11-12-2011 / The Blue Willow
The Blue Willow
It was dark and cold during the first day of winter. The snow storm arrived quietly during the night and it became a force majeure as time went on. Wind blew with anger and the snowflakes pierced whatever they touched.
In the Hall Of All Seasons, The First King of Autumn presented to The Second Queen of Autumn with a birthday gift.
It was something he had been looking for a lot of rotations around the sun. Seasons came and went and the gift proved to be extremely elusive.
The merchants across the 4 kingdoms searched for it with no success and despite the persistent claims of it being a myth or legend, The First King of Autumn didn't relent on his quest.
It was during the middle of summer of this sun rotation that the king received a letter from the River Mages telling him that they had successfully grown what he had been searching for so long:
Seen every 1000 rotations around the sun, the blue willow had been described as a source of protection from the elements as well as a way to control them. It also was known to grant one wish to the owner, but it had to be the thing that person wanted the most in its heart.
The First King of Autumn wanted this tree for his Queen to protect her from the vicious rains that fall every time she felt sad or scared.
Being the daughter of The Third King of Winter and The First Queen of Summer, she was fragile to the onslaught of water falling from the sky. The cruel nature of her father against the warm embrace of her mother made her strong in many ways, but very sensitive in others.
That's why whenever it rained or snowed her skin cracked and hurt like a dry leaf breaking apart which forced her to spend a lot of time inside the castle, and while she was content with that, she did miss being able to receive the gift of the multicolored leaves the trees gave her when she walked past them as she did as a little girl.
Her only solace for a long time has been to watch those leaves fall through a window but her face was always melancholic.
The First King of Autumn's heart ached each time he saw that. He needed a solution to that problem. That's when he began researching about the issue with the Season Mavens and one of them suggested the blue willow as a solution.
After learning of the news of its existence, the king devised a plan with his army to transport it into his realm. Moving the blue willow into the castle without it being seen was a huge undertaking. Even though the River Mages used their best spells to make it invisible, they couldn't hide the blue glow the tree produced.
The tree was kept in a pot for most of its infancy, but it was growing in an accelerated rate and soon it would have to be properly planted in the ground. That's why the shipping of it had to occur as soon as possible.
A small unit of the Army of the Sun was assigned the mission to transport the tree safely during the cover of darkness across the 10,000 leagues between the River of Stones and Everlasting Tree Castle.
The tree's glow was still a problem but the captain in charge of the unit had a stroke of brilliance: filling the carriage where the tree travelled with lanterns, but not just of any kind. These were Green Fire lanterns.
Having mixed the glow of the tree with the one of the lanterns the result was a yellow glow that made the carriage look like any other travelling at night, hiding the precious cargo it contained.
When the tree finally arrived to its destination, it was planted in the middle of the Hall of All Seasons. This meant closing it for all audiences for the remainder of summer and the whole of autumn. Windows were covered with wooden boards; the main door was sealed shut. Only the secret hallway the King used to sneak in and out of the hall remained opened since only he had a key.
Even though the Queen's birthday had been during autumn, he had to hold on in presenting the gift to her. He didn't want to ruin the surprise, the tree still needed time to take hold on the soil and grow.
In the meantime, he gathered every leaf that fell and gave it to the royal dressmakers; they had found a way to make a garment out of them that would make the tree's powers portable.
During the first day of winter, snow fell down with a vengeance. The hall's windows were opened and it was filled with snow. The doors were opened to allow everyone in with The Second Queen of Autumn first in line to enter.
She was so confused and worried when her eyes witnessed all the snow floating around the hall, the windows opened, cold everywhere and a faint blue glow in the distance.
A finger snap was heard and all the light inside disappeared. Only the glow remained.
The court and guests murmured between themselves, wondering what was happening. No one understood the situation. Some thought that The First King of Autumn had finally succumbed to the cold inside his heart and turned towards the winter.
That's when he approached the door, slowly walking towards the queen carrying a blue glowing cape on his arms and a smile on his face.
"Happy birthday, my love" he said while looking at her.
He placed the cape over her shoulders, which glowed intensely when she wore it.
"What's this?" she asked with a mixture of excitement, doubt and wonder.
"Your present, I am sorry for the delay in getting it to you" he said while smiling. "However, this is only a part of it. Your other present is across the snow you see" said while pointing towards the blue glow.
"Why is the hall full of snow, my dearest?" asked the queen worried.
"It's part of the surprise, love. Please go to the glow" said he king reassuringly.
"You know what the snow does to me, I don't..." the queen was replying when she was interrupted by the king who asked in return:
"Do you trust me?"
"Of course I do" she replied.
"Then walk to the glow and let this cape do the rest" he told her while showing the way with his extended arm.
The queen sighed and slowly walked towards the tree in the middle of the storm, clenching the cape with both her hands.
When she had walked 20 steps, the king shouted: "What do you wish to do every autumn, sweet sunshine?"
