"The Princess, The Foul, and a Weekend at St. Christopher's" by: Emily Scoular -- Handler's Choice

The week was long and the seconds were stretched into years. Every mile I rode closer to you, the further the safety of my village evaded me. I arrived in a town I once knew and held dear that I now look at with such disdain, full of wild nights I wouldn’t want to miss and days I wish I could burn away.

A month apart and yet time had not passed, but we needed to catch up. I had heard about your life on the new court from ravens that wouldn’t leave me alone. I hoped you would confide in me sooner, but at least you told me your darkest secrets and how your life has gone since escaping home. And I promise I won’t tell anyone because your wicked ways have begun to make you into the queen you wished you never would become. Long ago, we walked down the same path, but came to a fork in the road that would end up different places. We made our choices, but still, our lives would take the same course of action. It’s what choices and what side adventures we decide to have that make the same path look different. I saw what clear skies you had before you and all the woodland animals that walked by your side and suddenly I’m jealous and ashamed of my lonely walkway.

So, I took a walk on your trail. We first ventured to a mysterious hut hidden deep in the steel forest, and together, it was a great feeling of not being able to feel. Happy, giggly children swaying down steps and out into the night. We came to our next location: an exotic mansion with strange faces that

looked at you with greed and lust. They welcomed me, passing around a gold chalice with which I took relief in. The night was young, but my soul was old, feeling outdated and scared. So, I was passed another chalice and another and a goblet and a mug and a pot until finally I was reworked into a new being. My intents were clear but my weighted feet dragged me all around the room from one stranger’s lips to the next. It was a night of foolishness that ended with a heavy heart and weak mind.

As the sun rose, I felt no pain. I felt no pleasure and I felt no fuller than when I first made my journey south. The day paddled on and all I could think about was not wanting to think. I gambled, would jester, and for one hour, I found peace that could not and would not stay. We went to a gala, surrounded by the most esteemed strangers I had ever met. I was completely aware, yet was dragged along with an unconscious mind. I looked to my left and I didn’t see you; I saw a new member of a society which I couldn’t be a part of. In my place there was a new foul who would make you laugh and comfort your pretty head. I hated being the joke that was no longer funny and was only told to pass by the time.

I ran back to the mansion where the faces I knew from last night were still foreign and strange. I stole the chalice, downing all of its contents and returning for more. The lost feeling I was looking for was missing, and couldn’t be found in this fountain. So, I returned to your carriage and listened to the hooves of horses trod through the city taking us from tavern to shopping markets. When we returned to the mansion, I followed the knights out into the fields and to the edge of the river. I divulged on wild berries and sweet flowers that diluted my senses and flew me up to the moon. Everyone was ragged with searching all night for a lost key, but I sang and skipped along with a stupid grin on my face, knowing that everything was going to be okay. I returned to your quarters that night and put on a new act, playing a new foul for you to enjoy. And it worked. I went to bed succeeding in having you for one last night.

But morning of course had to rise over this land and I had to jump on my horse and go back north. It was a great and terrible weekend, that I would never trade it for any chest of gold. I leftnew jokers, knights, princes, maids, harlots, wizards, and peasant girls to watch over you, and they will fill your days with colors in a way that I no longer can.

I must return to my path and you, your majesty, shall stay on yours. I hope it’s the one right for you. I now see that it is much more jagged, full of thorns, and there are snakes that would poison you. I return to my sanctuary; close enough to return to our old village and yet far enough that I’m learning and working my way up to enter the big kingdom. Maybe you’ll join me on my path one day. Maybe one day I’ll see you in the kingdom, taking your rightful place on the throne. Until then, I’ll be waiting.