The Heart Of The King

Meren, Princess of Sand and Sea, admired the box between her small, pale hands, nearly drunk with self-satisfaction. She had always known the legends were true and there she stood with the proof itself. The box was golden, heavier than expected, and heart-shaped. It was shaped like an actual heart with black diamonds and rubies inlaid as the intricacies of the veins and valves. Princess Meren was as fascinated with the craftsmanship of the box as she was in awe with what was inside it. It was a handsome box, a royal box. A box fit for the Heart Of The King. The story of King Elvin, elf king of Pearl Cove, and his buried heart, was a legend spread across the land; it was said that only his True Queen may have the honor of returning it to its rightful place within his chest.

*** 

King Elvin had known love exactly once in his immortal existence. The day he had met his love was painted into his mind. Nearly 600 years earlier, while on one of his monthly full moon hunts, he had been drawn to a large crystalline lake cast in moonlight. The lake was surrounded by forest and flowers, with a small waterfall across from where he stood. 

King Elvin had been drawn in by the lure of the light, the song of the animals calling in the night, the fireflies twinkling in delightful conversation. He had walked as though in a trance to the mystical sight, instructing his small hunting entourage to, “stay put, men.” They stayed begrudgingly, still at the ready, as they watched their king disappear into the mist of the lake.

The King stood marveling at the oasis of magic he had come upon. Movement from across the lake drew his eye and he spotted a small flock of swans splashing about and playing in the waterfall. They were all of them beautiful with wings of pale silver and beaks of pale gold. The most beautiful among them, however, was the swan as black as ebony, with amethyst eyes. She was the largest, the most graceful. The most lonely. She swam alone near the middle of the lake as if she was waiting for something. Or perhaps someone.

“Sire, no!”

King Elvin heard the call of warning from his disobedient men, but they were distant and easily ignored. He pushed his way through the underbrush of the shore and stepped clumsily into the water, his eyes only for the black swan in the middle of the lake. 

The moon continued to rise at an alarming rate, quickly reaching its peak position in the midnight sky. The proud moon basked in the light of its own reflection, illuminating the entirety of the lake and all its denizens. The black swan swam to meet the moon, hesitating for only a moment, before she swam into the full circle of its light on the lake. 

Several moments passed by as the king waited in bated silence. Then he saw small sparks of magic begin to fly from within the black swan. The sparks grew and soon the swan began to writhe and flap its wings in pain. The water beneath it splashed and rippled and mingled with the sparks of power.  The swan began to change before King Elvin’s very eyes. Its wings began to elongate, its feathers began to recede. Its neck shortened, and its beak grew smaller. 

After several moments, a young woman stood, unclothed and floating, where the black swan had been. The woman was the most beautiful thing he had seen in all of his long life, and he fell in love instantly. 

“Fair, Swanmaiden, please allow me the greatest honor and accompany me back to my castle.”

The swanmaiden stood in all her grace, comfortably nude, and wild. She crossed the lake, walking atop the water, to the shore. She raised King Elvin to his feet and in his gentlemanly way he gave her his riding cloak.

“Gentle king, how have you come to be in this place?”

Her voice was the sound of windchimes and bells, the sound of it made him swoon and feel as though the sun shone on his face.

“I heard your call, swanmaiden. Through the thick of the forest, I heard your call.”

“Then, gentle king, you are the one destined to free me from my curse and captor. I am a prisoner here in this lake and not just beneath swan feathers. The magic you feel in this place is the very key to the lock of my cage.”

“Who here keeps you prisoner?”

“A powerful and cruel master. The Great Sorcerer, Lord Roth Barton. He was a potential suitor for me who grew obsessed after my rejection of him. He slew the other princes, took me prisoner, and cursed me into my swan form. I only get the pleasure of my humanity on the three nights of the full moon.”

Tears fell in cool silver streams down the young woman's cheeks and King Elvin felt his heart break with her sorrow. In that moment he knew he would do anything within his power to save her. To make her his queen. He drew his king’s sword, passed down to him through his father’s fathers, dropped to one knee and vowed, “I am Elvin, Elf King of Pearl Cove, and I will save you from all who wish harm upon you. My power in this land is also great, whoever wishes to meet my challenge will be struck down with no mercy.”

The swanmaiden looked to the face of her handsome rescuer, and returned the love he gave. He was her brave knight she had longed for, her gentle king she had only met in her dreams. She responded, “I am Signett, Black Swan of the Crystal Lake, and I accept your protection.” From that moment forward, the bond of love forged between them was forever. 

