Brave Knights and Stubborn Princesses

Brave Knights and Stubborn Princesses

 Section 1 of 5

April 2007 (age 12)

By Kimberly

            Once a long, long time ago there lived a fair queen who had long ruled her island.  Though you may not have heard of it, do to the inaccurate textbooks the geography teachers use, it really is there.  Perhaps your teacher did know of it, but since it is such a small island in the Pacific Ocean he may not have thought it was important.  The island’s name is Raji.  It means: A very little island in a very big ocean.  On Raji the queen had only one sorrow: that her daughter was not married.  The Queen had tried to get her to marry one of the sons of any of the Lords, but she thought they were too boring, and most of them detested her many pets that she adored. 

            Finally the Queen agreed to put her daughter in an old castle with an old dragon so that some knight, whoever he might be, could save her.  In that way she would be forced to marry him.  The Queen was not happy about the arrangement, but she felt that it was the only way.

            “Send for my daughter,” the Queen gravely ordered a servant.

            “Yes, your Majesty,” he responded with great respect.  When the princess entered, the Queen started to speak in a low voice.

            “Alexandria Penelope Isabella Marguerite Monica Henrietta Beatrice Augustine…”

            “Please just call me Alison,” the princess interrupted.

            “But who will want to marry you if you go around calling yourself Alison?! It's such an ordinary name,” the Queen exclaimed. Then she sighed, “Alexandria, I have decided to send you to the old castle with the dragon.”

            “A dragon?”  Her joy at being able to get to know a dragon was covered over by her equal displeasure of leaving. 

            “But why?” she finally managed to asked.

            “Because you would not marry by choice, so instead you will be forced to marry whoever will save you.”

            “Saves me from what?”

            “From the dragon and the wretched old castle, of course!”

            “But what if nobody ‘saves’ me?” the princess wondered.

            “Well… then you’ll have to be brought back and I’ll think of another plan.”

            “Hmm…”

            “But someone will save you, my dear. Don’t worry,” the Queen tried to reassure her daughter though she didn’t sound at all convinced herself.

            Three days later, Alexandria Penelope Isabella Marguerite Monica Henrietta Beatrice Augustine was sent to the dingy old castle inhabited by an old dragon who never bothered anything so long as nobody ever bothered him.  The princess had more than a week to thoroughly get to know him before any attempt was made to rescue her.  She named him Mr. Dragon.

            One day as she sat upon his enormous belly, she sighed, “Oh, I wish I had a name as simple as ‘Mr. Dragon’.  I love simple names.  That is why you must always call be Alison, just Alison, not Alexandria Penelope… Oh, never mind.”

            “You know, Mr. Dragon, some day a knight is going to try to save me. I’m not sure if I’ll let him though. There is one knight that I wouldn’t mind, but I’m sure that he wouldn’t like my many animals at the castle.” When she thought of her animals her countenance saddened. Although she loved the dragon, she missed her other friends very much. She almost wished someone would come and save her.

            The reason why Alison had a whole week to herself was not because everyone was afraid of the lazy old dragon, nor because the word of her being there had not spread all over Raji.  No, the reason was because the brave knights were taking their time deciding whether or not it was worth it to save her.  They figured that the rescuing would be easy enough, and to rule the kingdom when the Queen died was a great incentive, but the princess herself… Well, the princess was an unusual girl.  She had a way with animals that made the most ferocious beast love her.  Indeed, she loved them too.  She would spend most of her day with her innumerable pets.  She had large ones and small ones, loud ones and quiet ones, harmless ones and dangerous ones, all of which she allowed to roam freely around the castle.  The knights were not sure that they could handle all those animals.  It was well known that whoever married the princess would have to put up with them, because the princess was sure to never speak to anyone again if even one of her precious pets was harmed.

            The Queen was distressed by the lack of response to save her daughter, but she understood their reasoning well.  She herself could hardly manage with all the animals in the palace.  Therefore she privately sent for a young knight who had been highly recommended as a suitable husband for the princess.  He was of good character, well mannered, properly educated, and very handsome.  His name was Sir William, son of Sebastian the Lord of North Mansion (there were only four Mansions on the small island of Raji: North, South, East, and West Mansions.  Lesser Lords owned Houses, normal townsfolk owned Huts, while the poor owned Shacks.)  His friends often called him just William or Will.  He was a young man of twenty-three, his light brown hair was long enough to be ruffled by the wind, he had green-gray eyes, broad shoulders, was very handsome (especially when dressed in his armor), and he had a fantastic smile that made women faint for miles around.  His friends would sometimes tease him saying,

            “You should stop smiling so much, Will.  You’re upsetting the whole town!” William would simply laugh and smile more. 

            He was presently allowed to enter the Queen’s private chambers. 

            “Your Highness,” he bowed.

            “Sir William, son of Sebastian the Lord of North Mansion, I have an honor and request to bestow upon you,” the Queen began slowly.  “My daughter the Princess Alexandria Penelope Isabella Marguerite Monica Henrietta Beatrice Augustine must be wed to a deserving young man, like yourself, so that the kingdom may be sure to remain in good hands.  I grant you the permission to save my daughter from the castle, to marry her, and in time become the next Sovereign in my place.  This is not a matter to be taken lightly.  I also realize, to my great distress, that because of Princess Alexandria’s great interest in animals many men may have been scared away.  I suggest that a brave young knight as yourself should not be afraid of a few animals.  Now I come to my request,” the Queen breathed deeply before continuing.  “I ask you, Sir William, to save my daughter and marry her.  I have prepared this amount of money for you if you will do as I have requested.  Money, of course, will not be a problem for you if you are my son-in-law, but still I offer this as a reward for your services.”

            “My Queen, I thank you for the great honor you have bestowed upon me. That you might ask me to marry your daughter and become your son-in-law is indeed a great honor.  It is not the princess herself as you have correctly guessed, but more the problem of her all too beloved pets that has kept me from acting more quickly. I suppose that arrangements might be made for her animals.  Perhaps we could build a separate wing of the castle for her pets where she might enjoy them without having them running free and wild.”

            “Perhaps,” agreed the queen. “Princess Alexandria truly is a lovely girl. It is only because she is so kind and patient that she has become fond of so many animals. I think that as you get to know her she will be willing to make adjustments.”

            “You give me hope, your Highness. I have always wished for a good marriage and I hope that the Princess is as amiable as you imply.”

            “Are we agreed then?” asked the Queen. “You will save her?”

            “I shall. May I ask what requirements there are for a task such as this?”

            “If you bring her out of the castle, then she is yours. But killing the dragon is better for records, though not necessary.”

            “I see. I’m sure I will not have any problem killing the dragon. But then you may have need of one in case of any other stubborn princesses.”

            The Queen chuckled slightly at his humor. Then with a snap of her royal fingers she summoned the servant.

            “Bring me the golden box on the table over there,” she commanded. Bowing the servant brought the box.  Carefully the Queen counted out a fifth of the promised two hundred gold coins and with great ceremony gave them to Sir William. With those coins jingling in his money pouch, Sir William graciously took his leave.

... to be continued in the next post