Lady of the Stardust Butterflies
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Both miracle men and sorcerers alike were dumbfounded on how the Princess had suddenly arisen the next day. It had happened like so; the King and the seven magical helpers had been in her room, further discussing possible reasons and treatments, when she opened her eyes, and lifted herself up. Seeing her father, she got his attention by asking him why all these strange people were in her room.
The King ran to his daughter and embraced her, muttering words of thanks over and over again that she was okay. The others began questioning her on if she knew what had happened, if she dreamt anything, or heard anything while she was in her deep sleep.
She was about to answer their questions when she noticed for the first time, her little pet pig, Squiggs, fiercely chewing on the regal window curtains. She got out of bed, ignoring her father's cries for her to be careful, and walked over to the pig. Pulling Squiggs off the curtains and ignoring his whining also, she scolded him.
"Sir Squiggleton, what are you doing? These are my nice curtains, not yours to chew on."
The pig stopped squealing for a second, looking at her in the surprised way that only pigs can. Her father equally looked surprised.
"And if you are to continue to be naughty then you can forget about your rich meals. It's clearly my fault that you're spoiled and its up to me to train you better."
The pig started squealing again, trying to shake himself out of her grasp, but she was firm and shushed him. "Be quiet little piglet, I mean it. It's time you learn how to behave properly."
She put him back onto the floor and Sir Squigglenton promptly ran out of the room.
Sighing to herself, she noted. "He's going to have to learn his manners, or there'll be no more treats for him."
"Dearest daughter!" The King cried. "You called your pet 'Sir Squiggleton', instead of 'Squiggs', and you scolded him! What can be the meaning of this?"
"Isn't it clear your majesty?" Said one of the sorcerers. "The Princess' pet has an evil heart, does he not? She no longer has blind love for him, ergo, she is broken from the curse."
"What?" Said both the Princess and her father at once.
"My dear, is it true?" Her father turned to her with a hopeful look.
"I—I do not know. But that pig, there's something missing. When I used to see him, I'd get this feeling, this forceful attachment would come upon me when I saw him…now, I just saw him and I felt, well, bothered by what he was doing."
"Yes, that must be it!" Cried a miracle man. "You are broken from your curse." All the sorcerers and miracle men nodded in agreement.
"You know, I do feel like a burdened is lifted from my shoulders. No, actually, it feels like a deep pressure has been lifted from my heart. It feels much less strained now, much lighter." The Princess observed.
"So tell us, what did you dream?" Another miracle man asked eagerly.
"Nothing, good sir. And who exactly are you, and everyone else here?"
"They are the kingdom's magical asset, daughter. I sent for them when you had your fainting fit."
"My fainting fit…" The princess thought for a second and the memories came flooding back into her mind. "Yes, I remember! Oh, Kao! Where is he?"
"Somewhere around," The King said gravely.
The Princess could see in her father's eyes that Kao was in trouble. "Oh no, you know what happened, don't you father? You know what he said to me?"
"Yes I do. And as law dictates my dear, you know that—"
"No! You cannot behead him father. I…"
"You?"
"Well, when I think of Sir Squiggleton, I no longer have a feeling of deep attraction, and it is the same when I think of, well, those Shadow Realm knights I sometimes saw. You see, for them I too felt an attraction. But Kao, I feel the exact same."
"And what exactly did you and do you feel towards him?"
"Father…" The Princess blushed, embarrassed to answer in front of strangers.
The strangers however, were not stupid.
"This is impossible!" Stated one. "You were under a curse to love only evil. How could you have loved a good man, while under the curse?"
"He must not be a good man then," claimed another.
"But she still loves him, she claims, so he is good." Another sorcerer pointed out.
The Princess avoided their eyes, feeling extremely uncomfortable that they were discussing her love life. Her father could see her discomfort and said,
"Please my good people, this is not our business to discuss. By some miracle it seems my daughter has fallen in love despite the curse, and we must leave it at that."
"But how did she wake up, and why did she faint in the first place?"
"That boy you claim to love my dear, is he the one that said your name?"
The Princess nodded to the miracle man, still feeling self-conscious.
"That must be it!" He judged. "He said her name, a sign of intimacy, and that must be what broke the curse."
"It didn't break the curse, it caused her to fall to sleep." Another corrected.
"Then how did you awake this morning?"
"Well, I actually woke up last night first." She commented gently. "I remember hearing his voice. Then I woke, only for a couple of seconds, and he was standing over me…"
"What?" Her father asked sharply.
"Kao, he was standing over me looking down, and I don't know, I woke up and saw him, but I was so tired, I went back to sleep. And then I woke up this morning."
"Someone bring the boy here." The King ordered.
Kaokon was found and bought to her chamber within the hour. By then, she had changed into fresh clothes, and was sitting on her futon, surrounded by the sorcerers and miracle men, still questioning her. The King stood silently by the wall, waiting for the knight to show up.
