The Princess of the Peonies
Content Warning
There once was a kingdom where flowers could not grow. There were no lilies or lavenders or periwinkles, and the chrysanthemums and roses hid away. The kingdom's gardens were filled with as many plants as one could imagine, yet not a single flower bloomed.
In the heart of the kingdom was a castle, and within the tallest tower of that castle a princess wept, for she longed to walk through her gardens and see them be full of color, and hear the sound of the bees as they collected nectar, and smell the sweet fragrance of all the different flowers.
The sounds of her weeping echoed throughout the castle, filling its halls with the sound of her misery. All who heard her cries were struck with despair, yet no one dared approach the tower. No one, except for the knight. The courtiers watched with curious eyes as the knight walked up the stairs towards the top of the tower, for they knew that the two were lovers. Yet they spoke of the knight and the princess' affair in hushed whispers, for they feared invoking the wrath of their king, who would never have approved of their love.
As the knight climbed up the steps of the tower, the sounds of the princess' cries grew louder and louder, and with each step the knight took, the feeling of heartbreak and sorrow grew stronger and stronger. Finally, when the knight reached the top of the tower, she opened the door to princess' room and said, "Why do you cry so, dear princess? Each tear you shed is like an arrow to my heart. Tell me what bothers you, and I shall set it right."
The princess replied "I wish to grow flowers within this kingdom, yet no matter what I do, they will not grow. I have asked for the help of gardeners and sages and magicians, yet not one was able to make a flower bloom."
"I may know a way to get flowers grow in this land," said the knight "My mother used to tell me a story, that at the peak of a mountain north of this castle, a single peony grows. It is the only flower in this kingdom, and it might hold the power to fulfill your wish." She shuffled closer to the princess and whispered in her ear "I shall take you there if that is what you want. Meet me at the palace gardens at midnight, but do not tell a soul. Your father would never let you leave the castle grounds" Then, she gave the princess a kiss on the cheek and climbed back down the stairs of the tower.
At midnight, the princess crept out of her room, and silently walked down the stairs of her tower. Silence filled the halls of the castle, and all she could hear were her muffled footsteps. When she reached the palace gardens, she saw the knight sitting on a bench with gazing around at the garden. Sitting down beside the knight the princess said "I must admit, even without the flowers this garden is still quite beautiful at night." They sat there in silence for a moment before the knight replied, "It is. I wish we could sit here together every night and talk in this moonlit garden, but we must go before your father's guards catch us." And so, the two lovers ran out into the night. They travelled north through fields and meadows devoid of flowers. Cutting through silver blades of grass, the knight ran ahead. Her chainmail glimmered against the moonlight. The princess followed suit, holding on tightly to the knight's hand. She giggled as she felt the wind rush against her.
Eventually after walking a long distance, they reached the base of the mountain. Standing before them was a locked iron gate. On both sides of the gate were great walls covered in ivy that surrounded the perimeter of the mountain, and tangled within the vines were skeletons, stuck in the poses they had when they died. Their bony arms were perpetually reaching out, as if trying to escape from the grasp of the ivy. In the hands of one of the skeletons was an iron key decorated in the same style as the gate. The knight reached out to grab the key, but before she could reach it all of the skeletons began to talk in unison "Beware, for anything you take from the ivy you must give something of equal value in return, else it shall consume you as it had consumed us. What are you willing to sacrifice for the chance to pass through this gate?" Hearing this she turned around to ask the princess what they should give in exchange for the key, but the princess was already approaching the ivy. In her hands she held a crown of rose gold, with intricate carvings of leaves ornamenting the surface, and before the knight could stop her, she presented the crown to the wall of ivy. For a moment, nothing happened. The ivy seemed to be as shocked as the knight that the princess would offer something so precious for the key, but then it began to wrap its leaves around the crown, saying "Your offering has been accepted. Take the key and go forth into the mountain". When the ivy unwrapped its leaves, the princess saw that in place of the crown, she now held a large iron key. She walked towards the iron gate and unlocked it, and the princess and the knight walked through the gate into the mountain.
