Princess Rosella of Daventry (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
primrosella) wrote2009-07-02 04:43 pm
primrosella) wrote2009-07-02 04:43 pm
Quest 098
[Attempted Private to Neil//Public Due To Curse]
Dear Neil,
Last month we got to talking about fairy tales, and I ended up promising to write one for you; well, after a few failed attempts, I think I've finally come up with one that I like. It's rather rough in places, I'm afraid, but do keep in mind that it's my first try at this, won't you? And in any case, I had fun with it, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed dreaming it up.
It's a story about a princess, of course, and a very wicked witch, and a--well, I ought to just let you read it and see for yourself, shouldn't I? I'd hate to spoil the surprise! But please do let me know if you like it--I'd like very much to hear what you think!
It's called "The Prince With the Midnight Eyes".
~Rosella
P.S. Yes, the bards are meant to be you and Todd.
---
The Prince With the Midnight Eyes
Once upon a time a princess lived in a castle with her father, her mother, and her many older sisters. All of the princesses were renowned throughout the land for their beauty and grace, and this renown caused plenty of wealthy and handsome princes to come to the kingdom seeking one of the sisters for a bride. One by one, each of the princesses found her match, until finally only the youngest was left unwed.
However, the youngest princess was dissatisfied with the thought of following in her sisters’ dainty footsteps; she felt that it was better for a princess to be clever than beautiful, and wanted to win renown for herself through great deeds, rather than for her fairness of face.
So one morning, as her parents were discussing the list of potential suitors waiting for her, the young princess went to them and said, “Father, Mother, I would like to delay my marriage a year, and use that time instead to go adventuring. Perhaps I can perform a service for a king, or rescue someone in need, and by doing so, bring honor and glory to our kingdom before I wed.”
Her mother protested this, insisting that there was no need for such a lovely girl to risk soiling her beauty by going adventuring, but her father warmed to the idea, and agreed to let her go. Happily, the princess gathered a few things together for traveling, bid her parents a fond farewell, and set off on her adventure.
She walked for many days, exploring the lands around her kingdom, and one day as she was walking down a sunlit path through the forest, she came across a pair of bards, seated on a fallen log and making merry together.
“Hail, fair beauty,” one bard said pleasantly. “What errand brings you to these woods?”
“No errand, good sir,” she answered. “I am merely exploring.”
“You would do well to keep caution if you continue down this path, good lady,” advised the other bard. “Just around the bend is a fork in the road; the path to the left will take you to a town and to safety, but the right leads to the Forbidden Tower, and you would not wish to go there.”
“Why is that?” the princess asked, intrigued.
“Because that is the tower where the prince with the midnight eyes is confined,” replied the first bard. “It is said that long ago, the prince did battle with the wickedest of all witches, and at the end of a bitter struggle his magic finally succumbed to hers; now he is her captive, and none have ever found a way to free him from his curse.”
“I thank you kindly for the story,” the princess said, offering the bards each a coin for their advice. “All the same, I have been looking for an adventure; I will go to the Forbidden Tower, and perhaps I can do something to save the prince with the midnight eyes.”
The bards tried once again to dissuade her, but the princess was determined to investigate and took the path to the right, making her way to the Forbidden Tower. It was made of white marble and rose so high that it pierced the clouds, and the only opening was a single door, set into the base. The door was unlocked; a single touch opened it, and the princess was permitted entrance.
The inside of the tower was empty save for a winding staircase, so the princess picked up her skirts and began to climb the stairs, following them up and up and up until she felt as though she had climbed for hours. Finally she reached a landing with an open doorway, and in the chamber beyond it she could see the figure of a dark-haired young man sleeping on a raised marble pedestal.
Curious, she approached the doorway, but was stopped by a horrible screeching noise and a terrible cloud of black smoke. The princess leapt back, coughing, and when the smoke cleared a horrible figure was waiting for her—the wickedest of all witches, just as the bards had said.
