Once upon a time, there was a princess and a prince who fell in love. By that description, you may already assume that you know what happens next. But if you are willing, take a moment with me to listen to this tale of love and loss, of a woman whose pride and a man whose blind passion turned what could have been something beautiful into something tragic.
It began with a smile and a surprise in a garden. Young Princess Mara of the kingdom Ignis sat alone on a swing, wearing a lovely green gown and a frown on her face. With the tip of her foot, she absentmindedly traced patterns in the dirt as she tried to distract herself from the frustration boiling up inside her. The faint sound of someone muttering to himself pulled her out of her thoughts, causing her head to snap up. Her blue eyes searched around for the source of the voice, and they finally settled on an unfamiliar boy about her age wandering around. His skin was as pale as snow and his dark hair fell like soft waves around his ears. He was dressed in relatively simple clothing, and he was tall and strong in stature. She watched him from afar as he hopped up on the thin rim of the fountain and balanced on it as if he didn't have a care in the world. Cautiously, she rose from where she was sitting and approached. Hearing the sound of footsteps, he turned to look at her and a bright smile formed on his face, contrasting the frown still lingering on hers.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she demanded.
He cocked his head. "I'm exploring."
"On palace grounds?"
"I'm not from here."
"And where is it that you hail from?"
A glint formed in his eyes. "Not here."
"Watch your mouth. You're speaking to a princess."
He chuckled. "How do you know you're not speaking to a prince, hm?"
She scoffed. "I highly doubt that."
"You would be mistaken."
"Of what kingdom then?"
He didn't answer, stepping off the edge of the fountain and pretending to be distracted by one of the rose bushes. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she roughly turned him around, causing him to scrape his finger against one of the thorns. Her eyes widened at the sight of the blood and she immediately backed off.
"Now look at what you've done," he teased, seemingly unfazed.
"That's what you get for ignoring me," she responded with a raise of her chin.
His lips curved into an amused smirk. "Alright, if you must know, I am Prince Zaire of Glacies. Pleased to make your acquaintance," he finally introduced with an accentuated bow.
"The ice kingdom?"
"That's correct."
Her eyes narrowed, still not believing that this boy dressed like a commoner was royalty. "Prove it."
He clicked his tongue but made his way over to the fountain again. Catching some of the water in his hand, she watched as it turned into black ice crystals in his palm. Flashing her a triumphant smile, he closed his hand, melting the ice back into water again.
"Your turn now," he challenged.
She sputtered, caught off guard. "That won't be necessary."
"Why not? Anyone can wear a crown and claim to be a princess," he reasoned, gesturing to the diadem perched upon her auburn hair.
"This is my home. I don't need to prove anything to you."
He tilted his head, his grey eyes fixed on hers. "Don't tell me you can't wield your family's power?"
"Of course I can."
"Then, prove it."
She raised her chin. "I will not be told what to do by you."
He was silent for a moment, his eyes staring into the deepest depths of her soul. "You're lying." She tried to protest, but he cut her off. "How is that possible?"
She took a step back, feeling cornered and vulnerable. Seeing her distress, his gaze softened and he raised his hands up. "Look, I promise not to tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me."
Something about the way he spoke, the way he looked at her, the way he stood made her want to believe him, but there was a small part of her that feared that he was just like anyone else who would try to use that information against her.
"I just might not have gotten them yet," she mumbled quietly, her eyes shifting to the ground.
"It's possible," he encouraged. "And if it makes you feel better, I'm not very good at using my powers anyway. I can barely do anything more than those little crystals I showed you"
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's a little embarrassing. Even my own father is ashamed of me."
She frowned, surprised that he was willing to share this information with her. Never in a million years would she have told anyone, much less a person she had just met, about her situation. But here he was, being so open and genuine with her that she could not help but feel a little more trusting of him. A small smile formed on her face which caused a wider smile to form on his. He offered his hand out to her, and she obliged, placing her hand in his and allowing him to lead her back inside the castle.
From there, the two only grew closer over the years, always trying to find time to spend together whenever they could. Zaire never told anyone, not even his closest companions back at home, Mara's secret, keeping it locked away in his heart that belonged to her. He loved the princess of Ignis, though she was not as willing to accept the love he so readily offered her. Deep down, Mara cared deeply for him in return, but she refused to admit it to anyone, even herself. As tensions began to brew between their two families, she figured that getting too attached to him would only end up hurting her in some way, especially with the unlikelihood of them ever being able to be together. Thus, she tried to close her heart off to him, not knowing he had already entwined himself into the very fabric of her soul.