The knight remained silent as the two of them walked along the path up the mountain. She was still in shock that the princess would sacrifice her crown in exchange for the key, but she gazed at the princess, she turned around to face the knight and said, "I know what you are thinking, but do not say anything. I cannot take back what I have freely given away, not that I would, for I would have sacrificed a hundred crowns for the chance to grow flowers in my kingdom." Then, the princess grabbed the knight's hand and they continued climbing the mountain. Eventually, they reached halfway up the mountain. There, they saw a gleaming golden light. Standing before them was a ram with wool made of pure gold. As they approched it, they realized that part of its golden wool was stained red with blood. It cried out "Dear maidens, please help me, for a hunter is chasing after me. He covets my lustrous wool, and will stop at nothing to get it. He is also the greatest archer in all the land, his arrows always reaching their mark. Although I can run fast, I have nothing to protect myself. I can tell you whatever knowledge you desire in exchange for your help." The knight, feeling pity for the poor creature, said "We are searching for a peony on this mountain. If you can tell us how to get it, I shall give you my armor. It is enchanted to repel any arrows shot at the wearer." The ram replied "I know where it is and. At the peak of this mountain is a garden. It is full of statues holding flowers made of glass, but those are not the flowers you seek. At the center of the garden is the peony, pick it and bring it back with you to the castle." The knight thanked the ram, and removed her armor, wrapping it around the animal. Then, the princess and the knight continued along their path.
Finally, they reached the peak of the mountain. There, they found the garden, and ike the ram had mentioned it was full of statues. Each statue was meticulously sculpted, with flowing clothes that draped the body and beautiful faces rich with emotion. In their hands they held delicate little glass flowers that seemed to glow in the moonlight. Every glass flower seemed to represent a different bloom - daisies and roses and orchids and every other flower you could think of. However, the two lovers ignored all of these beautiful crafts and walked straight to the center of the garden, where a small wilted peony stood. "Stay here, my princess, I shall be the one to retrieve the peony" the knight had said. So the knight walked towards the peony, and as she walked closer she felt the loneliness and melancholy emanating from the plant. So strong was the sadness radiating from the flower that by the time the knight was within arms reach of the flower, her face was stained with tears. She knelt down and gently plucked the peony from the ground. As she held the peony, the warmth of her hands spread to the flower, and as she walked towards the princess, the peony felt the knight's love, and when the princess kissed the knight, the peony bloomed. When it bloomed, each end every one of the glass flowers shattered, and wildflowers sprouted from the ground around the two women. Then the princess smiled, and the knight did too.
There she layed holding onto her lover's heart, waiting for a kiss to wake her up - a kiss that would never come. The End.
Mild Violence, Tragic Ending
At midnight, the princess crept out of her room, and silently walked down the stairs of her tower. Silence filled the halls of the castle, and all she could hear were her muffled footsteps. When she reached the palace gardens, she saw the knight sitting on a bench with gazing around at the garden. Sitting down beside the knight the princess said "I must admit, even without the flowers this garden is still quite beautiful at night." They sat there in silence for a moment before the knight replied, "It is. I wish we could sit here together every night and talk in this moonlit garden, but we must go before your father's guards catch us." And so, the two lovers ran out into the night. They travelled north through fields and meadows devoid of flowers. Cutting through silver blades of grass, the knight ran ahead. Her chainmail glimmered against the moonlight. The princess followed suit, holding on tightly to the knight's hand. She giggled as she felt the wind rush against her.
Eventually after walking a long distance, they reached the base of the mountain. Standing before them was a locked iron gate. On both sides of the gate were great walls covered in ivy that surrounded the perimeter of the mountain, and tangled within the vines were skeletons, stuck in the poses they had when they died. Their bony arms were perpetually reaching out, as if trying to escape from the grasp of the ivy. In the hands of one of the skeletons was an iron key decorated in the same style as the gate. The knight reached out to grab the key, but before she could reach it all of the skeletons began to talk in unison "Beware, for anything you take from the ivy you must give something of equal value in return, else it shall consume you as it had consumed us. What are you willing to sacrifice for the chance to pass through this gate?" Hearing this she turned around to ask the princess what they should give in exchange for the key, but the princess was already approaching the ivy. In her hands she held a crown of rose gold, with intricate carvings of leaves ornamenting the surface, and before the knight could stop her, she presented the crown to the wall of ivy. For a moment, nothing happened. The ivy seemed to be as shocked as the knight that the princess would offer something so precious for the key, but then it began to wrap its leaves around the crown, saying "Your offering has been accepted. Take the key and go forth into the mountain". When the ivy unwrapped its leaves, the princess saw that in place of the crown, she now held a large iron key. She walked towards the iron gate and unlocked it, and the princess and the knight walked through the gate into the mountain.