“Who are you to enter this tower, girl?” the witch demanded, pointing a bony finger at the princess.
“I wish to challenge you for the freedom of the prince with the midnight eyes,” the princess answered, as confidently as she could. She felt it would have been pointless to lie to a witch as terrible as this, after all; the witch would have instantly detected the lie, and perhaps killed her on the spot.
The witch narrowed her horrible red eyes, considering this. “It has been ages since one was foolish enough to challenge me,” she cackled after a moment. “Come into the chamber of the prince, you silly girl, and I will set your task.” The princess agreed, and followed the witch into the chamber.
Once inside, the witch laid down the challenge for the princess—the battle she and the prince had waged had been one of great magic, and in the end both had found themselves greatly reduced in power. The witch had prevailed by a slim margin, locking the prince away beneath his curse, but the magic she’d had to expend to do so had severely limited her abilities; he did not have enough magic left to break the curse himself, and she did not have enough to awaken him, either.
The answer, the witch explained, was for someone to travel to the very edge of the world and fetch a ring of power belonging to the King of the Trolls. The ring’s magic was such that it could not be stolen or used for personal gain; its powers could only be used if it had been freely given as a gift to its bearer.
Though she was wary, the princess agreed to fetch the ring to free the prince, and left the tower unhindered by the witch. She walked and walked, mulling over her predicament, and it was only when she stopped for lunch that she noticed her pack bulging in a way that it never had before. Curious, she opened it, and resting inside was a mangy black cat with a nick in its ear.
“How did you ever get in there?” she demanded of the cat, surprised.
“I snuck into your pack while you were inside the chamber,” the cat explained, “I am the witch’s cat, but I hold no great love for her. I overheard the quest she set for you; I would help you, if you will have me.”
The princess was unsure about accepting help from any animal that belonged to a witch, but she was pleased at the thought of company, and so she agreed to take the cat with her on her quest. Together they traveled for many weeks, traveling over mountains and across oceans, always seeking the way to the edge of the world. On cold nights, the cat would curl around the princess’s shoulders and keep her warm with his fur, and during the hottest days he would lick her cheek as she carried him. And so they traveled, princess and cat, wearing out shoes and footpads together as they made their way toward the end of the world.
At last they arrived, and were greeted by a legion of trolls, who seized them and took them before the King of the Trolls. The princess was very afraid, but the cat curled around her shoulders and purred in her ear, and comforted her until she was calm enough to speak. When the King of the Trolls demanded to know why she had entered his domain, the princess explained that she was seeking the ring of power to break the curse of the prince with the midnight eyes.
At this, the King of the Trolls began to laugh, so delighted was he by the prospect of an adventuring princess. After a time, he agreed to give her the ring of power if she could, in turn, complete three tasks he set for her. The princess agreed, and the King of the Trolls clapped his claws, summoning his guards for the first task.
The trolls took the princess to a bottomless chasm deep in the heart of their domain, with only a rickety bridge spanning it. The bridge was missing several boards and looked as though it would barely hold a person’s weight for a few seconds, if burdened with such a duty. Standing proudly near the edge, the King of the Trolls rubbed his claws and informed the princess that her first task was to cross the chasm, but cautioned her that no one could cross the bridge and survive.
The princess looked about, weighing her options. The chasm was much too wide to jump, and even the rope she carried in her pack would not span it. She could not climb down and then back up again, and she could not fly across it. The only way seemed to be by the bridge, and yet to do so would mean certain death—or would it?
The princess thought a minute, hoping she was right, and then picked up the cat and strode confidently across the bridge. Beneath her feet, the planks seemed as solid as stone, and she made her way across in no time at all. When she reached the other side, she waved back at the King of the Trolls and claimed her first victory.
“No one can cross the bridge and survive,” she remarked to the pleased and purring cat as she crossed back over to the trolls. “How very clever.”
“Yes,” agreed the cat. “But with me in your arms, we are two.”
