The Princess' Dream

A decade ago in a faraway land there stood a beautiful palace where a well-respected royal family lived. The king, who was named Basil, ruled the land well so that his family was loved and feared. Loved by the law-abiding inhabitants and feared by criminals. In that land the economy was good and the crime rate was low. It was mostly peaceful and happy.

Before doing his duties, the king made it a habit to breakfast with his family at a big dining room filled with delectable foods that an ordinary family would only eat in grand parties. He was concentrating on his turkey and java rice when suddenly his daughter, Princess Sadie, interrupted his eating for a little while.

“Father,” she looked earnestly at his fat, round and silky white face and announced: ”I want to become a painter.”

“Why do you want to be a painter?” he asked. He was a little shocked by his daughter’s announcement and tried so hard to keep a straight face. He couldn’t believe what he just heard.

“I want to be a painter because I’m amazed by the way a painter depicts beauty in all things.” She enthused, as if everything in this world is beautiful. As if things like hunger, poverty and war don’t exist. Well, to the princess’ world they didn’t for she obviously didn’t experience them.

“Well, Sadie, I just have to let you know that being a painter means living on your own to see the world and depict it and earning little money. You are not fit to that kind of lifestyle. You might end up being so poor if you can’t manage your scant money.” The king said, scowling. “Are you sure you want to take that risk?”

“I am willing to take that risk just to be a painter.” She said as if it was such an easy job. The king was infuriated by the princess’ enthusiasm and innocence. He wanted to stand up and leave his breakfast but he still stayed in his seat. He sat patiently.

“Well, darling, you can be a painter if you want to.” Her mother, Queen Athena, interrupted their conversation. She can see her husband was already fuming. She wanted to keep him from getting furious at their daughter. “You can make your paintings in the palace and have them placed all around it and sell them. ” She beamed. She was so proud of her suggestion.

“But mother I want to experience what every painter experiences.” The princess said. “I want to know what it takes to be a painter and experience the pleasures and hardships of being one. You know I don’t want to sell my paintings and earn millions or billions of bucks just because I am a princess. I want to be successful at something because I’m good at it. I want the world to know me as a famous painter!” She said. Her eyes were shining.

“ENOUGH OF YOUR FOLLY!” The king roared at the princess. “I will not allow you to be a painter and suffer being one! I want you to just stay here in the palace and relish the life you have, marry Prince Dante, have beautiful children and be a good wife to him. Have a good day.” The king stormed out of the dining room. The princess walked out to her bedroom and started to cry. The queen followed her to it to console and talk to her. But the princess didn’t let her in it.

*

Princess Sadie’s bedroom was a bedroom you would envy if you were a young woman. It was a large bedroom which had white walls (The walls were adorned with paintings made by the princess herself), a big cozy bed with sky blue sheets, a wardrobe which was painted in rosy red and had a lot of elegant dresses and a vanity table which was painted in light pink and had a complete set of make-up, extremely expensive perfumes and lotions.

She was seated on her bed, crying her heart out. Sunlight entered through the window beside her bed. She saw birds flying in the bright sky. They looked so gleeful and free. They looked the total opposite of her: gloomy and unfree. The view she saw outside was utterly beautiful. She painted it excluding the window that obstructed it so that the birds would appear freer. Her painting looked as beautiful as it. But she was still sad because of her previous fight with her father. She cried again.

*

The prince whom Princess Sadie was supposed to marry was not a handsome and agreeable prince. His name was Dante. He was a lanky young man with skin as white as chalk, short unruly blond hair and a very serious face that made him look unattractive and older. He was so cruel to his servants. When one of them made a bad cup of coffee he would scold him or her and spill it to his or her dress. He would also have them whipped by his soldiers when they appeared to be idling or when they did their tasks late. One noon a servant forgot to iron the prince’s robe and the prince got so angry that he ordered a soldier to whip the servant ten times. Every mistake a servant made had a grave punishment. The prince had been so mean to servants and poor people because his parents were also so mean to them. His family thought that servants and poor people should be treated like animals. If the princess’ parents knew about the prince’s and his family’s cruelty, they would not have agreed to marry their daughter to him for they hated people like them.

