Once upon a time in a land far, far away, there lived a proud, evil king. He had a beautiful daughter, and wanted very much for her to marry a handsome, powerful prince from a neighboring country. This particular prince was the leader of his nation, because his father and mother had just recently pasted away, and he was very rich.
The king thought his daughter would not complain, as the man was very handsome, the epitome of manliness, yet the princess was not happy. Her father thought nothing of it however, besides that it was strange for the woman not to want to marry a handsome man. Soon a wedding ceremony was planed and the months of preparation and practice and gifts had commenced.
The princess however grew more and more scarce as the days came and went. She would vanish unexpectedly, just before a dress fitting, or meeting her fiancé, or even just before a rehearsal. The young woman would sneak quietly out to the streets adorn in the garbs of a peasant.
She would wander through the city under her father's control, socializing and making the friends the king had never before allowed. Always on these excursions she would look for one in particular.
A tall pale man, dressed in a sandy brown robe from a hood over his head to his bare feet on the ground. Ever day, he would step up and taps the princess on the shoulder, and every day, she would spins around and smile when she saw him.
'My love...' she would whisper, walking the small distance separating them. The princess would cup his thin face in her delicate fingers and gives him a gentle, loving kiss. The man would return the favor, but separate him from her soon after. He would then smile, beckoning her into a dark alley.
'To my palace?' He would joke.
And the princess would laugh, a sound rarely heard in her own castle.
'Of course, my prince.'
They trekked down the dark, narrow passage and turned down the many smaller, and larger paths to the secret place where no one could find them.
The cloaked man, now standing in the shadows of his own home, lifted the hood from his face. Red pupiless eyes stared adoringly into the face of his beloved. Long lusterless black hair cascaded around the narrow, white face. The princess raised a loving hand and tucked a stray strand of black behind his pointed ear. Again she tilted her head up and met him in a tender kiss.
But, on one of these occasions, something unexpected happened, a man, clad all in black had followed them, watching with a wide-eyed gaze at the scene before him, and before he could get caught by the mysterious man, who had fallen for their princess, he hurried off to tell the greedy king of this new, terrible development.
-
'No!' Screeched the girl, as she struggled with the large brawny guards that held her. The lovely princess was now a terrible sight to see. Her bright violet orbs had dulled from exhaustion, swollen and red from the endless stream of tears that she had produced. Her usually long, sleek, and beautiful auburn hair was frayed, and tangled, the braids usually running through it were all undone, and it hadn't seemed to have been washed recently.
She fell to her knees, once again failing at her attempt to free herself of the grip of the guards restraining her. She cried out again at the sight of her lover, as he was knocked back against the wall by a harsh blow, as if it had been her hat were injured.
Her beloved had been dragged in front of the king, while she herself had been restrained from running to his bloodied side. A herald had begun listing off crimes, while the man shared ahead bleakly and she began to sob.
'Stealing from the Market Place.'
'Plotting the death of nobles'
'Dealing with the Devil'
'Making a pact with said Devil'
'Seducing the sole daughter of the king'
'Assault against the king'
'The sentence is immediate death.' The king commanded. His daughter screamed, and her lover looked up with a start. Dread and hopelessness was evident in his deep, pupiless red eyes. The princess' fiancé smiled sadistically down at the demon-like man, before stepping toward the evil king.
'If I may?'
The King laughed. 'Be my guest.' He replied.
The black haired man's eyes widened and he struggle desperately against his captors as the cruel prince drew his weapon. A long, beautifully deadly crystal spear that seemed to glow softly in the light of the candles. In a second, was in his hand, he brought it down tauntingly, slowly, until it hovered just above the red-eyed man's tainted heart.
With a brutal lunge forward he plunged the glowing length into the condemned's abdomen.
The man gasped, red eyes scrutinizing the shaft protruding from his chest. He looked at the thin trail of crimson blood, dripping resolutely down the shaft.
His arms dropped to his sides as frightened guards backed away expectantly. Quickly dulling crimson orbs sought out his princess, his love.
'I Love You...' he mouthed soundlessly, a drop of blood trickled from his mouth as he moved it. The princess, having finally being released by the slowly distancing guards, ran to her lover, and caught him, an he slid slowly to the ground.
'No... no...' she sobbed over his dieing form. 'Don't go... I Love You, too...' She gasped out, clutching his cold body to herself. A smile fixed itself on the dying mans lips. He had all he wanted... The love of his beloved. He would return for her when her time came, he was sure of it. He vowed to do so, as his life ebbed away.
-----
For the next few weeks, as the wedding drew nearer, the princess would not come out of her room. She would not eat or drink any more than the servants forced down her throat, and many thought that she had completely lost her will to live.
Most.
There was a select group of servants, who knew the truth, along with a few of the town's people. These people were known to the kingdom as the rebels. The voices of the citizens, who thought their evil king was not fit to rule. And with the Princess, they were planning to assassinate the king.
The initial assassination went off without a hitch, although about half of the rebels died from the attack, so did the many guards still loyal to the king. Many died, but not the princess.