Delighted by the girl’s success and cleverness, the King of the Trolls set her a second challenge—to bring him, in less than ten minutes, an eye, a neck, and a hand, and all without spilling a drop of blood. The princess agreed to this challenge as well, and at the urging of the cat, she raced back into the caves that the trolls inhabited to set about her mission. Within seven minutes she had returned, carrying with her a handful of items.
“An eye,” she said, and handed the king a needle,
“A neck,” she continued, and gave him a wine bottle,
“And a hand,” she finished, and placed in his claws a small clock.
The King of the Trolls gazed down at the items in his hands, and then broke into great gales of laughter, motioning over one of his guards and entrusting the things to him. “You are a wonderfully clever girl,” he praised her. “Are you prepared for your final task?”
“I am,” the princess agreed, and readied herself.
“Then answer this riddle correctly, and claim your prize,” the King of the Trolls said, and recited:
My first is foremost heavenly,
My second circles outwardly,
My third heads all in pedigree,
My fourth twice ends a jubilee.
What is the answer? Speak to me!
The princess thought very carefully, absently reaching to stroke the cat as she pondered, and then at last replied, “H is foremost in the word heavenly; O the letter that always circles around; P the head of the word pedigree, and jubilee twice ends with the letter E. The answer is that which I have always had, and will never give up—it is hope.”
“And your hope has prevailed,” the King of the Trolls said kindly, pulling a ring off one of his clawed fingers and handing it to her. “You have rightfully won the ring of power. Take it with my blessing; I hereby gift it to you.”
The princess placed the ring on her finger, feeling its power surge through her as she did so. With a smile and a curtsey, she thanked the King of the Trolls for his aid, and then retrieved the cat and closed her eyes. “Take me to the Forbidden Tower,” she wished, and the ring glowed like a beam of moonlight; in an instant, it was so, and she was back at the base of the tower.
Once again she climbed the stairs, and when she reached the balcony, the cat leapt from her shoulders and curled up in the corner near the door. “The witch will have one final test for you in that chamber,” he said quietly. “I cannot aid you this time. You will have to face her alone.”
As if summoned by the speaking of her name, the witch appeared, as awful and horrible as ever. “So you have returned!” she howled. “With the ring of power? Excellent! We shall see if you have what it takes to free the prince with the midnight eyes.”
The princess looked through the doorway, where the figure still slept on his pedestal, and then bent and reached to pet the cat one last time. “You have my thanks, dear cat,” she said. “Take it with my blessing.”
Then she stood and nodded to the witch, allowing herself to be escorted into the chamber.
But this time when she stepped through the doorway, the room went dark and for a moment she could see nothing at all; then, as she took a hesitant step forward, a candelabra burned to life overhead and the princess could see—not one, but three identical pedestals, each with a sleeping prince on it, and each prince was more handsome than the last.
“Now you must choose,” boomed the witch’s cackle, filling the room so that the princess could not tell where exactly it was coming from. “Select your prince; gift him the ring and bid him to open his eyes, and we shall see if you have won your challenge.”
The princess thought back to the few times she had managed to glimpse the sleeping prince, recalling dark, tousled hair and gentle features; then she surveyed the princes, trying to match her recollections to the figures before her. For a long time she deliberated, and then at last she went to the one on the far right and held out her hand to him. “Prince with the midnight eyes, take this ring,” she said, her voice trembling. “I hereby gift it to you.”
The prince sat upright as the light in the room disappeared, and when his eyes opened they were not the color of midnight, but burning crimson-red in the dark. The princess felt a bony hand wrap around her wrist, and another snatched at the ring she wore on her finger—it had been the witch in disguise, all along.
“My dear little girl, I’m afraid you have chosen foolishly,” the witch cackled, drawing the princess near enough to see that she was baring her foul, pointed teeth.
“Has she?” came a new voice, and at that instant, light flooded the room.
The princess gave the witch a mighty shove, ducking to the floor as a blast of blue-white magic hurtled through the room, striking the witch dead in the chest. The witch howled and flailed her arms to respond, but no magic came; she was powerless to resist the magical assault.
