Author: judithhin

Then, to their delight, some boats came with both men and women sailors. They threw lines for the men to grab onto. They were rowed to shore and given clean clothes to wear. Then, they were questioned.

“Who are you, and why have you come?” the captain asked.

Rupertexplained their plight. “I am Rupert, king of the small kingdom with three cities and twelve villages. These are my men. We were traveling to the palace of the warlord of the northern mountains, to ask for his daughter Bellona’s hand in marriage. Unfortunately, we were betrayed, for she would have us destroyed for her father’s
defeat. We have lost everything but our lives and the lives of these sorry horses you see before you. all our gifts and money are gone.
We would be so grateful to you if would lend us money and passage back to our kingdom. I will repay you double for your kindness.”

“I am sorry to hear of your plight,” the captain replied.
“Our king is holding a birthday party in honor of her Highness Princess Germaine. I am certain she would be delighted to have you as guests. We will take you to her guest chambers so that you may refresh yourselves.”

Stunned, Rupert barely managed to thank the captain. One of the pages was sent into the palace to report the travelers’ arrival. Soon a retinue came out to meet him, with the veiled princess in front. Rupert blushed when he saw the princess in her royal regalia, for he was wearing soaked clothes and his boots squelched with seawater.

Thankfully the men had some time to change into finer clothing. That night many young nobles brought ifts to the princess, including fine horses, jewels, and delicacies from their countries. Rupert thought about trinkets he had commissioned, surely the princess would have loved the earrings with the little monkeys. He regretted that he did not listen to the wisdom of his physician, but rather took a shortcut by agreeing to marry Bellona. At least, he thought, the children got the fruits, and the two horses were alive.

As the various young princes surrounded the princes, asking her to dance and presenting her with gifts, Rupert wandered about, not knowing what to do with himself. Then the words of his minister came back to him. He did not know how he would manage to carry out that advice of sharing the princess’s heart for the needy. The princess seemed to have everything she needed, and if she were to want anything she only need to ask her father or one of these suitors. They would fall over one another to bring it to her. In the great hall, where everyone was dressed in fine clothes and grew up on the best their countries had to offer, no one seemed to be in need.

Then he saw another princess who did not come from a rich kingdom, for her dress was simple and she wore only a string of pearls around her neck. He invited her to dance. As Rupert was dancing, he saw the butler dragging his feet, forcing his weary face to smile. Therefore, after the dance finished, Rupert offered to help the butler pass out drinks. The butler had recently twisted his ankle and was limping, about to spill the cups he was holding. In this way, by noticing and meeting the needs around him, the night passed by quickly for Rupert.

Unfortunately, the long night spent preparing for the party, combined with the stress of travel, proved too much for Ruper’t fragile health. He woke up with a raging headache, the world seemed to be spinning before him, and he could hardly stand. His hands were shaking as he tried to hold the warm cup of tea a maid brought to him, and he spilled it on the servant girl’s dress. Rupert appologized profusely but fainted before he could hear the maiden’s response.

During the day, Rupert spent his time in bed, drifting between waking and sleeping, roused occasionally to eat a piece of bread or drink some tonic. The servant girl’s gentle hands swathed his burning forehead, wiping his sweat away. Rupert could hear the festivities from his room, the music, dancing, laughter. He thought how much the maiden must have desired to be outside with the noble ladies and gentlemen, serving delicacies, rather than tending to him. He thought how much he would like to be outside enjoying the festivities himself, instead of lying in bed. If not to dance with the princess, he could at least go up to thank her for her hospitality. He was deeply grateful for the maid who tended to him with the utmost care. Soon his affection for her began to grow, and he wished that he could come to know who she was as a person. Though she was not attractive in appearance, he was drawn to her by her kindness and patience.

The next morning, Rupert woke up feeling refreshed. Although he was not completely well, Rupert was determined to join the party and hear of the princess’s decision. Because he was still wobbly on his legs, two of his men came to suppolt the king as he walked, one on each side. When they reached the throne room, they saw that
all the suitors were standing, waiting in anticipation for the princess’s announcement. As was his custom, the old king asked the princess if she had met her true love, to which she replied, “Yes, father, I love King Rupert”. The princess unveiled her face, and Rupert realized that she was the maiden who tended to him all yesterday, while the festivities went on. He was deeply moved and wept. The other suitors cried, “Not fair! Not fair!” They realized that hard as they tried to be gallant yesterday, it was to no use because the princess was not among them at all.

After they were married, Germaine went with Rupert back to his kingdom. A strong alliance was formed between the two countries, and a highway was constructed to encourage free trade and travel. The couple lived in love and unity, and in a year a son was born. Prince Don was a bright boy who smiled far more than he cried, and the king and queen determined that they would raise him to be noble, wise, and kind. Rupert felt that his life was perfect. His country enjoyed peace and prosperity, he loved his wife and son, and he was no longer lonely. He wished that he could hold onto each second that tick by. Yet since he could not, he determined to make the most of every moment. He was right to do so, for good times have a habit of ending far too soon.

The next morning, Rupert and his party, led by Bellona and her retinue, set out for the northern mountains.
Rupert brought with him the fruits, flowers, jewelry, and choice steeds originally intended for the plain princess as a present to Bellona’s father.
Under the direction of Bellona, who knew all the underground passages and shortcuts between their two lands, they were able to bypass the jagged cliffs and rolling boulders that protected the northern mountains from invaders. What should have been a treacherous journey of two weeks took only three days, and Rupert passed the time pleasantly by engaging in conversation and making observations of nature with Bellona.

