The young girl walked alongside her father clutching a book to her chest for security. Nature was in full blossom, and all of the imaginable creatures of the enchanted forest were harmonizing their late afternoon lullabies. The scene was quite pure and lovely-it was also a path all too familiar for King Adam Kayon.
The girl tilted her head upwards slightly to make appropriate eye contact with her father. “Pa,” her innocent youthful voice inquired. “Why are we walking in the rose gardens? I thought I was never to set foot near them, yet here we are frolicking like does amongst their velvet petals.”
The father smiled to himself on behalf of his daughter’s rightful curiosity. He even laughed in spite of himself. “My dearest daughter, Maeve, a pup will never learn how to survive if it staggers from trouble.” The King’s delicate gloved hand caressed a passing rose, its velvet red contour and stiffness of the ivory green stem brought back relentless memories of his youth. “For here, my naive darling, is where I met your mother, and the greatest story came to be.”
Maeve, the King’s daughter, lit up with joy and curiosity. “Really, Pa! If that’s really true, why keep me from such a romantic view?” The wind blew quietly as if it too yearned to know of the answer.
The King stopped altogether, drawing a small pocket knife from his belt. Carefully the King held a beautifully colored crimson rose in place until he had managed to cut through the stem entirely. He turned to his daughter, Maeve, handing her the Rose. “Careful-even beautiful items such as these have their thorns.” Maeve grinned in delight as she retrieved the precious red flower from her father’s hold. “Now,” the King continued slowly easing himself onto a tree stump covered in snow. “Have I ever told you about the story of Beauty and The Beast?”
written by Hailey Feuerbach
Part One