Oddball Fairytale
It was long ago, when honor and respect where a virtue many found only in the mighty knights and nobles on there respected lands. Magic and dragons and lords ruled, each trying to become more powerful than the last. The place I speak of, specifically, was called The Kingdom of the Sea. The villages' under this kingdoms rule where happy and fat with food from the heavy harvests and fish that the kingdom was known for. The King was a strong nobleman, of mixed blood from his father's side, who knew that honor was worth more than the kingdom—yet was aware of the peasants' average lifestyle and had fought hard to make both peasant and noble happy. The Queen was a well known noblewoman, liked for both her charm and beauty, she was quick to appease those that fought her husbands' ideals and was eager to learn the same as the men, though she appalled the hunt that took her husband from her on many occasions.
The King and Queen had only one daughter, the Queens' small body too weak to give birth safely to any others', whom they named Michiru. The princess was a beauty, much like her mother though she had gained her father's aqua hair color, and was well liked among those who met her. But still, when she was a child she had been hard to control and had been deemed unfit to marry, by most governing laws, until she could find a husband that could put her back in her place—as many people, peasant and other-wise, believed at that time.
The neighboring kingdom, ruled by a cruel man whose name has not been spoken in ages' and shall not be uttered now—lest some find this writing and cut my head off, wanted the Sea Kingdom. It was full of beautiful girls that the King of the Dark lands wanted. He had many daughters and a single son to take his crown. In his dark castle he came upon a brilliant plan. He would disguise his single son into a passing nobleman. He would have his son befriend the King, Queen and Princess and when finally his son had the princess under his lure and charm he'd have his son marry the princess. Then, when the time was right he'd have his son kill the King and Queen, and perhaps the princess if his son so wished, leaving the lands to him. And if, some how, the Kingdom of the Sea found out about his plan, he would simply use the dragons' he'd concurred from the last kingdom he'd slaughtered to do his bidding of massacring the lands and stealing the women for the dark King. He gave out a laugh that had shaken the walls and sent spine crawling shivers down his peasant's backs.
His son agreed to the plan eagerly, both for his own gain of the princess' beauty that was said to rival the sunset over the sea that the rival kingdom was known for, and for his father's honor. However his plans where overheard by his oldest daughter, whose name was Haruka. Her morals' had been planted inside her when her mother had taken her, briefly, to meet the king of the Sea Kingdom. After her first meeting as a child she'd wanted to be like him, so instead of following her father's costumes she cut her hair, an odd blonde in the dark kingdom that her father reigned over, and adorned the clothes that the guards had thrown out because they couldn't wear them anymore. She even practiced the sword with an old guard that had once been the royal, personal guard to a mighty king before her father had gotten to his kingdom. The old guard had seen the fire inside the teal eyes of Haruka to be like the noble king of the Sea Kingdom, rather than the whining, bickering King like her father.
When the dark king learned of his daughters' plans to tell the Sea Kingdom's lord he used his wizards to cast her into a wolf, something common placed for the wizards to put a human into their spirit animal, for he did not want anything to get into his son's way and knew that murder, from peasant or King, would hinder his plans. He had the wolf knocked unconscious and taken to a swamp, outside either the Sea Kingdom's rule or his own. The cruel king assumed that by the time the wolf got anywhere near the either kingdom he would be long on his way to being the ruler of the Sea Kingdom. Upon his return he set his plans in motion, sending his son under the pretences of being a passing Duke's son to the Sea Kingdom.
Yet princess Michiru was known not only for her beauty and for her good manners and wit, she was also known for her ability to be, what her people called, a Sea-breather. Not only could she swim, as all people of her kingdom where taught at a young age to, she could see further into the waters' than most people. Instead of being feared for her attributes, like many would have been, her people welcomed them, glad for the warnings they got from the princess about storms, or advice that the fishing would be good right then. She could also see farther into the future, an ability the family kept to themselves and their most trusted guard. And now, she could see the golden wolf slowly awakening from a forced slumber and frantically trying to find her way to the Sea Kingdom.