One dark night, Zaire approached Mara's palace just as he always had, only to be stopped in his tracks by two guards.
"Is there a problem?" he questioned.
"My apologies, Your Highness, but you are not permitted to enter."
"I'm here to see the princess."
"That's not possible."
His eyebrows furrowed. "I command you–"
"You have no power here. I am sorry, but it is time for you to leave."
Zaire's frown deepened. He knew that getting into a fight with the guards would not end well for any of them, so he opted to back off. Once he was out of sight however, he made his way around the back to the garden where he had first met Mara. By that point, he had somewhat honed his powers, so he built himself a staircase of ice so that he could get over the wall. Once he was inside the garden, he searched for her until he finally came across her pacing back and forth and trembling to herself.
"Mara," he called out.
Her head snapped up to look at him, and an expression of fear twisted her features. "You shouldn't be here."
He shook his head, only caring about her in the moment. "Mara, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" she lashed out, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "What's not wrong? Our kingdoms are on the brink of war, Zaire. And I...I..."
"You what?"
"Zaire," she whispered. "It happened." Holding her hand out, he watched in awe as her hand became encased in a golden fire, the flames dancing on her fingertips. Before it could get any bigger, she extinguished it with a close of her hand.
"Mara," he gasped. "That's wonderful."
She shook her head, turning her eyes away from him. "It's too strong. I can't control it," He tried to approach her, but she held a hand up. "Don't come any closer, please."
He remained silent but slowly made his way over to her anyway. She tried to withdraw at first, but he caught her hand in his. His touch was cool and comforting against her burning skin, and he managed to extinguish an accidental flame that formed with his own ice. Looking up at him, she wanted nothing more than to fall into his embrace and let him comfort her, but her own stubborn pride refused to let her be vulnerable around anyone, even him.
"Look, it's okay," he tried to reassure, but she continued to shake her head, pulling away from him again. "Please, let me help you, Mara."
A pained look crossed her gaze. "I can't. We can't, Zaire."
"But why?" he burst out, losing his composure for once. "Why can't we? What's stopping us?"
"My loyalty is to my people, and I will not risk having that questioned by anyone."
"I am loyal to my people, but I am loyal to you as well."
"Impossible. You'll be forced to choose one eventually."
His eyes remained fixed on her. "Then marry me."
She was taken aback. "What?"
"Join our kingdoms. Let's bridge the gap and work together instead of against each other. We don't have to fight."
She was speechless for a while, thoughts swirling around in her head. "It won't work. It can't..."
"You don't know that!"
"I do!" she yelled back, tears finally streaming down her cheeks. "I knew from the start that we could never be together, but you have always just failed to see it."
"If you would just give it a chance...just give us a chance, Mara, please."
She shook her head, backing farther away from him. "You should go."
"Mara..."
"Go," she said, stronger this time. "And don't come back again."
Those would be the last words she would say to him for a long time. Zaire returned to his kingdom and did not try to visit again. Relations between the kingdoms only grew worse, with small skirmishes breaking out from time to time. Mara kept to herself, trying her best to hone her powers but making very little progress without any sort of guidance. She continually fought the urge to think about Zaire, but he still wormed his way into her mind, causing a deep seated grief to settle in. She hated that she missed him because she was the one who told him to go, but she figured there was no point in trying to apologize anymore. The chance was gone forever and there was nothing she could do. Meanwhile, Zaire threw himself into training his own powers to distract himself from her. He spent more time with the army partially to avoid the disapproving gaze of his father who never seemed to be satisfied with him, and partially to take out his frustration. He knew he would always care about Mara, but he also knew there was nothing he could do if she could not reciprocate in the same way. It tore him apart from the inside and in a moment of weakness, he did the one thing he swore that he would never do.
"Ignis is weak. Their heir cannot control her powers."
Those words tasted like bile in his mouth, and a sudden and strong wave of grief washed over him, but he forced himself to stand strong and ignore it. All the eyes of the army leaders turned to look at him.
"Princess Mara cannot wield fire?"
He shook his head. "She did not have any powers at all until recently, and she still remains untrained."
"Then we must strike quickly. Our spies tell us she will be passing through the Isack forest two days from now. We can catch them off guard there."
