The Meaning of Beauty

Once upon a time, in the richest kingdom, was a princess.

In this kingdom, the finest wine instead of water flowed in rivers, even the civilians’ clothes were decorated with rubies and jade, and theatres, bridges, public baths were built from smooth luminous marbles.

The princess, who lived in the most magnificent crystal castle, was different from any other fairy tale princesses. She was hideous. The golden crown, embedded with the most expansive gems, resting on her oddly shaped, gigantic head, failed to liven up her sparse, straw-like hair. The elegant silk dress, woven by the most skilled tailors in the kingdom, clasping on her body, did not conceal her purplish, pustule filled skin.

No living mortal, even the king and queen, could gaze upon her without fainting from fear. However, on her monstrous face, was a pair of beautiful eyes brighter than the stars in the darkest night sky. Behind those eyes, was a pure soul.

In a world where men were seduced by artificial beauty, it was not surprising that no prince asked the hideous princess’s hands in marriage for a very long time.

One day, miracle happened. A prince on a white stallion rode up to the castle and begged the king and the queen for their daughter’s hands. The prince was deemed lacking both military prowess and hindsight of a ruler. As the youngest, he inherited nothing from his father.

The overjoyed royal couple gave him their daughter without hesitation. Many might wonder why our prince wanted to marry such a monster. Did he see through the hideous princess’s disguise and discover her kind heart? Sadly, this is no fairy tale. The pitiful landless prince was more interested in gaining the throne of the richest kingdom than the love of the ugliest woman.

Soon after the princess and the prince’s marriage, the old king and queen passed away.

The prince succeeded the thrown and became the richest and the most powerful man alive.

For the first time, he felt like a real prince. His two elder brothers who once forced him to wear the humiliating wooden crown that symbolized his empty status kneeled before him and kissed his shoes.

All the lords who once jeered at him and treated him like a beggar now overwhelmed him with praises and gifts. Life was perfect, except that the he lacked a beautiful wife to match his power and wealth. The rich prince was disgusted by sharing a room with the hideous princess. The thought of touching her alligator-like skin made him squirm and puke.

Thus, he threw the princess into the darkest dungeon that had never been touched by the warmth of sunlight.
The princess’s broken heart was once again stomped on by cruelty. Her hope of finding someone who would accept and love her was once again shattered into pieces.

However, the kind hearted princess’s soul was not stained by hatred. She pitied the prince since he surrounded himself with artificial love and fooled himself with the fragile illusion of happiness.
The foolish prince was soon betrayed by his lords and his jealous brothers.

They gathered an army and overthrew him. The prince was too thrown into the darkest dungeon.

In the dark, the kind princess comforted the foolish prince with words and caresses.

He was surprised that he never noticed that her voice was as sweet as the song of a nightingale and her touch was as tender as the warm summer breeze. In the dark, he saw her beauty.

He whispered his in her ears. In the darkest coldest dungeon, the lonely prince and princesses felt the warmth of love and compassion for the first time.

Their love moved the gods. They rescued the lovers from the dungeon. Under the golden sunlight, the prince and the princess, hand in hand, confronted the greedy brothers to regain the kingdom.

The brothers conjured evil magic to turn the prince into a vile beast. But, the pure love that transcended all superficiality between the two once lonely souls weakened the magic. The prince did not become a ferocious monster, but a gorgeous stallion with a coat as pure as newly fallen snow, a mane as mighty as that of a lion, and a pair of dark eyes as gentle as those of a dove.

Hunted by the brothers’ army, the princess and the prince were banished to the unknown wilderness.

The kind hearted princess peeled off her resplendent gown and donned a plain cloak. The prince, trapped in the form of a beast, lost all his wealth and power. Perhaps, they would one day find the powerful witch of the wild to break the prince’s spell. Maybe one day they would defeat the greedy brothers and gain back their righteous throne.

But their adventure is another story for another time. Right now, they are just happy to be alongside each other. The princess gently stroked the beast’s soft mane that fell like waterfall around his strong neck. The stallion playfully nibbled her shoulder.

They walked further into the fog.