***

Princess Meren tucked the heart-shaped box into a specially designed and enchanted satchel she tied securely to her chest. She had come this far and was not about to entrust her treasure to any other hands. Finding King Elvin’s heart was her way back into his arms. It had been nearly three moons since he had cast her out of his bed, for reasons she could scarcely comprehend. All she had done was show him love, to show him she was the most worthy to be his queen. Yet, King Elvin’s response to her love was to swing his affections between love and loathing. He had liaisons with other nymph’s of the kingdom, but still crawled into her bed on the nights his lusts could not be satisfied. The next morning he would call her a siren, cursing her for his own male weakness. Yet, she loved him still. Princess Meren still yearned to be his queen. She reveled in the good moments with her king, the sweet moment in which he loved her and only her. The moments in which she could stand tall by his side and feel the power of regality and respect. 

The good, sweet moments never lasted, but they were enough to convince Princess Meren that the king’s cruelty was not his fault. She had grown up in her kingdom under the sea, just off the shore of Pearl Cove, hearing the tales of the great Elf King, his lost love, and his buried heart. The legends had always said that the king could never completely show love until the heart he abandoned was returned to beat once more beneath his chest. It was this legend, as well as the others, that had driven Princess Meren’s desire as a young mermaid to join the world above. It was that desire that drove her to strike a deal with the Sea Witch to trade her tail for legs. 

Once she had emerged from the sea, the princess quickly found that many of the legends were true. She pursued the king, much like many of the other maidens who sought his favor, but she was the one to gain his affections. For months, they were the closest of confidantes, the most intimate of lovers, the best of friends. Princess Meren was sure that her love alone was enough to break his curse of cruelty, heart or no heart. She believed, until she discovered King Elvin, Elf King of Pearl Cove, was not who he appeared to be. 

It was when his true nature emerged that Meren, Princess of Sand and Sea, knew what needed to be done. The king she knew in her heart and dreams existed, she was sure of it. King Elvin had discarded his heart in an effort to escape his pain, but the princess knew without the feelings of darkness, it is impossible to experience the feelings of light. 

***

King Elvin and Lady Signett spent the first night of the full moon together for the next several moons devising a plan to free her from Lord Roth Barton. Over that time the couple fell deeper in love with every word passed between them, with every kiss, with every passionate embrace. 

They made grand plans for their life together when Signett would be free. They plan to marry, and rule the kingdom of Pearl Cove side by side. They would welcome children, one boy, one girl, of course. He was her gentle king, she was his swan queen. They spent the precious time they had together making love and dreaming of the life they desired.

The King and his Black Swan, build their collective strengths as well as the strength of his army. Their plan was simple: invade the sorcerer’s lair, overwhelm his power, and bring him to heel at the feet of King Elvin’s throne. Upon his subjugation King Elvin would force him to free Lady Signett from her curse, and once he completed the task, King Elvin would snuff his evil from the land and all the others.

The plan was executed perfectly. King Elvin’s army stormed the grounds of Lord Barton. The sorcerer used every ounce of power and strength to stave off the king’s invading forces, but to no avail. Lord Barton’s power was diminished, and he was brought to heel. King Elvin’s forces celebrated in triumph, calling cheers of excitement and glee in their native elf-speak. Yet, for the Black Swan and her King, the journey was not yet through.

King Elvin demanded Lord Roth Barton undo his wicked curse and free Lady Signett from his envious hold. The Lord, blood-soaked and wearing from battle, chuckled to himself. Despite his defeat, he held the light of triumph in his eyes. 

“I will lift the Curse of the Black Swan, my king. But know this, your true love will never be free of me. Whether in this life, or the next, she will always be mine.”

With the stain of that haunting promise in the air, Lord Roth Barton summoned what remained of his strength, and broke Signett free of her swan prison. Moments later, King Elvin did the honor of taking the great sorcerer’s head.

The fight was won, and the Elf King was victorious. Together, the king and his lady celebrated with their people, unaware that Lord Roth Barton had one last trick up his sleeve. As the night’s celebration went on, the Lady Signett grew weak, as though her very life was being drained out of her. She collapsed in exhaustion and confusion, knowing this was her captor’s doing, his last laugh. His final curse.

King Elvin held his love in his arms as she drew her last breaths. 

“R-roth Barton,” she wheezed between ragged breaths. “He has tied his l-life force to mine. H-he was never going to l-let me go.”

