The Rose Hearted Princess – Part 2

Now, with the golden bottle containing the magical healing elixir safely in his possession, Faziq made his way back homeward.

But, as he was riding home, the toymaker’s son passed through a village filled with weeping and wailing women and when he asked the women why they were crying they told him,

“An evil wind blew through our village one day and turned all our children into stone. Now they are all lifeless statues and we are powerless to help them”.

Faziq looked at the golden bottle he was carrying.

“The medicine in my bottle might help the children of this village”, he thought, “But if I use the medicine to help them then there will be less to help my princess”.

But Faziq was a kind and caring person and he could not look at the weeping women without feeling pity for them and so, asking them to take him to their children, he poured a single drop of the medicine upon each of their heads  and, the moment that he did so, the children were transformed from grey granite into flesh.

Rejoicing and hugging their children, the women of the village thanked Faziq and he went on his way, swearing to himself as he did that he would use no more of the medicine.

But then, only a few days later, Faziq was riding through a small town and, looking round, he saw that all of the people seemed afraid and when he asked one of them why they were afraid they said,

“One night a scarlet moon appeared in the sky and when it did several of the townspeople were turned into terrible monsters. Now every night we have to barricade the doors of our houses because they come into the town and carry off innocent men, women and children and nothing we fight them with, not fire or flint or steel seems to hurt them”.

Again, Faziq thought of his golden bottle and the medicine within that could heal any affliction.

“My medicine could surely stop these terrible creatures”, he thought, “But then I would have even less medicine than before to help my princess”.

Yet when he looked at the terrified faces of the townsfolk he couldn’t find it in his heart to abandon them.

And so, that night, when the monsters came into the town, Faziq waited with a bow and arrows that he had dipped into the medicine and when he shot the monsters with the arrows they were transformed, immediately, back into human beings.

Now, no longer afraid, the people of the town came out of their houses, rejoicing and singing Faziqs praises for saving them and then, waving and going on his way again, he vowed, as before, that he would not use his medicine again unless it was to help his princess.

But then, sadly, when he finally arrived back in his homeland, he was told by his father that it was now ruled by an evil magician.

“A black sorcerer named Ilqaba has enchanted both the king and queen and all their courtiers, even the palace guards and now they obey his every word. Nothing can break his hold over them. Only the princess with the rose heart refuses to follow his orders and so he keeps her locked up in the tower”, said his father.

Once more the prince thought of the golden bottle with the magical medicine in it.

“There is only one third of the medicine left now”, he thought, “And if I use that then surely there will be no medicine left to heal the princess”.

But Faziq was patriotic and loyal to his country and didn’t want to see it ruled over by a wicked tyrant or his beloved princess locked in a tower and so he and his father hatched a plan by which they might end the evil magicians hold over the king and queen.

The evil magician had commissioned the toymaker to build a pair of mechanical golden wings for him so that he could fly over the kingdom he controlled and look down on his subjects but now Faziq put the wings upon his back and, winding up the wings, which began to flap just like those of a bird, the toymakers son flew up into the air and, flying to the palace; soaring over its high walls and swooping low, he uncorked his golden bottle and poured what was left of the magical medicine down the well from which everyone in the palace, including the King and Queen drew their water.

Unfortunately, as he was soaring upwards again and about to leap back over the palace walls, an arrow, fired by one of the palace guards, struck his mechanical wings and was lodged in its gears so that the wings couldn’t flap and Faziq came crashing down within the palace courtyard.

Immediately, he was surrounded by angry guards with swords and spears and arrested, his golden wings removed by force and his hands bound behind his back then he was taken to the tower and locked up with the princess; the lord high executioner given orders by the Sorcerer Iqbal to sharpen his axe ready for Faziqs execution which was to be held at sunrise the next morning.

But Faziq was not unhappy for now he was close to his Princess at last and, recognizing the face of the toymakers son and remembering how he used to visit her and was her only real childhood friend, the princess smiled.

“I travelled the world”, said Faziq, “To find a cure for the rose that grows upon your heart. Unfortunately all of the medicine that I discovered is gone”.

Then he told her all about his adventures and how he had used up the medicine in the golden bottle helping people.

The Princess was moved that the Toymaker’s son had gone to so much trouble to help her.

“But why? Why did you do all that for me?”, she asked, “And put yourself in danger as well”.

“Because I love you”, he confessed, “I have always loved you, ever since we were children”.

Then, leaning forwards, which was difficult with his hands bound so tightly behind his back, Faziq kissed the princess upon the lips.

The moment that he did so, however, the rose that was growing out of the princess’s heart burst into flames; in fact, it became a rose with petals of fire and then, burning down, turned to ash as a new flower of love began to bloom and open inside of her heart.

The dawn broke and the sun rose high over the palace, a golden beam pouring in through the window of the tower and then, in the lock of the dungeon door, Faziq heard a key turning and, kissing the princess one more time, he expected that he would be led away for his execution.

But instead, much to his and the princess’s relief, his manacles were undone and he was released and, outside the tower, he was greeted by a smiling king and queen.

The medicine that he had poured down the well and which had been drunk by the king and queen and all their courtiers and guards, had broken the evil wizard Iqbal’s spell and, awaking from it, they had ordered that the wizard be arrested and put in chains.

After that day, the Toymaker’s son, for healing the princess and bravely rescuing the kingdom was granted the right to marry the princess which she accepted with all her heart and together they lived happily ever after.