The Unipony Princess and The Knightmare

The Princess and The Knightmare

On a precipitous evening, stars shone brightly in the sky, the Palace was quiet, devoid of any visible souls. The princess ventured into the woods, perhaps the unknown wouldn't be as formidable.The Kingdom was too overwhelming for her. As she traversed further, she encountered various peasants, some of whom offered deceit, others were lost, and a few were merely inquisitive. The approach of a frog suddenly startled her, it asked, 'Will the Princess accompany me to my home?' She declined, but the frog refused to budge. Persistence fella. Then, a moment occurred that altered her course. He appeared, relocated the frog, and in doing so, crossed her path. Unbeknownst to her, everything was about to change, not around her, but within her. His demeanor exuded familiarity, gentleness, and unmatched purity. He smiled and offered his escort through the woods.Even though she didn't ponder much over it, years later, her soul would resonate with the rhythm that had just commenced. She hastened back to the kingdom, only to be drawn back the next day. Indeed, he was there, intermittently.Together they trolled the peasants for weeks to come.

Eventually Kingdom chores occupied her, and she temporarily abandoned her forest escapade. Upon returning through a different path some time later, she found him again, this time masked. She failed to recognize him initially, but his teasing remarks eventually jogged her memory. Years passed, and the Princess visited the Knight daily. However, she was self-absorbed and overlooked the turmoil he harbored, allowing her to focus on her own emotions.

She anticipated the day the Knight would depart, leaving her behind. Though he was her haven, she knew he belonged not to her. He had his own world, where he was needed. However many memories were made, memories of laughter, adventures, and quiet moments spent under the trees, watching birds, and sharing treats, memories that will remain etched in her heart forever. Their daily ritual consisted of him bringing his brew and her her baked delights. Their terms of endearment were 'Radiance' and 'Troublemaker'.

Years had passed, then one day she encountered a mysterious goblin in the forest that sparked her curiosity. Despite sensing something amiss, she found solace in the goblin's magical prowess. The Knight's warnings went unheeded as she became increasingly enthralled by the goblin's tricks. The impending day of departure loomed closer,she could feel it, perhaps she sought comfort in the goblin's presence to alleviate the void that was to come.

The Knight admitted, I am trapped in a cage," he said softly once, looking out over the fading horizon. "The door is wide open. There is no lock. Yet, I cannot escape."

​He didn't need to elaborate. He had never needed to use literal words with her, just as she had never needed to speak to be heard. He was the only soul in the kingdom who could read her silence, hearing it louder than any shout. His "cage" was made of honor, duty, and invisible bonds forged long before they ever met,bars far stronger than iron, because they lived entirely within his own mind and conscience.

​As she looked at him, her mind drifted to a dark, half remembered fable from a dusty leather tome she had read years ago. It was a tale of a man who fell obsessively in love with a woman, perhaps a woman who belonged to another. Unable to win her, he painstakingly trained a flock of wild birds to kidnap her, carrying her through the clouds to his secluded tower. He placed her in a gilded cage and eventually made her his wife.

​The princess had forgotten how that old story ended. Did the woman ever break free? Did she learn to love her captor, or did she spend her life watching the sky? The ending had dissolved into history.

Alas,the dreaded day had finally arrived, marked by a gift from the knight that encapsulated the essence of their time together.She knew it wasnt just a gift, it was a farewell.Even though she had known this moment was inevitable, its arrival and the days ahead brought immense feelings of hollow,she braced herself. As the months turned into years, her grief, rather than diminishing, seemed to deepen. Her soul, once so full of hope and joy, now felt like a hollow shell, devoid of its former vitality, as if a part of her was ripped away.

Despite her efforts to conceal her emotions, he remained perceptive, aware of the depth of her sorrow.He wasnt there, but he could speak to her soul even from a vast distance. She knew he desired her happiness, and she did the same for him.

Little did he know, her happiness was in his smile,it lit up her whole little world.

In the stillness of the night, she would seek solace in her prayers, 'She wished for his happiness and well being, over everything else.' Her heart, however, refused to accept this fate, yearning for the warmth of his presence.She wished she could send forth trained birds to whisk him away from his world and bring him back to hers.

He sometimes appears in her dreams, asking her to cease her emotional appeals, as it distracted him.Motivated by the memory of his smile, she strove to comply. For now, her soul was forced to move on with a missing piece, the one that made it beat and gave it light.

As for goblin,he had met his demise under mysterious circumstances long ago. It is possible that the ogres were responsible.

The princess subsequently departed the Kingdom, travelling a considerable distance to a secluded cabin where she remained isolated, refusing to engage with anyone who approached.

On what would have been his birthday, long after he was gone from her world, the princess sat at her heavy wooden desk. A single window stood open to the crisp breeze, letting the amber leaves drift onto the stone sill. She picked up her quill, not out of hope that he would ever read her words, but out of a desperate, lingering need for closure.

​Her letter was brief. She did not dwell on grief, nor did she weave grand declarations of what might have been. She simply wrote what her heart had held for so long, ending the parchment with a final, quiet truth:

​"Somewhere, there is an empty cage without a lock, overlooking a boundless sky where wild birds fly free—birds that were never trained, and never received the command to kidnap."

​She set the quill down, leaving the ink to dry in the autumn air.

​The wind caught the parchment, carrying her unspoken goodbye out into the open sky.

He belonged to another world.

I'll let go.

If you call, i'll answer.

If you text, i'll reply.

I think of you even when i tell myself not to.

I'll stay distant, yet somehow,i'll always be waiting.

Waiting for something i know will never come.

SHH