The Twisted Tale

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom called Aurilia in a land far away. It was a disputed kingdom because of its rich flora and fauna. The rulers of the neighboring states sought after overthrowing the kingdom. George, the king of Aurilia was sagacious. George was warm and giving in his younger days. He was valiant as a soldier when he served in the army. He ranked up to the commander in chief in the army prior to becoming the king. He was known for his astute decisions, and served his people as the able leader of Aurilia. He had gained the trust of the people over time and everyone venerated him, although he had been ailing lately and the kingdom lacked good governance. He married princess Matilda of Vieria, the kingdom he had conquered when he was young. Matilda was the princess of Vieria which was a small kingdom to the west of Aurilia. Matilda and George fell in love and married really young. Queen Matilda had many miscarriages before she gave birth to Princess Angela. Shortly after giving birth to the princess, the queen died of a prolonging Pneumonia.

 Angela was really attractive and had long auburn locks of hair, like the queen. She had been extremely intellectual since her childhood. She was prodigious in her studies and had a way with calculations. She was also equally artistic being an awe-inspiring writer and a marvelous painter. She used to paint pictures that portrayed the lives of people in Aurilia. She assisted her father in ruling the kingdom and made vital judgments as the king had become too gullible over matters that needed critical resolutions. There had been a lot of con-men in his ministry who paved the way for thieves and tricksters to steal the kingly coffers. His kingdom was dying a slow death, and George couldn’t bear with it. The king had Princess Angela as his only child and thus, no son who could be heir to the throne. So, the king decided on looking for prospective suitors, who would marry her daughter and become the king.

He asked for the princess’ acquiescence and she gave her nod regarding the marriage. However, she had a set of clauses for the would-be king. The first clause being, the man would be the wisest of all, the second; most courageous and selfless; and the third being loyal and compassionate to his kingdom and the princess. Over the subsequent months there was a stringent assessment of the potential suitors who were tested on the basis of their knowledge, understanding, wisdom and courage. After a period of six months, the princess had narrowed her choice to two men called John and Joseph who had passed the tests on all accounts. The princess went to her father and wanted her father to take the final test for selecting the king. The king was honored and amazed at his daughter’s pronouncement which assured him of the values that the princess had inherited. The king asked the two brave men to come up to his court the following day where the final decision was supposed to be made.

On the following day, the king announced before John and Joseph that he was not interested in proceeding with the marriage and was utterly disappointed with the two men. Both John and Joseph were taken aback by the king’s remarks. The king then claimed that, however, for the throne, a compromise could be made. This made the eyes of the men gleam as they kept their hopes high. Both John and Joseph had proven to be equally strong, fearless and desirable. The king’s compromise was that he wouldn’t want to give his daughter away, and offered both the men swords to slice the princess’ body into equal halves, so the king could keep one half and offer the man the other half. With this, John said that he would be unable to do so as he was only human and refused to contest further. Listening to this, Joseph went rushing past the stairs up to slay the princess. The king immediately ordered the guards to take Joseph away to the prison. George had verified the true intent of both the men.

Ambition clouded Joseph’s judgment and he became egocentric. All he wanted to triumph was the throne, even at the cost of the princess’ life. Such a man would not only be lethal for Aurilia but equally dreadful for the humanity. George declared John to be the future king of Aurilia. George died a peaceful death. The princess married John, and he became the king. He was revered by one and all and governed his kingdom as a prudent, generous and devoted king. He put the perpetrators behind bars and the kingdom bared fruit again as it started generating revenues and refilling the coffers. Aurilia regained its lost glory and was a blissful abode to live in. George looked over from heaven and blessed John and Angela a lifetime of togetherness and joy.

THE END