Several years and many disappointments later, my mother would be overheard to remark that the day of my birth was the only occasion she could recall on which I had been dutiful according to her definition. When I put in my appearance on the exact same day the royal soothsayer had appointed, this was taken to be a sign that I would fulfill all these predictions, plus many more. I would be beautiful if a girl, handsome if a boy. Naturally, I would grow up straight and true, for that is what’s supposed to happen when you are born royal. Between their hopes, their miracle, and their joy and wonder at both, my parents’ hearts were therefore filled to overflowing before I was even born. So much so that all their hopes heard the ringing of it, halted in their flight, turned around, and raced right back home. A thing that, when she informed her husband, caused both their hearts to fill with joy. On the very same day that she realized all her hopes had fled, the queen also realized she was with child.

For in hope’s absence, a miracle arrived. As soon as one occurs, something has to rush in to fill the empty space, for that is the way nature wants things to go.Īnd so it was that the void created by the desertion of their hopes turned out to be the best possible thing that could have happened to my parents. And now I’ll tell you another thing I’ve heard said, and this I know is true: Nature hates a void. But this turned out to have an unlooked-for benefit, for the absence of hope left a vacuum, a void. This was the day the king and queen awoke to discover that all their hopes were well and truly gone. Because he wasn’t.Īfter many years of wishing for a child to no avail, a terrible day arrived.

His propensity for skulking in corridors the better to learn other people’s business (particularly their secrets), combined with his habit of playing nasty practical jokes based on what he’d learned, had earned him a nickname.Įverybody called him Prince Charming. He named his younger brother’s son as his heir apparent, the brother being deceased and therefore not available himself.

It compelled the king to do a thing he did not wish to do, a thing he never would have done, had he not lost hope for a child of his own. And this stealing away of hope eventually took its toll. Long years, and so many of them that, one by one, their hopes for a child began to pack their bags and depart. (Content.) For they lacked the one thing which would make their happiness complete: a child.įor years, the king and queen had dreamed and waited. Their kingdom being at peace, and their people being well fed and content, you might think the king and queen would be so also. … and so long ago that the time I speak of can be remembered only in a story, a virtuous king and queen (my parents) ruled over a land that was fair and prosperous (though it wasn’t all that large).

Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey