Of a Prince and a Pauper

Of a Pauper and a Prince

Once upon a time, one in a castle and one in a poor hut two boys were born. One a prince, the other a pauper. A king and a mother, both alone with a boy to raise.

The prince grows; blonde and fair, and his blue eyes sparkle in the sun. Upon his head, a crown of gold. And as he grows he is taught by his tutors and his father, the king. But the king was busy and had little time for his son. Soon the prince became lonely. He was happy most of the time, but there was a hole in his heart. The king tried his best to give the prince education and as much of his time as he could spare. But too often he seemed to only give the prince time when the prince had done something wrong. So the prince learned as he grew, to hide himself from his tutors and his father and to follow the rules.

The pauper, poor as the dirt he slept on, had to work most of the day to have food to eat. It was hard, and he had little time for friends or play. Soon he too became lonely. He was taught by life and learned quickly the harshness of it. But when there was food he was happy. His mother worked just as hard as he and was often weary. But when there was time, she would talk with him. She would ruffle a hand through his fair hair, and remark at the sparkle his eyes still held. For after all the hardships he had endured his eyes still sparkled in the sun. He was her prince. Poor, but his heart made him a prince. The pauper learned as he grew, to be grateful and true to himself.

The prince; however, hid, and soon he began to lose himself. He attended to his studies and kept his head down. He knew it would be better if he followed the rules. But occasionally, when the world was asleep and his mind was awake, he would walk through the forest and think. He knew the king cared and only hoped to not disappoint him. Though, he dared to dream of a place where he did not have this pain, where he would be free. But he returned to the castle and attended to his studies and tried to remember that the king cared about him. One fateful day, when the prince had done wrong in his father's eyes, the king struck him in anger. And the care the prince once felt from his father was struck down with it. From then on the boy feared his father and kept the rules faithfully. The king was happy in his ignorant bliss. His boy, the prince, was happy, and he followed the rules. What more could a father want than that?

The pauper as he grew found less and less time for fun and games, so his mind made up the difference. He was happy, but his work began to wear him thin. So, when his mother was asleep and the house quiet he would go walk in the woods. It cleared his mind and the woods began to come alive to him, full of whimsy and magic. It was a time when he could dream, dream of a world where he did not have to work for his every meal, a place where he was free. And his mother would fret, for she felt he was unhappy because of their poverty. Soon she was struck with a terrible illness, sick in bed for many days. Then one fateful morning, she did not awake. The pauper grieved much but had work to do, and could not spare more than a few moments. He still needed to eat, therefore he still had to work. And he was often more unhappy now. The woods provided much solace to him, with the whimsy and magic he found there. But one day as he sat beneath a tree, something stirred in the shadows, and a strange creature approached him. It was thin and wolf-like, with a barbed tail and thin features. It stood before the pauper in his grief and began to speak.

It spoke of other lands. Just elsewhere. Many lands, full of wonders, where life was painless. It said it had been there and was going there again soon.

"I will take you there," it said. "All you have to do is leave this all behind. It will be easy. Just run away with me, leave your small hut and hard life behind. Nobody would notice, for after all you're just a pauper. You'd be happy, and free."

The pauper looked at the creature, but something told him not to trust it. Not just yet. The creature curled up beneath the tree and waited to see if the pauper would return to join him on his journey. And the pauper thought about this as he returned home to his hovel.

That night, as the prince wandered the woods aimlessly he saw that same creature sleeping beneath the tree. As he came closer, it stirred awake. It stood and told the prince of lands where pain was but a figment of the imagination.

"Just elsewhere," it said. "and I can take you there." But the prince feared the journey and shied away from this creature. It sighed and told the prince that it would wait for him if he ever wanted to take that journey. These lands were out of reach without the creature's help. But it would take him there. It was making the journey soon and would gladly take him.

"You'd be happy and free," it promised. "Just let go and travel to this land with me."

The prince saw the moon lowering in the sky, and knew he must soon be back. So he said goodbye to the creature and perhaps he might be back.

And so a few days passed, and both the prince and pauper returned to their lives, yet the gnawing words of the creature stayed in their minds. The prince wanted to be free of his father, and the pauper wanted to be free of his grief. Both thought they knew the creature. They thought they knew where it would take them, and thought they knew what the creature truly wanted from them. And so both decided to find this creature again.

The pauper walked through the woods, a sack with food and what few coins he could save sitting on his strong but slim shoulders. He walked, trying to remember the path to that old and twisted tree. And the prince, from the opposite direction, with a sword at his belt and a, now heavy, crown upon his head, also searched his memory for the way. As the prince walked, resolute, the weight of expectations bore down. He was supposed to carry this, had no choice,and so he pushed onward, knowing that in this land the crown upon his head would come to bother him no more. As both drew nearer to the tree the creature lifted its nose, inhaled their approaching scents, and smiled. It knew they would be back. And it was ready.

The prince and the pauper approached the twisted branches of the tree, the creature waiting beneath. The creature bowed itself to the ground, its long thin maw touching the floor, ready for them both to hop up on his back and it would carry them to a painless land. The pauper saw the prince, and for a reason he had yet to know, the creature's words to him became ominous. The prince saw the pauper and nodded to him, a slight smile inclining to his face. It was gladsome to know he wasn't the only one taking this journey. The pauper saw the prince's crown. But the pauper saw something else too, something surprising. There was a tired and wounded boy under that shining circlet. And he knew why the creature had targeted the prince. The pauper told the prince that he would go; that the prince should stay here, for a time at least. The prince hesitated, and the creature shook its long maw. It would take both of them, it said. The prince then saw the menace of the pale eyes and long features. The prince shook his head, said he would follow after the pauper. The creature shook its maw again, insisting it would take both of them. The pauper smiled sadly at the prince, turning to walk towards the creature. The prince called out despite himself, for the pauper to wait. Slowly, the pauper turned to look at the prince again and saw the lonely boy before him. The pauper realized at that moment that he could not leave this boy to his old ways.

The creature lunged at the pauper, to take him up in his jaws and carry him away. The prince finally saw the creature for what it was and, drawing his sword, stepped in front of the creature. The creature grinned, it would have both of them. But the prince was prepared, as was the pauper, to face the creature, and the creature looked them over, now afraid. It stood, raising its thin maw into the air, smelling new prey, and left.

The two young boys took each other's hands; and as they reached out to do so, they saw the truth in each other. The prince smiled, a slight tear forming in his eye. Neither was alone anymore. So the two boys walked away; from the tree, the creature, and their lives as they once knew them.