"To hold the colored dry leaves that fall from the trees" she said softly to herself as she kept walking through the snow.
That is when a red leaf fell in front of her.
She suddenly stopped and stared to the leaf on the ground.
Then she raised her head and saw that the snow blowing into the hall no longer was, now they were leafs falling everywhere: yellow, red, orange, brown and gold rained all around her.
Her face lit up like a child and she laughed as the snowy ground was filled with leaves all over. That's when she turned around and realized that the path behind her was also full with leaves and the lights that had gone out before, were lit once again.
"Please keep walking, my queen, you still haven't seen the main surprise" the king said while walking to approach her, he was being followed by the rest of the court and some children who were picking up leaves all over as fast as they could.
She did so but was marveled at the spectacle of seeing the dreadful snow turn into something she had been longing for a very long time. It was until then when she also realized that she didn't feel cold as she had been feeling lately but rather... warm.
Then the fog dissipated and she was in shock upon realizing what it was.
"Is this what I think it is?" she asked in complete disbelief.
"You tell me" the king replied with a teasing grin.
Leaves kept falling all inside the Hall of Seasons but none of them did over The Blue Willow, they always fell around it.
The Second Queen of Autumn kept walking around the tree, still not giving credit to what she was being given. The kids that were picking up leaves had devised a crown of them and presented it to the queen. She allowed them to place it over her head with a smile.
The same smile that she hadn't worn for a long time...
The queen walked towards the trunk and touched it. She stared at the tree for a moment or two.
"Is this really for me?" she asked without taking her eyes off her present.
"Now you can always enjoy autumn to your heart's content. The seasons are for you to control now" said the king in relief.
She sighed while caressing the blue leaves on her cape.
"There's something I want more than that" she said while walking towards the king.
"Name it, my Queen" he replied while looking at her eyes.
She placed her hand on the middle of his chest and while gazing deeply into his eyes, she said:
"I want you to be as happy as I am with you".
He covered her hand with his and said: "But I already am, love".
"No, my dear king, I want you to be happy on the inside of your heart. That's what I wish for" she said in a soft voice.
At that moment, The First King of Autumn felt something inside of him he hadn't felt in a long while except when he was alone with The Second Queen of Autumn: a sensation of warmth and peace on the inside.
Everything that caused the storms inside his head was gone.
That's when the snowstorm outside stopped. Now the white of winter covered everything around the trees that had bloomed outside of the castle.
It was warm and peaceful during the first night of winter. He helped her to overcome her fragility; she soothed and quelled the tempest inside his heart.
They were a team based on love. They created the magic for each other.
In the Hall Of All Seasons, The First King of Autumn presented to The Second Queen of Autumn with a birthday gift.
It was something he had been looking for a lot of rotations around the sun. Seasons came and went and the gift proved to be extremely elusive.
The merchants across the 4 kingdoms searched for it with no success and despite the persistent claims of it being a myth or legend, The First King of Autumn didn't relent on his quest.
It was during the middle of summer of this sun rotation that the king received a letter from the River Mages telling him that they had successfully grown what he had been searching for so long:
A blue willow.
The First King of Autumn wanted this tree for his Queen to protect her from the vicious rains that fall every time she felt sad or scared.
Being the daughter of The Third King of Winter and The First Queen of Summer, she was fragile to the onslaught of water falling from the sky. The cruel nature of her father against the warm embrace of her mother made her strong in many ways, but very sensitive in others.
That's why whenever it rained or snowed her skin cracked and hurt like a dry leaf breaking apart which forced her to spend a lot of time inside the castle, and while she was content with that, she did miss being able to receive the gift of the multicolored leaves the trees gave her when she walked past them as she did as a little girl.
Her only solace for a long time has been to watch those leaves fall through a window but her face was always melancholic.
The First King of Autumn's heart ached each time he saw that. He needed a solution to that problem. That's when he began researching about the issue with the Season Mavens and one of them suggested the blue willow as a solution.
After learning of the news of its existence, the king devised a plan with his army to transport it into his realm. Moving the blue willow into the castle without it being seen was a huge undertaking. Even though the River Mages used their best spells to make it invisible, they couldn't hide the blue glow the tree produced.
The tree was kept in a pot for most of its infancy, but it was growing in an accelerated rate and soon it would have to be properly planted in the ground. That's why the shipping of it had to occur as soon as possible.
A small unit of the Army of the Sun was assigned the mission to transport the tree safely during the cover of darkness across the 10,000 leagues between the River of Stones and Everlasting Tree Castle.
The tree's glow was still a problem but the captain in charge of the unit had a stroke of brilliance: filling the carriage where the tree travelled with lanterns, but not just of any kind. These were Green Fire lanterns.
Having mixed the glow of the tree with the one of the lanterns the result was a yellow glow that made the carriage look like any other travelling at night, hiding the precious cargo it contained.
