Aoife

There was this old story that I heard long ago; when I was a little girl. It was about a young princess who grew up to save two kingdoms. Not many people have heard it, not many people believe it, but I do. I know it's true and it's a story that deserves to be told.
This is the story of Princess Aoife of Arean.

    On one cold, windy night, two poor villagers ran up to the castle of Arean. "Who goes there?" spoke one of the gatekeepers. The two villagers removed their hoods; revealing a young man and woman. They told the gatekeeper that they came from the Enzia village; a small town in the southern outskirts of the kingdom, and that they needed to speak to the king and queen on a very important matter. The gatekeeper tried to turn them away, saying that the king and queen didn't take visitors at that late hour but the woman pleaded; moving part of her cape to reveal the sleeping baby she was holding. The gatekeeper looked at the baby then back at the man and woman and told them that they had ten minutes to speak to the king and queen.

    The gatekeeper signaled the guards and the gates started to open. The two villagers were accompanied by one of the guards into the palace and to the throne room. The guard goes in first to announce to the king that he has visitors and is then allowed to bring them in. The guard then motions to the man and woman to come forward and they step into the throne room. It was a big room with a giant red rug on the ground, red and black designs on the wallpaper, gold columns aligning the room and a huge golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Then straight ahead, sitting in two red and gold thrones of about the same size were the king and queen. The king had carried a stern, troubled look while the queen held a look of concern. "Who are you to disturb us at this late hour?" the king says. The man takes a deep breath and then steps forward. "My name is Kenji of the Enzia village and this is my wife, Anisa. We heard of the queen's dilemma of being unable to carry a child and are here to make an offer."

The queen's eyes widen as she sits in silence as she clutches the arms of her chair while the king's eyes fill with rage. He raises his voice at the man, furious at him for speaking of his queen in such a manner but before he could condemn him, the queen interrupted by placing her hand on her husband's arm. She told them that it was okay and turns to the couple to allow them to continue speaking. Kenji looked over at his wife as if looking for confirmation and she gave him a slight nod. He explained to the king and queen that they have just had a child but are unable to take care of her due to lacking enough money and resources to even take care of themselves. In order to give their daughter a better life, they asked that the king and queen would please consider taking her in as their own or to at least find her a better home.

The queen stood up and walked over to Anisa, raising her head up to meet her own. She acknowledged that the situation must be hard for her as well. Tears started to stream down Anisa's face and her husband places a comforting hand on her shoulder. The queen asks for the baby girl's name and Anisa responds, "Aoife; after my mother." The queen asks if they are truly sure that this is what they want and they both give her a confirming nod. The king asks if they may see the baby girl and the woman moves her cape once more, revealing the baby. She had light-brown skin and curly, dark brown hair like her father's. At that moment the baby woke up and opened her eyes; they were dark brown and looked exactly like her mothers'. After a moment, the same guard who walked the couple in speaks, "I'm sorry to interrupt your majesties, but it's getting late." The guard turns to look at the couple, "It's time for you to go."

Kenji and Anisa look at each other and then at their child and give the baby one more hug and kiss before handing her over to the king and queen. "Please take good care of her," Kenji said, keeping his arms around his wife. The king and queen promised to love Aoife as if she was their own and asked for the couple to please take care of themselves as well. Kenji thanked them but as Kenji and Anisa start to turn and walk away, Anisa suddenly stops in place. "Wait!" she says, running back to the king and queen. She took off her locket and pulled a folded sheet of paper out of her pocket. The guard became cautious but loosened up once he saw the paper. She handed the locket and paper to the king and asked him to please give it to Aoife when she's old enough and to let her know that they truly did love her. The king gave her his word and Anisa looked at her baby's face one last time, rubbed her little head; seeing her eyes looking back at her. She gave Aoife one more kiss goodbye and then goes back to her husband as the guards lead them out. The king and queen were left in the throne room. Once the door closes, they looked down at the baby and smiled for their prayers had been answered; they finally had a child.