Steadfast: "The Spare"
Nov. 29th, 2018 11:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rayasoIdol 2018 Mini-Season, Week 7
Topic: Steadfast
The stranger sat in the darkest corner of The Cheshire Cat, far from the others, his hood pulled down, his face hidden. He was only a day’s ride from the Palace and he didn’t want to be recognized.
The Cheshire Cat was a peasant’s tavern. The Seven Dwarfs had just come in from the mine and were whistling a merry tune, much to the delight of the crowd. The stranger pulled his cloak closer, hiding his expensive clothes. He’d met the Dwarfs at the Palace when they’d entertained at a feast. He was confident they wouldn’t remember him, but he couldn’t take any chances or his plan would fail.
Prince Steadfast, the less interesting twin brother of Prince Charming, was running away.
“I’ve had enough of him,” he thought, taking another swig of ale. “It’s Prince Charming this and Prince Charming that, and isn’t he wonderful and did you hear what he did today?”
Prince Charming had been born first, a squalling, miserable baby. He got the name, and someday, the kingdom. Prince Steadfast was unexpected. “A bonus baby,” his mother had said, before setting him aside and picking up her firstborn. Since he had been a quiet, smiling baby, they had named him Steadfast, “Steady” for short.
“If only I’d been born first,” thought Steady. “Someday he’ll be King,” he sighed, taking another drink of ale. “A second prince is useless until needed, but nothing’s ever going to happen to him. The Good Fairy saw to that.” At their christenings, she had appeared and blessed Prince Charming, but not Prince Steadfast. “No one told me there were two,” she explained. “I only prepared a spell for one.”
Prince Charming was handsome, brave, and popular, and he had a better nickname – “the Dragonslayer.” All the boys wanted to be Prince Charming and all the girls wanted to marry him.
“If only they knew the real Prince Charming,” snorted Steady. “He didn’t kill that dragon – I did!”
A dragon had terrorized the kingdom and Prince Charming had been sent to kill it. “Go with him, Steady,” the King had ordered. “You might learn something from your brother.”
They had found the dragon’s cave, but one blast of fire had sent Prince Charming scurrying behind the nearest boulder. It was Prince Steadfast who had faced the dragon, sword against claw, shield against flame, until finally he had been able to stab the dragon through his black heart. Exhausted, Prince Steadfast had collapsed on the ground while Prince Charming had cut off the dragon’s head, mounted it on his spear, and raced back to the palace to present it to their father as the triumphant hero.
Prince Charming was known ever after as “Dragonslayer,” while Steady was known as . . . nothing. After all, this is what the King expected, and Steady’s attempt to tell the true story was silenced as the spiteful fantasy of a jealous brother.
Prince Charming had just announced he was seeking a bride, the fairest in all the land. “The Dragonslayer deserves no less,” he had said. Steady had had enough and left the Palace for good. No one had noticed.
Steady needed a guide through the Enchanted Forest and the Woodsman, an old friend, had agreed to help, but he was late – he should have been at the Cheshire Cat an hour ago and Steady was starting to worry.
Suddenly, the door opened, and the Woodsman strode in, his axe on his shoulder. “The Big Bad Wolf’s been at it again,” said the Woodsman as he pulled up a chair. “The Enchanted Forest is no place for Little Red Riding Hood to go wandering.”
“But she’s safe now?” said Steady. His concern for all the King’s subjects was well known.
“Until next time,” said the Woodsman. “She never learns.”
“That’s why I need your help,” Steady said. “I want to cross the Forest. I need to find a place where no one’s heard of Prince Charming.”
“I can get you through safely,” said the Woodsman, “but Prince Charming’s fame has spread far and wide. Right now, Sleeping Beauty is waiting in the Forest for him to find her and wake her with a kiss. She thinks he’s her true love.”
“My brother’s only true love is himself,” said Steady, shaking his head. “But she has a competitor -- Cinderella’s planning something at next week’s Grand Ball.”
The Woodsman and Steady laid their plans for the trip. “It’ll take two or three days to get through, but what then? Where will you go after that?”
“I don’t know,” admitted Steady. “I just have to get away.”