By the time she'd told her parents of the vision, though, the dark kings son had gotten his way into the palace and was in the throne room with her parents. And rather like all Sea-breathers' she could see the darkness that surrounded the man who claimed to be a simple Dukes' son. Her father, the good King that he was, welcomed the young man, in hope that he would be the one to settle his daughter down and brushed his daughters' warnings aside. With a heavy heart princess Michiru fled the palace and went to the secret lake she'd found when she'd been a child.
Placing a hand in the water she sighed as she twirled a drowned leaf under the water. The princess gasped as a shock spread through her and she saw again into the future, to the golden wolf that ran as fast as the wind to reach the golden palace. But also she saw a hideous beast, known commonly as dragons, terrorizing her kingdom. Retracting her hand from the clear blue water of the lake she looked around. "The wolf brings death?" She whispered to herself, attempting to make clear the blurry images the future slipped into her mind. "So, I stop the wolf, I stop the death of my people?" Again she whispered to herself, slowly standing to make her way back to the palace, wondering what of the Dukes' son then, if he was actually the one to bring death upon the kingdom, or the golden wolf whose speed was like the wind that blew the waves to shore. A week passed and still the princess was unable to make out the truth that the future had shown her, if the son was to blame or the wolf.
During that week the kings son grew weary of the princess' constant attitude and sent his father as such message, explaining as well that the princess seemed to have some kind of witching ability. The dark king yelled to himself, writing a letter back saying he was to stay as long as it took, no matter what. Neither he nor his son had expected it to take so long as a week for the princess to fall, nor did they expect another to pass and still a fruitless wall to be placed before them, or the next week to bring an endless darkness that showed nothing of the dark kings' bounty that he so wished. When another, final week passed the king sent a letter to his son, saying to leave and come home—if his first plan didn't work he'd send the dragons and force the king to surrender.
The golden wolf, having eaten little and drunken less, finally found her way to the Sea Kingdom. But with little strength she collapsed near a small, crystal blue lake and closed her eyes. The princess was surprised at the Duke's son sudden departure and when her Father was busy and her Mother was helping her Aunts' wedding, she left to her secret lake. With a gasp she saw the golden wolf laying by the water, chest barely rising and falling as a starved look accompanied the wolf. The wolf opened a teal eye and tilted it's head up to the look at the sudden shocked sound, finding a beautiful girl of probably seventeen in a lovely blue dress staring at her. With a grunt the wolf slowly got to her feet. The princess stepped back and bending she grabbed a thick stick, hoping to keep the wolf that was on the other side of the lake away. "Stay back!" She called as the wolf took a few steps, as though to circle the lake and go to the girl. The wolf tipped its ears forward and then back, slowly sitting where she was.
The princess blinked in confusion at seeing the surprising acts of the wolf, as though it could understand. Princess Michiru remember the vision she'd had and looked harder at the wolf, easily noticing the golden light that surrounded the wolf and the oddly colored teal eyes it had. "Okay, come here." She said, gripping her stick tight as the wolf stood and slowly approached. When the wolf was a good few feet away it stopped and sat down, bowing its head to her. "Why are you here?" Princess Michiru asked as she looked at the wolf. Instead of answer, not that the wolf-Haruka could, the wolf passed out, falling onto her side and landing a bit in the water. Looking around Princess Michiru slowly approached the wolf and slid it out of the water. "You poor thing, you look starved." She whispered, running a hand through the wolfs' golden fur.
When the wolf woke again a young deer was in front of her and princess Michiru was again sitting by the lake, twirling a leaf in the water. With a grunt the wolf dragged herself to the deer and fed. "I'd ask you questions," Princess Michiru said as she continued looking at the water, the wolf growled lowly as she continued feeding feverishly, "Except you wouldn't be able to answer." The wolf turned teal eyes to her and walked over, bending to lap up some water before sitting, straightening her back and looking at the aqua haired princess. "Okay. Are-were you human?" The wolf gave a nod. "A peasant who did something wrong?" A shake. "A nobleman?" Slight nod, slight shake. "A prince?" The wolf paused before again giving a slight nod, then a slight shake of her head. "A princess?" A stronger nod. "From which way, left or right?" The wolf looked left. Princess Michiru sighed as she looked at the wolf. "Are you here to harm my people?" The wolf rapidly shook her head. "Good. I have to go home, you stay here, stay out of sight." The wolf nodded and watched her walk away.