The princess looked up, and there in the doorway stood a young man with eyes the color of midnight, the ring of power on his finger and the satisfied expression of a cat on his face. “I would say she chose quite wisely indeed.”
Sniveling, the witch turned on the princess. “You tricked me!” she shrieked, scrabbling at the ring on her finger. “What worthless toy is this?!”
“Why, my signet ring, of course,” the princess answered with a smirk. “Did you think I would hand you the real ring of power that easily? Honestly, only a fool would trust the word of a witch.”
The prince with the midnight eyes gestured again, and in a flash of light the witch disappeared, screeching her fury. Then the prince went to the princess and helped her to her feet, smiling warmly at her. “When did you figure it out?” he asked, regarding her thoughtfully. “The curse forbade me from telling you who I really was. How did you know to give me the ring before you entered the room?”
“I first suspected when you told me how you’d gotten into my bag,” she answered. “I never saw any signs of a cat in that room—only the sleeping prince. And why should the witch agree to my challenge at all? Because she wanted the ring for herself, of course, to get her own magic back. I realized when she explained the nature of the ring that she was after someone to fetch it for her, but of course no one would be foolish enough to bring it to her directly. That's how I guessed that the sight of the prince might be an illusion. Besides, you telling me that you belonged to the witch was hint enough. No creature that foul would ever willingly keep a pet as kind as you.”
“You are clever,” the prince said. “And very beautiful, too.”
“But mostly clever,” the princess teased, and kissed him.
And so the young and clever princess rescued her prince with the midnight eyes, and with the ring of power they were able to transport themselves back to her kingdom at once; the king and queen were overjoyed to see them and to hear the tales of the princess’s great deeds, and they all agreed that she had won herself both a fine prince and plenty of honor and glory.
THE END
[OOC: It's official: I'm a huge dork. The riddle in the story is lovingly adapted from a riddle appearing in King's Quest VI because I am uncreative, and the cut is there solely to save your friends lists. Also, YES, THIS POST IS FAIR GAME FOR FOURTH-WALLING, come Saturday!Though I will be posting for her that day, too.]
Dear Neil,
Last month we got to talking about fairy tales, and I ended up promising to write one for you; well, after a few failed attempts, I think I've finally come up with one that I like. It's rather rough in places, I'm afraid, but do keep in mind that it's my first try at this, won't you? And in any case, I had fun with it, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed dreaming it up.
It's a story about a princess, of course, and a very wicked witch, and a--well, I ought to just let you read it and see for yourself, shouldn't I? I'd hate to spoil the surprise! But please do let me know if you like it--I'd like very much to hear what you think!
It's called "The Prince With the Midnight Eyes".
~Rosella
P.S. Yes, the bards are meant to be you and Todd.
---
Once upon a time a princess lived in a castle with her father, her mother, and her many older sisters. All of the princesses were renowned throughout the land for their beauty and grace, and this renown caused plenty of wealthy and handsome princes to come to the kingdom seeking one of the sisters for a bride. One by one, each of the princesses found her match, until finally only the youngest was left unwed.
However, the youngest princess was dissatisfied with the thought of following in her sisters’ dainty footsteps; she felt that it was better for a princess to be clever than beautiful, and wanted to win renown for herself through great deeds, rather than for her fairness of face.
So one morning, as her parents were discussing the list of potential suitors waiting for her, the young princess went to them and said, “Father, Mother, I would like to delay my marriage a year, and use that time instead to go adventuring. Perhaps I can perform a service for a king, or rescue someone in need, and by doing so, bring honor and glory to our kingdom before I wed.”
Her mother protested this, insisting that there was no need for such a lovely girl to risk soiling her beauty by going adventuring, but her father warmed to the idea, and agreed to let her go. Happily, the princess gathered a few things together for traveling, bid her parents a fond farewell, and set off on her adventure.