"Capturing her could turn the tide of the war."
"Agreed. So, here's the strategy–"
"Wait," Zaire interrupted, a lump forming in his throat.
"What is it?"
"Can you ensure she won't be harmed?"
He was met with concerned and questioning stares, making him immediately regret his words. She was right; he couldn't be loyal to both his kingdom and to her. It was impossible from the start, and he was the one who failed to see it. Feeling ashamed, he shook his head, telling them to forget about it before exiting the room in a hurry. That night, he couldn't sleep, tossing and turning as the guilt wrapped itself around his throat, torturing him for what he did. Whenever he dozed off, he dreamt of scenes of her caught in the crossfire, crying in fear and pain. Burying his face in his hands, he wept as the sorrow consumed him. What had he done?
The attack came swiftly and brutally. One moment, Mara was sitting quietly in her carriage, lost in thought, and the next moment, the carriage was overturned and chaos had erupted all around. In somewhat of a daze, she managed to crawl out from the wreckage, finding herself caught in the middle of a heated battle. A Glacien soldier charged at her, sword in hand, and she just barely managed to roll out of the way of his swing. He came at her again but was suddenly stopped in his tracks, falling to the ground with a knife buried in his back. Behind him stood Savita, Mara's handmaid and best friend who had a fierce and wild look in her eyes.
"Are you hurt?" Savita asked, extending a hand to help Mara up.
Mara could only shake her head weakly, trembling as she struggled to rise to her feet.
"Come, we can find cover in the trees," Savita urged, leading the way.
Mara followed close behind, keeping her head down and trying to block out the screams and shouts of her soldiers as they struggled to defend her. They had nearly reached the thicker part of the forest when Savita spotted a Glacien soldier with a crossbow trained on the princess. Without a second to lose, she pushed Mara to the ground, saving the princess's life, but the arrow buried itself through her throat. Mara stared in horror as her best friend fell to the ground, twitching and gurgling blood. She crawled over to her, but it didn't take long for her to realize that there was nothing she could do to save her. Mara let out an anguished scream as she cradled Savita's body in her arms, refusing to move from her spot even as the battle raged on around her. The captain of the guard spotted the princess huddled on the ground, and he fought his way over to her, plunging his sword into anyone who stood in his way.
"Your Highness," he begged, taking her by the arm. "We have to get out of here."
"No," she refused, pulling away. "I can't leave her here."
"You'll die if we stay!"
"So be it!" she screamed, not thinking straight in the heat of the moment. The captain tried to protest, but he was cut off as a Glacien soldier thrust a spear through his gut while his back was turned. A newfound fury boiled up inside Mara as the captain fell dead beside her friend. Rising to her feet, she sent a stream of fire toward the Glacien soldier, burning him to a crisp. Looking around herself, she saw the enemy soldiers approaching all around, but she felt nothing but pure, unparalleled wrath. With a loud cry, she released a wave of fire in all directions, torching everyone and everything around her until there was nothing left but burning trees and burning bodies. She fell to her knees, her tears mixing with the blood and dirt already coating her face. Exhausted and distraught, she laid on the ground next to her fallen kin, staring up at the smoke filled sky.
A rescue team eventually found her and brought her home, but she took a while to even speak to anyone about what had happened. It all came back to her in blurred and fractured memories that she would have much rather have erased from her mind. She took care to give all of her fallen soldiers a proper burial, most especially Savita who had gone above and beyond to protect her, but the losses shook her to her core. The truth behind the attack was revealed by a captured and interrogated soldier which only added salt to the already stinging wound. Now, she was filled with a bitter urge to make him pay tenfold for what he had done, no matter what.
"Princess Mara, you can't," the seers warned. "The prophecy states that you will meet your demise on the battlefield by the hand of a former lover. Our soldiers are more than capable of handling the enemy forces, so there is no real need for you to go. You would just be putting your life in needless danger."
"First off, he's not my lover. He played me and betrayed me and now he will pay with his life. And I don't care how many of them there are or how armed they are or how strong they are. I'm going, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
"But Your Highness–"
"I have served my kingdom to the best of my ability. But my best friend and so many of my people have died needlessly in this war, so I cannot just sit around and wait for someone to do something when I have the ability to do something myself."
"But what about the future of our kingdom? What will we do without our heir?"
"Our future is already uncertain. If I don't do this, there will be no kingdom to rule."
