Prince Vingo (Revised)

         Prince Vince Vingo was socially awkward.  He was not dim; in fact, he was quite knowledgeable, especially on anything related to living creatures.  He could tell you the habits of every bird in the forest, their lifestyles, the food they ate, the way they mated, or the shapes, sizes, and colors of their eggs.  He could bring you to every corner of the forest to find the nest of each bird.  He could tell you the name of every spider or butterfly, how to find every hare’s or fox’s cave, or the time the little fish and shrimps in the creek come out to find food.  He knew and loved every single living thing in the forest.
         But he was painfully shy.  He always hung his head, slouched like a willow tree with tons of weight on his back; that made him looked shorter, but safer.  When he couldn’t avoid a social gathering, he would rather sit in a corner alone quietly, occasionally smiled timidly to anyone walked by.  He did not know how to start a casual chat, and whenever was caught in one would quickly find excuses to end the conversation and leave, sparing himself from the anxiety. They must find me boring, he always thought.  Why wouldn’t they?  He was not the most handsome prince—this title belonged to his cousin, Prince Michaels.  He was not the most articulated prince either—Prince Allen, another cousin, owned that label.  Not to mention the other fancy claims: “the finest horse-rider,” “the strongest man,” or “the most-feared fighter.” I could do nothing well, he always thought. 
         Everybody agreed: Vince was a good prince, but would never become a hero.  People would smile and cast pity glances in his direction, sometimes whisper to each other: “You know, he’s a nice guy, but you really can’t find a plainer or duller prince.” Some didn’t even bother to whisper though, but Vince would never bother to argue. I know, he would tell himself.  I know I’m nobody.

***

         It was a morning as ordinary as any other mornings.  Vince went into the forest to watch eagles flying in the blue sky.  That was his favorite thing to do and he surely could do it all day.
         But before he could spot any bird in the sky, he encountered a young lady roaming alone in the forest.  At the moment he caught sight of her, his heart stopped beating, he forgot how to breathe, and his head was spinning in a whirlpool.  Though very much worn out, she was still unbelievably beautiful.  Golden sunlight glowing down from her hair, bees and butterflies flying around her, she was the most stunning creature Vince had ever seen.
         She said her name was Princess Sophie Peabody and was from another remote castle called Green Meadow.  She had sneaked out of the palace to play in the forest but then unfortunately got lost.  Vince brought her back to his castle and gave her food, comforted her and promised to send her home safely.  The King, after learning about this matter, wanted to send her back as soon as possible so to relieve her family from worries, but the princess said there was no hurry.  After all, she got so tired from walking so many days, and her feet were unbelievably sore.  She hoped she could stay here for several days if that was not too bothersome.  So the King sent some messengers to Green Meadow instead and planned to send her home as soon as she recovered.
         Very soon, everyone in the palace, from the King and the Queen to cooks and servants, fell in love with Sophie.  In the mornings, people would find her in the kitchen kneading bread dough and chatting with the cooks, or helping the servants taming the horses.  A princess definitely wouldn’t find these works favorable, people said.  Yet she did all these with a smile.  She smiled to everyone, from the king to laborers to foot servants.  People loved to hear her greetings in the mornings: “Dear Mr. Carson, how are you this lovely morning?” “Hi Mrs. Young, your dress is lovely!  How’s your little Michaela?” When people looked into her eyes, they told her everything.  They felt safe around her.
         For Vince… well, in fact, we have reasons to believe for any living prince, she was a perfect goddess.  The Venus.  Vince developed an attraction to her, but of course, never dared to show it.  A princess like her would never be interested in him.  That was why when Sophie first started a casual chat with him, he was blushing like a lobster on a dinner table.  However, it seemed that Sophie liked to stick around with him and asked him questions about animals, the forest, and everything he knew.  She listened to everything he said attentively.  She seemed to admire Vince’s knowledge and understanding of nature.