She walked for many days, exploring the lands around her kingdom, and one day as she was walking down a sunlit path through the forest, she came across a pair of bards, seated on a fallen log and making merry together.
“Hail, fair beauty,” one bard said pleasantly. “What errand brings you to these woods?”
“No errand, good sir,” she answered. “I am merely exploring.”
“You would do well to keep caution if you continue down this path, good lady,” advised the other bard. “Just around the bend is a fork in the road; the path to the left will take you to a town and to safety, but the right leads to the Forbidden Tower, and you would not wish to go there.”
“Why is that?” the princess asked, intrigued.
“Because that is the tower where the prince with the midnight eyes is confined,” replied the first bard. “It is said that long ago, the prince did battle with the wickedest of all witches, and at the end of a bitter struggle his magic finally succumbed to hers; now he is her captive, and none have ever found a way to free him from his curse.”
“I thank you kindly for the story,” the princess said, offering the bards each a coin for their advice. “All the same, I have been looking for an adventure; I will go to the Forbidden Tower, and perhaps I can do something to save the prince with the midnight eyes.”
The bards tried once again to dissuade her, but the princess was determined to investigate and took the path to the right, making her way to the Forbidden Tower. It was made of white marble and rose so high that it pierced the clouds, and the only opening was a single door, set into the base. The door was unlocked; a single touch opened it, and the princess was permitted entrance.
The inside of the tower was empty save for a winding staircase, so the princess picked up her skirts and began to climb the stairs, following them up and up and up until she felt as though she had climbed for hours. Finally she reached a landing with an open doorway, and in the chamber beyond it she could see the figure of a dark-haired young man sleeping on a raised marble pedestal.
Curious, she approached the doorway, but was stopped by a horrible screeching noise and a terrible cloud of black smoke. The princess leapt back, coughing, and when the smoke cleared a horrible figure was waiting for her—the wickedest of all witches, just as the bards had said.
“Who are you to enter this tower, girl?” the witch demanded, pointing a bony finger at the princess.
“I wish to challenge you for the freedom of the prince with the midnight eyes,” the princess answered, as confidently as she could. She felt it would have been pointless to lie to a witch as terrible as this, after all; the witch would have instantly detected the lie, and perhaps killed her on the spot.
The witch narrowed her horrible red eyes, considering this. “It has been ages since one was foolish enough to challenge me,” she cackled after a moment. “Come into the chamber of the prince, you silly girl, and I will set your task.” The princess agreed, and followed the witch into the chamber.
Once inside, the witch laid down the challenge for the princess—the battle she and the prince had waged had been one of great magic, and in the end both had found themselves greatly reduced in power. The witch had prevailed by a slim margin, locking the prince away beneath his curse, but the magic she’d had to expend to do so had severely limited her abilities; he did not have enough magic left to break the curse himself, and she did not have enough to awaken him, either.
The answer, the witch explained, was for someone to travel to the very edge of the world and fetch a ring of power belonging to the King of the Trolls. The ring’s magic was such that it could not be stolen or used for personal gain; its powers could only be used if it had been freely given as a gift to its bearer.
Though she was wary, the princess agreed to fetch the ring to free the prince, and left the tower unhindered by the witch. She walked and walked, mulling over her predicament, and it was only when she stopped for lunch that she noticed her pack bulging in a way that it never had before. Curious, she opened it, and resting inside was a mangy black cat with a nick in its ear.
“How did you ever get in there?” she demanded of the cat, surprised.
“I snuck into your pack while you were inside the chamber,” the cat explained, “I am the witch’s cat, but I hold no great love for her. I overheard the quest she set for you; I would help you, if you will have me.”
The princess was unsure about accepting help from any animal that belonged to a witch, but she was pleased at the thought of company, and so she agreed to take the cat with her on her quest. Together they traveled for many weeks, traveling over mountains and across oceans, always seeking the way to the edge of the world. On cold nights, the cat would curl around the princess’s shoulders and keep her warm with his fur, and during the hottest days he would lick her cheek as she carried him. And so they traveled, princess and cat, wearing out shoes and footpads together as they made their way toward the end of the world.
