The Palace Of Love
By well-wisher
Tue, 28 Feb 2017
- 781 reads
1 comments
Once there was a prince, named Prince Arpeggio, who gave up everything for love.
You see, one day, he met a peasant girl named Zadora and fell deeply in love with her.
But, when they found out about the girl, his parents King Alfonso and Queen Maria did not approve of his relationship with her.
"You must choose between your love for this girl and your inheritance", they told him, "For you cannot have both".
And so the Prince chose the girl he loved and, replacing his fine princely robes for those of a common pauper, he left the comforts and luxuries of the palace to live with her in a small cottage and work a small plot of land that belonged to her father.
But King Alfonso, learning that the Prince had run away with Zadora, said to the Queen,
"Do not worry, my dear. I have a plan to make our son come to his senses".
And the King released a fairy called Sylphania that normally guarded the Royal family and ordered her to inflict misfortunes and hardships upon his son and the woman he loved.
"Make life hard for them. Nothing fatal or injurious, you understand", he said, "But just enough misfortune that my son realizes he cannot survive as a peasant and is forced to give up his childish romance and return home".
And, obeying the King, Sylphania made life hard indeed for the Prince.
For when he tried to farm his father in laws land, Sylphania killed his crops, she blunted his plough, made his plough horse lame; brought terrible harsh, freezing winters and summer droughts and at times the couple were so poor that they starved.
And yet whenever his wife asked him,
"Arpeggio. Do you ever regret giving up your life of luxury to be with me?"
the prince would always reply,
"Zadora. My home is a palace of love and you are the queen of my heart; that is enough for me".
And whenever the king sent one of his messengers on horseback to visit Arpeggio and enquire whether he had had enough of peasant life and was ready to apologize and come back to his family home Arpeggio always told the messenger,
"When my wife is allowed to be a princess then I'll be a prince again but not until then".
But then one day, because the guardian fairy Sylphania was not protecting the Royal family, a foreign tyrant, a semi-giant with six hands and scimitar in each called Albaddun invaded the land and capturing the royal palace, locked up the king and queen in a dungeon.
Now Sylphania, fearing for the future of the Kingdom at the hands of the cruel tyrant Albaddun revealed herself to Prince Arpeggio and Zadora and, confessing to all the misfortune she had inflicted upon the couple at the Kings instruction, she begged for Arpeggios help in defeating Albaddun and rescuing the king and queen.
When Prince Arpeggio heard what his father had done to them however he didn't want to rescue him.
"What kind of a father would do that to his own son?", he said the Sylphania, "And now you want me to help him?".
But Zadora was more forgiving and pleaded with her husband,
"Please Arpeggio. If not for your parents then think of the kingdom and all the poor people who, like us will suffer terribly at the hands of Albaddun".
And mollified by his wife he said,
"For you Zadora I would do anything".
And when he told Sylphania that he agreed to help her, the fairy turned his scarecrow into a suit of armour, his scythe into a sword, his plough share into a shield and his plough horse into a stallion of white.
But he was still only one man and asked Sylphania, "Even with these things how can I possibly defeat Albadduns army?".
But Sylphania told him not to worry; she gave him a basket of seeds and told him,
"As you are riding to the royal palace, scatter these seeds behind you. Have faith and courage and everything will go well".
And so Arpeggio did as he was instructed but when he reached the palace he had to ride up to them alone.
And when the soldiers of Albaddun, standing upon its battlements, saw Arpeggio at the gates, they laughed, asking;
"Come to take on Albadduns army all on your own, have you?".
"When you have right upon your side", said Arpeggio, "Anything is possible".
And so the guards opened up the gates and flooded out through them; a hundred of them, armed with swords and shields and spears.
But no sooner had they done this when, out of the seeds that Arpeggio had scattered behind him, armed soldiers started to spring up.
Then suddenly, though only a moment before he had been just one man on a horse, behind him a legion marched.