That night, they slept at the Inn; the next morning, they got their horses from the stable and rode out. The Prince carried his sword and shield, and the Woodsman had his trusty ax. “The Forest is no place for the unprepared,” said the Woodsman.
The morning passed easily, with a stop at the Gingerbread House to rescue Hansel and Gretel from the Witch, again. “If she’d just eat them without fattening them up, I’d never stop her,” said the Woodsman before sending the children home until the next time. “Try eating the frosted door,” he told them. “It’s really delicious.”
For all its dangers, the Enchanted Forest was beautiful, with its majestic trees and musical creeks, and they made good time, with another stop to help the Three Billy Goats Gruff cross the troll’s bridge. Steady challenged the troll with his sword and sent him running. He found himself enjoying these encounters.
“No one ever asks about my brother,” Steady said to the Woodsman.
“He doesn’t matter in here,” the Woodsman replied, “except to Sleeping Beauty. Her glade is up ahead. I come by every day to check on her.”
“Sleeping in this Forest must be dangerous,” said Steady, “especially with no one to protect her.”
“It’s her protection that brings me here,” said the Woodsman, hurrying his horse along.
Steady could see a small sunlit clearing ahead, with a carpet of blue and silver flowers. As they rode closer, he saw a young woman dressed in a white gown, asleep in a bower surrounded by red roses. She was the most beautiful woman Steady had ever seen. “Truly, a bride fit for Prince Charming,” he said, “but will he venture this far into the Forest to find her?”
“Not if Cinderella has anything to say about it,” said the Woodsman.
A second young woman, dressed in shimmering blue, was combing Sleeping Beauty’s long blond hair and arranging a bouquet of white lilies in her hands.
Steady dismounted from his horse and approached her on foot. The Woodsman held back, watching.
“Who are you, young maiden, to care for Sleeping Beauty?” asked Steady.
“I am Annabelle, her sister,” she replied, “and who are you? Do you claim to be her true love?”
“I didn’t know she had a sister. I am Prince Steadfast, brother of Prince Charming, and he is her true love.”
“I didn’t know he had a brother,” said Annabelle, looking past him to the Woodsman, “but tell him to hasten. He may be her love now, but not even true love can wait forever.”
Upon hearing these words, the Woodsman drew near and, taking Annabelle’s hands, they both stood silently before Steady.
“I think I understand, old friend,” said Steady. “But can’t Annabelle leave? Her sister’s under the seventh fairy’s sleeping spell and cannot be harmed.”
“The fairy bound Annabelle to this place to take care of her sister,” said the Woodsman. “She cannot leave until Prince Charming kisses her.”
“If I tell my brother that the most beautiful woman in the kingdom is here,” replied Steady, “waiting for his kiss, nothing will keep him away. I just have to get to him before the Ball, and Cinderella.”
Steady sped off into the Forest, leaving his friend with his true love. Steady stopped only to help an obviously lost Pinocchio, who had wandered into the Forest by mistake.
Once at the Palace, Steady quickly found the Prince. “The most beautiful woman in the kingdom is in the Enchanted Forest, asleep under a spell. She needs your kiss to awaken and become your wife.”
The Prince, never one to pass up the kiss of a pretty woman, could not resist. Once in the Forest, the Prince did not want to stop, not even for Hansel and Gretel. Steady could not pass them by, so he rescued them and then caught up with his brother.
Once at the glade, Prince Charming saw that Sleeping Beauty was indeed the most beautiful woman in the kingdom and worthy of his kiss. “Awake, my love,” he said, before kissing her.
“What took you so long?” screeched Sleeping Beauty, who had the voice of a rusty hinge and the soul of a lemon. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting?”
Before the Prince could answer, the seven fairies appeared to bless their union. Since there were seven of them, they blessed the Woodsman and Annabelle as well, and even had a happiness spell left over for Steady.
Annabelle and the Woodsman lived happily ever after. Prince Charming and Sleeping Beauty did not. Steady decided to remain in the Enchanted Forest, helping the Woodsman, who was soon busy with a growing family. Cinderella moved to a neighboring kingdom with an unmarried prince, and she was last seen polishing her glass slippers.