At last they arrived, and were greeted by a legion of trolls, who seized them and took them before the King of the Trolls. The princess was very afraid, but the cat curled around her shoulders and purred in her ear, and comforted her until she was calm enough to speak. When the King of the Trolls demanded to know why she had entered his domain, the princess explained that she was seeking the ring of power to break the curse of the prince with the midnight eyes.
At this, the King of the Trolls began to laugh, so delighted was he by the prospect of an adventuring princess. After a time, he agreed to give her the ring of power if she could, in turn, complete three tasks he set for her. The princess agreed, and the King of the Trolls clapped his claws, summoning his guards for the first task.
The trolls took the princess to a bottomless chasm deep in the heart of their domain, with only a rickety bridge spanning it. The bridge was missing several boards and looked as though it would barely hold a person’s weight for a few seconds, if burdened with such a duty. Standing proudly near the edge, the King of the Trolls rubbed his claws and informed the princess that her first task was to cross the chasm, but cautioned her that no one could cross the bridge and survive.
The princess looked about, weighing her options. The chasm was much too wide to jump, and even the rope she carried in her pack would not span it. She could not climb down and then back up again, and she could not fly across it. The only way seemed to be by the bridge, and yet to do so would mean certain death—or would it?
The princess thought a minute, hoping she was right, and then picked up the cat and strode confidently across the bridge. Beneath her feet, the planks seemed as solid as stone, and she made her way across in no time at all. When she reached the other side, she waved back at the King of the Trolls and claimed her first victory.
“No one can cross the bridge and survive,” she remarked to the pleased and purring cat as she crossed back over to the trolls. “How very clever.”
“Yes,” agreed the cat. “But with me in your arms, we are two.”
Delighted by the girl’s success and cleverness, the King of the Trolls set her a second challenge—to bring him, in less than ten minutes, an eye, a neck, and a hand, and all without spilling a drop of blood. The princess agreed to this challenge as well, and at the urging of the cat, she raced back into the caves that the trolls inhabited to set about her mission. Within seven minutes she had returned, carrying with her a handful of items.
“An eye,” she said, and handed the king a needle,
“A neck,” she continued, and gave him a wine bottle,
“And a hand,” she finished, and placed in his claws a small clock.
The King of the Trolls gazed down at the items in his hands, and then broke into great gales of laughter, motioning over one of his guards and entrusting the things to him. “You are a wonderfully clever girl,” he praised her. “Are you prepared for your final task?”
“I am,” the princess agreed, and readied herself.
“Then answer this riddle correctly, and claim your prize,” the King of the Trolls said, and recited:
My first is foremost heavenly,
My second circles outwardly,
My third heads all in pedigree,
My fourth twice ends a jubilee.
What is the answer? Speak to me!
The princess thought very carefully, absently reaching to stroke the cat as she pondered, and then at last replied, “H is foremost in the word heavenly; O the letter that always circles around; P the head of the word pedigree, and jubilee twice ends with the letter E. The answer is that which I have always had, and will never give up—it is hope.”
“And your hope has prevailed,” the King of the Trolls said kindly, pulling a ring off one of his clawed fingers and handing it to her. “You have rightfully won the ring of power. Take it with my blessing; I hereby gift it to you.”
The princess placed the ring on her finger, feeling its power surge through her as she did so. With a smile and a curtsey, she thanked the King of the Trolls for his aid, and then retrieved the cat and closed her eyes. “Take me to the Forbidden Tower,” she wished, and the ring glowed like a beam of moonlight; in an instant, it was so, and she was back at the base of the tower.
Once again she climbed the stairs, and when she reached the balcony, the cat leapt from her shoulders and curled up in the corner near the door. “The witch will have one final test for you in that chamber,” he said quietly. “I cannot aid you this time. You will have to face her alone.”