*

Princess Sadie stayed in her room for a long time. She didn’t go out of it to the dining room to eat. A servant brought her lunch but she intended not to eat it. Her stomach screamed. She gave in to her hunger and ate her lunch. After she finished eating it she made more paintings to pass the time. She painted surreal things: a girl fighting with two dragons in a sea with her bare hands, unicorns flying in the sky and a sea sucking in a velvety night sky. At 6 pm she stopped to eat her dinner. It was her last dinner in the palace for she was going to get out of it and explore the world outside. The real world. A painter’s world, as she called it.

She waited at the time the guards stopped guarding the palace. Midnight. It was the perfect time for escape. All lights were out. The whole palace was all blackness. Princess Sadie opened her window and climbed swiftly but carefully down the palace and jumped to the street.

*

Under the starless night sky, she was combing the street searching for a cheap house to stay in (for she wanted to live a simple life.). She saw three drunks boasting to one another about young women they slept with. They saw her and stared at her like she was a dog they wanted to cook and eat as a snack for their beer. They drooled as they admired her sensuous beauty.

“Isn’t that gorgeous girl our dear princess?” the first drunk said. He was a bald and an emaciated man who looked like a drug-addict.

“Why are you here in this street? Did you run away from the palace or the king and queen sent you away for doing a naughty thing? Come stay with me in my house and spend the night with me there.” the second drunk said. He was also very thin but unlike the first drunk, he had a long hair. He looked so drunk and wanted to ravish her.

The third drunk who had an average weight and a scar on his face didn’t say anything. The three drunks approached her and touched her. The first drunk grabbed and hugged her tightly. She tried to detach herself from his hug but she couldn’t. She screamed for help but no one came to help her. The second drunk produced a tape and put it on her mouth. The third drunk produced a rope and wrapped it around her wrists. He slid his right hand to her left leg. Just by touching it he felt immense pleasure. But the pleasure didn’t last long for he felt an agonizing pain (and that pain wreaked him to scream a bloodcurdling scream which woke every home!) in his wrist, then his hand landed on the ground. He noticed that a knife had sliced his hand and at last, blood poured from his wrist swiftly like water in an open faucet. The world was dark in his eyes. Then he was dead. The other drunks ran away. When they were gone, the princess’ rescuer removed the tape from her mouth and the rope from her wrists.

The princess’ rescuer stood up before her. He was a tall and muscular young man who had a tan skin, short straight amber hair and a handsome face. He was clad in black T-shirt and jeans.

“You shouldn’t go to this place alone at this hour.” he said.

“Thank you for saving my life.” she said. She hugged him. He hugged her back. He couldn’t believe the princess hugged him.

“May I know what your name is?” she asked the young man.

“Amber.” the young man answered shyly as he looked into her angelic face. He noticed that she had an incredible beauty. Her slender body was as radiant as the stars that should have appeared in the sky and her hair was as long and dark as the sky. He fell in love with her immediately.

*

She lived in a little house with him after the dreadful incident with the drunks. At first she found it hard to live in it for the palace had a lot of grand stuff and food, and this house had none and they had to work very, very hard to get those kinds of stuff and food while they live in it, but she soon adjusted to this simple life. He taught her to do household chores. She had a hard time doing them but she never complained. He helped her do them.

Princess Sadie and Amber became busy with their lives doing different things. She worked as a painter while he worked as a stunts man in movies and a martial arts instructor. No one recognized the princess when she went out of the house because she cut her long black hair and dyed it red and she wore simple clothes. She was always in T-shirt and jeans. Together, they lived a simple, quiet life. The life she’d always dreamed of. Here in this little house she could do what she wanted and became very, very happy. But she never forgot about the king and queen. In fact, she missed them badly.

Of course, the king and queen missed their daughter too. They could hardly sleep a wink since she ran away from the palace. They sent their guards to look for her but the guards saw no trace of her.The king and queen decided to join them so the search for their daughter would be easier and quicker. But that didn’t help. At last, they let all the land know on TV that she was missing and that if someone would find her and get her back in the palace they would gratefully reward them with a great amount of money. The princess learned about this. She became more subtle in her disguise. She wore thick make-up and dark clothes. She appeared as a gothic girl wherever she went. Amber laughed at her get-up the first time he saw it and asked, “What’s with the Halloween costume?” She told him about the news and asked him to please be more careful of his actions and words so that no one would know she was living in the little house with him. She didn’t want to go back to the palace even though she missed her parents. She wanted to live as a free and independent young woman.