By noon the next day the dark king sent his dragons, his son on one's back to deliver a message to the king. Princes Michiru gasped when she saw them and the lying 'Duke's son'. With great haste she grabbed a shield and sword and armor, telling her most trusted guard to follow her with the items. "Wolf, wolf I need your help!" She called, searching for the wolf around the clear lake. The wolf appeared from where it'd taken shelter under an alcove of broken stone and looked up at her. "Can you fight?" The wolf nodded. The two humans in the area winced as they heard a loud screeching noise, the wolf growled and grabbed at its ears with its paws. Going to her knees the Princess Michiru lightly pressed her lips to the wolf's snout, standing and stepping back when a golden light surrounded the wolf.
The wolf turned into a tall, broad shouldered blonde who was kneeling before the princess teal eyes staring up at her. "I am Princess Haruka, of the dark kingdom. My father has sent my brother to ruin the kingdom, now that you've not fallen for the first plan. He's using his dragons. I know how to defeat them." Princess Haruka said quickly as she stood, easily a head taller than both princess Michiru and the guard that stood shocked a few meters' back.
"Rei, give her the shield and armor and sword. Follow me." Princess Michiru said quickly once the armor had been fitted and the shield and sword secured. The now armed princess did as told and followed the other princess. "You said you can beat them? Are you sure?" Princess Haruka nodded and drew her sword.
"I'm positive."
"I wish you luck." Princess Haruka looked to the other and gave a boyish smile that made the Sea princess blush faintly.
"Thank you, for the luck Princess." And with that the newly human princess was off, her bare feet making no sound as she ran as fast as the wind to the dragons. No one is sure, accurately, what had happened dragons after the princess went off to battle the dragons. All those who had been watching saw was a golden light shining as it struck into them, creating a mass of light that spread, not just through the Sea Kingdom, but through the dark king's kingdom as well. When the light settled the princess Haruka laid on the ground, shield covering her body, long scratches across her arms. With much shock she lifted the shield from her chest and bowed before the completely fine King and Queen of the Sea Kingdom.
The Princess Michiru quickly found her way to the palace, surprised and pleased when she saw the other princess in the throne room with her parents. "Father, Mother." She said, easily attracting the attention of all in the room. The King nodded for her to continue. "Would it be all right if Prince Haruka," The princess Haruka simply blinked in surprise at the sudden change in title, "accompanied me to the ball you'll be holding the night after next? If you'll have me." She amended as she looked to the newly titled 'Prince' Haruka, she nodded and in acceptance. The King and Queen where both surprised and pleased, eagerly accepting what their daughter had just told them.
"Prince Haruka?" Princess Haruka asked later that night, where they walked along the garden princess Michiru's mother had planted.
"They wouldn't have let me go with you if you'd been a princess. And besides, a princess does not wear men's clothing or fight."
"Prince Haruka. Prince. Haruka. It's a nice ring to it, yes?" Prince Haruka asked as she offered her arm to the princess.
At the ball the next evening over Prince Haruka asked for the King's permission to marry the Princess, leaving the kingdom that was in the ballroom shocked and joyful when the King granted permission. So the Prince Haruka and Princess Michiru where married the next spring. But no one besides the loyal guard Rei and Michiru, as well as the Prince herself, knew of the breasts that where bound each morning before the day was officially started, or of the swell of womanly hips that where craftily hidden by the oversized tunic that the Prince wore. And no one knew why, though sounds of lasting pleasure where heard nightly from the wedded couples room, neither appeared worried after a child being born.
So, with a bow to those noblemen and noblewomen who are reading this oddball fairytale, I wish you to a pleasant day and night. And don't forget, never forget, about the Princess who welcomed the role of Prince into her life.