The Soldier and The Seamstress
There was once a king of a great land and the common agreement was that he ruled it well. However, his kingdom was in danger from a vicious, neighboring country. The only way the kingdom would remain safe was if someone could go into a long and winding labyrinth filled with many terrors and find his or her way to safety. Of course, The King himself couldn't possibly do such a thing. And so he asked his kingdom for a worthy, and noble, volunteer.
One brave solider was ready for this daunting challenge. He stood at the entrance of the labyrinth with his hand on his heart, a smile on his face, ready to combat the twists and turns, for King and Country. The people of the great kingdom watched as The Soldier entered the misty corridors praying for him to come out unharmed on the other side.
The Soldier soon realized that this labyrinth was filled with more than just your garden variety monsters. He was used to brandishing a sword against a dragon, and he had rescued many a damsel in distress from winged beasts, he could even climb impossible heights to prove his worth! But there are far worse things than fire breathers with sharp horns.
The Soldier saw broken promises and half truths, The Soldier saw cruelty and hatred, The Soldier saw murder and deceit, The Soldier saw cowardice and regret, but perhaps worst of all, The Soldier saw judgment. Every time The Soldier witnessed these horrible sides to humanity that were concealed inside the dark walls of the labyrinth he felt a part of himself slip away.
The first thing to go was his smile. It left him almost instantly. He felt the light from his eyes dimming. His sense of self was lost amongst the shadows. His loyalty to The King seeped into the cracks in the walls where he gladly left it to rot. His belief that there was good somewhere in the world was lost to the blackness. The strength The Soldier once possessed that made him stand up and walk into the labyrinth soon departed along with it. The laughter that he used to so readily expel was now swallowed by disembodied screams.
He could feel cold eyes on him as he made his way through the winding corridors, he could hear shrill whispers right against his ear.
"He's gone mad." they would say.
"Never coming back." others quickly reminded him.
"He's lost it all. What good is he now?" the question would echo off of every corner till it was bouncing all 'round him.
Until, one night, many many moons since The Soldier lost his smile, he happened upon a pair of big blue eyes. They seemed to be floating just like his, around a haze of guilt and shame, pride and fear. But these eyes were also very kind and very careful. The Soldier learned to recognize those beautiful, sad, blue eyes as those of The Seamstress.
The Seamstress told The Soldier that she knew of a man who once entered this labyrinth, also with intentions to make his kingdom safe. He lost his smile as well. That man never returned to his home. The Seamstress told The Soldier that she would not let another man lose himself in this place. She told The Soldier that she refused to lose him.
She persistently nagged The Soldier to keep going. He had to think of better things, she encouraged. The grand things that lay beyond the walls of the nasty maze. Then, The Soldier began to listen to her. The Seamstress took out a needle and thread and, with a steady hand, The Seamstress began to mend. With her sweet words she reattached his faith in humanity, with her honest laughter, she stitched the light back into his eyes. With the caress of her work-worn hands, she gave him back the things that made The Soldier himself. The Soldier even got his smile back when The Seamstress flashed her own beautiful one at him.
She helped The Soldier realize that there are more important things than to be loyal to a man with a crown. The kindness from The Seamstress's heart helped The Soldier see that there truly were good people in the world, weather they knew it themselves, or not.
Astoundingly, The Soldier watched as The Seamstress began to take form before him as well. With her ability to bring him back to the world, she gained confidence in herself. Unconsciously, without knowing it, The Soldier helped her too. Under his fond gaze her pale skin came back to her, complemented by her long, brown curls. Her big blue eyes, he found, were accompanied by pink lips and a sharp tongue that was never in lack of clever things to say. Her own smile returned when The Soldier took her hand in his. Her light followed when he admitted how much he needed her.
When The Seamstress told The Soldier of her sins and her guilt The Soldier told her that it didn't make her less of person, in fact, her guilt made her more human, and they both felt forgiveness.
Again, after many, many moons, The Soldier and The Seamstress reached the opening of the long and winding labyrinth. They had made it past all the terrors within the walls because they had found each other.
The Soldier took The Seamstress hand and walked with her into the sun at last. With the three words that everyone on Earth someday hopes to hear, The Soldier and The Seamstress taught one another the most important thing of all: how to love.
A/N: The whole idea of this story comes form the utterly amazing Doctor MadWoman. I highly suggest going to check out her perfect stories filled with perfectness. She's the mastermind behind this whole story. I just gave it pretty adjectives. Anyway, we decided to see if anyone can guess who The Soldier and The Seamstress are exactly? It shouldn't be too hard...but still, try!
I had a blast writing this! I love fairy tales. I'm actually going to put it in this big tome of stories I'm putting together for my baby sisters... So, tell me if you like it, please. I crave the feed back! Thank you for taking the time to read it.