The Wants of the Few

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 5 – Story Time

"Up you go." She said as she lifted Elysia onto the twin bed. After helping Elysia snuggle in for the night Hawkeye got up to leave. "Miss Riza?" Elysia said, her voice sounding small, and a little scared.

"Yes?" she said sitting back on the bed.

"Will you tell me a story?"

"Um…I'm not sure I know any stories…" Riza said searching her memory banks for something.

"You could make one up." Elysia offered.

"Ok…if it'll help you sleep, but I can't promise you it'll be good. What do you want the story to be about?"

"Um…how about a prince!" Elysia said, beginning to get excited.

"Ok, let me think…" after a moment or two Riza began to form a few ideas. "Once upon a time," she started, "there lived a handsome prince. He was admired from far and wide."

"What did he look like?" she interrupted.

"Oh, um. He had raven hair, and charcoal eyes. Well this prince was so very handsome and charming that many princesses from many different kingdoms came to try to convince him to marry them."

"Were the princesses pretty?"

"Every single one of them. Each was more beautiful than the last," Riza continued, the story was beginning to take on a life of its own. "The prince could see that they were pretty on the outside, but none of them were pretty on the inside. So in the end, he didn't choose any of them. Rejected, all the princesses returned to their castles. The prince was so handsome and charming that the princesses knew that they'd never find anyone so perfect again. So they all refused to marry anyone but the handsome prince. Naturally all the princesses' fathers were very angry. What were they going to do with their daughters? Finally, so upset with the handsome prince for making his daughter refuse to marry, one king decided to send someone to kill the prince."

Elysia gasped, "What happened? Did the prince die?"

"No. The prince heard of the plot and he hired someone to guard him day and night. This guard was special though. This guard wasn't a man, but actually a woman. She just pretended to be a man so that she could guard the prince."

"Why did she want to guard the prince?"

"Because she knew that the prince was a good person and it wasn't his fault that the princesses didn't want to marry anyone else. The woman guarded the prince day and night and soon became close friends with the prince."

"Did the prince know she was a girl?"

"Nope." Riza said, she was really beginning to enjoy this fairytale. "No one knew she was a woman. One night while guarding the prince the two started talking. The prince was sad because he knew the people in his kingdom were sick and starving, while his father and the rest of the castle were rich and had more food than they could possibly eat. The prince wanted to change things in the kingdom, but his father, the king, was selfish and refused to let the prince help. That night, the woman-guard saw past the prince's handsome face and saw that his soul was more beautiful than his face could ever be."

"Did they get married? And what happened to the person that was supposed to kill the prince?" Elysia asked energetically.

"I'm getting to that. That night, after the prince fell asleep the woman-guard took off her helmet that shielded her female features from the prince. She leaned over his sleeping body, intending to give him a kiss, but before she could the assassin broke into the room."

"What's an ask-a-sin?" Elysia asked.

"Oh, an assassin is a person that was hired to kill someone important." Riza explained. Elysia nodded and she continued. "The assassin broke into the room just as the woman-guard was about to kiss the prince. The woman lunged for her trusted spear and bravely fought off the assassin. Just before the woman-guard landed a fatal blow to the assassin, the assassin scratched her face with his knife. She was in a lot of pain and she was tired, but she had just enough strength to kill the assassin before he killed the handsome prince. During the battle the prince had woken up and saw the woman-guard and the assassin fighting. When the woman-guard finally won, she fell to the floor, tired and bleeding. Grateful for all the woman-guard's help and protection the handsome prince nursed her back to health. When she finally got better she looked into the mirror, but what she saw made her cry. The cut that the assassin had given her during the fight had become a very ugly scar."

Elysia's mouth hung open as she listened to the story with fascination. "What happened?"

"Well when the prince saw her crying he asked her why. She told him that she was once beautiful, and now with this ugly scar on her face she could never be considered beautiful by anyone again. The prince dried her tears and looked at her once beautiful face. He told her that he'd known her for a long time and that she was a good person. He told her that it wasn't her outsides that mattered, it was her insides. He told her that it was what was inside that made her beautiful on the outside. The woman-guard again saw what a good and beautiful person the prince was, and it made her love him all the more."

"Did they get married?"

"I'm getting to that part." Riza said, smiling at the child's enthusiasm. "The woman-guard loved the prince and the prince loved to her too, but the rules of the kingdom said that all princes had to marry princesses-"

"That's a silly rule."

"That's what the prince thought. He pleaded with his father to change the rules so that he could marry the woman he loved but the King refused. He told his son that it was how things were supposed to be done. Sad, the prince told the woman-guard what had happened."

"They don't get married?" Elysia said, small tears pricking the sides of her eyes.

"I'm getting to that. A few days later the woman-guard heard about a man plotting to kill the king. The woman-guard was faced with a decision. If she didn't do anything, the man would assassinate the king and then the prince would be able to become the king and he could change the rules so that they could get married. While the woman-guard wanted to get married to the man she loved, she didn't want the king to die, especially if she could stop it. So she decided to do the right thing and she crept into the king's bedroom chamber and stood guard all night. In the really early morning the assassin came and tried to kill the king. The woman-guard stopped him and saved the king's life. The king in turn was so grateful that he changed the rules so that the woman-guard and the prince could get married. He said that anyone that is courageous enough to do the right thing must be good enough to marry his son. So the woman-guard and the handsome prince got married. And with the woman-guard's help, the prince eventually convince the king to share the food with the people. Eventually the prince became king, and the woman-guard became his queen and the two of them ruled over the land with kindness and compassion."

Elysia's smile grew. "That's a nice story Miss Riza. You'd make a good mommy. You're good at making up stories." Riza smiled and the child continued, "When you and Uncle Roy get married, and you have babies, you should tell them that story."

"Elysia, I already told you. Mr. Roy and I aren't getting married and he doesn't love me."

"Do you love him?" the child asked.

A hard lump formed at the back of Riza's throat. "That doesn't matter, it's against the rules for us to get married anyway."

"Well maybe you could save the king and he could change the rules-"

"—Elysia, things don't always work the way they do in fairytales. In real life, people don't always get to marry someone they love." Elysia studied the floor. She wanted Miss Riza to marry someone she loved. "Now I think it's time for you to go to sleep." Riza said as she got up and walked over to the light switch. "Sweet dreams, Elysia." She said as she hit the light.

"Night Miss Riza." She called from the dark.

Sorry if the fairy tale sucks...I made it up as I went along like I figured Riza would.