         For two weeks they spent quite a lot of time together.  He showed her how to take care of sick squirrels, where to catch the best fish, how to nurture little birds till they were strong enough to fly, and how to catch butterflies and fireflies without hurting them.  She always appeared to be interested in everything and wanted to learn more.  It was a very special two weeks for Vince.  He suspected Sophie felt the same way too.
         However, one afternoon, all the other princes came to visit Vince’s castle.  They were shocked to see such a beautiful princess standing next to him, and they right away were calculating how to get her attention.  Prince Michaels, the most charming one, tried to allure her with his deadly charming eyes and smiles; Prince Allen believed she would definitely be impressed by his intelligent and humorous remarks.  Other princes were not idling either, they were all striving to get noticed for their unique talents.  Poor Vince; he stood there helplessly, watching his princess being surrounded by those entertainers with their striking performance.  He did not have any talent—nothing he could be proud of to impress anybody.  He lowered his head, left the crowd silently, wondered into the forest.  Alone.
{indent}She will never like me, he told himself.  She may like the best horse-rider, or the best Fighter.  But the one who has the best chance must be Prince Allen—he always makes her laugh.  Or Prince Michaels must have won her heart already, with his undeniable charisma.
         He didn’t know how long and how far he had rambled.  He even didn’t see how many eagles were flying above.  He was immersed in loneliness and sorrow.
         Suddenly he heard someone calling his name.  It was Sophie! 
         He couldn’t believe it: she had left all those clowns and come into the forest to look for him.
         When Sophie came to hold his hand with a smile, his every heartbeat was an explosion, every footstep was floating in the air, every thought was merry-go-round, and every pore on his body was singing.  He couldn’t believe the dream he didn’t dare to imagine even in his wildest fantasies had come true at this very moment. She likes me!?  Doesn’t she?  She likes me!  He couldn’t stop asking himself.  But why?
         They walked together among the beautiful trees.  They strolled and talked until sunset.  This was a day he would remember and cherish forever.  Forever.  He was in eternal happiness. 
         But when they finally came back to the castle, even still dancing in the clouds, Vince felt a particular atmosphere… it was in the expressions in everyone’s eyes.  What were they staring at?  What were the emotions behind those stares?  It was like they had just seen something totally, extremely bizarre that had to be avoided.
         They saw Prince Michaels.  He seemed about to turn away but was too late.  “Hi,” Vince politely greeted him.
         “Hi,” Prince Michaels forced a smile.
         “What’s wrong?” Vince was puzzled.
         “Nothing.” Prince Michaels quickly glimpsed at Sophie and laughed nervously.  “Oh, I almost forgot: Vince, your father is looking for you.”
         When Vince saw his parents, his puzzlement was deepened at the sights of their faces.  “Are you alright?  What’s going on?” he asked.
         “We finally received the letter from Princess Peabody’s family.” The King waved a piece of paper in his hand.
         “Should we not be happy?”
         The Queen sighed.
         “Her father doesn’t want his daughter back.” the King said.
         “What?  Why?” Vince was shocked.
         “He didn’t explain, just said we would find out soon enough.” The King looked at his son.
         “Find out what?” Vince grabbed that letter from his father and read it carefully 3 times.  No clue at all.  He finally looked up at his parents; they seemed to have more to say. 
         “We probably have found out.” the King said.  “Son, your mom and I believe…” The King took a deep breath.  “It’s better for you not to be with her anymore.”
         “What?!” Vince gasped, “no, no!” he shouted.
         “My dear,” The Queen tried to be tender, “listen, Prince Allen told me what happened today, you didn’t see it…”
         “All the other princes have seen it,” the King interrupted.  “When they were with her, a servant walking one of our dogs was passing by.  You know our dogs are very well-trained and will not disobey any order, but this dog suddenly barked at Princess Peabody and was about to jump on her; the servant couldn’t even manage to hold it…”
         “And then,” the Queen follows, “when everyone was looking at her and tried to protect and comfort her, she…in front of everyone…”
         “What?”
