"Today is pretty boring..." Helen pointed out, playing with a leaf that she found on the ground.
"Oh, how I wish someone could tell us a story..." Cassius pointed out, laying on the grass next to her.
"Telling stories are boring..." Helen argued to him. "Wouldn't it be better to be there...?"
"Yeah, but how do we go? Some stories are pretty far away..." Cassius whined. "And we have no one to take us there!"
"Maybe, I can help you two with that..."
"Miss Narrator!" Cassius got up, smiling.
"Miss Narrator, would you take us to where the story is happening?" Helen asked, curious about it.
"Why, of course, sweetie... We can even watch it, like if it was a play! Where would you like to go?" Both children shared a look before shrugging.
"Somewhere far away!"
"With princes and castles!"
"And happy people!"
"Mhmm, have you ever heard of Queen Midas' story?" The children shook their heads, looking very curious about it. "Well, it's a story that happens with a prince and a castle and happy people... But first, we need a way to take us there..." The children looked around, thinking Miss Narrator had a car to take them there, or even a screen, like a movie. "Helen, how would you like to travel?"
"Well, I like to go on the Mary-Go-Round... But it takes me only for a round..." The child admitted, being logical about it.
"Well, this time it will be different. Hop in!" The children hopped in, like instructed and suddenly, the Mary-Go-Round began going round. The scenery began changing in front of the eyes of the children and showing more green and less buildings around. Until they stopped in the middle of a marbled room, like inside a castle.
"We're in a castle!" Cassius said, happy and looking around.
"And that must be the Queen Midas Miss Narrator was talking about!" Helen pointed at a woman that was sitting on a golden throne. She was wearing a golden like dress and a golden tiara on her golden hair. "She looks like a golden statue..."
"Very well, Helen!" Helen smiled at Miss Narrator for her praise."That is actually Queen Midas and she is a very rich Queen. She liked gold very much, almost as much as her son, Xanthos. She named him like that because it means 'gold'. She had a treasure room that overflown of gold and she always more gold... Look, she's talking to her faithful chamberlain, Catalan." The children quieted themselves to listen to the man next to the Queen.
"My faithful chamberlain Catalan, what could it be done to earn more gold?" The Queen asked, obviously ignorant of her servant's tired look. It was obvious it wasn't the first time they talked about this. "Could we raise the taxes to increase our gold..."
"My Queen, I don't recommended..." The chamberlain was quickly into his reply. "Your people would be in despair and you'd not be loved anymore... After all, you have a heart of gold..."
"Oh, alright... What about attacking the nearest land? Ask for ransom from them..."
"My Queen, is it necessary to continue to increase your gold-"
"Of course it's necessary to increase our gold!" The Queen looked outraged that she was the only one concerned about this topic. "Is there a reason I should know why you don't increase our gold..."
"Of course not, my Queen." The chamberlain was quickly in rejecting his words and bowing at her. Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard from within the palace, surprising everyone. "Oh, dear... The alchemist is not close to find the solution to your request, is he, My Queen?"
"Alas, he seem not, chamberlain... Remember, it's the gold that counts, the gold that counts!" The chamberlain nodded, bowing at her one more time. A side door opened and a boy with golden hair and a bit of dirt on his clothes walked in. "Ah, my little Xanthos..." The Queen greeted him with a smile. "Come, come give Mother a kiss..."
"Good morning, Mother." Xanthos kissed his mother's cheek before showing her something he had in his hands. "Look, Mother... How the flowers are blossoming in the garden..."
"They're a beautiful, my darling... They would be more beautiful if they were golden..."
"Oh, Mother..." Little Xanthos sighed, obviously not liking how his mother was always talking about gold. "Why don't you come with me to the garden?"
"I'm sorry, Xanthos, I can't... I have to go count our gold."
"Mother, you're always on that old, creepy and humid cave... Why do you count the gold everyday? What use is more gold?"
"What use- Oh, Xanthos, I only do this for your to have all you ever want to..."
"But I have all I ever want to... except to see you more often..."
"You have my word, my darling, than once I have all the gold that we need, we'll have all the time in the world..." Little Xanthos nodded and walked away, saying his goodbyes to the chamberlain, who was wondering if the Queen was slowly losing her most precious possession.
"So, Master Catalan, what is the count today?"
"That would be 10,050 bars of gold and 2 million bags, My Queen. Just like yesterday..." The chamberlain announced, bowing to his Queen.
"Not enough. Now leave me be..." The chamberlain nodded and bowed again, knowing it was useless to argue with the Queen about the gold. He had tried to convinced her many times to place a small window so light could get in, but she argued that the reflection of the gold was enough. "Oh, spirits of gold, grant me my wish of having all the gold I need..."
"Queen Midas?" A raspy and old voice suddenly spoke, alarming the Queen. How someone would dare to walk into her gold chamber? It was forbidden to everyone that wasn't her or her chamberlain. "Do you wish for more gold...? Even more than a drink of water or a slice of bread?"
"Who are you?"
"What are my manners? I'm Orum, the spirit of gold..." The spirit introduced himself, giving her a small bow. "Your wealthy called me..."