Topic: Steadfast
THE SPARE
The stranger sat in the darkest corner of The Cheshire Cat, far from the others, his hood pulled down, his face hidden. He was only a day’s ride from the Palace and he didn’t want to be recognized.
The Cheshire Cat was a peasant’s tavern. The Seven Dwarfs had just come in from the mine and were whistling a merry tune, much to the delight of the crowd. The stranger pulled his cloak closer, hiding his expensive clothes. He’d met the Dwarfs at the Palace when they’d entertained at a feast. He was confident they wouldn’t remember him, but he couldn’t take any chances or his plan would fail.
Prince Steadfast, the less interesting twin brother of Prince Charming, was running away.
“I’ve had enough of him,” he thought, taking another swig of ale. “It’s Prince Charming this and Prince Charming that, and isn’t he wonderful and did you hear what he did today?”
Prince Charming had been born first, a squalling, miserable baby. He got the name, and someday, the kingdom. Prince Steadfast was unexpected. “A bonus baby,” his mother had said, before setting him aside and picking up her firstborn. Since he had been a quiet, smiling baby, they had named him Steadfast, “Steady” for short.
“If only I’d been born first,” thought Steady. “Someday he’ll be King,” he sighed, taking another drink of ale. “A second prince is useless until needed, but nothing’s ever going to happen to him. The Good Fairy saw to that.” At their christenings, she had appeared and blessed Prince Charming, but not Prince Steadfast. “No one told me there were two,” she explained. “I only prepared a spell for one.”
Prince Charming was handsome, brave, and popular, and he had a better nickname – “the Dragonslayer.” All the boys wanted to be Prince Charming and all the girls wanted to marry him.
“If only they knew the real Prince Charming,” snorted Steady. “He didn’t kill that dragon – I did!”
A dragon had terrorized the kingdom and Prince Charming had been sent to kill it. “Go with him, Steady,” the King had ordered. “You might learn something from your brother.”
They had found the dragon’s cave, but one blast of fire had sent Prince Charming scurrying behind the nearest boulder. It was Prince Steadfast who had faced the dragon, sword against claw, shield against flame, until finally he had been able to stab the dragon through his black heart. Exhausted, Prince Steadfast had collapsed on the ground while Prince Charming had cut off the dragon’s head, mounted it on his spear, and raced back to the palace to present it to their father as the triumphant hero.
Prince Charming was known ever after as “Dragonslayer,” while Steady was known as . . . nothing. After all, this is what the King expected, and Steady’s attempt to tell the true story was silenced as the spiteful fantasy of a jealous brother.
Prince Charming had just announced he was seeking a bride, the fairest in all the land. “The Dragonslayer deserves no less,” he had said. Steady had had enough and left the Palace for good. No one had noticed.
Steady needed a guide through the Enchanted Forest and the Woodsman, an old friend, had agreed to help, but he was late – he should have been at the Cheshire Cat an hour ago and Steady was starting to worry.
Suddenly, the door opened, and the Woodsman strode in, his axe on his shoulder. “The Big Bad Wolf’s been at it again,” said the Woodsman as he pulled up a chair. “The Enchanted Forest is no place for Little Red Riding Hood to go wandering.”
“But she’s safe now?” said Steady. His concern for all the King’s subjects was well known.
“Until next time,” said the Woodsman. “She never learns.”
“That’s why I need your help,” Steady said. “I want to cross the Forest. I need to find a place where no one’s heard of Prince Charming.”
“I can get you through safely,” said the Woodsman, “but Prince Charming’s fame has spread far and wide. Right now, Sleeping Beauty is waiting in the Forest for him to find her and wake her with a kiss. She thinks he’s her true love.”
“My brother’s only true love is himself,” said Steady, shaking his head. “But she has a competitor -- Cinderella’s planning something at next week’s Grand Ball.”
The Woodsman and Steady laid their plans for the trip. “It’ll take two or three days to get through, but what then? Where will you go after that?”
“I don’t know,” admitted Steady. “I just have to get away.”