Having exacted her revenge on the evil king who ordered the death of her beloved, she was now ready to sit, and mourn her love in peace. Or, so she thought. But it was not so. For without a king, the people of the kingdom was in chaos, and the only thing the elders could do, was try to find another to take the throne. And, the easiest way to do that, was simply to speed up the wedding, and claim the evil prince, as the new king.
The princess did not wish to marry this man, the man who killed her beloved, and took such sick pleasure in it. She would not allow herself to except that her love was dead, so she did the only thing her fragile, and slightly morbid mind could think of. So, on the night before the wedding, in the dead of the night, while everyone was asleep, the princess snuck out of her room, for the first time since the death of the king, and tip-toed down the carpeted halls to the room the evil prince had been given to stay in. She slid it open silently, closing the door made a soft 'click' sound behind her, as she advanced on the sleeping figure on the bed.
Pulling a long, sharp, and slightly jagged knife from the pouch at her side, she stabbed her fiancé in the chest, and fled quickly from the room, before she could be caught. But now, she did not return to her large, and overly-extravagant chambers, no. She headed for the deserter kitchens, when she quickly packed up two loaves of bread, and a small eating knife.
And with that, she wrapped it all into a piece of cloth, sure not to harm the cake, and she was off. Out of the castle, out of the town, and half way to the next by the time noon came.
But she couldn't go much further in her current condition, people were sure to be looking for her, and in the fancy, embroidered blue night gown that she currently adorned, she was sure to be recognized.
So, the next peasant woman that she found, she switched clothes with. The women was ecstatic to have such a fancy dress to wear, and the women agreed quickly, switching everything with the princess. The princess did the same, except a small necklace that hung around her neck. And the princess was once again on her merry and still slightly morbid way.
When she reached the next village, she sat by the dirt road, eating her first loaf of bread, when a strange old man came up to her.
'Miss, miss, could you spare some bread for this old, homeless man?' He asked weekly. Now, although she may have been morbid, even a little odd in the head,but she was also a very kind princess. So, she nodded, and handed the remainder of her bread to the man.
The old man smiled kindly at her, and sat down to eat his meal. 'Why is such a pretty girl like you, here on the street eating bread?' he asked her.
'I am looking for something.' Answered the princess.
'What would you be looking for, in the street?' The man finished the last of his bread, but did not move from his spot on the ground.
'I look for a way to bring the dead to life.' She explained.
'Ah! You would want to ask the fountain.' Said the old man happily.
'The fountain?' she asked.
'Yes, the fountain. It's a tall, large, and beautiful fountain. If you give it something, it will grant you a wish!' the old man exclaimed.
'Oh, thank you very much then.' Said the princess, and she was once again, on her way to find such a fountain. She searched high, and wide, until she reached a beautiful place, covered in gardens, and brush. There were patches of flowers in shades of blue, pink, purple, and yellow all around, the town's people were kind, and there were many fighters, and protectors that lived there.
A large castle was set in the distance, just beyond the town, and in the middle of the beautiful area, where petals seemed to fall from the sky, was a fountain. It was, by far the most beautiful thing in the beautiful town. Covering the base were jewels of all sorts, depicting a mosaic of the gardens that surrounded it. Four streams of water circled around a last, larger one in the center. The bottom of the amazing fountain was littered with coins, buttons, and bits of old metal.
She frowned as she looked down at the fountain. How was she to get such a thing to work? She stepped up to it, and looked down into its coin-filled depths. As she stepped upon the first platform, she heard a voice.
'What is it that you wish?' the voice asked, it sounded like that of a child's, sweet, and mischievous.
'I wish for my beloved to be returned to me.' The princess answered bravely.
'What makes you believe I can accomplish this?' the voice asked curiously.
'A man told me of a fountain that could grant any wish. Are you not this well?'
'I am.' Giggled the voice. 'But this man did not tell you everything. I may grant any wish, for the right price.'
'And what is the price you require?' The princess asked desperately.
'I need a promise.' Said the childish voice. 'A promise, and that necklace around your neck.'
The princess nodded immediately, removing her jewelry, and dropping it gently into the pool.
'You must never return to your home.'
The princess nodded.
'And you must stay here, at the castle, and you and your beloved must rule this place, kindly, and well.'
The princess gave her consent, and stepped up onto the next step of the fountain.
'Then, here you are.' The voice said lazily, before fading away.
The princess looked around, then down into the depths of the water, where a shadow was forming. She stepped back, as a pale wet hand made contact with the edge of the fountain.
Red stared into violet, and the two embraced, engaging in a short, passionate kiss.
'My love…" sobbed the princess as she held him tighter to her.
'I'm home.' The man whispered back.
And they lived happily ever after.
Well, the ones who lived…
Roxas and Sora looked up from the book. They sat in the grass, grinning from earto ear. There was always a world that matched your needs. It was just a matter of finding it. They could use this little bit of informatiom.
After all, it had been too long since their last adventure...