A Walk In The Woods

Prince James stepped out on the balcony of his majestic castle and scanned the landscape of the vast kingdom he was about to inherit. He was anxious now and he pondered what the future had in store for him.

   This night, it occurred to him that he had never ventured into the dark, dense woods behind his castle. But that was not what was troubling him.

   His father, King Merek of Terrowin, had informed the Prince that he would soon be stepping aside and that Prince James would ascend to the throne and takeover the extensive duties afforded to the kingship.

   Prince James was not sure he was ready for all that responsibility. He knew at some point it would happen, but he didn’t expect it to happen so soon. 

   The Prince had plans. He wanted to sharpen his skills as a swordsman, he wanted to tour the countryside, he wanted to get to know his people and their wants and needs. 

   And he wanted to take the time to see the effects for himself what the many years of war and strife had done to the kingdom. He wanted to accomplish all this prior to taking over his official duties.

   So James, realizing he was about to take over the crown, felt trapped and felt he needed to get away, needed to think about this impending circumstance. Was he ready to take over the crown? Could he be as brave as his father had been?

   Later, the Prince was feeling down and was growing impatient with his daily routine. His servants and chamberlains paraded in one after the other continually wanting royal decisions and demanding all his time.

   Frustrated with his daily royal duties, he suddenly decided that night he would sneak away, he would get away from his official responsibilities for a while. He just had to get away by himself. He decided he would take a walk in the woods.

   So later that night, after the rest of the castle household had gone to bed, he quietly slipped past his personal bodyguards and made his way to the back of the castle and embarked on that furtive walk.

   Since he rarely went out at night, he was surprised that the air felt cool and smelled clean and pure since it had just rained. Heavy clouds were still dark and hung low shrouding the moon. 

   The surrounding darkness matched his morose mood. He needed to clear his head. He needed to rethink life’s impending dictates, if just for one night. 

   He looked forward to solutions he was sure he could find here, alone, in the darkness.

   But he wasn’t really sure what he was looking for. Maybe nothing. As he continued on, he found a path that seemed less travelled. He decided to follow it to see where it went. The Prince liked being different. 

   The Prince was well-trained and very brave, but this night he felt uneasy, not sure where he was going, much less what he would find when he got there. The Prince had never been out alone without his assistant knights and esquires, who were responsible for protecting him and to garrison the castle as a military unit.

   Traipsing forward, the Prince continued following the rugged, largely unused path, even though he didn’t know where it would lead him. He just knew he had to keep going. 

   Just as he came to a blind crook in the path, he spotted something. It startled him. No one ever travelled on this path! He thought he was alone.

    He took cover behind a cluster of trees, since he did not know who or what the figure was. He checked to make sure he had his trusty sword in its scabbard at his side.

   As he trekked forward and got closer, the Prince suddenly realized the lone figure was a woman! What was an unaccompanied woman doing out here in the dark dense woods?

    He approached her tentatively. The woman was startled as she realized someone was approaching from behind. She pulled back and let out a small scream, which, of course, no one could hear. Once the Prince could see her, he realized she was a very beautiful woman with long blonde locks and deep blue eyes and was elegantly dressed. She was alone and appeared frightened by his presence.

   The kind Prince continued to approach her and asked her who she was. The woman replied she was a Princess out on a walk. 

   “A Princess? Pray tell, what is your name?” asked Prince James. “And where is your kingdom?”

   “My name is Princess Arabella of Adoramark. I hail from the next kingdom just south of here. Just there,” replied the Princess while pointing with an outstretched hand.

   Since the Prince had never ventured out into the woods, he did not realize there was another Kingdom so close to his.

   “Who are you?” the Princess asked.

   “I am Prince James of Terrowin. These are my woods and you are trespassing in them,” said the Prince.

   The Princess bowed slightly to the Prince and said she had gone out for a walk alone in the early evening when it was light, but had lost her way when it started to rain and get dark. She explained she had wanted to get away for just a day to be by herself and rethink her lot in life.

   The Prince smiled and bowed to the Princess and replied, “I, too, have taken it upon myself to walk alone in the dark in these woods on this night. It is indeed very easy to get lost. I, too, wanted to retreat from my castle and spend some time alone away from my official duties.”

   The Prince and Princess laughed together at their common goal of getting away from their castles and duties for just a short time. 

   After chatting a while, the kind Prince offered to help Princess Arabella find her way home, as it was getting cold and the Princess started to shiver. She accepted his act of kindness. 

   After clearing the dense overgrown path with his sword, the two started down the path to the south toward her kingdom and her castle.  The two walked arm-in-arm and chatted like old friends. Soon they arrived at the Princess’ castle gates. 

   “Ah, I did not know you lived so close,” said the Prince as

the two arrived. 

   The Princess’ guards came running out and embraced her warmly and admonished her. 

   “We have been looking for you everywhere, m’lady. Where have you been?” cried her lady-in-waiting. 

   “I took a walk by myself and became lost in the woods. This kind Prince found me and saw me safely back to the castle.” 

   “Oh thank you,” cried the Princess’ lady-in-waiting. “We are so happy to have her home. We were so very worried!”

   “Thank you, you are dismissed,” the Princess said. “I will be in shortly.” The lady-in-waiting hesitated, but did as she was told.                

   The Princess looked up shyly at the Prince and said, “I do not know how to thank you for your kindness. I’m not sure I would have been able to find my way home again, if not for you.”

   “It is my pleasure, m’lady. I am very glad we met. We have the same reasons to be out alone this night,” said the Prince.

   As he turned to leave, the Princess gently touched his arm and lifted her face to his. The Prince took the Princess in his arms and kissed her warm and soft lips. She then turned on her heel and headed toward the great castle gates. She turned and looked back at the Prince. He bowed slightly.

   As he started his walk back to his own castle, he suddenly realized the clouds had cleared, the rising moon brightened his walk back to his castle, the way was clear, his mood and the moment and meeting the Princess and their tender kiss were meant to be. 

   He suddenly knew what he needed to do as the impending King of Terrowin. He knew Princess Arabella would soon be his wife and that providence had bound them together forever because of a walk in the woods.