That night, they slept at the Inn; the next morning, they got their horses from the stable and rode out. The Prince carried his sword and shield, and the Woodsman had his trusty ax. “The Forest is no place for the unprepared,” said the Woodsman.
The morning passed easily, with a stop at the Gingerbread House to rescue Hansel and Gretel from the Witch, again. “If she’d just eat them without fattening them up, I’d never stop her,” said the Woodsman before sending the children home until the next time. “Try eating the frosted door,” he told them. “It’s really delicious.”
For all its dangers, the Enchanted Forest was beautiful, with its majestic trees and musical creeks, and they made good time, with another stop to help the Three Billy Goats Gruff cross the troll’s bridge. Steady challenged the troll with his sword and sent him running. He found himself enjoying these encounters.
“No one ever asks about my brother,” Steady said to the Woodsman.
“He doesn’t matter in here,” the Woodsman replied, “except to Sleeping Beauty. Her glade is up ahead. I come by every day to check on her.”
“Sleeping in this Forest must be dangerous,” said Steady, “especially with no one to protect her.”
“It’s her protection that brings me here,” said the Woodsman, hurrying his horse along.
Steady could see a small sunlit clearing ahead, with a carpet of blue and silver flowers. As they rode closer, he saw a young woman dressed in a white gown, asleep in a bower surrounded by red roses. She was the most beautiful woman Steady had ever seen. “Truly, a bride fit for Prince Charming,” he said, “but will he venture this far into the Forest to find her?”
“Not if Cinderella has anything to say about it,” said the Woodsman.
A second young woman, dressed in shimmering blue, was combing Sleeping Beauty’s long blond hair and arranging a bouquet of white lilies in her hands.
Steady dismounted from his horse and approached her on foot. The Woodsman held back, watching.
“Who are you, young maiden, to care for Sleeping Beauty?” asked Steady.
“I am Annabelle, her sister,” she replied, “and who are you? Do you claim to be her true love?”
“I didn’t know she had a sister. I am Prince Steadfast, brother of Prince Charming, and he is her true love.”
“I didn’t know he had a brother,” said Annabelle, looking past him to the Woodsman, “but tell him to hasten. He may be her love now, but not even true love can wait forever.”
Upon hearing these words, the Woodsman drew near and, taking Annabelle’s hands, they both stood silently before Steady.
“I think I understand, old friend,” said Steady. “But can’t Annabelle leave? Her sister’s under the seventh fairy’s sleeping spell and cannot be harmed.”
“The fairy bound Annabelle to this place to take care of her sister,” said the Woodsman. “She cannot leave until Prince Charming kisses her.”
“If I tell my brother that the most beautiful woman in the kingdom is here,” replied Steady, “waiting for his kiss, nothing will keep him away. I just have to get to him before the Ball, and Cinderella.”
Steady sped off into the Forest, leaving his friend with his true love. Steady stopped only to help an obviously lost Pinocchio, who had wandered into the Forest by mistake.
Once at the Palace, Steady quickly found the Prince. “The most beautiful woman in the kingdom is in the Enchanted Forest, asleep under a spell. She needs your kiss to awaken and become your wife.”
The Prince, never one to pass up the kiss of a pretty woman, could not resist. Once in the Forest, the Prince did not want to stop, not even for Hansel and Gretel. Steady could not pass them by, so he rescued them and then caught up with his brother.
Once at the glade, Prince Charming saw that Sleeping Beauty was indeed the most beautiful woman in the kingdom and worthy of his kiss. “Awake, my love,” he said, before kissing her.
“What took you so long?” screeched Sleeping Beauty, who had the voice of a rusty hinge and the soul of a lemon. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting?”
Before the Prince could answer, the seven fairies appeared to bless their union. Since there were seven of them, they blessed the Woodsman and Annabelle as well, and even had a happiness spell left over for Steady.
Annabelle and the Woodsman lived happily ever after. Prince Charming and Sleeping Beauty did not. Steady decided to remain in the Enchanted Forest, helping the Woodsman, who was soon busy with a growing family. Cinderella moved to a neighboring kingdom with an unmarried prince, and she was last seen polishing her glass slippers.
THE END