         “Her eyes…” the Queen sighed.  “Her eyes turned red.  Bloody red.”
         “Red?”
         “In just a split second, but everybody saw it.”
         “…so what?  What does it prove?” Vince sniffed.
         “But not only that.  Since she was here many strange things have happened, but we didn’t suspect her just simply because she was so adorable, but now….”
         “What strange things?”
         “Several nights ago, some guards saw a shadow and tried to chase after it, but it was too fast for them.  That mysterious ghost disappeared near her room.  Also, our cooks complained someone stole their poultry.  Later they found the remains of the poultry and other little animals in the trash; along with food given to the princess… untouched.”
         Vince quietly stared at his parents.
         “Son,” the King finally broke the silence.  “We have reasons to believe that she… this princess Peabody, is… well, cursed.”
         “This is the sickest joke I’ve ever heard.” Vince answered coldly.
         “We knew you wouldn’t believe us, but please, try to be reasonable…” the Queen said.
         “I’m tired.  May I be excused?” Vince said.
         His parents looked at each other.  “Son, please be careful.  We don’t know what she is, why she’s here, and what she is going to do.  She looks very nice, we really don’t want to believe she’s… well, you know.  But you have to understand: even if she doesn’t want to hurt you, you will lose everything if you stay with her,” the King said, trying to be as tender as he could.
         But Vince turned away, whispered to himself: “I don’t believe it.”
         Vince didn’t go back to his own room.  Instead he went to find Sophie.
         She was painting.  “Oh, hi, Vince,” she put down her paint brush and went to him.  “What’s wrong?  You looked terrible!”
         “Nothing, but I have to tell you…” The painting on the table attracted his attention.  “That is amazing!” He sighed.  It was a beautiful landscape; a green hill with all kinds of living creatures under the golden sun.
         “You like it?” she beamed.  “This is the place I always went when I was a little girl.”  She picked up the painting.  “It’s called Mt. Hope.”
         “Mt. Hope?” he smiled.  “It’s a beautiful name.”
         “You know?  I hope I can take you there someday.”
         “Is it far?”
         “But it’s worth it.”
         He looked at her, fell into silence.
         “What happened to you?” she smiled.  “You are like carrying a ton of rock on your shoulders.  What’s on your mind?”
         “No, nothing really.  Well, those princes surely were impressive.”
         She laughed.  “They are so weird!  Surrounded and looked at me like that; you would think they’ve never seen a princess before.”
         “Do you…” he asked carefully, “do you like them?”
         “Like them?  Sure, they’re nice.  Why?”
         “They are good-looking and talented.  Every one of them.” He lowered his voice.
         “Yea, they’re pretty good.” She nodded.
         “Who…” his heart was pounding.  “Who do you like the best?”
         “Who do I like?” she frowned.  “I like you, of course.”
         Waves of ecstasy ran through his heart, but he couldn’t understand.
         “Vince,” she looked into his eyes.  “Haven’t you seen how hard they tried to show off today?  You know why they did that?” She paused. “I think they are jealous of you.”
         “What did you say?” He thought he had misheard.
         “I can tell.  You have talents they don’t have, a unique disposition they can’t learn, and you know how to care for others.  Being with you is a pleasure; they of course are jealous of you; I can tell they wish they could be like you.”
         For a split second he thought she was telling a cruel joke with these merciless ironies.  But as he gazed into her eyes, every word she said was like a morning bell pounding into his heart; every fiber in his body was plucked that made him tremble.
         “You really think so?” he asked.
         “I know it.”
         He held her hands.
         “So,” she finally said, “that’s what’s bothering you?”
         “Hmm… yes, yes.”
         She smiled sweetly.  “Now it’s OK, yes?”
         “Yes.” He nodded.
         She gave him a hug, uttered softly: “Please believe in yourself.  I know you will become a great man some day.  You are.”
         Tears came into his eyes.  Never had a soul had such confidence in him; not even himself.
