Author's Note: Thanks to my reviewers Akora17, Jimli and Arista Everett June
THE WIZARD'S PRICE
CHAPTER 5
At first it seemed that the Queen was right. A proclamation was made that Prince Artus was looking for a bride and every eligible woman aged between sixteen and thirty-five was welcome to try her luck. They arrived in droves; tall ones, short ones, big ones, small ones; blondes, brunettes and redheads; smart ones, silly ones, loud ones, quiet ones; queens, princesses, duchesses, countesses, but also shepherdesses, seamstresses, waitresses and beggar girls. From the highest to the lowest, they all came running from Peratha and Eburon and even further, very eager to get married but when they heard the condition and saw the Prince they ran even faster back to their parents. At the end of a year the last girl had returned home and no new girls appeared. The news had spread that Queen Kalanta's son was horrific, a wild animal, a beast that would doubtlessly eat the poor girl that would become his wife before the wedding night was over. Angry parents came to the castle and wanted this threat to their daughters removed. The Wizard and the fairies had to use all their powers to keep the crowd from storming the palace and killing Prince Artus.
Prince Carl had received quite a few offers of marriage but he shuddered at the thought of marrying anyone who spoke with such callousness about his friend's ordeal as these girls did.
When it became clear that no girl wanted to marry the Prince, Queen Kalanta started to cry.
"What will happen now? My son is a beast and he will die a beast. What am I to do? What am I to do?"
Prince Carl put his arm around her and tried to comfort her. Then her sisters, the fairies, hugged her and Orelia said, "Don't cry, Kalanta, we will not let this happen. We have talked to the Wizard and we will create a magic garden where your son can live in peace and not grow older. There he can wait until the day a girl will come to break the curse."
At this the Queen looked up hopeful, but Carl shuddered.
"He will be so lonely in that garden. Even a beast would feel that. How long will he have to wait for this girl? Does she exist? I wish I could help him with this."
"You could, if you are willing to give up part of your life."
"How?"
"You would live in the garden and not grow older, like Artus. During the day Artus would be the beast he is now and you would have to be a statue in the garden. From sunset to sunup both of you would be human again. You give up half of each day to Artus. That is the only way you can keep him company. Would you do this for him?"
Carl did not hesitate a second.
"Yes! Of course!"
"And I?" cried Kalanta. "Can I be there with my sons? Can't I become a statue?"
"We are very sorry, Kalanta, but you cannot. You were a magical being, like us, and you gave that up to marry Ludovick. We cannot give it back to you, not even for a limited time. You have chosen your fate and we cannot change that. The magic of the garden will prevent you or anybody else from entering just like it will allow the right girl to go in."
Kalanta cried but while the tears ran down her face she said, "At least there is hope for Artus, and he will not be alone."
Then the Wizard and the fairies took Kalanta to the remotest part of the kingdom and created the garden where Artus and Carl were to live. First they created a wall. It grew out of the earth, slate grey and slippery, higher than the tower of a cathedral. On it the Wizard drew the outlines of a gate; this he hit once with his staff and it opened. Inside a dwelling had started to appear in the same way as the wall. It was pearlescent white, two floors high. The roof was silvery-grey, like the scales of a fish. In front of it, and overlooking a lake, was a terrace with a white balustrade. The Wizard drew a double door and windows on the building; the door in the middle, two windows to the right of the door, two to the left. Then, with a flourish of his hand, he made them real. He waved his hand again and the same appeared on the first floor, with a balcony running along the width of the house. Two of the fairies made the inside comfortable with furniture and soft furnishings while the rest took care of the garden. They made fountains and waterfalls, shelters and grottos. They made flowery and herbaceous borders and let climbing roses overgrow the back of the house. Kalanta walked around the garden, seeing everything come alive. She thought of Artus and Carl, how much she would miss them, how much she loved them. Kalanta's love for her son and foster son was so strong that the whole area became infused with it. When everything looked absolutely right, the Wizard and the fairies put spells on the garden: a spell to hide it, a spell to make it impenetrable, a spell to stop time, a spell to have blossom and fruit at the same time, a spell for food to appear each evening, and most importantly a spell that would allow entry to the right girl. When everything was ready they called Carl. They accompanied him to a little temple not far from the entrance and changed him into a statue.
That evening, for the first time since the curse was activated, Artus became himself again. His mother, Queen Kalanta, told him what had been arranged. He didn't want to accept Carl's sacrifice but he had no choice, the change had happened already. It had been his friend's plan from the start not to ask for permission as he knew that Artus would resist the offer.
The Wizard and the fairies stayed with the two young men that first evening to explain to them exactly what would happen and how long the wait was likely to be. For this one night Queen Kalanta was allowed to stay in the garden as well, as were Carl's parents who'd come post-haste from Eburon after receiving a message from their son.
Shortly after midnight King Gustav and Queen Margaretta said farewell to Carl and left. Queen Kalanta stayed longer until just before daybreak when she too had to leave Artus and Carl for ever. She tried to remain as cheerful and positive as possible but no sooner had the garden gates closed behind her than she fainted. The Wizard and the fairies took her home and made her comfortable in her bed. When she came round she started to cry and kept crying until she hadn't a tear left in her body. After that she became very calm and very quiet and nobody saw her laugh again, or even smile, for the rest of her life.
The fairies had to go as soon as Queen Kalanta had recovered, but the Wizard stayed. The responsibility for what had happened weighed heavily on him and he could not leave the Queen alone with her sorrow. He was the only person she could talk to about her sons, the only person who could show her a glimpse of her sons. In the night when she could not sleep, Queen Kalanta would go to the Wizard and he would show her a picture of Artus and Carl on the surface of a bowl of water. Sometimes she could even hear them talk.
All this had taken a great toll on the Queen's health. Although she had given up her immortality, she still used to be a fairy and could easily have lived to be well over hundred years old, nearer two hundred even. The loss of her sons, however, meant that she lost the zest for life and she died barely eighty years old.
As Queen Kalanta had requested, the Wizard became regent over the kingdom until the day Prince Artus would come back to be its King.
ooOOoo
Years went by. The Wizard was as good for the country as Queen Kalanta had been but the people were afraid of this never dying wizard. He decided that he had to trick them for their own happiness. He remembered a story that his teacher Merlin had told him about a sword in a stone that showed the true king and decided to do something similar.
He called as many people as possible to the Main Square of the capital and there thrust a sword and a dagger up to the hilt into the plinth of King Ludovick's statue. Then he spoke to the people:
"People of Peratha, subjects of Queen Kalanta, your Queen appointed me to be your regent, but I feel that you do not trust me, so I will leave you all in peace. However, to ensure that this country will continue as your Queen wished, I have left this sword and this dagger here. They once belonged to King Ludovick and are now the property of Prince Artus. He who can remove the dagger is to be the next regent until the return of Prince Artus who is your true King. The Prince will prove his identity by taking what is rightfully his – his father's sword. By this token will you recognize your true King."
When the people understood what was happening they cheered. Shouts of "Hoorah!" and "Quite right!" and "Long live Artus, our true king!" sounded around the square. Then the wizard left and returned to his tower.
About a month or so later, a young man walked into the square and pulled the dagger from the plinth of King Ludovick's statue. He was escorted to the palace and made regent of the country and ruled wisely and just for many years, growing old like normal people. Then, when he was, to all account, an old man the Wizard pulled the same trick once again. This way he kept his promise to Queen Kalanta and the regent was loved instead of feared. There were of course charlatans and conmen who tried to claim the sword and kingship but however much they tried, King Ludovick's sword remained solidly embedded in the stone plinth of his statue.
ooOOoo