A Crazy Love for a fairy tale...Once upon a time far in the north there was a kingdom. A kingdom of beauty which could not be fully beheld unless the viewer possessed the heart of an open mind. A kingdom which in the spring was as green as the freshest of all the four leaf clovers. A kingdom where in the shakes of autumn the mountains rose and became blankets of fire which stretched as far as the eye could see. A kingdom of legends. A kingdom of spirits.
Deep within these lands, a prince was born. A prince who grew rather quickly, both in size and in character. He was embraced, loved and looked after by all those who livedi n the valley. It was early in his youth that they all gave him the name of Bear. It suited him well for his formidable size, his undying loyalty and the fierce protectiveness he possesed over the ones that he loved. Life for the young prince was good. As he grew older he learned to love the lands of his kingdom. He took the woods and the streams to be his friends just as much as the people were. Through his ways of life he had gained respect from everyone, human, animal and earth alike. Life continued on day after day, the young boy growing ever closer to being a man. Then one day in a cruel twist of fate, the gods came down upon the kingdom and in their judgement cast their wrath upon the young prince.
In what would appear to be an instant, the blink of a third eye all would change. The royal family fell. His parents, the King and Queen met their untimely death and left the young prince alone to fend for himself. People that he had once trusted with his very life turned on him and with that wave of betrayal crushed the young boy and left him broken. The spirit that once stood for all, that was the rock that all others used as their foundations had now become nothing but a pile of ashes that crumbled under the weight of the Gods hatred. What had he done to deserve this? The prince had always tried to do the right thing, showing the same respect he was given. Now, everything that he had fought for, loved, LIVED for, was gone.
The bear prince went into exhile, kept barely alive by a small handful of his closest friends. His heart was dead, his soul was nothing but a blank slate left to whatever chaos would find its mark. He knew deep in his soul he had to leave his kingdom. Everywhere he turned memories flooded over him and sent agonizing jolts through his body. No longer could he look at the thrones of his dead parents and bear the thought of taking it for himself. He left the valley that he had called home for so long. The prince erashed his former image and went into a new world as something different, something darker. The strength and pride he possessed had turned into anger and vengance. He entered the new world as something he used to hate...something he swore he'd never be...a monster.
As time passed on the kingdom began to wonder what had happened to their beloved prince. They had all watched him grow into the man he had become and wanted nothing more than his safety and his happiness. Winds blew across the world and into the valley of spirits. They bore stories of war, malice and malcontent. "Hogwash!" the people said. They knew there prince an refused to believe such rumors. It was the ones that knew him the best, that small handful of friends that knew the stories were true. Together they prayed that soon the bear inside the prince would return and bring back the man they all loved. For now, all they could do is wait.
The prince had indeed found himself amongst those wars and battles. Whiskey and rum had replaced the blood in his veins and the people that surrounded him were the ugliest and most foul that the world could conjure in its darkest days. One night looking through an empty jug the prince looked at the twisted world around him. Where was he? Who was he? This was not the man that he grew to be. Or was that man already to far dead to matter? He knew in his heart that this wasn't right, so again he went into exhile. He treated to the deep woods, never to show his face again until he knew that he was ready to meet mankind again.
Days passed and those days turned into weeks and months. While meandering one day the prince came to a wide river bank, sinking to his knees he plunged his head into the chilly waters to revive what senses he had left. From her resting place underneath a maple tree a fair lady watched this would be rag tag man. Her gaze caught the blood on his clothes, the scars on his face and the weatheredness of his skin. "What a beast!" she scoffed. His head snapped up and his view immediately went to the woman under the tree. "Oh no" she thought "he heard me". The prince stood slowly and albeit cautiously he made his way to the lady. She jumped to her feet and took a step back. "You stay away from me!" The prince lifted his head and looked at her "I mean you no harm, m'lady". She caught his gaze and gasped. "Those eyes" she thought to herself. Never before had she seen eyes like that, so deep, so mysterious, so wonderous...she was mezmerized by them. "What is your name?" She asked the large man. "Bear, m'lady" he replied. "Bear? that's not much of a name is it?" "it's the only one I can give you m'lady" he stated. "Alright then, Bear. My name is Amalia, Princess Amalia." The lady bowed her head. The bear flicked a faint smile and the two of them sat together on the river bank. They began to talk, the prince opening up more than he had in years. Minutes turned to hours and those hours flew. Before they knew it the morning sun was rising on them.
