Lorima
by melusine

Chapter Two

"There was once a poor man who lived in a cottage by the woods with his three daughters. Each girl was as fair as any princess, but none were wed for their father could afford no dowry. But, they were good girls who loved their father and so they held no resentment towards him for either their poverty or their prospects.

"One day, the man received a letter from the king of a northern land asking him for his aid. The king was sick and close to dying, and only the poor man could save him. The poor man doubted this before he remembered the potion that his grandmother had inherited from her grandmother and passed on to him when she died. It was said to cure any ill, whether it be from age, wound, or sickness.

"The poor man told his three daughts that he must leave at once to the northern kingdom and asked each girl what he should bring back to them as a gift. The oldest daughter asked for a necklace of pearls the color of the moon. The middle daughter asked for a dress the color of the sun. And the youngest daughter, who wanted riches and pretty dresses but knew her place as the youngest, asked only for a single flower from the king's garden. The poor man kissed each one on the cheek and promised them the gifts that they desired.

"When the poor man returned months later, he came on a magnificent cart and wore rich clothes. On the cart, he carried two chests. He gave the first chest to his eldest daughter, who found it to be filled with necklaces that would ransom princes. When the middle daughter was given the second chest, she found it fill ed with beautiful dresses of every color. And to the youngest, whose eyes stung with tears at the sight of her sisters' gifts, he gave a single pale flower.

"The man, now no longer poor but prosperous, received a second letter in a year's time. In it, the king expressed his gratitude for the potion that saved his life and said that he knew that the man had three unwed daughters. He stated that he would offer them whatever husband they desired. The daughters wept with joy at the news and, by hte day's end, told their father who they would want to marry. The oldest daughter wanted to marry a brave prince with a soft voice and kind eyes. The middle daughter wanted to marry a just duke with dark hair and a sharp mind. The youngest daughter, who knew that she should not make too great of request, simply said that she would like to marry whomever the king thought right for her.

"When the king wrote to the man and his daughters a month later, he told them that the eldest daughter was not betrothed to a prince of an easter land and that the middle daughter was to be wed to a western duke. The youngest daughter, he wrote, was to be his wife and queen of the north. The letter ended with the statement that the men would arrive in two days' time to retrieve their brides.

"When the prince arrived, the eldest sister saw that he walked with the sure strides of a brave man and looked upon her with kindness and adoration. When he spoke, asking her to wed him the following morning, his voice was soft. The eldest sister said yes.

"When the duke arrived, the middle sister saw that his hair was darker than the spaces between the stars and the moon. When he spoke to her, asking her to be his bride, she saw the intelligence in his eyes and heard the fairness in his words. She said yes.

"When the king arrived, the youngest sister was sure that he would be more glorious than either of her sisters' suitors. And indeed his coach was and his rainments were, but the king himself was a strange creature with eyes like globes and leathery skin the color of spoiled meat. When he spoke to her and asked her to be his treasured queen, his voice sounded like the noise made by rusted hinges. And when he smiled, each tooth was like an ivory needle. The youngest sister was repulsed by this beastly suitor, but she did not show it. Instead, she allowed him to kiss her hand and, when he asked again, she said yes.

"The middle sister and her duke wed first and their wedding was a grand one. She wore the sun-colored dress and he his finest garments and no one could argue that they were not perfect for one another. The eldest sister and her prince wed second and their wedding was grander still. She wore the necklace of moon-colored pearls and her dress, given to her by her prince, was no less radiant than the pearls and no less fine than the clothing he wore. When he kissed her, no one could argue that they would not live in bliss together. The youngest sister and the strange king were wed last, but their wedding was the finest yet. She cried beneath her veil and sobbed when he kissed her, but all who saw them thought that they were perfectly suited for one another. The single pale flower, which had not faded, was twined in her hair.

"After the weddings, each daughter kissed her father on the cheek before leaving with her husband. The eldest daughter, now a princess, and her husband left eastward. The middle daughter, now a duchess, and her husband left westward. And the youngest daughter, now a queen, and her husband went northward to his kingdom.

"When the queen arrived at her castle, she was sure that the tales of her childhood would not fail her. In those tales, the beast king was always cursed into a horrible form by a jealous witch. And, in those tales, the spell was broken when the king was kissed without revulsion by his wedded wife.

"The queen endured that night without complaint, even though she wished to be sick whenever he touched her. The tales required the wife of the beast king to do such things and she was sure that she would be rewarded for playing her part. She resolved to pretend that he was something other than a beast king. She would look at him and imagine a handsome, glorious king in his place. In time, she fell in love with that imagined king. In time, she realized that she had stopped looking upon the king and imagining a fine one; the sight of the beast king no longer filled her with disgust. She loved his kindness and gentleness and ignored his globelike, staring eyes and his ivory needle teeth. She loved his squeaking voice that told her beautiful things and even the spoiled-meat color of his skin was not awful to her. It no longer mattered that there was not a curse to free her husband from.

"They lived happily in the northern kingdom, where she bore him three sons, each one stranger than the last and each one loved equally. It is said that, like the pale flower, they never faded and live in joy to this very day."

"Is that story true, Justice?"

"Shhh, Evie. Go to sleep."