And so, Mara departed with her men, ready to face the dangers that lay before her. Through most of the battle, she held her own, taking down any enemy soldier who dared to cross her path. Her rage and pain fueled her, making her powers stronger and more deadly. All the while, she kept a watchful eye for a certain ice prince, just waiting for the moment of her vengeance to come into fruition.
Zaire was also advised not to go to the battle upon hearing that a certain princess would be there too, but nothing could stop him either. He knew that she would never forgive him for what he did, and part of him believed he didn't even deserve forgiveness. He knew that she would want to exact revenge at all costs and that it was unlikely that he would make it out of the battle alive. At the same time however, he knew that she would carve a bloody path through his troops in order to get to him and that he was the only one who could potentially stop her, even if that meant he would die too.
Finally, in the heat of the battle, their eyes met and the whole world seemed to stand still. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, emotions of every kind flowing over them. Slowly but surely, they trudged toward each other, stepping over bodies and wading through rivers of blood from their fallen comrades. They were already exhausted from all the fighting, but they mustered all the energy they had left for one last encounter that each knew would be their last.
There was so much Zaire wanted to say to her, but he could not even get a word out before a barrage of fireballs began flying in his direction. He did his best to dodge and counter them with his own blasts of ice, but the flames still managed to singe and burn his skin. Gritting his teeth, he formed sharp spikes of ice that he launched at her. She melted them with a strong blast of fire and she continued her barrage on him. This continued for a while, both of them ignoring the screaming pain encapsulating their whole bodies.
"Mara," Zaire gasped, dodging another blast from her. "Mara, I'm so sorry."
She let out a dry chuckle, refusing to stop her onslaught. "You think a few measly words are going to make up for what you've done?"
"No, and I don't mean them to, but please, hear me out."
One of his ice spikes grazed her arm, causing her to retaliate by burning both of his legs. He fell to the ground with a thud, groaning in pain. She marched over to him, turning him onto her back with her foot and staring down at him.
"What do you want to tell me, hm? That you love me? That you never meant to hurt me? Well, you'd be a fool to think that I'd ever believe anything you say ever again. Love made me blind and made you mad, and now look at what has become of us."
"No," he wheezed. "Love is what could have fixed everything, but we didn't let it. Your pride–"
"My pride? What about your stupidity? Your impulsiveness and lack of thought?"
"We're both at fault. We ruined it for ourselves."
She scoffed, crouching down next to him. "Keep telling yourself that lie. Take that lie to the grave."
"I'll take it to the grave, but it's not a lie."
Narrowing her eyes, she ignited a fire in her hand. "I'm going to make you suffer until your very last breath."
His grey eyes softened despite her threat. "I'm sorry, Mara."
A sharp pain ripped through her body, causing her to freeze in her spot. Looking down, she was horrified to see a black icicle impaled straight through her chest. She could do nothing but stare at him in confusion and pain. Feeling a sudden weakness, she crumpled to the ground next to him, unable to move. Zaire stared at her with sorrow, hating that things had to end this way.
"You know I still love you."
"Don't say that," she gasped, tears welling up in her eyes. "Don't you dare say that."
"I will, and it'll be the last words on my lips, Mara."
Turning her head slowly, she gazed at him, her burning eyes meeting his cool ones. The pain in her body had gone from unbearable to numb, and she knew that she did not have long left. Zaire offered her a sad smile, reaching out and touching her hand. She was too weak to pull away, but something about the familiarity and tenderness of his touch made it easier for her to accept.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered, but his voice was so weak that she could barely hear it. "And I love you."
She watched as the life drained from him, and those eyes that were once lively and bright turned glassy and cold. Unable to look at him anymore, she turned her gaze up to the heavens, staring up at the stars decorating the night sky. As her eyes began to flutter shut, she subconsciously gave his hand one last squeeze.
"Maybe he was right," she thought, as she felt herself fade away. "But I suppose we'll never know."
Thus ends the tragic tale of Princess Mara of Ignis and Prince Zaire of Glacies. They were found dead on the battlefield together, their hands still intertwined. The kingdoms, realizing the futility of the fighting, called a truce so that they could bury their dead and mourn the loss of their beloved heirs. Few know the true story of these ill fated lovers, but as long as this tale is shared, their memory will live on.
Now, all rise with the sun at the dawn of a new day,
With hope for better times to come our way.
The End