Choices

Hey, there, folks. Been a while, I know. It takes an effort of will for me to keep this place updated. You guys haven't been demanding, but I think I can understand how some successful authors might feel that their story becomes the people's story. It's then that installments become the 'duty of the storyteller'.

As for myself, I'm still jobless and still trying to figure things out. After a good but intense talk with Becky, she helped me realize that what I do and who I am is my choice. I can wallow or I can move on, it's up to me. Was it the Iron Giant that had the line, "You are who you choose to be"? Such a good movie...

On with the tale.

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Although she lacked a castle, the Princess was still the child of a royal upbringing. So, even as she had braced herself for the worst, the luxuries of the tower made the Highness inside her purr with delight. She had also been taught the reponsibilities of rulers, and so took it upon herself to become acquainted with her new "kingdom." During the initial few weeks of settling into the tower, she made frequent journeys into the surrounding lands. She learned the paths of the forest, held conversation with the babbling brooks, joined in choirs of songbirds, and danced with the wind across the rolling plains that stretched towards the horizon. The same horizon that she gazed at each morning and each night, enthralled by the small silhouette of her old castle and home.

As the days wore on and the thrill of her new home began to fade, the Princess found herself torn. She missed her parents and friends in the castle terribly, almost coming to tears when she thought too long upon them. A quick recollection of the scores of Princes with ravenous eyes put such nostalgia to rest, but it left her feeling listless. After helping her settle in, the Sorceress made fewer visits. She still had duties at the castle (which also included listening for talk about the Princess), so the Princess found herself with more time than she knew what to do with. She tried to bury herself in the books held in the tower's collection (which was quite impressive), but she still missed her favorite past time: riding.

Fortune smiled on her, though. During her first few days, the Princess had been wandering in the woods when she had found a wild stallion. When she saw it, she was frightened, as it looked stronger and fiercer than any horse she had seen. It was almost mother-of-pearl, and its mane looked like actual threads of silver. To her surprise, the horse approached her and bowed its head for her to stroke its neck. In a moment of boldness, she tried to climb its side and found it nudging her up with its nose. For a time, her spirits were lifted and a strange joy stole upon her heart. The Sorceress, however, had not approved.

The Princess had been trotting back to the tower at the end of a ride and had seen the Sorceress waiting for her. Her arms were crossed and she did not have her usual air of amusement with the world. The Princess knew that this did not bode well.

"Ah, good evening, friend Sorceress. If I may ask, does something-"

"Trouble me?" the Sorceress cut in, "Yes, there is something troubling me, and it is that beast you are sitting upon."

The Princess nervously patted the stallion's neck. "But why? What is so wrong about a simple ride through the country? I never imagined a horse with no master would let me ride it, but this one seems to enjoy carrying me as much as I enjoy being born upon him."

The Soceress stared at the horse with an expression the Princess could not read. She then turned a stern gaze upon the Princess. "I'm sorry, Princess, but riding through open fields on horseback does little to help the belief that you are imprisoned, does it?"

"Oh, I suppose not," the Princess said, taken aback. She had been reveling so much in her rides that she had forgotten why she had come out to the tower in the first place. "But what's one person on horseback? Especially with this blue hair, no one would suspect it was me," the Princess contended.

"The color of your hair is of little consequence, Princess," the Sorceress said, "You fail to realize just how uncommon a sight you are on that beast's back." The Sorceress hesitated. For a moment, it seemd to the Princess that she wasn't sure if she should go on. At length, she spoke again, "You see, Princess, no one in this land save the Knights are allowed to ride horses. Your father ordered it long ago. He made an exception for you after seeing your love of the animals, but that is even more reason to stay from riding! You have ever been the only maiden to ride in this kingdom, and anyone who saw a lone girl riding would immediately think of you. Considering our story, they might guess that you had escaped your 'capture'."

The Princess's hand froze in mid-stroke upon the neck of the horse. "I have never heard of this. I admit that I never paid much mind to it, but I find it hard to believe that my father would outlaw horse riding," the Princess said, almost breathlessly. She had never known her father to outlaw anything that was not also a crime. And riding a horse? How could her father deny their people of something so wonderful?

"I am afraid it is so, Princess. I regret that I cannot tell you why, as I can tell you wish to ask," the Sorceress said, her voice softer but her countenance still stern.

"You cannot? You mean to say that my father has not only issued this ridiculous decree, but he has also forbidden that his own daughter should not know its reasons?" the Princess said, stabbing the air with each word.

The Sorceress's suddenly became distant, as if she had just remembered something old and unwelcome, "Princess, you mustn't think too much on this. A king always has his reasons... even if they are not his own. At any rate," she said, regaining her composure, "This riding must end."

The Princess looked away in thought. This wasn't fair! She had just found this wonderful steed, and now she had to give him up? In the back of her mind, she knew the Sorceress was right, but something was pushing her, telling her not to give in. The stallion stomped it's foot beneath her.

"Well," the Princess began, her voice haughty and her chin stuck out like an ocean cliff, "if I can get no good reason not to ride this horse, I don't see why I shouldn't."

The Sorceress frowned. She knew when the Princess was planning to be stubborn all too well, although she had not expected it of her in this case. Talking would not help her much now. The Princess could show an alarming disregard for what others thought when she had settled on a course. Just then, the Sorceress had an idea.