And when, hearing their footsteps, Arpeggio looked behind him and saw the army he knew just what to do.
Raising up his sword, he shouted to them, "Charge".
And before the Soldiers of Albaddun could close up the gates of the palace again, suddenly they were overwhelmed by an army of men rushing towards them and fighting to push their way into the palace.
And, Arpeggio, because his sword had been a scythe cut down Albadduns men like sheathes of wheat and because his horse had been a plough horse and his shield a plough, ploughed his way through them.
And while he was doing this Sylphania flying into the dungeons of the royal palace, unlocked all of them one by one, releasing not only the king and queen but also all those whom Albaddun had made prisoner and putting a sword within their hands.
But then, finally, Arpeggio came face to face the towering Albaddun; a scimitar in all four of his hands.
And talking to Sylphania who was fluttering near him, Arpeggio said,
"If I die fighting Albaddun. You must fly to Zadora's side and tell her that I said that I love her; that I died for her and that one day, in heaven, in our palace of love we will be reunited".
But Sylphania told Arpeggio he need not think about dying, that she had something to tell him that would give him hope.
"All Albadduns strength is in his beard", she said, "Without that he is not a giant at all but an ordinary man".
And so, armed with this knowledge, Arpeggio faced Albaddun.
Ofcourse, it was difficult, because Albaddun had 4 arms and was almost twice the size of a normal man.
But each time Arpeggio swung his sword at him, he shaved off a part of Albadduns long beard and with each part of the beard that was cut off, Albaddun shrunk a little until he was no bigger than Arpeggio and as he kept cutting at the beard Albadduns two extra arms disappeared aswell so that he was no different to any other man.
Then finally, when Albadduns beard was cut down to just below his chin, Arpeggio aimed his blade at Albadduns heart, splitting it in two.
And when Albaddun and his army were defeated, Arpeggios father and mother, seeing what their son had done for them and his kingdom could no longer think it right within their hearts to deny him his fondest wish; to marry the girl he loved.
And so they welcomed Zadora as their daughter in law and she and Arpeggio were married in a lavish royal ceremony and after that, lived happily ever after.
You see, one day, he met a peasant girl named Zadora and fell deeply in love with her.
But, when they found out about the girl, his parents King Alfonso and Queen Maria did not approve of his relationship with her.
"You must choose between your love for this girl and your inheritance", they told him, "For you cannot have both".
And so the Prince chose the girl he loved and, replacing his fine princely robes for those of a common pauper, he left the comforts and luxuries of the palace to live with her in a small cottage and work a small plot of land that belonged to her father.
But King Alfonso, learning that the Prince had run away with Zadora, said to the Queen,
"Do not worry, my dear. I have a plan to make our son come to his senses".
And the King released a fairy called Sylphania that normally guarded the Royal family and ordered her to inflict misfortunes and hardships upon his son and the woman he loved.
"Make life hard for them. Nothing fatal or injurious, you understand", he said, "But just enough misfortune that my son realizes he cannot survive as a peasant and is forced to give up his childish romance and return home".
And, obeying the King, Sylphania made life hard indeed for the Prince.
For when he tried to farm his father in laws land, Sylphania killed his crops, she blunted his plough, made his plough horse lame; brought terrible harsh, freezing winters and summer droughts and at times the couple were so poor that they starved.
And yet whenever his wife asked him,
"Arpeggio. Do you ever regret giving up your life of luxury to be with me?"
the prince would always reply,
"Zadora. My home is a palace of love and you are the queen of my heart; that is enough for me".
And whenever the king sent one of his messengers on horseback to visit Arpeggio and enquire whether he had had enough of peasant life and was ready to apologize and come back to his family home Arpeggio always told the messenger,
"When my wife is allowed to be a princess then I'll be a prince again but not until then".
But then one day, because the guardian fairy Sylphania was not protecting the Royal family, a foreign tyrant, a semi-giant with six hands and scimitar in each called Albaddun invaded the land and capturing the royal palace, locked up the king and queen in a dungeon.