When the tree finally arrived to its destination, it was planted in the middle of the Hall of All Seasons. This meant closing it for all audiences for the remainder of summer and the whole of autumn. Windows were covered with wooden boards; the main door was sealed shut. Only the secret hallway the King used to sneak in and out of the hall remained opened since only he had a key.
Even though the Queen's birthday had been during autumn, he had to hold on in presenting the gift to her. He didn't want to ruin the surprise, the tree still needed time to take hold on the soil and grow.
In the meantime, he gathered every leaf that fell and gave it to the royal dressmakers; they had found a way to make a garment out of them that would make the tree's powers portable.
During the first day of winter, snow fell down with a vengeance. The hall's windows were opened and it was filled with snow. The doors were opened to allow everyone in with The Second Queen of Autumn first in line to enter.
She was so confused and worried when her eyes witnessed all the snow floating around the hall, the windows opened, cold everywhere and a faint blue glow in the distance.
A finger snap was heard and all the light inside disappeared. Only the glow remained.
The court and guests murmured between themselves, wondering what was happening. No one understood the situation. Some thought that The First King of Autumn had finally succumbed to the cold inside his heart and turned towards the winter.
That's when he approached the door, slowly walking towards the queen carrying a blue glowing cape on his arms and a smile on his face.
"Happy birthday, my love" he said while looking at her.
He placed the cape over her shoulders, which glowed intensely when she wore it.
"What's this?" she asked with a mixture of excitement, doubt and wonder.
"Your present, I am sorry for the delay in getting it to you" he said while smiling. "However, this is only a part of it. Your other present is across the snow you see" said while pointing towards the blue glow.
"Why is the hall full of snow, my dearest?" asked the queen worried.
"It's part of the surprise, love. Please go to the glow" said he king reassuringly.
"You know what the snow does to me, I don't..." the queen was replying when she was interrupted by the king who asked in return:
"Do you trust me?"
"Of course I do" she replied.
"Then walk to the glow and let this cape do the rest" he told her while showing the way with his extended arm.
The queen sighed and slowly walked towards the tree in the middle of the storm, clenching the cape with both her hands.
When she had walked 20 steps, the king shouted: "What do you wish to do every autumn, sweet sunshine?"
"To hold the colored dry leaves that fall from the trees" she said softly to herself as she kept walking through the snow.
That is when a red leaf fell in front of her.
She suddenly stopped and stared to the leaf on the ground.
Then she raised her head and saw that the snow blowing into the hall no longer was, now they were leafs falling everywhere: yellow, red, orange, brown and gold rained all around her.
Her face lit up like a child and she laughed as the snowy ground was filled with leaves all over. That's when she turned around and realized that the path behind her was also full with leaves and the lights that had gone out before, were lit once again.
"Please keep walking, my queen, you still haven't seen the main surprise" the king said while walking to approach her, he was being followed by the rest of the court and some children who were picking up leaves all over as fast as they could.
She did so but was marveled at the spectacle of seeing the dreadful snow turn into something she had been longing for a very long time. It was until then when she also realized that she didn't feel cold as she had been feeling lately but rather... warm.
Then the fog dissipated and she was in shock upon realizing what it was.
"Is this what I think it is?" she asked in complete disbelief.
"You tell me" the king replied with a teasing grin.
Leaves kept falling all inside the Hall of Seasons but none of them did over The Blue Willow, they always fell around it.
The Second Queen of Autumn kept walking around the tree, still not giving credit to what she was being given. The kids that were picking up leaves had devised a crown of them and presented it to the queen. She allowed them to place it over her head with a smile.
The same smile that she hadn't worn for a long time...
The queen walked towards the trunk and touched it. She stared at the tree for a moment or two.
"Is this really for me?" she asked without taking her eyes off her present.
"Now you can always enjoy autumn to your heart's content. The seasons are for you to control now" said the king in relief.
She sighed while caressing the blue leaves on her cape.
"There's something I want more than that" she said while walking towards the king.
"Name it, my Queen" he replied while looking at her eyes.
She placed her hand on the middle of his chest and while gazing deeply into his eyes, she said:
"I want you to be as happy as I am with you".
He covered her hand with his and said: "But I already am, love".
"No, my dear king, I want you to be happy on the inside of your heart. That's what I wish for" she said in a soft voice.
At that moment, The First King of Autumn felt something inside of him he hadn't felt in a long while except when he was alone with The Second Queen of Autumn: a sensation of warmth and peace on the inside.
Everything that caused the storms inside his head was gone.
That's when the snowstorm outside stopped. Now the white of winter covered everything around the trees that had bloomed outside of the castle.
It was warm and peaceful during the first night of winter. He helped her to overcome her fragility; she soothed and quelled the tempest inside his heart.
They were a team based on love. They created the magic for each other.
My King. You know how deep is my love for you. I love you baby! 💖
ReplyDelete