canons, but he knew that would never ensure the safe return of his Stella. The dark prince had deeper and more sinister plans, the King knew. The King turned to his Son and told him that he must be the one to go, to take Stella¦#39;s place, to save her and bring her home. Such was not a duty befitting the Son of so noble a King, but he readily agreed, more than willing to venture to save his beloved, no matter what injustice she had done him by leaving. Within minutes, the Son was riding towards the tall tower in the distance, his sword at his side and his brilliant armor reflecting the cool, pale light of the moon.
The prince of the dark kingdom and Stella¦#39;s captor had heard the fateful whisper as well and had called his own dark army to his side. He would stop at nothing to keep his prisoner and the thought of the chance to slay his enemy¦#39;s Son in battle thrilled him to the bottom of his very dark heart. All around the tower he stationed his armies, ten rows of men thick, while the desolate and dying Stella cried from within its high walls.
The Son arrived in record time, his steed urged on by the passion and urgency in his master¦#39;s presence. His sword was shining, a magical sword spoken into existence by the power and majesty of the Good King himself, and singing as it sliced through the night¦#39;s darkness. The King had trained his Son well, and the Son had learned well from his Father, how to fight the enemy and how to wage a battle. A dozen of the dark prince¦#39;s men would fall at a single stroke of the Son¦#39;s blade. The sword cut through, down to their very hearts that pulsed slowly, black as ink, and left the evil men in awe and fear of this Son.
The sounds of the battle roused Stella from her quiet desperation and brought her to the window where she watched the fight with unbelieving green eyes. He had come for her, and so soon, after all she had done to him. She watched him fight for her, and she could see, even from the top of her prison, that every thought that passed through his mind was of her and her rescue. But she feared he would be too late. Her breath was coming shorter now and the pain that spread through her body was far greater than anything she could imagine. Perhaps it was better if she died. She was no longer beautiful or good, while he was both and more. Stella felt unworthy and shamed to look at him.
And yet he fought on, undefeatable. Finally, he came face to face with the dark prince himself and demanded in a loud, clear voice, befitting the Son of a noble King, that the adopted Princess be released, or the jailer would face terrible consequences for his lies to the loved one of the King. The dark prince laughed at the Son, claiming he had never lied, and the Princess was free to leave any time she wished. But the Son knew this to be a lie; he knew that Stella could have never escaped her prison on her own. It had merely become to close around her until all that filled her vision were the walls around her. The Son raised his sword at the dark prince and the battle continued.
The prince fought sneakily and underhandedly, but nothing could stop the Son, for the fierce love that burned in his heart would not let him fall. He would save his beloved, for he knew that he was the only one who could. The dark prince began to panic as his strength began to wane, and he swore oaths and promises to the Son, much like he did to Stella. But the Son rebuked him and slashed with his silver sword, driving the dark prince away from the tower.
The sun began to rise and cover the fields and tower with it¦#39;s rosy light. The dark prince was blinded by the brilliancy of the sunbeams off of the King¦#39;s sword and when he stumbled, the Son went in for his kill. Black and corrupted blood leaked from a wound straight through the dark prince¦#39;s heart and he cursed the Son as he died, but no curse could ever harm one so noble as the Son. Sword still in hand, he burst into the tower and seemed to fly up the stairs to the very top of the prison where his beloved Stella sat in a chair by the window.
Indeed, she was not the beauty he had known her to be in her innocence. Hair that had once been as brown and as rich as new earth was thin and streaked with gray. Her once-vibrant green eyes were lifeless and hollow. Her skin was ashen and her hands shook as she reached for him. But the Son saw none of this. He saw straight through her skin and into the depth of her heart of hearts where the little child he had sworn to love still laughed and ran in circles, and needed to be held. He went to her, leaving his sword behind and gathering her into his arms, holding his dear one to his chest and murmuring words of true love into her ears.
But as joyous as this made Stella, she could not hold on any longer. Lifting a frail hand to touch his cheek, the adopted Princess closed her eyes and took her last breath, exhausted from such a long time of suffering and pain and hopelessness. The Son stared in pain and horror and disbelief as his beloved faded in his arms, feeling the warmth of life drift away from her heart. He could not let her die. She was far too precious to him, and to the Good King, far too important and valuable and worthy to be taken away from them forever.
And so the Son called the power of his Father, the King, up from the very bottom of his heart. Very gently, he kissed his Stella on the lips, lightly, a true kiss of utterly true love and devotion. Within that kiss, he passed to her his own life and took on hers. Slowly, Stella¦#39;s eyes opened and her lungs expanded. She watched in confusion as the handsome Son¦#39;s golden skin faded to the gray that hers had been, how brilliancy and vitality were pulled from his face and hands and body and passed into hers. She could feel the power from the Good King filling her up to her fingertips, and yet the Son, the one who loved her so dearly, was dying before her eyes. ¢Beloved, you are worth this. I will return to you,¢ he said quietly, taking great pains to make his voice heard. He drew out all of her pain and loneliness, despair and hopelessness until it cracked his heart and he, too, closed his eyes and submitted to the cold hand of death.
Stella cried out, pulling him near and begging for him to wake up, to open his eyes, to kiss her again and to make her laugh or smile. But the Son¦#39;s thin eyelids remained closed and his body grew cold. The Princess cried and screamed, her fists clenching in anger. Why? Why should he, who was so good, die? Because of her? She was sure he had never wronged a soul in his life, and to die in such a way, from a heart broken of grief and self pity was dishonorable. She would not stand for it.
Gathering her wits, the Princess drew the Son to her, his body frail and light enough for her to carry, and cradled him gently as she made her way down the steps of the tower and out into the new light. She passed by the corpses of the enemy that the Son had slain, staying far from the body of the dark prince himself. Carefully, Stella set him atop his horse and thus began the journey back to the palace that she had left so long ago.
They walked for days, three to be exact, and she shifted between moments of fear, for what would the King say when he heard that his only, and deeply loved Son had died for her treachery, and sorrow, for now she knew that he loved her so, and she found that she loved him as well, and hope, since he had promised that he would return to her. Stella was confused and frightened as she carried the body of the Son to her Good King.
Upon seeing the girl whom he had loved and raised as his own blood, the noble and powerful King leapt from his throne and rushed to meet her, gathering both his living daughter and dead Son into his arms. ¢My child, my child,¢ he said with tears in his eyes. ¢You have come back to me. How I¦#39;ve missed you.¢
¢My King,¢ she said, ¢Your Son is dead.¢
The Good King nodded and took his Son from Stella, cradling his boy as if the Son were a mere infant. The King opened his mouth and spoke a Word, a Word that Stella, nor anyone else in the palace, or the Kingdom, or the whole world had heard before and it made them all fall to their knees in awe of the King¦#39;s mighty power. With the utterance of that single Word, something wonderful happened. The sound of it lingered in the throne room of the grand palace, taking the place of the air and making the whole of the moment feel richer and more real than any other moment has ever felt since. And at the sound of that Word, the Son opened his eyes and Stella was amazed to see that his beauty and goodness, which she was sure she had taken from him, had been restored by the King. The Good King kissed his Son and set him on his feet. The Son immediately ran to Stella and gathered her in his arms, joyful to have his beloved once more. And Stella found herself melting into the Son, having finally found what she had been looking for all along.
The Son and Stella were married, and the celebration was the largest and most joyous feast the Kingdom had ever seen. The lovers lived in the grand palace with the Good King for all of eternity, bestowing blessings on their people and ruling with a just, loving hand. And it truly came to be that they lived happily ever after.
