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Romance Fantasy Drama

With his mighty magical sword known as "Triumphant love," The Prince of Hearts defeated the villain known as Teseo, who kidnapped the Princess of the Kingdom of the Roses. He wanted to steal her mighty and dormant magical powers, granted by the Kingdom's red roses. The Prince, known only as "The Prince of Hearts," originally came from a kingdom far away. He only had known the Princess for a month when Teseo terrorized the castle and kidnapped the young woman. Before as he died from the wounds inflicted by the Prince of Hearts of sword, Teseo cursed the Prince and warned him that they would spend this lifetime fighting for their lives. War will follow them anywhere they might go. The next day after the battle, the Prince began to have nightmares. Every time he was hurt in these "bad dreams," the wounds appeared in real life. In his last lousy dream, a crow scratched him in his left cheek. When he woke up, he was bleeding from that side of his face. The next day, he met up with his Princess in the Kingdom's garden of roses. As she spoke to him, the Prince had his eyes fixed towards the horizon at the end of the park. The Princess of the Roses asked him if he was listening to what she was saying.  

"Of course," he said, stuttering. 

"I don't know, my darling. I sense that something within you is gone. You're lost..." 

"I assure you, my darling, it's nothing to worry about..."

"You won't even tell me how you got that scratch in your face."

"I got an accidental cut with one of the roses from the garden..."

After spending a beautiful day together in the garden, the Prince went to sleep at the local Inn. Until they're officially presented to the Kingdom as a couple and married, they can't live together in the palace. As he entered the Inn, he asked the receptionist if someone in the Kingdom of the Roses knew about the supernatural and dream interpretations. She told him about Madame Mara, a blind psychic who lives in a purple tent outside the castle walls. The King banished her from the Kingdom for practicing "Dark magic" and making "wild" and "dangerous" prophecies. Instead of burning her alive for heresy, the King was merciful and simply banished her. No one in the royal family or who works for them can contact the banished fortune teller. 

"Why are you scaring our future king with wild fairy tales?" said one drunk man who was playing cards with a few men. "Mara is nothing but a fraud."

"The king will cut your head off if you go near the witch." Said another drunk guy while he played his cards. 

The Prince of hearts ignored the drunken men and asked the receptionist where he could find the so-called "Madame Mara." She said that Madame Mara lives in a purple tent at the forest entrance right outside the castle walls. She charges five pieces of gold per reading. Rumor has it that she predicted the attack on the kingdom years before it happened, and that's why the King of the Roses decided to ban her. The Prince thanked her for the information and went to have another night filled with nightmares. The next day, he woke up early to find scratches on his chest. The curse isn't a fantasy, and it isn't gonna go away by itself. The Prince of Hearts got on his horse and went to the forest to see Madame Mara. Slowly he approached the tent when a voice told him.

"Your princess isn't going to save herself. Even if she wants to"

"You know what I came here for?" The Prince asked her as he slowly

entered the tent.

"Your heart is an open book."

She explained while shuffling a deck of tarot cards and lit a candle. Mara explained the house rules: 5 pieces of gold for each reading, no fighting, no touching anything on the table, don't mention that she's blind or a teenager. The Prince placed 5 gold pieces on the table and asked her how to break the nightmares' curse. She pulled a card from the deck called "A shot into the sun" The card's image was an arrow crossed through the sun. She explained that by saving the love of his life, he can break the curse. The Prince gave her five more gold pieces and asked her how to keep the Roses' Princess safe from the eternal war promised by the villain. Mara pulled a card from the deck called "The World on his shoulders," The card's image was of a man carrying the planet earth. She warned him that it will require an enormous sacrifice, one so big that he's going to have the weight of the whole world in his arms. The Prince told her that he was willing to do anything to save the life of his love. 

"Oh, would you?"- Mara said as she stared at the "The World on his shoulders" card.

Mara explained that the Princess cannot live in this world and be safe. Even if the Prince thought of running far away to keep her from harm, the villains would come for the young woman. Because it's not revenging what Teseo wanted on his last dying words, but the Princess of the Roses massive untapped power. They will kill you first and later will come for her and the whole royal family. To save her, he would have to use the sword's "Time on Control Spell," but that spell requires giving up half of your strength and memories. He will forget the princess's face and name. The Prince got on his knees and asked Mara to help him find another way. 

"How shall I live without the beautiful face of my Princess?"

"You will remember her again when you cross paths accidentally in another world, in another time." Mara said as she pulled another tarot card from her deck called "Reflection." The card's image was of a man and woman looking into a mirror. "You will gain eternal life. Enough time to defeat the villains and find her again. Whenever or wherever she may end up."

In the afternoon, The Prince met with the Princess in the Kingdom's garden of the roses. As they watched the sunset, the Prince of Hearts broke the news to the princess that he spoke to Madame Mara. She asked him why did he do it? If her father found out, he would be burnt alive for heresy. He grabbed his lover's hands and, while looking her in the eyes, revealed to her that before he died, Teseo cursed him. He would be plagued with nightmares for the rest of his life, and they will both be persecuted by other villains. To keep her safe, he's going to have to give up the thing that he loves the most. The Princess of the Roses placed her left hand on his cheek and asked him why he never told her about the curse, and if that had anything to do with the scratch on his face. He explained to her the nightmares he is having are so real that he may one day died while sleeping. She kissed him and told him that she doesn't need his protection. She will fight along aside him, and together they will defeat any evil that comes their way. He explained that she isn't a warrior, and they're after the power of the roses. If they get it, their world will no longer exist. 

"You have to escape this world, my darling."

"What do you mean by escaping the worId? I'm not going anywhere, I'm not escaping now or never." she said raising her voice while standing up and clenching her right fist. "I will fight for my kingdom, our kingdom, and our love."

The Prince of hearts stood up, raised his sword into the sky, and began chanting the spell Madame Mara told him. 

"Escape! Into another world, another time. I give up thus was asked by this mighty sword. Princess! until the roads unite us again!"

The wind blew like if a category five hurricane just landed on the kingdom. Thunder and lighting decorated the skies as his sword glow blue, and the princess was covered in a pink aura. She asked him to stop, but at that instant, she lost consciousness and was trapped inside a bubble. Then they were covered by an enormous pink light that covered the whole kingdom. She was gone, and so was the memory of her beautiful face and her name. As he sat down crying in the middle of the rose garden, Madame Mara observed the "lights show" outside the walls. 

"When you don't listen to Mara, this is what happens," she mumbled into herself as she pulled a tarot card from her pocket. The tarot card was called "Time," and the image was of a sand clock in the middle of the desert. "You have all the time in the world to undo what you gave up..."

April 04, 2021 02:48

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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