Mirth

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived a lonly maiden inside a dark tower. The maiden was called Mireth. A silver pendant hang from her neck. Mireth was engraved on one side. Joy, happiness, and mirth was engraved on the other. She had no joy in her life.

Born in a simple village, Mireth was a bastard. Her mother was a servant to royalty. The highest grade in the kingdom. Her mother was called Rose. She served the king's son, Prince Hargoth III.

Back then, Rose was just in her early teens, and was a pretty young woman. Even if she had to be dressed in dirty brown rags, her beauty still shined on through. It was not surprising that the Prince Hargoth fell in love with her, for Rose was as kind and caring as she was beautiful.

One night, the King Hargoth II, father of Prince Hargoth, was away in the enchanted forest hunting for the legendary White Fawn, along with a bunch of his guards and kinsmen. Prince Hargoth III had the almost empty castle to himself. Since his mother, the queen, died giving birth, the king had not remarried. That night the prince proclaimed and expressed his love to the fair servant Rose. No one in the kingdom knew of this affair. Not until Rose was found pregnant.

Prince Hargoth III was extremely joyful after he heard the news. Although he knew it was not proper for a prince and a servant to be together, he did not care. They had to be wed. Prince Hargoth announced the news to his father. The king was furious at the thought. "It is a disgrace to the whole kingdom!" he bellowed. And sputtered out his disapprovings, too furious to speak his words clearly. After the scene, when everyone was sent off to their bedchambers, the king plotted and tried to come up with a way to deal with the situation. He wanted to behead the lowly maid, but then there was the ancient rule of the kingdom that a woman carrying child could not be slain. The king was not prepared to break such an important rule that he supported. So he came up with the next best thing. Have her beheaded once the child was out. Prince Hargoth III would be furious, he knew, but he had no other choice. If word got out, not only would it lower their pride and honour, but the peasents might think lower of them and get the courage and an excuse to riot.

The king called to his royal messanger, and told him to bring the gorgeous princess in the next kingdom over, along with a large sum of money to the king of the neighbouring kingdom asking for the hand of the princess in marriage to his son. The princess there was called Princess Marygold, after her beautiful mother's favorite flower. Princess Marygold and Prince Hargoth III had met once, when they were both children. They used to play together in the royal gardens. They played hide-and-seek together and would sometimes bother the royal gardener. They were childhood friends, but were separated when they had reached adolescence and had to learn how to be a proper prince or princess. After he marries the princess, he will forget about the lowly maid in her rags for sure, thought the king.

He then ordered the servant Rose out of the castle, and into the village, where she would live until she gave birth to her child. Rose refused to leave, and said that even if she was forced to leave, Prince Hargoth would come looking for her. He would never forget her. Even though she was only a servant, she had the spirit of a courageous warrior and the soul of a kind, well-taught princess. Rose could've simply screamed and woken up the prince, and have him help her, but that was not her way. Instead, the king made a deal with her.
"If you leave now and I can get the prince to forget about you and your baby, then you shall never come back. But if I somehow just can't get him to forget about you, then you will be fetched back and you two can marry. I shall not interfere." Rose agreed on the deal immediately, confident that Prince Hargoth will not forget her and they will live happily ever after with their newborn baby. Ofcourse, Rose was not aware that the king planed to excute her once she had the baby.

Prince Hargoth III had no idea what was going on, and was planning his marriage with Rose. Until the king told him that Rose was gone, and that she had run away from the marriage.
"Perhaps it was just all too much for a lowly maid." King Hargoth tried to comfort his son. "It's not your fault. Just forget about her." He chided. "But I can't forget about her. I love her and I always will! She wouldn't run away... not Rose..." Prince Hargoth found the whole thing quite strange, and even a bit suspicious. Rose had no reason to run away, Prince Hargoth thought to himself. "Perhaps she didn't love you back..." After the king said those words, it was all picture clear to him. She didn't love him back.