It was nearly sundown on the third day of the journey when their party reached the outskirts of the capital. At a clearing, Rupert saw a group of children sitting around a stone table. Each child was holding a little wooden bowl, and in each bowl was a piece of fruit—either a slice of melon or banana. The smallest child, however, sitting at the head of the table, had a bunch of red grapes in his bowl. All the children were thin, wearing threadbare garments that barely reached beyond their elbows and knees, weathering the cold as bravely as they could. Each child took their piece of fruit and dropped it into the bowl of the small boy at the head of the table. The child took two skewers, stacking and rearranging the offerings of his companions until they roughly resembled the shape of a round fruitcake.

When he was finished, two other children carefully took the bowl of fruit from the little boy and headed toward a nearby hut, with the rest of the children except the little boy trailing behind. Rupert saw that the boy could not follow
his friends because he had no legs!

The king walked over to the boy and asked, “Young friend, shall I help you inside?”

The boy stared at Rupert for a moment in bewilderment. Though he was small of stature, the boy was already twelve years old. His family had always been poor. Throughout his life the people he was acquinated with had only three sets of clothes, one for home, one for work, and a set for special occasions. All his clothes were hand-me-downs from his older siblings, and whether he got new clothes depended on how well his parents could sell their crops. This year the harvest was poor, but the taxes remained high. Therefore most of his friends and siblings were wearing worn-out clothing that barely protected them from the biting cold and harsh frost of the winter. Therefore, he was surprised that such a richly dressed gentleman with means could be talking to him and offering help. Yet, remembering his mother’s suspicion of the greedy barons in his land, he shook his head. “No sir, I don’t need your help.”

Rupert, taken aback by the boy’s cold response, stammered, “Of course. Well, you and your companions seemed to be preparing for a special occasion, and I wanted to offer a gift of my own. I am a visitor to your country, and I have brought along a basket of the best fruits from my own country, which I want to give to you.”

When the boy heard this, his eyes filled with tears.

“Thank you, sir,” he said. “My brother is going away to fight in the king’s army, and we wanted to do something special for him before he leaves. We don’t know if he will ever come back to us!”

When Bellona saw Rupert give the basket away, she took offense. “If you give them away, my father would surely find you less worthy. Your fruits display the richness of your lands, your jewels show off your wealth, and your two steeds your strength and power.”

When Rupert heard this, his face fell. He had wanted so much to impress the king of the northern mountains, by demonstrating that he was a worthy son-in-law, who would provide for Bellona with a prosperous land and mighty army. Yet, how could he not do something to show kindness when the opportunity was there? Why not share a little of what he had if he could make a child happy with his generosity? Why not contribute to celebrate a young man’s bravery before he journeys to to serve in the king’s army?

“Indeed, princess, the richness of our land speak for themselves. Why not share some of our bounty with the poor children, who are wearing threadbare garments because their families could not afford the heavy taxes your father levies?” The princess gave no answer.

That night, their party encamped in the clearing, and for the first time Rupert saw the princess, who had been amiable and gregarious so far, lapse into whwhat he thought was a quiet and thoughtful demeanor. Although she responded to Rupert’s attempts at conversation politely enough, she made no attempt at continuing the banter. Rupert began to regret having given the basket of fruit to the boy, until he recalled the boy’s smile of surprise and excitement. He knew then that he did the right thing.

The next day, the princess led them to the seashore, on which were moored boats prepared to take them to the palace island on the other side. Rupert was about to help the princess into the boat when she withdrew her hand and turned back, claiming to have forgotten something. As Rupert was about to get off the boat to follow her, she gave him a hard shove, sending him toppling back into the boat. Then Bellona cried with a loud voice, “Prepare to meet your deaths, you enemies of my father!”

The lines that tethered the boats were cut. The princess, waving her magic wand, summoned an unnatural storm that drove the boats forward. The skies darkened, and small, sharp pellets of ice began raining down on Rupert and his companions. The men cried out, ducked their heads, and dove in vain for cover, while the two horses whinnied and strained against their tethers. Large columns of dark, murky water buffeted the boat, tossing it up and down like a juggler’s balls.

Despite how hard the men rowed, they could not gain control of the boats as they sped toward the open sea. The princess had sought revenge on Rupert for her father’s shameful defeat by the young king and his small but elite army. As Rupert and his pany plunged deeper and deeper into the ocean, tossed to and fro by the dark, relentless waves, she cackled with glee over their certain demise.

Although the men rowed with great determination, the tempest seemed only to grow stronger against them. The skies split with lightning and rumbled with thunder. Two of the boats began to fill with water and sink. As the men on the remaining three boats began tossing their food and clothing overboard in order to make room for the men they were pulling in from the ruined boats, Rupert joined them by hurling the chests of precious jewels overboard. Rupert was determined to save as many of his men as he could, counting his lost wealth of secondary importance. The chests were hurled with great splashes overboard to lighten the load. Seeing the chests of precious trinkets sink, Bellona’s greed was kindled.
She was momentarily distracted as she attempted to summon a wave that would push the chests back toward herself. This gave the rowers a short moment to put distance between themselves and the reach of Bellonas power. Yet, because Rupert had hurled them toward some rocks, the chests shattered and spilled all the trinkets into the sea. Realizing that the jewels could not be retrieved, Bellona shrieked with fury, redoubling her efforts to destroy Rupert and his men.

For seven miles the men struggled to row against the unrelenting waves. Just as they seemed to gain some control in driving the boat a certain direction, a powerful wave would spin the boat around. The skies continued with lightning, thunder, and hail, and they had to constantly cover their equipment and shield their eyes from the raining pellets. Just as they thought that they were at the end of the reach of Bellona’s power, they found themselves speeding toward a
large, jagged boulder. The ships seemed destined to crash and break.

With one final, tall wave, Bellona made the boats crash against the boulder. The men screamed as the boats splintered, and they grabbed onto any piece of wood they could to float. The horses whinnied and pedaled wildly, terrified by the furious storm.

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.