The Lonely King, James Gerard [ebook pc reader .txt] 📗

The Lonely King

Once upon a time in a Kingdom called Sonas there lived a very, very good King. King Kindely was his name and he was very, very kind to everyone.

 

And King Kindely had a very, very lovely wife. Her name was Queen Caroline. She was the cutest of Queens. Like her husband King Kindely, Queen Caroline was also very, very kind.

 

King Kindely and Queen Caroline had a very young daughter. Her name was Princess Priscilla and she was the prettiest princess out of all the kingdoms surrounding the shores of the Salty Sea, living in the plentiful plains, or frolicking about the meadows in the mighty mountains. She too, just as her father and mother, was very, very kind.

 

Because the King and Queen and Princess Priscilla were so very, very good and kind, the Kingdom of Sonas was the happiest of all kingdoms in all the lands.

 

Everyone in the kingdom was very, very happy. They feasted daily on the fresh food provided by the friendly farmers.

 

The King’s favorite fishermen sailed the stormy Salty Sea and would hook many fish. They hooked so many fish that their strong ships could barely stay afloat. And once they brought the fish back to Bubbly Bay there was enough food to feed everyone in the Kingdom of Sonas for days and weeks and months.

 

One day Queen Caroline, Princess Priscilla, and the bravest crew of the King’s finest sailing ship were sailing back from a journey where they had visited all the kingdoms. They were returning with a great treasure. The treasure, precious jewels of red rubies and green emeralds and white sparkling diamonds and pure and shiny gold and silver coins, was a token of appreciation for King Kindely and Queen Caroline for providing the best food and clothing out of all the lands.

 

But as they sailed up the coastline of the Salty Sea on their return something very, very bad happened. The King’s ship, the ship’s crew, Queen Caroline and Princess Priscilla were swallowed up by the biggest fish ever seen by man or woman or child and they were never seen again.

 

King Kindely’s heart hurt with such sadness that he cried everyday for Queen Caroline and Princess Priscilla. And the Kingdom of Sonas was no longer the happiest Kingdom in all the lands.

 

To make matters worse the Kingdom of Sonas was hit with the driest drought ever seen by a man or woman or child.

 

The water locked in the land of the Kingdom was slowly sipped away until very little of it remained to drink and water the crops.

 

The Salty Sea began to rise. And for some reason no man or woman or child could explain, mighty islands began to pop up all over the Salty Sea. All the fish disappeared too. To make matters worse, as it was told by sailors sailing the Salty Sea, there appeared on one of the original islands a very sad yet powerful siren. She had a very, very sweet voice which, according to legend, no man could resist. Because of this newest of sirens, all ships from the King’s fishing fleet dared not to sail near the island for fear of being bashed about on the island’s rocky shore as they swam to her believing she was truly seeking to be rescued.

 

Then, after years and years of crying, the very, very last of tears were finally gone. King Kindely came to his senses and realized that the Kingdom of Sonas and the rest of the kingdoms in all the lands were in danger.

 

Convinced that the dry drought and the lack of fish had to do with the disappearance of Queen Caroline and Princess Priscilla, King Kindely believed they were still alive in the belly of the fish.  Upon their return he knew the drought would end, the fish would once again be plentiful in the Salty Sea, and all the happiness would return to the Kingdom of Sonas and to all the kingdoms in all the lands.

 

King Kindely then put out a plea to everyone in the Kingdom of Sonas and to every other kingdom in all the lands.

 

The plea reached a small farm where the son of a simple farmer, Talon, took hold of it. After a strange dream of standing on the stormy shoreline of the Salty Sea and staring at islands as high as the sky Talon popped out of bed and walked outside in the cold and crispy night air.

 

As he walked towards the barn Talon stopped for a second and could have sworn he heard a voice calling out to him and singing a sweet song.  But he realized the voice had to have been coming from the wind howling through the dry and brown corn stalks all around him. He then continued on and stepped into the barn and lit a lamp.

 

“I must go,” whispered Talon as he read the pleas from the King.

 

“Where to?” a voice from the darkness asked.

 

Startled, Talon whipped around to see the figure of a man softly lit by the light of the lamp. The figure was big and looked as strong as an ox, but the face looked worn and tattered. He never realized, being so young and strong, that the figure before him was worn out struggling mightily to grow corn with little water.

 

Talon cast his eyes to the ground and answered, “To the sea Father.”

 

“But Talon, you are my son, the son of a farmer. What do you know about the ways of the sea?” 

 

“I have a feeling Father. I cannot explain it but I have a very strong feeling that I have to hunt for the fish.”

 

“With what my son: a sickle?”