         They must be jealous, that’s right; he thought.  They wanted to take her away from me; as they found out her feelings for me, they brewed those ridicules lies to separate us.  That must be it!  How could they be so ruthless and shameless?  Wait, that letter!  It dawned upon him: could that letter be part of the lies?
         “Sophie,” he asked cautiously, “aren’t you homesick?  Do you want me to take you home now?  We can go right away.”
         She shook her head.  “No hurry.  I’m very happy here.”
         “Don’t you miss your family?”
         She fell into silence. 
         “Sorry…was it something I said?” he sensed something was wrong.
         “No, not you.  In fact…” she hesitated.  “I probably better not go home.”
         “Why?” He was puzzled.
         She pulled herself out of his arms and turned away.  “My family and I had some…well, disagreement.”
         “You mean, you had a fight?”
         “I guess you can say that.”
         “About what?”
         She turned and looked at him with her crystal eyes like deep blue sea. “I was in pain; I was lonely and hurt, I couldn’t go on any longer…until I made a critical decision.  I found happiness.  But my family didn’t agree with my decision.”
         “What decision?”
         “I’m sad that I can’t live with my family…but I have the right to choose what kind of life I want.”
         “I don’t understand.”
         “I’m sorry, I….” she said slowly, “I didn’t tell you the whole truth.”
         “What are you talking about?”
         “The truth is: I didn’t sneak out of my own palace.  My family chased me out of the palace years ago.”
         He was shocked and felt sorry for her.  “They didn’t have the right to do that.”
         “No, I don’t blame them.  Nobody would agree with my decision.” She lowered her head.
         “What on earth was that decision?”
         She raised her head and stared at him.           “What is it?” he asked again.
         “It’s time now.” She said that so softly, he didn’t hear it quite clear.  “What?”
         “Vince, if…if you choose to leave me, I won’t blame you,” she said sadly.  “I never wanted to hurt you.”
         A strange feeling like a snake slithered up.
         “Many years ago, I was a little girl in sorrow and grief.  Then somebody gave me a power: a power for me to be able to live the life I want.  But I have to change into a different form…”
         The world suddenly fell into absolute quietness, like a blanket of darkness plummeted and covered every living creature.
         She whispered: “I’m now…a wolf.”
         He heard what she said, but couldn’t understand; he refused to comprehend it.  But her beautiful eyes suddenly flashed red in just a split second.
         “You….” He started to tremble.
         “I’m a wolf, and also a human…”
         “You are… werewolf…” he stepped back slowly, knocked down a table and a chair, fell down, and struggled to come back onto his feet. 
         “I never kill a human; I hate harming any innocent life…I choose to be a wolf just to leave the life and people I hated….” She desperately explained.  “I never expected you to understand right away, but….”
         He couldn’t hear a word.  He lay against the door with eyes wide open full of terror.  He couldn’t move a muscle.
         She stopped.  Her eyes were full of pain.  She slowly turned away.          “I understand.” She said.  “Go.  My love will always be with you.”
         After a long while, he at last could move.  He right away stumbled out of the room.

         He kept on walking, didn’t know where he was till he hit a torch on his forehead and tripped upon a rock.  He was at the gate of the castle. 
         He walked out of the castle and went straight into the deep dark forest.
         I knew it!  It was too perfect and wonderful to be true.  I never deserve anything good.  He kept on screaming to himself.  He was extremely disappointed, scared, and angry.  His mind was in chaos.
         She’s a werewolf!  Of course!  Who would ever like me except monsters?  Any real, normal princess wouldn’t even cast a glance at me.  Those princes must be happy now: who says Prince Vingo could win the heart of a beautiful princess?  She’s not even human!  He would never achieve anything, and nobody would like him.
         Why did she come to me?  What did she want?  What was she going to do?
         He didn’t know how long he roamed.  Finally he collapsed under a tree, stricken by hunger and fatigue.  He slowly closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep. 
