AMACON 4: SERENDIPITOUS (30-Day Writing Challenge)

Ever After

AMACon 4: Serendipitous
Drabbles Day Three: Fire and Ice

Once there was a Prince, with a heart as pure as rain. Some said it was from his father's benevolence, others said it's from his mother's unending compassion. He was so loved and so adored that everyone but bows at the sight of him. His kindness was far beyond anyone has ever felt, and though he was not the fairest of all the Princes in the world, his pure heart was what everyone wished for. He lived a life of comfort, in a kingdom filled with the love the King and Queen, his parents, shared through the years. He lived a life where only love was all he ever knew.

But outside the walls surrounding his life of nothing but goodness, were people full of greed, selfishness, and envy, hell bent on unleashing evil and taking over the kingdom. Led by a man jilted by his betrothed, an evil plan was hatched and the kingdom was overthrown. It left the young prince alone and in despair. And although the monarchy survived and his uncle revived the kingdom, without his loving parents by his side, sadness and anger enveloped him until all that the people could recognize was a Prince with a heart as cold as ice.

The entire kingdom did everything they could to restore the happiness they all once had. The Prince's uncle invited gypsies, ventriloquists, magicians, and comedians-- always something different every night. They came from all over the villages, with no luck to ignite even a flicker in his eyes. But just when his uncle was about to lose all hope, one stormy night, came a man barreling down the castle's doors, demanding an audience with the Prince. He brought a girl, he said, that the Prince can have for life, as long as he got paid the right price. The Prince's uncle, with a compassionate heart like his sister, the late Queen, took pity on the girl with eyes that looked like liquid amber. But he saw a certain sadness behind her fierce facade that when she realized that she would be free of the monster, tears pooled in her eyes. He took her in, in exchange for a bag of silver, thinking that maybe all his nephew needed was someone he could share his sadness with.

"What can you do?" The Prince's uncle asked kindly. "Fire," she meekly said. "I can dance with fire."

And so that night, with the wind howling outside, and the rain loudly pitter pattering on the stone roof and glass windows of the great hall, she showed the stoic Prince her graceful dance with fire. Her arms moved fluidly with the flicker of the flames she held in strings. They moved with her every turn and twirl, as if it's part of her, as if it was her.

When her dance ended and applause erupted from the court, she bowed and curtsied. But when she slowly lifted her face, her fiery amber eyes met the frozen caramel ones of the young Prince. He blinked, and suddenly everything around just seemed to evaporate, a ghost of a smile almost appeared on his handsome face. She blushed and smiled shyly, but broke the eye contact by bowing her head.

The entire court fell silent when the Prince stood up and slowly walked down from the throne's platform to where the girl was planted unmoving in the middle of the hall. She kept her head bowed down, and didn't feel the presence of the prince in front of her, until he held out his hand.

"Walk with me?" The Prince asked, his cold hand still waiting to be taken. The girl only nodded and gave her warm hand. Walking past mouths agape and stunned expressions, he led her through the hall and to the Glass House of Carnations, her mother's favorite in the entire palace.

There they sat and watched the rain as each drop kissed the glass roof of the garden. There they sat, her head on his shoulder, and talked about each other's tales. There they sat until their scorching eyes closed when their lips met.There they sat as her warmth slowly thawed his frozen heart, and then they lived happily ever after.

(Originally published in "Tapunan Ng Feelings" on January 4, 2017.)