Light & Dark

Upon a child’s dreams, there was a castle on a hill. Not your dreary, stone castle of grey cobbles and iron bolts. This castle seemed to glow with the sunlight reflecting off its white walls. It was silver and white, and all who looked on it were happy and good.

   Inside the castle lived a glowing King and Queen, who were of an elf-like race. Not your small elves with pointy ears and short legs. These elves were tall and wise. They had long white hair that flowed from their heads in curls, waves, or ringlets, and all the people were white from head to toe so that they required the sun to make them beautiful.

   One bright morning the King and Queen stepped out unto a tall balcony overlooking the kingdom and raised a small, dazzling infant into the air. All who were gathered below gasped, for their new princess was more beautiful than the morning sun. Her head was covered in bright, golden-red hair that shone like fire, and her skin was of a darker hue than the rest of the kingdom. Her eyes were blue like the ocean.  

   Now at the same time, in a dark kingdom of black and gold there lived a creature of fire and ash, such that our world has no name for, so I shall call him a King of Darkness. He lived with his queen in a lethally beautiful palace. At the same moment, the Princess from the White kingdom was raised above her people, the newborn Prince of ash was held above his.

   They named the princess Fos. They named the prince Skoadi. Fos and Skoadi grew up separately, loved by their peoples. Skoadi was loved by his dark subjects for the unnecessary havoc and terror he wrecked on the villages of light. Fos was loved for her beauty, but despised for her works.

   Fos, being different from her kingdom, grew tired of the bleached subjects. She wondered why they all looked the same. All of her subjects had white hair, bleached skin, and white eyes. She asked her father, the king why this was so.

   He told her to look at the Kingdom of Darkness. “Do you see them? Their people come in as many hues as the rainbow, and we banished them from our kingdom long ago. See how they hate the light? See how they clothe themselves in evil? See how we must stay away from them?”

   “But Father,” said the Princess. “Aren’t I as many colors as the rainbow?”

   “Yes Fos, but you are good, unlike the creature that lives in the Kingdom of Ash.”  

   Now, about ten years later, the King of Ash grew very ill, and it was known that he would soon die. He was a beloved king, and many did not want his son to take the throne, despite their love for his deeds, they felt that he went too easy on the Kingdom of Light, often letting their soldiers escape instead of killing and torturing them. So, the Prince of Ash and Darkness plotted on how to gain their trust.

   He pondered this for many days, so that it consumed his every move, even down to the words he spoke. Then, on the fifth day of this, he finally got an idea. He would raid the palace of light and take its beloved Princess. He quickly gained approval from his father, and hastily gathered an army and marched to the castle of light.

   He planned to kill any who got in his way, dozens would die by his sword. He would the princess, dragging her by her beautiful hair across the bloodstained floor and clamping irons around her white wrists. He planned to drag her back to the Dark Kingdom, beating her along the way.

   However, when he was but halfway to the castle, he ran into the Princess herself, hooded and cloaked in a white robe to hide her features lest she be recognized. She had escaped three days ago and planned to go to the Kingdom of Darkness to restore light, that the people would see themselves and be happy, for in darkness they hid their true selves.

   The Prince quickly seized Fos, and dragged her into a cage, carrying her back to his kingdom, whipping and torturing her along the way.   

   When he arrived home, he was greeted with loud cries of approval from his people and was applauded as the best. Meanwhile, the princess was locked away in a dungeon to be beaten and await her death.

   The King of Darkness soon died, and Skoadi was crowned ruler. To celebrate, he had Fos brought up from her cell and tied to a wooden post. Her red hair was matted and torn, and her silvery gown was ripped and bloody. She was missing one eye; it having been ripped out for a soldier’s entertainment. Dried blood coated her face and body, yet, in her ugly appearance, she still shone, for her heart was good and pure, and she held no grudge against the men who have beaten her.  

   She was publicly whipped and tortured to the townspeople’s delight. Skoadi waited on the edge of his toes for first blood, but when he saw it, his stomach suddenly turned. Fos screamed in agony as her fingers were slowly ripped off by wolves. She cried out as her skin was torn by metal whips. The Prince of Darkness felt sick and hid his eyes. Fos’s screams seemed to pierce his soul, and he covered his ears until he could stand it no longer.

