Many years ago, in some remote part of the world, there was a castle in which lived a famous imperial family formed by the great king, a man known for being someone arrogant, greedy, manipulative and vile who only cared about his wealth, besides always keeping his name and power high, no matter what. There was also the queen, who despite being a kind, loving and caring woman, had no voice or vote in the castle, as she was governed by the mandatory rules of her selfish husband. Finally, there was the princess, a girl of only 18 who never left her room because she did not want to confront her father or the toxic environment that surrounded the castle.
https://pixabay.com/es/photos/neuschwanstein-castillo-alemania-2602208/
Every night the princess lay curled up on the edge of her large window under the beautiful white moonlight, and imagined what it would be like to live a normal life without being a princess, with a father and mother who would simply adore her for being herself, living in a humble house by the river. But above all, she dreamed of finally knowing love; she longed to feel loved by a good man, she had the illusion of having a wedding and an incredible life next to the one she chose as her legitimate husband.
But they were just that, dreams.
On one of the many nights that the princess was at the edge of her window, she heard a loud noise coming from the south of the castle. She wanted to go and see what had happened, it was midnight so her parents would be asleep; she didn't think much about it and under all odds she left her room.
When she reached the stairs, she could see at the bottom of them a simple and handsome knight who apparently had problems with the helmet of his armor. She was fascinated by the man, she didn't know him since it was the first time in a long time that she had left her room, but she immediately felt a strange connection with him, so she decided to approach him and talk to him.
When she was close enough to him, she said:
- "Do you need help?"
The surprised man saw her and with a grimace of recognition, exclaimed:
"Princess!" with a brief bow he continued "It was not my intention to wake you, my sincerest apologies."
"Calm down noble knight, I was just a little worried about all the noise caused" said the princess.
"I apologized for that too, I had a little mishap with my helmet."
"I can see that" she said with a small smile "Since I see you're fine, I'm going back to my room. Happy evening sweet gentleman."
"Of course, sorry for the inconvenience, and sweet dreams beautiful princess" said the knight with a smile and a bow.
From that moment on, the princess' nights changed, she no longer stayed in her room dreaming and watching the moon, but now she was meeting with a blissful knight who had her so excited.
Night after night they would meet at the top of the stairs to talk or simply sit and enjoy each other's company.
The days passed and things were slowly changing between them, little details like with each new meeting the gentleman would bring her a beautiful red rose; or the subtle rubbing of hands, the nerves of anticipation, the longing for each other's presence, and a myriad of feelings.
One of those precious nights where they followed their routine at the bottom of the stairs, something finally changed... their first kiss happened. The princess was in complete ecstasy, for she believed she had fulfilled her greatest dream, she had found love.
In their next encounters the conversations between them were based on how much they loved each other, that they wanted to form a family and have a beautiful future together.
"I want a life together with you my beloved princess, I am very much in love with you" said the knight kissing the back of her hand.
"I am also in love with you my noble knight, but how are we going to tell my father about our love" said the princess with a worried grimace.
"Don't worry my beloved, tomorrow I'm going to face your father and ask him for your hand. I want to marry you," he said proudly.
After this revelation, the princess was so moved that she threw herself into the arms of the knight to cry, telling him how much she loves him.
But what they didn't know was that while they were in their bubble of love, from upstairs someone was watching them with deep hatred and resentment.
The next day the princess was very excited, she spent the whole day imagining how her wedding would take place and how beautiful she would look dressed as a bride. She couldn't wait for midnight to arrive so she could meet her beloved and tell him her plans.
The long-awaited night arrived and the princess was on her way to meet her knight, but he was not at his appointed place. She returned to her room wondering what had happened. Three nights went by and the knight gave no sign of life.
The princess was so worried that she had the courage to confront her father and ask him what had happened to the man.
Prostrating herself in front of the great king, the little princess asked:
"Father... Could you tell me if you know anything about the noble knight who always stood at the bottom of the stairs to my room, please?"
"Noble Knight?" He said contemptuously "Oh, you speak of the petty good-for-nothing man who guarded the stairs."
"Don't talk about him like that! He's a good man!" said the princess passionately.
"You dare to yell at me!" Rising from his throne he shouted at her "Do you think I don't know the affair you are having with that man!"
The princess terrified and crying, said to him, "Father, that is not true!"
"Yes it is true, I saw you!.... I will not allow my only daughter to marry a poor man, he is not worthy of this family!" exclaimed the king, very angry.
"Father, but I love him, he is the man of my life, I will wait for him to come back so I can marry him and escape from here..." she said very hopeful and confident.
The king, sitting on his throne, said: "HAHA! Well, you will wait all your life because he is not coming back, I have already taken care of that."
"What do you mean?" whispered the princess very worried.
"That I offered that good-for-nothing a small amount of my wealth to go away and leave you abandoned" he said very calmly.
"NO!" cried the princess "How could you do that to me! He loved me!"
"Silly girl! He loved you so much that for a little money he took off!" Said the king sarcastically. "That's how important you were to him. Now, get out of here!"
After that discussion the princess quickly returned to her room. She cried inconsolably as she had never cried before... and all for a man she fell in love with.
Nights passed and the princess continued to cry alone in her room, with no one caring for her. Little by little she was sinking into depression because of a heartbreak.
She no longer sat under her window to think and watch the moon, she just lay on her bed lamenting.
That was how the pretty princess went from being a girl full of dreams and illusions, to just being someone without hope, depressed and disappointed in life.
Disappointed in love...
The image comes from Pixabay.
I hope you can appreciate my story.