The Sorceress swept her arm out and stretched her fingers downward, so that she could see the Princess beneath her palm. "If you are so determined to be a spectacle, Princess, then let me help you," she said with a devilish grin. She narrowed her eyes and thoughts, then jerked her hand up. The Princess followed, flying up into the air like a living marionette.

"Ah!" the Princess exclaimed.

The Sorceress lifted her several feet over the horse and with a flick caused her hair and dress to spread in all directions. The Princess, however, simply folded her arms and frowned at the Sorceress. The Sorceress had expected as much. She twirled her wrist around, and the Princess now found herself upside down and holding up her dress for dear life. The Princess still held her composure, although her face was a beautiful red now. The Sorceress raised her other hand to add the final touch. The Princess's eyes widened, not sure what the Sorceress would dare do next. With a broad smile and a little concern that she might be enjoying herself a bit too much, the Sorceress extended magical tendrils from her fingertips and began to tickle the helpless Princess.

The Princess burst into laughter, twisting and writhing while trying to keep her dress at her knees. The Sorceress found herself trying every spot she could think of until, at last, the Princess's hands forgot their grip on the dress and it came falling down upon the Princess's face.

"AH! Hahaha... my dress! Haha.. and... HAHAHA!! My shift!" the Princess cried in between breathless laughs.

"Oh, what a lovely bush!" the Sorceress said, turning away to purposefully examine the circular hedge that surrounded the tower. It was high enough to hide the horse and Sorceress, but the Princess was just above its top. "I'd hate to think what someone might think if they saw you like this. Especially with a looking glass. But that's no concern of yours, right, Princess?"

The Sorceress relented her tickling and the Princess caught her breath. Then, a loud sigh came from behind the curtain of the dress, "All right, I admit to my folly, and... I'll stop riding," the Princess agreed. The Sorceress lowered her onto her feet and helped her straighten her hair and dress.

"It really is a shame, though. He's a magnificent horse," the Princess said, staring at the stallion, which looked back into her eyes.

"Well, it does seem to like you quite a bit. I don't see why you can't visit with him," the Sorceress said. She raised a warning finger, "Just so long as you do it discreetly."

The Princess laughed merrily, "Yeah, I understand. I think the two of us could manage some 'discreet' walks through the woods. Oh, don't worry about that." The Sorceress had been trying to put the shawl the Princess had been wearing back in place. The Princess took it and tied it absently around her waist and shook all the tangles in her hair free, pulling long strands with her hands.

The Sorceress looked at the Princess curiously, then turned to look at the horse, who met her gaze evenly. "I think you have a very special friend in this horse, Princess," she said thoughtfully. At the Princess's inquisitive look, the Sorceress smiled. She apologized for forcing the Princess into such an embarassing display, but the Princess laughed and patted her shoulder.

"I should be thanking you, Sorceress," the Princess said, "I don't know what came over me. I only wish I could have seen it. I'll bet I was a sight to see."

"Well...," the Sorceress began to say, and started to chant some magical words that echoed in a high, crystal ring as she said them. She then touched a finger to the Princess's forehead and the Princess saw in her mind's eye an image of herself hanging upside down, fallen dress and all. She chuckled.

That had been weeks ago, and the Princess laughed again at remembering it. She was leaning on the low stone wall at the top of tower, as she did every evening. She had recently discovered a number of dresses in the back of her wardrobe that were much less ornate -and much more comfortable- than the royal attire she usually wore. She was wearing one such dress now, and her hair poured freely down her back.

She still wondered over what the Sorceress had told her that day about her father's decree about riding horses. He had always answered any question she posed to him, even if it was hard to answer. "If only I had noticed," she thought, "I could have asked him about it before I came here." But would he have answered? She shuddered as the words continued to form in her mind. If nobody is to know why, then there must be something he's trying to hide. Even from me.

"But not the Sorceress," she said softly to herself. She looked down and saw her lovely stallion laying on the ground next to the tower. It lifted its head and met her eyes before tossing its mane and settling back to sleep. She looked towards the castle and thought of the last report the Sorceress had given her. After the initial shock and grief, her father had sent for the warlock who had owned the tower previously.

"Reclusive warlocks are hard to get a hold of, so don't worry about him," the Sorceress had told the Princess when she expressed her sympathy over causing the Warlock such trouble, "Besides, there's more to worry about with those Princes. Some have returned to their kingdoms, seeing more trouble than was worth their time, but most have set up camps and pledged their assistance to your father. I fear this endeavour has become bigger than we planned, Princess."

Everything had become bigger, it seemed. The idea that there were things in her kingdom that she didn't know about was unsettling. Neither had she forgotten the strange things about the tower she now lived in. She shook her hair out and pulled it forward to fall down her chest. She stroked it softly, almost like she had with the horse.

"You're part of all this, aren't you?" she asked to the sky blue strands, twirling them around her fingers. The sun had fallen behind the horizon, and night was now fast approaching. The magical lamps were starting to flicker on, making the tower an island of light removed from the brilliance of the castle. Looking again at the sleeping stallion beneath her, the Princess began to wonder if this was where she was meant to be.

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Yet again I write something other that what I had in mind. Parts of this story just seem to write itself. Let's see where this thing takes itself!


Twilight out.