Bear was entranced. Never before had he met a woman like this Amalia. She enticed him, thrilled him. Hit him in ever sense that was in his body. She was beautiful. More beautiful than any woman he had ever seen in all of this travels. The wave of her dark brown hair, the perfect figure of her body and her eyes. Her hazel eyes he could stare at forever, watching them slowly fade from brown to green. He never wanted this conversation to end. For the first time in years he felt like he could really talk to someone. He felt like there was someone who actually wanted to listen. They shared each others stories for hours and hours. Eventually though, they did part ways with the single promise to meet again. And again they did, day after day, night after night. They met and talked, danced and walked. Something had happened between them that could only be described as magical.
The prince felt something inside of him. Something that seemed strangely familiar but yet so unknown. Everytime he was near Amalia his heart sped up and the beats went faster. Something inside of him seemed right, like the peace that he had been so longing for was there, in her. But he couldn't love her. He couldn't take the risk of losing someone else that he so cared for. He couldn't deny it any longer. As more time went by he came to the realization that he had completley fallen in love with the young princess. She was beautiful, intelligent, funny and witty. She was as common in her place as he was in his. She was perfect.
Then as fate would so tell the tale came a night that he had been waiting for. As they talked like they did every night, Amalia looked at the prince with deepenend eyes and an uneasy look on her face. "There is something I must tell you, Bear...Another man has asked for my hand." The bear unexpecting of this, so lost in his affection for the princess looked in disbelief and asked "Well what did you say?" Looking down the princess replied "I said Yes. I'm sorry, Bear, but I said Yes." The Bear, taking in a deep breath looked at her and said "If that is what makes you happy, M'lady." With that the bear bowed his head and slid off into the shadows of the wilderness. The place he had come to know oh so well, feeling heartbroken and more alone than ever before.
The bear returned to his kingdom. He knew it was there that he needed to be. Maybe his old home could straighten out his confused mind and put him on the right path again. The bear sought out his best friend, his brother. Not knowing what to do about anything he looked to his brother for answers. "Bear, you are the strongest of us all, but even the mightiest need some reflection some times." He knew his brother was right. The bear took to the woods again, but this time returning to a place he felt safe. Far in the valley, deep within the mountains there was a lake. A sanctuary he had always returned to when he needed to think about things. To clear his mind.
There he looked up into the skies, into the heavens that he loved and hated so much and asked for guidance. He asked for a sign for something to show him what to do because for the first time in his troubled life, the prince felt totally lost. Watching from their eternal resting place the King and Queen saw their song and the discontent that plagued him. They were heartbroken at their sons unhappiness. Life had twisted him around and the gods had put him through the toughest challenges they could muster and still he stood before them. They knew it was time that their son had a fair chance. The king and queen took all their love for their only child and cast it into the raging fires of one solitary star and sent it blazing brightly across the northern skies. The prince seeing this beacon reached into the depths of his soul and begged for that one chance, that one moment that if never again that he might make the princess his own and confess to her the deepness of his love. Little did he know, his prayer was heard.
The night passed and as did the next day. A new moon rose into the sky and the prince sat in his home still pondering over and over what he was to do. He needed Amalia. It wasn't a want for him, it was a need. He needed to love her as much as he needed her to love him. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw something move. He stood and walked out the door to see what was causing the comontion. What he saw was not exactly what he had expected. There she stood before him. He was shocked. He was amazed. He was speechless. His princess had found him. He ran to her and grabbed her into the tightest emrbace he could muster. He refused to let her go, afraid that if he did she would disappear and this would no longer be real. It was at that moment that he did confess his undying yearning love her for. The love that swept his soul into her embrace to do whatever she pleased with. The princess smiled at him, wiped a tear from his and said "Fear not my Prince, for my heart is yours as well. It belongs to you and you alone."
That was the night when the young prince that the kingdom had so loved growing up, truly returned. It was the night that the Bear crawled from its confining cave and let its life be known for all the world to feel. That was the night when dreams came true. From that moment on they started a life together unlike any other. A time of a love unmatched and unequivical, a partnership, a perfect life. They lived together, traveled together, seeing much of the world. They traveled the country side, helping the people with their farms and livestock. They sailed the oceans together watching natures greatest beasts and laying slay to a band of pirates. They saw some of the grandest sights and at the same time shared the quietest of moments together. The people of the kingdom grew to love her just as they did their young prince. They married and together they took the thrones of the kingdom. They ruled over it justly, fairly and happily. They were never happier. To this very day they still look at each the way they did that first night, entranced, enthralled. Totally in love.
Now moons have come and gone full circle a month of times. The sun has set and the sun has risen and it is said, and I have seen this with my own two eyes, so believe this in your heart that every day at first life if you look to the peak of the highest mountain in the valley you see standing there an enormous bear. Keeping an ever close eye on his kingdom, faithfully guarding all those he loves. Especially his beloved Queen.
