Memories and Meditations: Chapter 2
I.
She squirmed against his thighs, getting comfortable for her story.
"Ready?"
"Yes, sir."
"All right. Once upon a time there was a..." He felt her slump. Looking down, he could barely see, sticking out past her hair, the quivering lip. "What? I just started and you don't like it?"
"Well, you see," she turned her head up to look at him, "once upon a time stories are all about princesses." Her face twisted with disgust.
"You don't like princesses?"
"No. All they do is sit around and wait for some dorky prince to rescue them."
"What would you do if you were the princess?"
"I'd rescue myself. Then I'd rescue the prince." She nodded up at her teacher solemnly, "princes are always gettin' into trouble, y'know."
His shoulder's shook silently, "Not the princess in my story. She rescued and helped many people. She saved her kingdom and helped people in many ways."
"Oh, all right then. Go ahead." She settled herself back agains his chest.
"Once upon a time..." the sensei paused, but the girl waited patiently, "in a faraway place called Middleland..."
"My home's called Middleton."
"Yes, I know, hush, there lived a young squire. He wasn't very handsome, he had big ears, freckles, and a shock of unmanageable blonde hair. The other squires and the knights and nobles looked at him with laughter, or contempt. He wasn't disliked, he was just ignored except when the time came to find someone to pick on. For you see, he wasn't a very good fighter, and he was scared of many, many things."
"Poor squire, what was he scared of?"
"It would be easier to answer what he wasn't scared of. Bugs frightened him, as did monkeys, and heights, horses and squirrels, many, many things. But his greatest fear was that he would lose the one thing he held precious, the one thing he treasured most in all the world."
"What was that?"
"The friendship of the princess. She was his opposite in many ways. Where he was tolerated, she was loved and had many devoted friends. Where he was frightened, she was brave. She was a skilled fighter, while he could barely survive the practice field. They were opposites in almost all ways, but their friendship had grown since they were children, when she saved him from a rampaging stampede of field mice. But he had one great secret, and one great strength, and they were both the same."
"What's that?"
"He was in love with the princess, with his whole heart and soul, he loved her. And his greatest fear was that she would find out, and laugh at him and leave."
"Why would she do that?"
"She had many suitors, many noble, handsome and brave men who wished to marry her. He was just a lowly squire, who followed her to hand her her weapons in battle, and sometimes he would get in the way and have to be rescued so that the princess couldn't win a complete victory."
"I don't think I like her."
"You don't know her yet, wait."
"Ok, but she better do somethin'."
"One day, a handsome prince came to the kingdom to meet the princess he had heard so much about. He impressed her father, the king, with his responsible attitude and calm demeanor. He charmed the queen, although she looked at him with cynical eyes. When the princess saw him, she was immediately entranced. The princess worried though, that he would be put off when she bested him on the practice field, which she did later that day. The prince laughed at his defeat, and congratulated the princess on her skill. She fell deeper under his enchantment."
"Just 'cause he wasn't a sore loser?"
"Don't forget, he was very handsome also. The squire watched from the side of the field, his heart heavy that his princess was enthralled. Later, in private, she told him all about the prince. How handsome he was, how rich, how funny, how..."
"And the squire listened?"
"He loved her, if all he could offer was an ear, she could have both."
"Ewwww..."
"Now among the many foes the princess had defeated was the evil Dragon with his helper Ogehs. They plotted and planned to overthrow the king and take the throne for themselves. But the princess always defeated them. Now, though, the sorcerer was sure his plan would work. He was so sure, he wouldn't even tell Ogehs, for fear it would jinx things."
"That's silly."
"He could be a silly sorcerer. So, the princess continued to spend more and more time with the prince, and less and less time with the squire. He watched them from the shadows, and felt his heart break. He had always feared he would lose her, but now he was watching it happen, much sooner than he had hoped."
Sniff...
"Are you all right?"
"Fine", sniff, "what happened then?"
"The squire went to his and the princesses' special place, a little tavern he had found when he was once lost. The food was wonderful, and no one at the court except he and the princess knew about it. The princess would dress in very casual clothes and go with him. In the special place, no one knew she was a princess, and no one knew he was only a squire. They could talk and laugh and share their worries with no one bothering them."
"Din't he ask the princess to meet him?"
"He felt she was lost to him. That only her memory would ever appear at the special place again."
"Ahhhh."
"Yes. On his way to the tavern, he saw many children with new toys. Little red and black dolls that they seemed to love very much. When he reached the special place, he looked through the window and what do you think he saw?"
She wrinkled her nose in thought, "More dolls?"
"Right. And guess who was giving them out?"
"The dragon and Ogehs?"
"Correct. You are smart. Anyway..."
"Aww, I don't believe that."
"Why not?"
"The kids wouldn't be dumb enough to take dolls from strangers, 'specially if they knew they were evil."
"The children had few toys, and the villains were in disguise."
"Ok, no wait, that still doesn't explain how squire knew them if they was 'quised."
"He knew them very, very well, from the princesses fights with them."
"Oh, ok, go ahead."
"Sure?"
"Uh-huh."
"All right. When he saw the two villains, squire knew something was very wrong and that he had to warn the princess. Before he could run, though, Ogehs saw him in the window and warned the Dragon. The evil wizard laughed at the thought of the squire being a danger, but sent his helper to capture him anyway. Squire ran as fast as he could, and when he would run out of breath he would hide. But Ogehs always found him and the chase would start over.
"Finally, long after dark, squire managed to evade her enough to get into the castle and hurry to the princess."
"And she went out and beat up Ogehs!" The young one clapped her hands in glee.
"No, the princess refused to believe squire. She thought he was jealous of the prince, so she had him removed from her ball room."
"Noooo."
"Yes. She told the guards to be gentle, but as soon as they were out of the princesses' sight, they cuffed and kicked him, then threw him out the gates of the castle, into the night."
"Meanies!"
"Very. And waiting outside was Ogehs. She laughed at squire, demanding to know if he really thought the princess would listen to a loser like him. Then she threw one of the dolls at him."
"She threw a doll at him? That can't have hurt."
"No, but as soon as the doll struck him and bounced to the ground, it began to grow, and grow, until it was twenty feet tall, armored, and carrying weapons. Then she set the doll to destroy him."
"No, not the squire."
"And the squire stood in fear, and watched his doom approach."