"Oh, Orum, the spirit of gold! Can you grant me my wish?" The Queen forgot about everything else. She could be granted her wish. "Can you grant me more gold...?"
"You think you'd not regret whatever I grant you?"
"Why would I regret it? It'd be a wonderful gift!"
"In that case, I grant you, for when the sun rises from the horizon, the golden touch! Everything you touch from now on would turn in gold!"
Queen Midas found it impossible to sleep that night.
Part of her thought all the event from yesterday were just product of her wishes and imagination, meaning it wasn't real. Part of her was desperate for the raise of the sun. So bad, she confused the dawn and the calling of a rooster as the moment for her wish to be granted. It took a while to calm down the castle and that left everyone wonder what was wrong with their Queen.
When the sun finally peeked through her window and touched her softly, it was the moment she decided to try if her newly acquire gift was a real thing or not. The first thing she touched, a bell to call her servants was turned immediately in gold.
The Queen could not believe it!
Playing like a child with everything that was around her, she skipped towards her alchemist's rooms to share this newly acquire ability. Her alchemist wasn't happy, actually he was pretty sad that his life's work was in vain. What would he do now? He life lacked of purpose now... Maybe the Queen could have a new project for him...
Meanwhile, the Queen was looking around for her son Xanthos. She wanted to share her new gift with him.
"Have you seen Xanthos?" She asked to some servants around the castle.
"I think I saw him heading towards the garden, My Queen." A servant answered to her.
"Oh, I come from there, just missing him..." The Queen sighed. The servant quickly offered his assistant on calling the young prince, but the Queen dismissed him. Just about she was doing that, Xanthos walked into the castle, crying his soul out. "Oh, my darling! What's wrong?"
"Someone just ruined my garden, Mother..." Xanthos explained to his mother, unconsolably. "Who would do something like that?"
"Oh, my little Xanthos... Come here and let me kiss you... I'll fix everything." The Queen promised, hating to see her child that distressed. Then, the unthinkable happened.
Thanks to her newly acquire power, Queen Midas turned her son Xanthos in a golden statue.
"The- the prince!" The servant that was standing there yelled in surprised. Queen Midas was nowhere better.
"Oh, my son! My darling little Xanthos!" The Queen sobbed upon seeing what she had done. She hugged the statue of what was once her son and cried on it. "Oh, look what my desire and greed had given me! It costed me the most precious treasure of all! Oh, Orum, spirit of the gold, hear my plead! Give me back my son! I beg of you..."
"You beg, Queen Midas?" The raspy and old voice of Orum appeared from nothing. The Queen raised her eyes to face the spirit that was looking at her. "What do you desire more? A drink of cool water or gold?"
"A drink of cool water!"
"What do you desire more? A bun of bread or gold?"
"A bun of bread!"
"What do you desire more? Your son or gold?"
"My son! I return to you your gift if that means my son will be back to me."
"Then, you must show redemption and splash your sins away from your son!" Before disappearing, Orum handed Queen Midas a bowl with crystal water that she splashed all over her son.
"Mother! My clean clothes!" Xanthos complained immediately, chuckling slightly.
"Oh, my darling!" Queen Midas didn't care she was getting wet with her son's clothes and she hugged him tight. "Don't worry about your clothes, we'll go down to town and I'll buy you a new wardrobe for you... Would you like to fix the garden? I think splashing them with some of this water would be splendid!"
"Mother, you mean it?" Xanthos could not believe his mother would willingly go to the garden with him.
"Oh, and while we are in town, we should spread the gold from the chamber with everyone we see!"
"Mother, what's got into you?" Xanthos was impressed by his mother's change of behavior and he clearly liked it. "You really mean it?"
"Of course I do, now go get a chariot so we can go to the town..." Xanthos kissed his mother's cheek and rushed to get a chariot for them.
"You really have a heart of gold, My Queen-"
"What did you say, Chamberlain Catalan?" The Queen's voice suddenly was cold and angry. The chamberlain wondered what he had said to upset his Queen.
"That you have a heart of gold, My Queen..."
"Uh. Don't ever say that again, Chamberlain. I found it... disgusting." The chamberlain nodded and bowed at her, surprised. "Oh, and tell our dear alchemist that he will be able to continue his research, no matter how long it takes him."
"Yes, My Queen. Right away, My Queen." The chamberlain watched the Queen leaving with her son, a big smile on both of them.
"Oh, boy! What a story, Miss Narrator!" Cassius pointed out, watching mother and son leaving.
"Indeed, Cassius. Which is why we have to value people over material things..."
"Like friendship and family!"
"Very good, Helen. Now, hold on tight! We need to go back!" The children held onto the Mary-Go-Round before returning to where they were before.
"Would you tell us another story tomorrow?" Cassius wondered, watching Miss Narrator leaving them.
"Possibly... The world is at your feet, maybe you can tell me a story instead..."
Took me a while, but I finally managed to finish this request of retro mania, who asked me a version like Persis & Andros, based on the popular UK radio show, Let's Pretend. I enjoyed doing it, and I hope you like it!
Have a lovely weekend!
09/03 Edit: Repost of the original day.