Malindria of Meridell by ewanspaz |  |
I curtsied, the Prince gazing into my eyes, and smiled.
"Charmont, I am so happy that you are no longer a Mortog, was my kiss so terrible?"
I asked.
"Fair maiden, I am eternally grateful. If
it were not for you, I would have remained in my slimy state forever. If you
would please, all my dearest friends call me Char," he replied, flashing dazzling
white teeth, "and if you also don't mind, I would like to give you something…"
He leaned in to kiss me, and I said the words
I had longed to say, "I love you, Char!"
And with that, he started laughing.
I awoke, surrounded by my classmates,
who were all staring at me and laughing loudly. It had only been a dream! "Oh,
Prince Char, marry me, marry me!" the Skeith behind me yelled, as the class
erupted in giggles.
"You don't actually expect a prince to
fall in love with you, do you, Malindria?!" Saury, a prissy Kacheek, said matter-of-factly,
"Why, you aren't even his species. I am sure he would be much more attracted
to me, being his kind and all. Why would he be interested in a boring old Shoyru?"
The class now began to chant "Malindria
and Charmont, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G" and my face grew redder and
redder. Tears came to my eyes as I stared into all their mocking faces. I could
not take it any longer. Shoving all my books into my backpack, I quickly half
ran, half flew, out the door. I could still hear their sarcastic laughter ringing
in my ears, and the tears came freely now. How could I have been so foolish
as to fall asleep in class, giving them even more grounds to tease me upon?
That's what I was, the class reject, the one made fun of and teased for being
a shrimpy little Shoyru whom nobody wanted to be friends with. But now I was
Malindria, the shrimply little Shoyru, who was also in love with a prince. I
sighed. How could things get any worse?
I needed a place to relax and get these
things out of my mind. I glanced around and saw Illusen's Glade not too far
off. One of those trees would be perfect! I flew up into the air, trying to
find a cozy branch to sit upon. Saury might be a Kacheek like the Prince, but
I would never give up my Shoyru wings. They allowed me to get away from it all,
to fly high above Meridell and into my own world. I rested on a branch of a
great Willow tree, its leafy vines forming a wonderful curtain around me. The
one thing I needed to think about was my dream. What did it mean? Did I love
the Prince? I mean I had stared at him for quite a long time as he crossed the
Palace gate this morning, and I did fly to the 'Ye Old Petpets Shop' to watch
him scratch the ears of a baby Symol yesterday. I suppose I did love the Prince!
Of course I was not unlike every female in the Kingdom. Everyone adored Prince
Charmont. He was the most handsome Kacheek any of us had ever seen, and he was
also so sweet and caring.
"If only he would really let me call
him Char," I spoke aloud.
"Oh, please do," a voice replied. I jumped
and nearly fell from the branch. I looked up into the smiling face of a green
Kacheek, cloaked in a Purple robe with a Crimson Cape. It was the Prince! I
stared back at the face, speechless. "I did not mean to startle you," he said,
"This willow tree is where I normally come to get away from it all and think
things over. You just happened to fly here and I could not help watching you."
"I...uh...I'm sorry I came to your tree,
Prince Charmont, I will leave right away." I stammered, slowly getting to my
feet.
"Oh, no! Please stay, stay and talk with
me awhile. And as you wished, you may call me Char. Charmont is such a boring,
formal name."
"All right, Prince Cha- I mean Char.
What do you wish to talk about?" I said, blushing.
"Well, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
He asked. Oh no, I thought, he is going to ask why I spoke aloud about him!
What was I going to do! "Well," he added, "I have always wondered how life in
Meridell is for others besides me. You see, I am trapped in that palace most
of the time, and Royal life can be just so dull. I wish that I could live a
normal life as you do. Would you please tell me about how you live?" He smiled.
I let out a sigh of relief.
"Well," I began, "I have to get up early
in the mornings and go to the schoolhouse, and if you don't mind me saying so,
I do not care for it very much."
"And why is that? Is the teacher too
strict!? I must fire him immediately!"
"Oh, no no no! Nothing of the sort!"
I laughed. "I am just not the most, er, popular of my classmates." I continued
to giggle.
"I like your laugh, it's very cheerful
and I can tell that you are very happy. I wish I could hear more laughter these
days," Char said, "And if you don't mind my saying so, they must be crazy not
to like you. Would you tell me about them?"
I blushed the colour of a Tomato Chia.
I told him of Saury the prissy Kacheek and of the Skeiths and Ixi and Nimmos,
all whom had their own personality and own form of being rude to me. A loud
voice interrupted my speech. "My lord? Prince Charmont! Where are you, Sire?
It is far too late for you to be dawdling about!" I glanced around. The sun
was setting.
"Oh it is so late! I am sorry, Char,
for talking so long!" I apologised.
"I don't mind in the least. Thank you
so very much for talking with me. And now I must go, my squire is calling me.
Goodbye!" The Prince said, bowing from his position in the tree. He began to
climb down, but stopped. "I am sorry, but I never learned your name."