The knight remained silent as the two of them walked along the path up the mountain. She was still in shock that the princess would sacrifice her crown in exchange for the key, but she gazed at the princess, she turned around to face the knight and said, "I know what you are thinking, but do not say anything. I cannot take back what I have freely given away, not that I would, for I would have sacrificed a hundred crowns for the chance to grow flowers in my kingdom." Then, the princess grabbed the knight's hand and they continued climbing the mountain. Eventually, they reached halfway up the mountain. There, they saw a gleaming golden light. Standing before them was a ram with wool made of pure gold. As they approched it, they realized that part of its golden wool was stained red with blood. It cried out "Dear maidens, please help me, for a hunter is chasing after me. He covets my lustrous wool, and will stop at nothing to get it. He is also the greatest archer in all the land, his arrows always reaching their mark. Although I can run fast, I have nothing to protect myself. I can tell you whatever knowledge you desire in exchange for your help." The knight, feeling pity for the poor creature, said "We are searching for a peony on this mountain. If you can tell us how to get it, I shall give you my armor. It is enchanted to repel any arrows shot at the wearer." The ram replied "I know where it is and. At the peak of this mountain is a garden. It is full of statues holding flowers made of glass, but those are not the flowers you seek. At the center of the garden is the peony, pick it and bring it back with you to the castle." The knight thanked the ram, and removed her armor, wrapping it around the animal. Then, the princess and the knight continued along their path.
Finally, they reached the peak of the mountain. There, they found the garden, and ike the ram had mentioned it was full of statues. Each statue was meticulously sculpted, with flowing clothes that draped the body and beautiful faces rich with emotion. In their hands they held delicate little glass flowers that seemed to glow in the moonlight. Every glass flower seemed to represent a different bloom - daisies and roses and orchids and every other flower you could think of. However, the two lovers ignored all of these beautiful crafts and walked straight to the center of the garden, where a small wilted peony stood. "Stay here, my princess, I shall be the one to retrieve the peony" the knight had said. So the knight walked towards the peony, and as she walked closer she felt the loneliness and melancholy emanating from the plant. So strong was the sadness radiating from the flower that by the time the knight was within arms reach of the flower, her face was stained with tears. She knelt down and gently plucked the peony from the ground. As she held the peony, the warmth of her hands spread to the flower, and as she walked towards the princess, the peony felt the knight's love, and when the princess kissed the knight, the peony bloomed. When it bloomed, each end every one of the glass flowers shattered, and wildflowers sprouted from the ground around the two women. Then the princess smiled, and the knight did too.
Hand in hand, the knight and the princess walked all the way back to the castle with the peony held between their interlocking fingers. As they walked, wildflowers bloomed and spread across the meadows and fields. For the first time in the history the kingdom, flowers had bloomed.
By the time the castle was within view, the sky was awash with pinks and oranges, and the first rays of sunlight had started to appear. When all of a sudden arrows rained from the sky. The king had realized the had fled with his daughter, and he was greatly angered. So when he saw the two walking hand in hand, he had ordered his archers to rain his arrows upon them.
As the arrows fell from the sky, the knight shielded the princess. Without her enchanted armor, one of the arrows was able to stirke her chest, piercing her ribs. The knight fell to her knees, blood dripping down from her dress. She put her hand where the arrow had pierced her, and took out her heart.
"Look, even though it is no longer in my body, my heart still beats for you." She whispered as she stared into the princess' eyes. She pushed them into the her hands, and she died.
The princess ran towards the castle. In her right hand, she held the peony, and in her left she held the still beating heart of her lover. As she ran, the peony felt bitter tears fall on its petals.
And the peony felt the princess' rage.
That rage was felt by all flowers in the kingdom, and the entire kingdom was cursed. The wildflowers spread like wildfires, consuming anything in their path. Flowers began to burst out of people, breaking their skin and shattering their bones. Bouquets of flowers blossoming where their heads once were.
The walls of the castle were stained with blood, as flowers continued to burst from the screaming courtiers, but that blood was soon covered up by the endless waves of flowers that continued to grow. The princess walked up the tower. With each step she took, the flowers spread more and more, and her heartache grew stronger and stronger. Finally, when she reached the top of the tower, she lied down on her bed and closed her eyes. All of a sudden peonies began to grow from her sleeping form, filling up the entire room.
There she layed holding onto her lover's heart, waiting for a kiss to wake her up - a kiss that would never come. The End.
From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am them, and that is eternity. - Edvard Munch
Wonderfully written and beautiful artwork. <3
omg thank you <3