Now Sylphania, fearing for the future of the Kingdom at the hands of the cruel tyrant Albaddun revealed herself to Prince Arpeggio and Zadora and, confessing to all the misfortune she had inflicted upon the couple at the Kings instruction, she begged for Arpeggios help in defeating Albaddun and rescuing the king and queen.
When Prince Arpeggio heard what his father had done to them however he didn't want to rescue him.
"What kind of a father would do that to his own son?", he said the Sylphania, "And now you want me to help him?".
But Zadora was more forgiving and pleaded with her husband,
"Please Arpeggio. If not for your parents then think of the kingdom and all the poor people who, like us will suffer terribly at the hands of Albaddun".
And mollified by his wife he said,
"For you Zadora I would do anything".
And when he told Sylphania that he agreed to help her, the fairy turned his scarecrow into a suit of armour, his scythe into a sword, his plough share into a shield and his plough horse into a stallion of white.
But he was still only one man and asked Sylphania, "Even with these things how can I possibly defeat Albadduns army?".
But Sylphania told him not to worry; she gave him a basket of seeds and told him,
"As you are riding to the royal palace, scatter these seeds behind you. Have faith and courage and everything will go well".
And so Arpeggio did as he was instructed but when he reached the palace he had to ride up to them alone.
And when the soldiers of Albaddun, standing upon its battlements, saw Arpeggio at the gates, they laughed, asking;
"Come to take on Albadduns army all on your own, have you?".
"When you have right upon your side", said Arpeggio, "Anything is possible".
And so the guards opened up the gates and flooded out through them; a hundred of them, armed with swords and shields and spears.
But no sooner had they done this when, out of the seeds that Arpeggio had scattered behind him, armed soldiers started to spring up.
Then suddenly, though only a moment before he had been just one man on a horse, behind him a legion marched.
And when, hearing their footsteps, Arpeggio looked behind him and saw the army he knew just what to do.
Raising up his sword, he shouted to them, "Charge".
And before the Soldiers of Albaddun could close up the gates of the palace again, suddenly they were overwhelmed by an army of men rushing towards them and fighting to push their way into the palace.
And, Arpeggio, because his sword had been a scythe cut down Albadduns men like sheathes of wheat and because his horse had been a plough horse and his shield a plough, ploughed his way through them.
And while he was doing this Sylphania flying into the dungeons of the royal palace, unlocked all of them one by one, releasing not only the king and queen but also all those whom Albaddun had made prisoner and putting a sword within their hands.
But then, finally, Arpeggio came face to face the towering Albaddun; a scimitar in all four of his hands.
And talking to Sylphania who was fluttering near him, Arpeggio said,
"If I die fighting Albaddun. You must fly to Zadora's side and tell her that I said that I love her; that I died for her and that one day, in heaven, in our palace of love we will be reunited".
But Sylphania told Arpeggio he need not think about dying, that she had something to tell him that would give him hope.
"All Albadduns strength is in his beard", she said, "Without that he is not a giant at all but an ordinary man".
And so, armed with this knowledge, Arpeggio faced Albaddun.
Ofcourse, it was difficult, because Albaddun had 4 arms and was almost twice the size of a normal man.
But each time Arpeggio swung his sword at him, he shaved off a part of Albadduns long beard and with each part of the beard that was cut off, Albaddun shrunk a little until he was no bigger than Arpeggio and as he kept cutting at the beard Albadduns two extra arms disappeared aswell so that he was no different to any other man.
Then finally, when Albadduns beard was cut down to just below his chin, Arpeggio aimed his blade at Albadduns heart, splitting it in two.
And when Albaddun and his army were defeated, Arpeggios father and mother, seeing what their son had done for them and his kingdom could no longer think it right within their hearts to deny him his fondest wish; to marry the girl he loved.
And so they welcomed Zadora as their daughter in law and she and Arpeggio were married in a lavish royal ceremony and after that, lived happily ever after.
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