"Oh, Malindria. My name is Malindria,"
I stuttered. He had asked me my name!
"Such a beautiful name for such a beautiful
maiden. Well, farewell, lady Malindria. I do hope we meet again," he added,
"and if your classmates upset you tomorrow, you know who to send them to." He
winked, and then descended down the tree. I knew he was gone when I heard the
gallop of two Uni slowly fade away. A permanent smile etched into my face, I
flew lazily to my home, dreaming of when I would next see Prince Char.
***
As I walked into the classroom the next morning, my teacher was not yet there.
All my classmates turned their heads and peered at me. A few let out giggles.
Saury was the first to speak. "So, Malindria, did you have any more dreams about
Prince Charmont?" When I did not answer, she added "Oh come now, you don't actually
think you could ever be with him, a prince? I bet you have not even met him!"
A few of the classmates snickered.
I stammered back, "For your information,
I talked to him just yesterday! I talked with him on a willow tree branch for
hours and hours and he said I had a beautiful name!" With this, the classes
laughter grew.
"Oh, please, you little liar!" Saury
said, with a sneer upon her face. "Like we are going to believe-"
But she was interrupted. Mr. OniPud,
our teacher, walked in the door, looking very distraught. "I am dreadfully sorry
I am late, class, but there is terrible news! The prince has disappeared!" The
class gasped. I stared back at Mr. OniPud, my jaw dropping to my desk. "Jhudora
was sighted near the castle and soon after Prince Charmont was nowhere to be
found! Class is dismissed, I am to join the search party!"
We all began to collect our things and
everyone excitedly left the room, except for me. I sat at my desk in disbelief.
How could this have happened? What if he was never found? Tears came to my eyes
as I stood up and slowly trudged out of the school. Outside things were in chaos.
Large crowds carrying torches were forming, undoubtedly the search party. All
the games were abandoned, the shopkeepers locked up their shops and joined the
large crowd. I had to get out of here, this was too much to bear. The first
thought that entered my head was Illusen's Glade. I could go there and get away
from this. Lifting off the ground, I flew towards my new favourite Willow tree.
Hanging from a nearby branch was something unmistakable: Char's gold crown.
I picked it up and looked around hopefully, but to my dismay he was nowhere
to be seen. Crying freely now, I slumped on a branch with my head in my hands,
my wings wrapped around me like a blanket. For some time I sat there, swaying
back and forward, until a sound came to my ears.
"Ribbit. Ribbit."
A green Mortog hopped from a higher branch.
It's large blue eyes gazed at me sadly. "Ribbit. Ribbit."
"Go away, leave me be," I said, shooing
the creature away. It continued to look at me. "I expect you wish to be kissed,
little Mortog? But what if you explode?" I stared into its eyes…I had seen those
eyes before! They were Char's eyes! Picking up the Mortog in my hands, I spoke
aloud, "I wonder…" And with that, I leaned in and gave the little creature a
kiss.
Immediately, he began to tremble. The
Mortog started to glow bright gold, and it grew. Dazzling white light seemed
to come from within him. The Mortog was beginning to look less like a Mortog,
and more like a…Kacheek…and soon, staring back at me, with those same sparkling
blue eyes, was Prince Charmont. I smiled brightly and hugged him close. As we
pulled away, I stammered, "But what….how?"
"Thank you, Malindria, thank you..."
was all that he said.
"Tell me, what happened?" I asked.
"Yesterday, I was riding home with my
squire, and I told him I would tend to the Uni. I walked to the stables, guiding
them, when Jhudora appeared before me and began taunting me. I told her to go
back to her cloud or I would inform my father, and she cackled and left. All
of a sudden things seemed much bigger, and when I tried to speak, all that came
from my mouth was the 'ribbit' that you heard earlier. I was scared, Malindria,
more than I had ever been in my entire life. I tried to make people see, but
they all just shooed me away. So, I thought of the one person who may help me.
I came here, trying quite hard to carry my crown, and left it as a clue for
you. And then I waited. I seemed to have planned it just right, for here you
are, and you have saved me!"
"Oh, Char, I was so frightened, I thought
that you would never be found!" I replied, smiling happily and hugging him yet
again. "But tell me, kind sir, was my kiss so terrible?" I laughed.
"Fair maiden, I am eternally grateful.
If it were not for you, I would have remained in my slimy state forever. If
you would please, I would like to give you something in return…"
Where had I heard those words before?
Before I could think of the answer, the unexpected happened. Char leaned in
and he kissed me. Charmont, the Prince of the land of Meridell, had kissed me!
He pulled away, smiling. "Now, I must get back to the castle. I have to inform
my father and contact the Faerie Queen so that she may deal with Jhudora. Care
to come along?"
"I would be happy to, Char." I smiled,
and he took my hand when we reached the ground. Walking back to the town, a
thought came to mind. "Char?" I asked.
"Yes, Malindria?"
"Well, you know how I kissed you?" I
questioned, and he nodded. "Well, what if I get Neowarts!?" We both laughed
happily, holding hands, as we returned to the Castle gates.
The End |