         When he was awakened by bright sunlight, he stood up and kept walking.  He found some berries and fruits for food, drank water from a little creek, and slept on whatever he found suitable.  He didn’t think of any danger like hungry lions or angry bears.  He couldn’t care less; his head could hold nothing else at this moment.
         He walked purposelessly for three days.
         The third night.
         He had already walked out of the forest he was familiar with.  This was a new world.
He was thirsty.  After a long search, he found himself at a huge lake.  The full moon high in the mid sky reflected on the calm water.  He held some water in his palm and drank.
         Suddenly, a dim singing voice came with the breeze.  The voice was flowing gently like an endless string extending far into the sky; sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes clear, sometimes just a whisper.  It was full of sadness like crying, like telling a sorrowful story.
         Then the thrilling howls arose.  He was shocked to find out there were so many wolves around him.  But the tender voice comforted the howling.
         Though terrified, Vince was attracted by the voice.  He slowly walked toward it.
         It was from a white shadow under a gigantic tree far away at the corner of the lake.  He was scared, but as if under a spell he was drawn by it.
         The voice was getting closer.  Finally he could see it now: it was a girl; she was washing her leg with water under the silver moonlight.
         It was Sophie. 
         By instinct Vince wanted to run, but there was something not quite right, and he kept on approaching.
         The song came to a sudden stop.  She looked in his direction and swiftly disappeared.
He stood there for a while, didn’t know what to do.  Finally he puffed up his courage, asked in a somewhat shaky voice: “Sophie?”
         “Vince?”  She slowly reappeared.
         “Are you hurt?”
         She sat back to the edge of the water silently.  He rushed to her side.
         A long and deep wound on her left lower leg was still damp with blood.  “What happened?” he asked.
         “Your family couldn’t find you.  Believing I had killed you, they hunted me down and determined to have me executed.  I ran away, but they left their mark on me.”
         “Why didn’t you fight back?  I thought werewolves weren’t afraid of any weapons?”
         “They used silver knives.  They are your family and friends.  I don’t like to draw innocent blood anyway.”
         He tore his clothes into long strips.  “That’s ok,” she said, “it’s not really a big deal; I’ll be fine in no time.” But he went ahead and wrapped the wound up.
         “Thank you.” She said.
         Both fell into silence.  The world was still and quiet except the wind’s soft singing.  Waves patted the grass lightly, and the wolves howled occasionally from the distance.
         “You should go back now, as soon as possible.” She finally broke the silence.  “Your family worries about you, and this is really not the safest place for you anyway.”
         “How about you?  Should I leave you alone here, all by yourself?”
         “I’m a werewolf, remember?”
         He nodded quietly.
         “I better go too; your family is still looking for me.” She forced a smile: “please find your family as soon as possible, I can’t run anymore.” She stood up with a light groan and limped away.
         He stood up and turned away, but a while later looked back at her direction.  She happened to look back as well, and they both caught each other’s eyes.  A dim light was reflected from the corners of her eyes.
         “Good bye,” she wiped her face.
         “Good bye.” He said.
         Both turned to their own courses.
         Just before her lonely shadow was going to be swallowed by the tall grass, Vince suddenly groaned to himself: “Stupid!”  He yelled: “Sophie!”
         She turned back and looked at him.
         “Can I ask you some questions?”
         She nodded. 
         “Did you turn into a wolf at Mt. Hope?”
         She nodded again.
         “Are you going back there now?”
         She hesitated, but finally decided to trust him.  “Yes.”
         “Are there any wild strawberries?”
         She frowned with puzzlement.
         “I love wild strawberries, you know… can’t live without them.”
         “You…”
         “And….” He said, “just wondering: what would a human and a werewolf’s baby become?  A little baby or a little cub?”
         She gasped.
         “I don’t care what you are: human, werewolf, monster, demon, or whatever.  Nobody has ever believed in me like you do, cared about me like you do, listened to me like you do…and no one has ever shed any tears for me.”
         They ran into each other’s arms and held as tightly as possible.