In another land, a king was seeking a husband for his daughter. Though the princess, Germaine, with a plain face, solid body, and quiet demeanor, was not especially attractive on the outset, she was gracious, kind, and generous to the poor. The people loved their princess. Yet, unless she was wearing her royal gowns and tiara, they would often mistake her to be a maid, while one of her more attractive ladies-in-waiting would be thought to be the princess. The princess was neither jealous nor angered by the mistake. From a young age, she was taught to cultivate the inner beauty of her character, and she firmly believed that her true husband would love her for who she was. Therefore, when one of her suitors fell in love with one of her ladies-in-waiting, she readily gave the couple her blessing along with wedding gifts, winning their lifelong friendship and devotion.
Ever since the princess was of marriageable age, her father has held a banquet on her birthday each year. Many princes and kings would come to try and win the princess’s hand, for they desired to possess her father’s wealth and vast domain. In order to test the character of her suitors, the princess would split her time in the banquet playing the roles of princess and servant. On the first day of the party, she would dress herself in royal attire and keep her face hidden beneath a veil. On the second day, she would put on the garments of a servant, while another maid with a similar bearing as herself put on her clothes and veil to play the role of princess. While the princess helped to clean and serve tables, she observed how the young men who previously flattered her with pretty words and costly gifts would bark orders at her. They would find fault with every aspect of her work, hurling rude and domeaning insults at her only because she was a servant. On the final day of the banquet, it was the king’s custom to ask his daughter whether she has met the man she loved. For seven years now the princess’s answer has consistently been “No, father, sadly I have not met him.” The king was growing impatient, and the princess also began to lose hope of ever finding true love.
When the chief physician suggested that Rupert attend this year’s banquet and join the ninety-nine other suitors vying for the princess’s hand, he laughed. “For seven years the princess has rejected eligible kings and princes, many of them younger, more handsome, and with greater wealth than myself. What do I possess that would make her love me?” Yet Rupert greatly respected his physician, who had traveled through all the world to acquire learning and was exceedingly wise. Therefore, he pushed aside his doubts and began making preparations for the journey, commissioning beautiful trinkets to be made from rare jewels, bouquets of flowers and baskets of sweet apples and plums picked from his own royal gardens, and two choice steeds brought from his own stables. The week before he was to set out, Rupert met daily for hours with his ministers, planning what they would say and do for every possible situation. Unfortunately, the more time Rupert spent in preparation, the more nervous and inadequate he felt. Finally, the chief physician, seeing the king’s distress, rose and said, “Your Majesty, the real trouble is not that we have not prepared enough, but we are thinking too much of ourselves. For seven years the princess has sought someone who would see her for who she is and share her heart for the needy. Could it be that you are the one?”
Two days before Rupert was to set out, a party of riders arrived at the capital. At its head was a maiden mounted on a broad-shouldered gray horse, carrying a sword with a jewel-studded hilt. The girl was tall and graceful, with flowing hair and large blue eyes. She told the guards that she was Princess Bellona of the northern mountains, and she has come with her retinue to visit the noble king Rupert.
The people of the northern mountains were the best swordsmen in the land, well-trained, swift, and daring. Not only were the warriors skillful with the sword, but they also employed a group of trained dogs and tigers in their force. At a word from their masters, these half-starved creatures would latch on to their enemies, biting and tearing at their flesh with great ferocity. The people of the northern mountains have never lost a battle, until Rupert defeated them in his last campaign.
When Rupert heard that Princess Bellona was at the palace gates, he was overjoyed. Bellona was the third of seven daughters of the king of the northern mountains. Besides being expert fighters themselves, it was said that each princess possessed magical powers, though no one knew exactly what they were. Some said that they could control the elements, gathering clouds so that the sun shone on their soldiers, while the skies above their enemies rumbled with thunder and poured down rain. Others claimed that the princesses could create illusions in sight, smell, and sound, causing soldiers to fight phantoms and throw weapons down cliffs made to look like enemy ranks.
When a princess reached marriageable age and had learned to control her powers, the king would send her out into the world to seek a husband. When she has found the man and he has accepted her proposal, the couple would travel to the northern mountains to ask for the king’s blessing. It was considered a great privilege to marry one of these princesses, for their union would guarantee her husband an alliance with the country of the northern mountains and thus, access to a fine fighting force.
Rupert invited the princess to tea with him. For the rest of the afternoon, they talked of everything from politics and philosophy to the natural sciences and military strategy. Rupert was charmed by Bellona’s beauty, grace, and learning, and too soon the sun began to sink on the horrizon. At sunset the pair walked out onto the palace battlements, while the people below murmured with excitement and jostled one another for a better view. After a time, the princess led Rupert down to stand before all the people, knelt, and held out her hand to ask for his in marriage.
When he took her hand, a trumpet blared, cannons fired, and the people gave an uproarious cheer that echoed all the way down to the palace dungeons. Rupert was so moved that tears flowed freely down his face. He was sure that the princess’s wisdom and grace, coupled with her skill in battle and influence in her own land, would make her the perfect queen for his country. The young king was also relieved that, instead of attending a tiresome party to woo a princess who would most likely refuse him, he would be traveling with his true love to turn a former foe into an ally.
That night, Rupert held a ball in the princess’s honor. Princess Bellona was lively and amiable, dancing and talking to everyone, entertaining all the guests with news and gossip that she had collected from her travels. Among her retinue was a juggler who entertained the crowd with tricks that include juggling five balls at once, walking on a string, and making people’s ears to appear and disappear. During one of their dances, Bellona told Rupert that she has met many noble young men since she left her father’s house.
Yet, even on the day she set out, she already knew that she wanted to marry him—for he was the man who broke the myth that her country could not be defeated. Rupert felt a rush of pleasure, hardly able to stop the grin of pride that spread across his face.