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“No!” roared the King. “This can not be!”
“Separated forever these two must be!”
“One to an ancient land
and one across the sea”
“This as King, I do decree!”
“The curse of an old woman
I place on both of you!”
“Alone and ugly,
hidden from man’s view.”
“Only the kiss of a prince shall be,
that which forever will set you free!”
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Once upon a time there was a handsome prince who lived in a beautiful city of white marble and glass. All the inhabitants of the city loved the prince. So why, at times, did he feel undeserving of this love? When he rode Troubadour, his magnificent brown stallion with a black mane and tail, all the citizens smiled and waved to him. So why, when he returned their greetings, did it somehow feel false. He had so many questions about who he was. There were even moments when he felt that he was not really a prince at all.
“Great Prince, where are you off to today?”
“Great Prince, always remember to take care! For one day you will rule our beautiful city!”
“Great Prince, we love you! Your parents, the king and queen, have always been fair and just rulers. We know their beneficence will continue when the day comes that you will rule!”
“Great Prince” the damsels of the city would call to him. Dressed in their finest cloths they blew him kisses. For they knew that one day he would choose a princess from amongst them; a princess who would rule with him as queen. The prince rode on. Through the glistening city gates and into the dappled woods that surrounded the city.
It was only here in the woods, with trees of every size supporting a shimmering multitude shade of green, where he felt whole and at peace. He would slow Troubadour to a walk as he took in the sounds of the woods. Sometimes, when the sounds overlapped he could swear that they were voices. They spoke to him in waves and rushes, carried on gentle breezes. When he stopped and closed his eyes he would hear bits of words and questions but never enough to actually understand what was wanted.
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One particularly fine day as he was riding along one of the many paths that meandered through the woods and saw a stream of smoke rising from what must be a chimney. This was very odd. He wasn’t aware that anyone lived in these woods. He dismounted Troubadour and tied his reins to a tree. He walked into the woods and the brush grew so dense he had to use his sword to cut his way through. He was about to give up when his pants caught on a thorn bush. He freed his pants and looked up to see a small clearing where stood a cottage with a thatched room and chimney. On one side of the cottage there was a brown picket fence and gate. As he approached the fence he saw an old woman tending the garden. She turned and looked at the prince as if she had been expecting him. He didn’t know what to do or say. He heard movement in the woods and turned to see two deer enter the clearing. When he looked back his pants were still caught on the thorn bush and the cottage, garden and old woman were gone.
At dinner that evening he told his parents about the incident. His father didn’t have an opinion but his mother seemed concerned. “Give me your bowl son.” His mother said changing the subject. “I had the kitchen make your favorite soup.”
“Beet and carrot soup, wherever did you get a taste for that?” his father always asked, slightly amused. The prince had no definitive answer; it was just as much of a mystery to him as it was to his father.
“I’ve liked the combination for as long as I can remember. Someone must have served it to me as an infant.” said the prince.
“It doesn’t really matter does it? Beets and carrots are very good for you,” said his mother. The prince glanced at his mother as they finished dinner. Her countenance wore a trouble look but the prince didn’t question her. After dinner, as usual, his father read in the library and his mother sat next to him weaving on her loom. The incident from that day and his mothers look at dinner continued to pester the prince until he went to bed.
At night as he lay in bed he realized that for some reason he wasn’t at all surprised by what he had seen; he had been there before. And the moment before he drifted to sleep he became aware that the cottage garden was made up of rows of carrots and beets and nothing else.
He dreamed of his mother. Her smiling face was looking down at him. He felt the mild roughness of leaves on his back and a strong smell of earth all around him as she picked him up into her arms and wrapped him in a warm, soft lavender blanket the old woman had given her.
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The queen tried not to let it be known but she was very concerned about what her son had seen. She knew of the cottage and the old women who lived there. But how had the prince seen this? The old woman had assured the queen that the prince would never know of her.
Her husband, the king, had so wanted an heir to his throne, a son who he could love and teach to be a kind and just ruler. They had been married for several years but it seemed she was unable to give him the son he dreamed of. So the queen went to seek answers from a midwife. The midwife informed her that she was not barren and that the problem must be with the king. She could never bring herself to tell him this and asked for her advice. The midwife had an uneasy look on her face and gave no answer. The queen felt she had something to tell her but was leery of doing so. She pressed the question again and the midwife told her of an old woman who lived in the woods that might be able to help. Someone trying to find her cottage must have explicit directions or they could walk right past it and not even realize they had. The midwife gave her the directions and the queen set out early the next morning to find the cottage and the old woman who lived there.
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By the midwife’s directions it was just a short walk. But the queen felt as if she had been walking for hours and was getting tired when her dress got caught on a thorn bush. When she got her dress untangled she looked up and there was the cottage with the old woman in the garden. She went over to introduce herself but stopped when the old woman turned her head. The queen could tell she knew exactly who she was and what she wanted. Silently, the old woman invited the queen o the cottage.
