Once upon a time far in the north there was a kingdom. A kingdom of beauty which could not be fully beheld but within the heart of open mind. A kingdom where in the spring was as green as the freshest four leaf clover and in the shakes of autumn the mountains became blankets of fire which stretched as far as the eye could see. A kingdom of legends and spirits.
Deep within this land there was born a prince. A prince who grew quickly and was embraced and looked after and loved by everyone in the valley. Early in his youth the people gave him the title of Bear for his formidable size, his undying loyalty and fierce protectiveness over the ones he loved. Life for the young prince was good. As he grew older he learned to love the lands of his kingdom, took the woods and and streams to be his friends as much as the people were. Then one day in a cruel twist of fate the Gods came down upon the kingdom and in their judgement cast their wrath upon the young prince.
The royal family fell. His parents the King and Queen met their untimely deaths and left the young prince alone to fend for himself. A final wave of betrayal swept over the boy from some of those he trusted most and left him broken. The man that once stood for all, that was the rock that all others used as their foundations had now become nothing but a pile of ashes that crumbled under the weight of the Gods hatred. What had he done to deserve this? Everything that he had fought for, loved, LIVED for, was gone.
The bear prince went into exhile, kept barely alive by a small handful of his closest friends. His heart was dead, his soul was nothing but a blank slate left to whatever chaos would find it mark. He had to leave his kingdom. No longer could he look at the thrones of his dead parents and bear the thought of taking it for himself. Leaving the valley that he had called home for so long the prince erased his former image and went into a new world as something different, something darker, the strength and pride turned to anger and vengance, he entered the new world as something he swore he'd never be...a monster.
As time passed the kingdom wondered what had happened to their prince. They had all watched him grow into the man he had become and wanted nothing more than his safety and his happiness. But as the winds carried into the valley they bore stories of war, malice and malcontent. The people knowing their prince couldn't believe such stories and sad they were nothing more than hogwash but it was the ones that were closest to him that knew they were real.
The prince found himself admist wars and battles, booze and the ugliest and most foul people that the world could conjure in its darkest days. Where was he? this was not the man that he grown to be or was that man already to far dead to matter? He knew this wasn't right so he sent himself into exhile against banishing himself into the woods until he knew he was fit for mankind again.
Days passed and those days turned into weeks and months and then one day the young prince came to a river bank. He fell to his knees and plunged his head into the chilly waters to revive what senses he had left. Little did he know there was someone watching him. From her resting place underneath a maple tree a fair lady watched this rag tag man. She noticed the blood on his clothes, and the weatheredness of his skin. She scoffered "What a beast". The prince's head snapped up looking in the direction of the lady. Oh no" she thought "he heard me." The prince stood slowly and cautiously made his way to the lady. She jumped to her feet and took a step back. "You stay away from me!" The prince lifted his head and looked at her "I mean you no harm, m'lady". The lady caught his gaze and she gasped. "Those eyes" she thought to herself. Never before had she seen eyes like that, so deep, so mysterious, so wonderous...she was mezmerized by them. What is your name? She asked the large man. "Bear, mlady" he replied. "Bear? that's not much of a name is it? " "it's the only one I can give you m'lady" he stated. "Alright then, Bear. My name is Amalia, Princess Amalia.." The lady bowed her head. The bear flicked a faint smile and the two of them began to converse. Minutes turned to hours and before they knew it the morning sun was rising on them.
Bear was entranced. Never before had he met a woman like this Amalia. She enticed him, thrilled him. Hit him in every sense that was in his body. He never wanted this conversation to end. For the first time in years he felt like he could really talk to someone. He felt like there was someone who actually wanted to listen. Eventually though, they parted ways with the single promise to meet again. And again they did, day after day, night after night they met and talked, danced and walked and something happened between them that could only be described as magical.
The prince felt something inside of him, something that seemed strangely familiar but yet so unkown. Everytime he was near Amalia his heart went faster and something inside of him seemed right, like there was a peace that he had so been longing for. But he couldn't love her. He couldn't take that risk of losing someone else that he loved. But as more and more time went by he was unable to deny it any longer. He had fallen completely in love with the young princess. She was beautiful, smart, funny, witty and as common in her place as he was. She was perfect.
Then as fate would so tell the tale came a night that he had been waiting for. As they talked like they did every night Amalia looked at the prince with deepened eyes and a uneasy look on her face. "there is something I must tell you, Bear, another man has asked for my hand." The Bear, unexpecting of this, so lost in his affection for the princess looked in disbelief and asked "Well what did you say?" Looking down the pricess replied "I said Yes." The Bear, taking in a deep breath looked at her and said "If that is what makes you happy, m'lady" and with that the bear bowed his head and slipped back into the shadows which he had come to know oh so well. Heartbroken and feeling more alone than ever.
The bear returned to his kingdom. He knew it was where he needed to be. Maybe his old home could straighten out his confused mind and put him on the right path again. A day passed and another night approached. The bear took to the woods again, but this time returning to a place he felt safe, deep in the mountains there was a lake. A sanctuary he had always returned to when he needed to think.
There, he looked up into the skies, into the heavens that he loved and hated so much and asked for guidance, for one sign of what to do because for the first time in his troubled life, the princess felt totally lost. Watching from their eternal resting place the King and Queen saw their son and saw the discontent that plagued him. Heartbroken at their sons unhappiness the King and Queen took all of their love for their only child and cast it into the raging fires of one solitary star and sent it blazing brightly across the northern skies. The prince seeing this beacon reached into the depths of his soul and begged for one chance for just one moment if never again that he might make the princess his own and confess to her the deepness of his love.
As the next grew on and the moon rose into the sky the Prince sat at his home, still pondering his mind over and over what he was to do. He needed Amalia. It wasn't a want for him, It was a need. He needed to love her as much as he needed her to love him. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw something move. He stood and walked out the door to see what was causing the comotion and as he walked outside she stood there before him. He was shocked. He was amazed. He was speechless. His princess had found her. He ran to her and grabbed her into the tighest embrace that he could muster and refused to let go of her. Afraid that if he did, she would disappear and this would no longer be real. It was at that moment that he did confess to her his undying and yearning love for her. The love that swept his soul into her embrace to do whatever she pleased with. The princess smiled at him, wiped a tear from his eye and said "Fear not my Prince, for my heart is yours as well. It belongs to you and you alone."
That was the night when the young prince that the kingdom had so loved growing up, truly returned. It was the night that the Bear crawled from its confining cave and let its life be known for all the world to feel. That was the night when dreams came true. As time ushered by the Prince and Princess created a life together unlike any other, a partnership, a love unmatched and unequivical. The day came where they married and together they took the throne of the kingdom and they ruled over it justly, fairly and happily. They were never happier.
Now moons have come and gone full circle a month of times and sun sets and the sun rises. It is said and I have seen this with my own two eyes, so believe this in your heart that every day at first light if you look to the peak of the highest mountain in the valley you will see standing there an enormous bear. Keepin an ever close eye on his kingdom, faithfully guarding all those he loves. Especially his beloved Queen.