“O, my love, my Swan, my Queen! I should have guessed he would never truly let you be free.”

“I was free, my Gentle King, my Love. With you I was always free.” With those final words, Lady Signett’s life drained away.

The king’s anguish was monumental. He gave Signett, the proper burial of a queen, and laid her to rest in the Eternal Mounds. The loneliness and despair over his lost love and the life they may have had, plagued his spirit and plummetted his mind into madness, until he could bear the sadness no longer. He sought out the Sea Witch, and beseeched her to rip his grieving heart right out of his chest. Any jewel or coin she may desire could be hers if only she would set him free of his broken heart. The witch obliged. She removed the king’s heart from his chest and placed it in a heart shaped box. 

The Sea Witch asked the king, “do you not wish to keep your heart close should you change your mind? After all, new love is always just beyond the horizon.” 

The king sneered with angry indifference, for without the use of his gentle heart, he grew cold and cruel. Even to those who sought to love him. He answered, “bury it in the deepest cave, in the deepest ocean. Let it be lost to the sea.”

The witch obliged, and was rewarded handsomely for her service. There the Heart of the King stayed buried until it was dug up by the hands of a curious, young princess of the sea.

***

Meren, Princess of Sand and Sea, clutched the heart-shaped box between her small, pale hands, nearly sick with a flutter of butterflies in her stomach. She had kept the Heart Of The King safe in her humble quarters on the outskirts of the kingdom. She awaited her moment, the most perfect moment in which to present King Elvin’s heart back to him.

The moment came at last, when a gleeful rumor passed amongst the denizens of Pearl Cove and reached Meren’s sharp ears. The king’s millennial birthday was quickly approaching and he was planning a grand, three day celebration that would culminate in his birthday ball. This birthday would be special, however. The king was in need of an heir in which to pass on his throne. Due to this need, the king would hold a contest for all the ladies and princesses from all the land. Whoever was to bestow upon him the most precious gift, would become his wife and Queen of Pearl Cove.

Princess Meren had spent the following weeks preparing herself for the celebration. She knew she, of all the potential queens that may come to call, had the most precious gift a king could ever receive. She was certain her king would remember her face. He would remember her love for him. She would be his true queen.

King Elvin’s birthday celebration exploded from the moment he cut the red ribbon on all the festivities. The streets and buildings of Pearl Cove became that of a carnival. There were games and contests, rides, and food galore. Denizens young and old came to celebrate the eternal life and peaceful reign of the Elf King. Princess Meren was careful to stay out of the full view of her gentle king, she did not want to spoil her chance with him by being discovered too soon.

Once the night of the birthday ball arrived, Princess Meren was ready for her moment. The king planned to do a short meet and greet with all the women who competed for his affections. They would approach him one by one, of which he would smile, kiss her hand, and move on to the next. Princess Meren fought and bribed, and elbowed her way to the very front of the line. Soon, the greeting began and she was called forth.

Princess Meren clutched the heart-shaped box a little tighter as if afraid it may slip from her hands. But she knew that was impossible, she had come too far, through too much to let it all shatter now. She approached the Elf King, heart thudding within her chest. The princess knelt at the throne of the king, lifted up the box of gold, black diamonds, and rubies, and presented it to its rightful owner.

The king stood before the sea princess in quiet astonishment. Recognition flooded his mind at the sight of the Princess of Sand and Sea, but that was not what astonished him. He remembered his cruelty of her, the manipulation of her love for him. She had been the closest woman to make him want to feel more than the cold. He had answered that love by casting her out.

The king stood in astonishment that despite his behavior, here she knelt, still in love, returning his heart which he had abandoned so long ago.

“Gentle king, I bestow upon you the most precious gift I have to offer. Your buried heart. Restore the heart you once used with such compassion, and be healed.”

Tears fell from the king’s eyes at the sound of his nickname he had not heard in centuries. He raised the princess to her feet, truly touched at her compassion for not only him, but of his abandoned heart. He realized fully in that moment that the passion of first love is precious, but if lost it does not have to be the end. Princess Meren had endured the very worst of him, in order to help restore the best of him. It was a gift he could never repay, but for the rest of his life and hers, he would try. 

“Send the others away,” the king called to his attendant.

“But my king,” the attendant exclaimed, baffled at his king’s request. 

“I need to look no further, for what could be a more precious gift to a king than his own true heart. I have found my true queen at last.”