As if summoned by the speaking of her name, the witch appeared, as awful and horrible as ever. “So you have returned!” she howled. “With the ring of power? Excellent! We shall see if you have what it takes to free the prince with the midnight eyes.”
The princess looked through the doorway, where the figure still slept on his pedestal, and then bent and reached to pet the cat one last time. “You have my thanks, dear cat,” she said. “Take it with my blessing.”
Then she stood and nodded to the witch, allowing herself to be escorted into the chamber.
But this time when she stepped through the doorway, the room went dark and for a moment she could see nothing at all; then, as she took a hesitant step forward, a candelabra burned to life overhead and the princess could see—not one, but three identical pedestals, each with a sleeping prince on it, and each prince was more handsome than the last.
“Now you must choose,” boomed the witch’s cackle, filling the room so that the princess could not tell where exactly it was coming from. “Select your prince; gift him the ring and bid him to open his eyes, and we shall see if you have won your challenge.”
The princess thought back to the few times she had managed to glimpse the sleeping prince, recalling dark, tousled hair and gentle features; then she surveyed the princes, trying to match her recollections to the figures before her. For a long time she deliberated, and then at last she went to the one on the far right and held out her hand to him. “Prince with the midnight eyes, take this ring,” she said, her voice trembling. “I hereby gift it to you.”
The prince sat upright as the light in the room disappeared, and when his eyes opened they were not the color of midnight, but burning crimson-red in the dark. The princess felt a bony hand wrap around her wrist, and another snatched at the ring she wore on her finger—it had been the witch in disguise, all along.
“My dear little girl, I’m afraid you have chosen foolishly,” the witch cackled, drawing the princess near enough to see that she was baring her foul, pointed teeth.
“Has she?” came a new voice, and at that instant, light flooded the room.
The princess gave the witch a mighty shove, ducking to the floor as a blast of blue-white magic hurtled through the room, striking the witch dead in the chest. The witch howled and flailed her arms to respond, but no magic came; she was powerless to resist the magical assault.
The princess looked up, and there in the doorway stood a young man with eyes the color of midnight, the ring of power on his finger and the satisfied expression of a cat on his face. “I would say she chose quite wisely indeed.”
Sniveling, the witch turned on the princess. “You tricked me!” she shrieked, scrabbling at the ring on her finger. “What worthless toy is this?!”
“Why, my signet ring, of course,” the princess answered with a smirk. “Did you think I would hand you the real ring of power that easily? Honestly, only a fool would trust the word of a witch.”
The prince with the midnight eyes gestured again, and in a flash of light the witch disappeared, screeching her fury. Then the prince went to the princess and helped her to her feet, smiling warmly at her. “When did you figure it out?” he asked, regarding her thoughtfully. “The curse forbade me from telling you who I really was. How did you know to give me the ring before you entered the room?”
“I first suspected when you told me how you’d gotten into my bag,” she answered. “I never saw any signs of a cat in that room—only the sleeping prince. And why should the witch agree to my challenge at all? Because she wanted the ring for herself, of course, to get her own magic back. I realized when she explained the nature of the ring that she was after someone to fetch it for her, but of course no one would be foolish enough to bring it to her directly. That's how I guessed that the sight of the prince might be an illusion. Besides, you telling me that you belonged to the witch was hint enough. No creature that foul would ever willingly keep a pet as kind as you.”
“You are clever,” the prince said. “And very beautiful, too.”
“But mostly clever,” the princess teased, and kissed him.
And so the young and clever princess rescued her prince with the midnight eyes, and with the ring of power they were able to transport themselves back to her kingdom at once; the king and queen were overjoyed to see them and to hear the tales of the princess’s great deeds, and they all agreed that she had won herself both a fine prince and plenty of honor and glory.
[OOC: It's official: I'm a huge dork. The riddle in the story is lovingly adapted from a riddle appearing in King's Quest VI because I am uncreative, and the cut is there solely to save your friends lists. Also, YES, THIS POST IS FAIR GAME FOR FOURTH-WALLING, come Saturday!