In a black kettle the old woman mixed a combination of black & blue cohosh caps, bethroot, gelsemium, amalki and ginger and then moved the kettle over the flame in the fireplace. Then she carefully took a bottle from the shelf and removed the cork stopper. The liquid sparkled like gold as she poured a small amount into the pot. A lavender smoke danced out of the pot as the potion sizzled and whispered. The old woman put the bottle back on the shelf. The potion calmed as she slowly stirred it with a long wooden ladle and murmured words in a dialect the queen had never heard before. She ladled out the viscous potion into a bowl and looked at the queen. The queen inched back a bit thinking the old woman wanted her to drink it. A pair of bright youthful eyes sat above a toothless grin. The old women walked out of the cottage and the queen followed her into the garden. She poured the potion onto a large bed of beet leaves and carrot shoots, then rubbed the potion into them. The queen heard rumbling and looked up to see dark storm clouds forming. When she looked down her dress was still caught in the thorn bush and the old woman and cottage were gone.
“Three days.” She heard the words whisper around her. “Come back in three days.”
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The prince went riding again the next day but could not find the cottage where the old woman lived. He had not slept well the night before and a thick bed of moss at the base of a large oak beckoned to him. He tied Troubadour’s reins onto a low hanging branch and lay on the moss. He felt himself floating in the sound of a soft voice singing a lullaby as he fell into a deep slumber.
He dreamed again of being an infant in a hooded cradle. He saw his parents looking loving down at him. Then it was only his mother. She pulled a bottle from a pocket hidden in the folds of her gown and poured some liquid onto his teething cloth. The taste was slightly bitter but he sucked at the cloth anyway. His mother gently touched his forehead and sang him to sleep.
He awoke to Troubadour pulling at his reins and saw the sky had turned black with storm clouds. He untied Troubadour’s reins as the sky opened with a torrent of rain. The oak gave some protection so he stayed there hoping the rain would soon let up. A roll of thunder made him look up at the sky. When he looked down, there on the path, several yards in front of him stood the old woman. Her stare held his eyes fixed. The pouring rain began to make her figure drip and run, exposing another figure beneath it. Slowly the figure grew clear. It was a young man about the prince’s age, dressed in strange clothing. The prince wasn’t frightened at all as the young man forced the prince to study and remember every detail of his face. A crack of lightening made the prince cover this face with his arm. When he lowered his arm the young man was gone. Swift winds blew the black clouds away and beaming rays of sun shone down from a blue sky; warming and drying the earth.
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Preparations were underway for a grand ball, which was to be held at the end of the month. The whole city was busy sweeping and polishing for the special day. Royalty from all over the country would attend the ball and the citizens were just as concerned as the king and queen with the appearance of the city. The prince concentrated on helping his parents prepare for the ball but the figure and face of the young man he had seen in the woods stayed with him night and day. He had told no one about the experience but he could sense, when he looked at his mother, that she knew something had happened.
The ball was a dazzling affair with everyone dancing as the orchestra played. The music stopped and the king and queen, holding hands and smiling at one another, descended the main staircase followed by the prince. All three were dressed in their finest royal garb. The crowd parted as they walked across the ballroom and ascended to their thrones. The prince stood next to his father. Then quite unexpectedly the prince walked over to his mother. He bowed and took her hand leading her onto the ballroom floor. The king sat proudly on his throne. The queen, with red cheeks and a pursed smile, followed her son to the floor. The prince bowed and the queen curtsied. The orchestra struck up a lively tune and the prince and the queen spun around the floor as the quests clapped and cheered.
Everyone was having a wonderful time, when suddenly there was some commotion in the hallway outside the entrance to the ballroom. The king and queen stopped talking and looked towards the entrance. The prince, who was standing next to them, did the same. Slowly the crowd parted and in walked the old woman who lived in the woods.
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Why? Why had the old woman allowed herself to be seen by the prince when you both promised she would not? The midwife looked at the queen but did not speak. The queen asked again but this time there was a definite hint of anger in her voice. Finally, but hesitantly, the midwife told the queen that her request for a son had been an answer to the old woman’s prayers. She told the queen about the curse that had been place upon a prince many, many years ago. “You see,” said the midwife. “She created a son for you and at the same time a prince who could release her from the horrible curse.”
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The queen grasped the king’s hand firmly. “Do you love your son?”
“Yes,” he said firmly. “Of course I do!”
“Do you love your son no matter what?”
He looked at the queen and became very concerned. Her grip on his hand had tightened and tears welled in her eyes. The queen looked over at the prince but he had already started walking towards the old woman. The entire ballroom was hushed as the prince held out his hands towards the old woman and she extended hers, too. They clasped hands. The prince starred at her for only a moment, then leaned in and kissed her. The entire ballroom gasped and whispered. They quieted again as the old woman released the prince’s hands, bowed her head to him and stepped back. A whirlwind of lavender ribbon and gold sparkles started at her feet and moved up her body until she was completely ensconced. Then the ribbon and sparkles began to fly up and away from her and disappear. Everyone could see that a new figure was gradually taking shape. A handsome prince dressed in strange cloths now stood where the old woman had been. The princes looked at each other and clasped hands again.
The king took the queen’s hand and stood up. He looked down at her and smiled. She stood and they walked onto the ballroom floor. He nodded to the conductor who nodded back and the orchestra began to play. The king and queen began to dance and the king looked at his son and nodded again. With this the princes began to dance, too. The king realized that this was all he could do. He may have some control over the citizens’ bodies but he had none over their hearts and minds. If they personally believed or felt something was wrong, there was nothing he could do about it. Gradually couples began to dance and soon everyone was dancing. As they moved across the floor they smiled and bowed their heads to both the king and queen and to the princes.
The End