 

“The Kingdom of Sonas is in trouble Father. We, like all the other kingdoms, are just about out of water. I, like the King, truly believe that the drought will end when the Queen and Princess come back to the King.”

 

“But you only know the ways of a farmer.”

 

“But Father, in helping the King I will be helping you too.”

 

“You’re needed on the farm my son.”

 

“Father, there are very little corn stalks that can be harvested this season, you surely do not need my help. And Father, it will only get worse. Next season there may not be a corn stalk to be harvested because we will be out of water. I have to do—”

 

“No Talon,” his mother said while storming into the barn, “you will not go; for if you do the sea will take you as surely as I live and breathe.”

 

“But mother,” Talon begged, “this is something that I have to do. I must go join one of the King’s ship and hunt for the fish that took our dear Queen and Princess.”

 

“You do not know what you say or do,” his mother cried.

 

Talon too began weeping seeing his mother cry, for she was so petite and looked so fragile and looked so worn out from the drought as well. But through the tears he watched as his father walked up to her trembling with such despair to comfort her. He then watched his father wrap his arms around the women that he loved and held precious in his heart and soul.

 

“Please my dear, let the boy go.”

 

“But—”

 

“Hush my love. We knew this day would come.”

 

“Then go,” the mother wailed.”

 

Talon stepped to his father and said through his tears, “I will come back. I would never, ever leave you forever.”

 

“You will leave in the morning,” said Talon’s father. “Your mother will make for you food and drink to take on your trek to the shore of the Salty Sea.”

 

Talon softly sobbed at the sight of his father walking his mother out of the barn as the sounds of heartfelt cries drowned out the sound of the howling wind.

 

Having sat on the edge of the field of mostly dry and brown corn stalks all night, Talon walked to the farmhouse at the first sign of light. Upon entering the kitchen there was waiting a large woolen sack and a flask of water on the table.

 

He took a step towards his parent’s bedroom but stopped. On the table was a note. He took the note over to a window where there was enough light from the new day to read the words:

 

Our dearest son,

 

Always remember that the way back home is not by way of a path etched into the fields and the hills and the mountains, but by way of a heart that flows with sweet water from a fountain.

 

You have been, are, and will always be loved and cherished as the son to us you are.

 

And with tears of joy flowing from such a heart, Talon tossed the woolen sack and flask over a shoulder and left for the Salty Sea.

 

All day long and into the night, Talon walked at a steady pace. Every so often he stopped and drank from the flask and ate of the food his mother had provided for the journey. And every so often the feeling he had felt back home entered into his thoughts.

 

He knew his father was right in saying that he was just a ‘son of a farmer,’ for all he knew was how to work a plow in planting the rows of seeds and a sickle to harvest the fresh and juicy ears of corn. But there was a tickle in the thoughts.

 

Talon could only explain the tickle by believing that casting a net is really not that much different than the work he did on the farm. After all, he thought, all I ever needed for the work was a strong back and arms and legs; how could casting a net be that much different?

 

But I am not going to cast a net, thought Talon. I am going to help rescue the Queen and Princess from the belly of the big fish.

 

Then an image of the Princess entered his thoughts. From tales and stories and second-hand news told to him by his mother and father, Princess Priscilla, although very, very young at the time the big fish swallowed her up, was the fairest princess out of all the princesses in all the kingdoms of all the lands.

 

It was told to him by his mother and father that when she reached the age of marriage that only the handsomest, smartest, bravest, wittiest, most charming, most caring and respectful man would be chosen to be her husband. For she would be so beautiful at that age that such a husband would adore her all the days of her life and treat her like the true queen she would eventually become.

 

Talon looked at his shabby and torn and tattered clothes he wore while toiling in the fields of the farm. He remembered the reflection of his dirty and ruddy face he once saw in a standing pool of water. He then lowered his head to the ground realizing he was neither handsome nor smart nor brave nor witty nor charming; for he was but the son of a simple farmer.

 

As the light of the new day brought into sight a host of sailing ships resting safely in Bubbly Bay, Talon began to walk a bit faster.

 

Quickly marching through the meandering streets of the fishing village, the wharf soon appeared.

 

Talon stood there smelling the salted air carried by a stiff breeze. The signal flags beneath the flags of the Kingdom of Sonas were flapping furiously on halyards of all ships.

 

“Are you looking to enlist on one of the King’s ship lad?”

 

Talon looked to the right and saw an old man with a head of white hair and a long and bushy beard to match. A sailor for sure, his skin was so weather-beaten he appeared to be as old as the Kingdom of Sonas itself.

 

“Yes, I am.”

 

“I’d say you are a landlubber but you don’t have the high and haughty