*

One day she bought some food in a market near her and Amber’s house. After she bought the food, she was seen by a group of men walking to the house and they kidnapped her. It was Prince Dante’s men. They were ordered by him to do the job and they did it well despite of her gothic girl disguise. They blindfolded her eyes and shackled her wrists and ankles.

She was taken by her kidnappers to the dungeon of the prince’s palace. She was seated on a white plastic chair, her hands and feet were still bound by shackles. They removed the blindfold from her eyes and let her see the prince flash his big evil smile.

“Why did you do this? Why did you kidnap me?” she asked furiously. “I’m sure it’s not because of money for you have lots of it.”

“Silly girl!” the prince answered with an evil laugh. “Of course it’s not because of money. I kidnapped you because I want to keep you in my palace. From now on you’ll live with me.”

“You’ve lost your marbles, haven’t you?” she bore her teeth angrily. “Both our parents arranged our marriage yet you did this because you want to keep me in your palace even if you can have me without kidnapping me! How absurd of you!”

“Tell me who’s more absurd.” he remained his evil smile. “You ran away from your palace because you don’t want to marry me. You believe that by doing it you just let your parents run your life the way they want it. You chose to live a poor life over a lavish one to achieve your dream of being a mere painter. ” He spat on the dusty floor, disgusted by the princess’ choice of occupation. ” You have a mind sicker than mine and yet you tell me I’ve lost my marbles.”

“Now you might ask how did I know about that little dream of yours and your simple life? I knew about them because I let my men spy on you ever since you ran away from your palace. ”

“I don’t care how you got that information! And I just did what I had to do because I don’t want to be a slave of royal life forever!” she yelled at him. “I want to live on my own and do whatever I want!”

“I’m sorry to say you won’t be able to do that because you’re my slave now.” This was his last sentence in their conversation for loud raps from the door of the dungeon stopped it. Annoyed by the loud raps, Prince Dante opened the door. Amber appeared before him. His hair was ruffled and his body bathed in sweat because he fought with all the slaves and guards of the prince before he got through the dungeon. He used his martial arts skills to intimidate them and made them tell him where the prince’s men took the princess.

The prince produced a sword. Amber appeared to have only his body and the skills of a stunts man and martial arts instructor in their combat. Would he be able to save his beloved princess?

The prince started to attack Amber with his sword. He tried to put it directly to his heart. But Amber instantly jumped over the prince’s head and landed his own feet on the floor. He used his deft hands to swiftly disarm the prince and take the sword away from him. The sword fell on the floor. The prince hissed like a snake with anger and something strange happened to him. His eyes turned yellow then his face became scaly like a reptile’s. His body became scaly too and he instantly turned into a big snake. It was bigger than anyone in the dungeon.

Its eyes glared at them furiously. Its very long tongue lunged at the princess and wrapped around her body. She tried to get out of it with all her might but the tongue was too tight. Amber tried to cut its tongue with the sword to free her but it took the sword and wrapped the sword with its tail. Its tail broke the sword to pieces. In a flash, he grabbed the snake’s tail and threw it violently on the floor. He punched and kicked the enemy several times until it got wounded so badly and bled to death. He was not contented by its death that he took one of the broken pieces of the sword and tore it to half. For him, it was no longer the prince but a monster that’s why he didn’t think twice in killing it. He was so satisfied by what he did. After he killed it , he removed the shackles from Princess Sadie’s wrists and ankles.

“How on earth did you know I’m in the dungeon?” Princess Sadie asked Amber.

“It doesn’t matter how. What matters is you’re safe now.” Amber replied.

What the princess didn’t know was that Amber saw the prince’s men kidnap her and take her in the prince’s palace. Amber followed them secretly. The gates of the palace were closed by the guards so he didn’t see where the kidnappers took her. He fought with all the guards and servants before they tell him where she was.

*

The day after Amber rescued Princess Sadie from Prince Dante, Princess Sadie returned to the palace and her parents welcomed her back with open arms. King Basil let her pursue her dream of becoming a painter and do everything else she wanted to do, as long as it’s good for her.

At the right time, Princess Sadie and Amber became lovers, got happily married and had beautiful, intelligent and good children.