"You called for me your highness?" Spoke Kao nervously to the King, as he entered the room and bowed.
He had not noticed the Princess, who could not be seen because of all the people standing around her.
"My daughter has awakened." The King informed him.
"I am very pleased to hear this." Said Kao, looking around and trying to see where she was.
"But of course, as she informs me, you already know this."
"Oh." Kao looked fearful for a second.
"She tells me that last night you were by her side watching her. Is this true?"
"Very much sir." Kao admitted, bowing his head.
"And may I ask why, Kaokon?"
"I had wanted to see her one last time, before I was executed."
"And you said something to her, didn't you?" Said one of the miracle men, walking up to them.
"I—" Kao didn't know how to respond.
"Do not you know? For every curse there is a cure. Sometimes it's something materialistic, like certain healing plants and herbs, and sometimes its words or actions."
Kao felt extremely uneasy now. "I may have said something's to her while she was unconscious, but no spells or incantations I ensure you."
"No, no spells, what I meant was, simple words. Anything you said could have broken the curse."
"Wait, did you say the curse is broken?" Kao eye's widened. "She's free?"
"She's free." The King confirmed.
"And you think, it's because of something I said?"
"Yes." Answered the miracle man. "By saying her name, you caused her to fall into deep sleep. Saying her name, conveying intimacy in it, was the first step to breaking the curse."
"And she claims she heard your voice just before she woke up last night."
Kao thought about the things he had said to her. The last thing he said. He had confessed his love, is what he had done.
"I…what I said is kind of…private." Kao told the miracle man.
"No need, I already know what you said." Said one of the sorcerers who had been standing in front of the sitting Princess, leaving her side and walking over to them.
Now Kao could see the Princess, and he couldn't describe the way he felt. She was free of her curse, and he'd be beheaded the next day.
"You do?" He said, ripping his eyes off his friend.
"Yes of course, it's all quite simple. For your sake however, I'll leave you to tell the Princess what you said. I think it better if we give you your privacy."
The King place a firm hand on Kao's shoulder and spoke, "Because you have cured my daughter from her curse, I suppose this deed of honour has cancelled out your breaking of the law, and therefore, you are spared from being beheaded."
Turning to the others in the room, the King continued. "I thank all of you for your assistance, my good people. You will all be paid immensely for your help, but I now would ask if all of you would depart this room. I wish to speak to these young people privately."
The four miracle men and three sorcerers all left the chamber, and the King was left alone with his daughter and knight.
"It seems my daughter," he began, looking at her as she got up from her futon, "that true love has been able to conquer this curse. Destiny and fate have taken part in your life." He turned to Kao. "It seems you were destined for my daughter, and not even the curse could change that. You two were meant to fall in love, and now I suppose you are free to be. May I suggest you go out for a walk and, well, discuss some things?"
The Princess and knight looked at him and nodded, both of them feeling tremendously embarrassed and awkward, and unable to look at each other at the moment.
"Great, well, get to it then." The King said, exiting the room and laughing at their sudden shyness.
They stood there for a few moments saying nothing.
And then, "I've always known Kao."
"Known what?" He asked softly, looking to her for the first time since her father left.
"How you felt about me. I knew, I could see it, I could feel it."
"Could you?" He said, with a sinking feeling. It wasn't enough that everyone knew about it and made fun of him, now it looked like she too knew about it all along.
"Yeah, I guess everyone knew." She answered, sensing his thoughts. "But what no one knew was that I too loved you."
"You…did?"
"Did you not hear what my father just said? Despite the curse, I have always had feelings for you Kao."
"But, you knew I felt the same way, and never said anything?"
"Let's go for a walk." She suggested.
And so they did, without any ladies-in-waiting, for once. They soon reached the garden and the Princess went on to explain why she said nothing.
"I did not want to hurt you Kao. I was afraid that if I told you I loved you, then I would end up being unfaithful every time I saw someone with an evil heart."
"I would have endured the pain, Princess, if it meant we could be together."
The Princess couldn't help but laugh. "This all seems so strange. I can't believe you know how I feel, that you know that I know how you feel. I can't believe it's all over, that we can actually be together now."
He smiled. "Unless you tire from me, and then I'm afraid you'll chuck me for some extravagant prince."
"Never. You are my dearest friend, and now I suppose, my dearest."
"Yes, and your father gave his consent, which I never thought I would get. So, if you are willing to seal what he calls our destiny, I suppose we should marry."
The Princess grinned teasingly. "Then you can call me Midori and not be put to death for it."
"Midori, I love you." He smirked.
They stood facing each other underneath the willow tree, both thinking about one thing, as Stardust butterflies flew all around welcoming their princess back.
Leaning his face down to kiss her, Kao did just that.
-The End-
Author Note:
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, the story was short, but I hope it pleased.
The lady,
Lady of the Stardust Butterflies