   “Stop!” He commanded his voice echoing off the bedrock. Everybody went silent, except for the Princess, who wept in pain, every inch of her red with hot, sticky blood. Skoadi quickly rose and untied her from the post, ordering somebody to heal the Princess. But nobody came, for in the Kingdom of Darkness, nobody wanted to help another, and, thus, there was no doctor or healer to be found in the whole kingdom.  

   He held her to his chest as Fos’s life slowly drained. She shivered and trembled, for Fos had the power to sense evil. She could sense it overwhelming the Prince. She also sensed; however, a spear of light being drawn back repeatedly to pierce the heart of the Prince of Darkness.

   She knew she was dying, for how can light survive amid so much darkness? She was being choked out, like a flame when dirt is thrown on it. She drew together the last of her strength, her power, and blew it into the heart of the prince, opening his armor to let the light through.

   Skoadi’s arms trembled under Fos’s weight as she heaved her last sigh, took her last breath, and lived her last memory. Skoadi choked suddenly as his people cheered. The executioner put his hand on Skoadi’s shoulder as the Princess’s hair grew dimmer, the light leaving her in shining tendrils. Her grey eyes shut easily under Skoadi’s gentle fingers; blood crusted under his nails.

   The Prince of Darkness slowly rose with the Princess’s body. He wept, although he knew not why. Crying was a new feeling, as was every good emotion ever felt by man. Anger, hatred, violence, greed, these were all emotions that were well-known by Prince Skoadi. However, love, joy, happiness, the emotions of light were foreign to the Prince of Darkness.

   A servant approached Skoadi’s elbow, telling him that the council awaits.    

   “Prepare a casket,” Skoadi ordered, his voice soft and gentle, startling the servant so used to the Prince’s harsh tones.

   “My Lord?” He questioned, his eyes shining in confusion.

   “Bring me a casket for the Princess of Light. She died because of my Darkness, and I intend to bury her with the honor due to a Princess like herself.”

   The servant scurried off, soon returning to the throne room with soldiers and a casket in tow. He gently laid her body in the wooden box, surrounded by black velvet.

   Some may tell me I’m wrong, or that I’m mistaken in the facts of this story, but, because I genuinely believe that my version of this tale is the truest, I will say that, as the Prince hastily turned away, a tear could be seen landing on the fallen Princess’s lips.

   Also, in attempting to override the fear of telling too much and spoiling the rest of the story, I will add that as the casket was closed and buried, a faint glow shone through its cracks.

   The Prince canceled all his meetings for the day, which was not unheard of for him. He spent the rest of the day sitting at his desk, debating wither to light a lamp to cheer up his dark chamber, or to leave it dark, like the rest of his kingdom.

   The longing for light soon won, and Skoadi, gifted with fire like the rest of his kin, blew sparks off his fingertips and into a lamp, where he watched them grow, magnificent in the darkness.

   Upon looking down at his hand, he found that his skin, where it met the light from the lamp, was glowing, like the dead Princess’s. He took a mirror and peered at his face. His hair was white, like golden fire. He dropped the mirror and it shattered on the floor, knocking over and shattering the burning lamp in the process.

   The fire spread out from the lamp and across the floor, up the curtains, consuming the palace in under a day while Skoadi hastily evacuated the castle, carrying dark children out in his arms, for nobody else would help them.

   The Kingdom of Darkness was suddenly flooded with light from the burning castle, and the people glowed. It was as if a pot of pure sunlight had been taken and upturned on the entire kingdom.

   Greed, envy, hatred, they were all still there in the people’s hearts. But love, peace, and true joy had joined the previous emotions and overwhelmed the people, so that the people of darkness, became the people of light.

   The Prince was amazed. As he looked around, he saw people instead of shadows. He saw rich tones of different cultures, he saw feathers adorning hair, beautifully dyed cloth adorning waists of dancing men with drums. He saw blond braids, turbans, kimonos, and saris all mixed in a beautiful tapestry of color, in a beautiful tapestry of light.

   He felt a hand on his shoulder and a familiar voice at his ear.

   “This is true light. This is love.” Two glowing lips pressed against his, sucking away his darkness.  

   The young and the old, the hues of the world all came together in a beautiful dance of joy, dancing on toes, on heels, on heads and arms, all spinning in the courtyard of the burning palace in a weaving tapestry of color, of light.