Prince Hargoth was devastated, but finally forced himself to accept the whole incident. She wasn't good enough for me anyways, he thought after a few days. How in the world did I fall so hard for a mere servant of mine? Prince Hargoth made himself believe that Rose was inferior to him all along and he was just blind to see it. She wasn't even half as great as I thought...
Like all princes, he had a short memory and soon forgot all about Rose; when he saw Princess Marygold, that is. Princess Marygold, the princess from the neighbouring kingdom, and his childhood friend.She was not at all what she looked like when she was a little girl. She was more beautiful than a sunrise on a dewy, sping morning. Shining golden hair, perfect peach skin, rosy full lips. Her beauty stunned the prince, and left him speechless. How could there be such a drastic change in only ten or so years? Princess Marygold also had a drastic change inside as well. She no longer carried the innocence that a child has. Especially after her training as a princess. Her sweetness was tangy and fake. She cared more for class and wealth than all the qualities of a person. She was sweet and kind to Prince Hargoth, but barely gave a glance to anyone of lesser standards. She would sneer in contempt at a peasant or perhaps a panhandler on the streets. Prince Hargoth failed to see all this .Even though she was not even half as kind and caring as Rose, Prince Hargoth fell in love with her in under a week. They were married in less than a month.

As for Rose, she gave birth on the day Prince Hargoth and Princess Marygold wed. The peasant women and farmers who lived in huts beside her warmed up to Rose as soon as she arrived. Rose befriended her amiable neighbours, and told them her story of how the cruel king sent her to the village after he found out about her affair with his son. Her indigent neighbours were extremely empathetic, and comforted Rose. They also helped deliver her baby, whom she named Mireth in hope that the girl will have joy and mirth in her life. She hoped wrong.

A month after the baby Mireth was born, the king sent men from his castle to get Rose and her baby from their hut in the village. Her neighbours could do nothing to stop them, for the kings men were twice as cruel as the king, and would've slain anyone who got in their way. They were raised to believe no one else mattered but the ruler of the kingdom. Rose knew what was coming at her. Death... Surely she was frightened, but she had a brave soul and a stable mind, so she pleaded with the king to spare her baby.

"Take her. Behead her." they immediately did right after the king's stern orders. "What about the child?" asked one of the excutors. The king could be cruel at times, but not enough to order the excution of a child, especially after he had just slain the mother. "Four kingdoms away, there is a hut that stands on top of the highest mountain there. It is rather secluded there, except for a few hunters or travellers that pass by occasionally. Take the child and place her in the hut. Get a peasent woman from the village to raise her."

And raise her she did. But the peasent woman was old, and died in ten years. Now Mireth lived there alone. A ten year old girl living alone was curious and it stops hunters or travellers in their tracks, especially caring, kind, and nosy ones. The peasent woman that took care of Mireth told her everything about her life and her mother before her. The old peasent woman was one of the neighbouring women that helped deliver Mireth. Mireth then told her story to caring travellers of hunters. And soon, word got out.

Ofcouse, the king was the first to hear. Him having a royal messanger and all. He was worried soon this would get out to his son and worse - the whole kingdom. So he sent his men to go get Mireth and lock her up in a dark tower far, far away. It was a place that he used to keep the worst prisoners, a long time ago, but now it is empty. Every month he would send her food and material goods. It was such a desolate and foul place that no one ever went there. The secret was safe... for the time being.

And that's how Mireth came to be. A lonely, joyless maiden, now at the age 19. She was as beautiful as her mother. Silky, copper hair. Warm, loving eyes. A smile that can brighten anyone's day, no matter how gloomy it is. But she hardly ever smiles. Not with a life like that. She has nothing to smile about.

Prince Hargoth III never found out about this daughter of his. In fact, he forgot about Rose and his unborn child altogether. Princess Marygold had 4 of his lovely children. And they are indeed happy together. And in for a happily ever after.

Mireth, on the other hand, was not in for a happily ever after. She would spend her entire life inside this tower. Living off the food from the king. Until the king forget about her, and she would starve. Or until she would die of old age. A lonly, joyless old woman. Grasping her silver necklace that her mother had the blacksmith engrave joy, happiness, and mirth on. Little did her mother know how wrong she was to do so. For Mireth had no joy, happiness or mirth. She would never regret or miss anything, for she never had anything.

Before her death, a single scornful, mocking laughter escaped her lips. What a pitiful life. What a way to die. How ironic that this was the only laughter she had in her entire life. A tear slid out her eyes as she passed on to where ever a person goes after death. This was the girl named after joy, happiness, and mirth.