A long time ago in a land far far away there was a beautiful Princess called Angela. The Princess was the most beautiful girl the world had ever seen. Stunning, graceful and elegant she was also intelligent and kind. When she walked it seemed as though she was gliding on a fluffy cloud, so gentle were her footsteps. Even while she was just sitting, thinking, barley moving, Angela radiated love and beauty.
The Princess was a happy girl but was troubled by the fact that she had been promised in marriage to the Baron Van Merc. After the mysterious disappearance of her father the King, the Baron had become the most powerful man in the land. He had offered the Queen the protection of his own personal army and the Queen was in no place to refuse such a 'kind' offer. The Queen had never liked him but it made political sense for the Princess to marry him.
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One cool winter afternoon a young carpenter named Theo was walking down by the river. It was Saturday and he was slowly working his way to the market held in the outer walls of the Royal castle every week. Farmers and salesmen from all around would come to sell their goods in the castle-market every Saturday. Theo wanted to buy a few vegetables for his evening meal and some iron so that he could make a new chisel.
Theo was a hard worker, he had to be to pay the taxes the Baron had levied on the people since being made treasurer. Theo lived by himself, only a half hour walk from the castle but many weeks from his native home. He had come to this land looking for work as there were too many carpenters and too few people and trees left in his old homeland which was once a great forest. The living here was good and he had made many friends but was still missing that one special friend, a girl to share his life with.
As he approached the west wall of the castle which was in the middle of a small lake, he caught sight of his reflection in the water nearby. Theo wasn't big headed but he did like his new hair cut. The barber had cut his jet black hair very short, which was not the current fashion, but Theo liked to be different and it was very practical.
Slightly embarrassed at himself for being so vain he moved on and casually glanced up at the 5 tall towers that marked the vertices of the pentagon shaped inner wall of the castle. In the tower nearest him Theo saw a curtain being drawn back and a window light up, it caught his attention because the room inside looked warm with its yellow-red glow contrasting heavily with the cold blue-grey of the castle walls.
Theo caught his breath, in the window was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Theo fell instantly in love with her. The girl who had drawn back the curtains was now looking out across the lake surrounding the castle, surveying the forest and mountains beyond. Theo stood there motionless, barely breathing so as not to frighten her off. She had pale skin, dark hair and was totally beautiful. As she spied him Theo could swear that the beautiful girl winked at him with one eye and smiled, his heart missed a beat. Theo was mesmerised by the girl.
He stood staring for a while as she continued to survey the countryside. Somebody must have come into the room because the girl suddenly left the window, Theo decided that he must see her again, he would get his vegetables another day, today he would scale the tower.
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Getting into the castle was easy, after all it was Saturday and market day, and the guards had seen him many times before. Theo had repaired a chair for one of the guards only a few weeks before and for a very reasonable fee. The guards smiled and nodded at him as he passed through the gate. The market was buzzing with sounds of people buying and selling goods. People bartering for a fair exchange, arguing about the price and lots of friends just chatting. Theo waved and smiled at his friends but didn't stop to talk as he had only one thing on his mind, the girl in the window.
It was already quite late and with a long winter evening ahead the Sun was setting far off to the West, slowly sinking below the distant mountains and casting strong shadows within the castle walls. The market was starting to break up with stalls closing and people drifting off. Theo decided to make his move. He could see an outhouse where guards would stay on the long winter evenings between patrols of the area between the castle's inner and outer walls. He quietly slipped behind it. He was almost at the foot of the inner wall now, as he looked up Theo could just see the top of the tower that was his objective.
Fortunately Theo was a good climber and using a small meat hook which he had purchased at the market he began to climb. The hook acted as a claw enabling him to pull himself up across gaps where the bricks of the wall where too smooth to supply any purchase for his fingers. With the Sun setting behind the wall he was climbing, it was far too dark on the wall for anyone to see him and if anyone did look that way, the Sun would dazzle them so that they wouldn't notice a small figure dressed in earthy colours quickly scaling a wall.
With great care he eased himself over the top of the wall and onto the battlements. From here he could clearly see the tower he would have to climb. It was very tall, but part of it connected to the battlements further along so that part of his climb was already complete.
Theo swiftly and silently moved towards the tower, keeping low and close to the battlement wall. If captured in the inner castle he would be in real trouble.
He was at the wall of the tower now. It was a very large round tower, and very tall. As he hugged the tower he looked up but could not see the window from this point. The tower tapered very slightly as it rose into the sky but not enough to aid him in his climb.
Theo was lucky as the tower was made from large and knobbly stones and there were many lumps and bumps for him to use as hand and foot holds in his climb. It was a long climb, the Sun had almost set and without it's warming influence the night air was gaining a harsh chill. The breeze was also increasing as Theo climbed further up making it harder to keep his eyes open and decreasing his body temperature very rapidly. He could just see the bottom of the window ledge now. Only another 20 feet to go. He looked down momentarily and wished he hadn't. Theo had a good head for heights but safely standing on a strong surface and clinging onto the side of one at this height were totally different things. The last 20 feet seemed an eternity. Would the girl still be there? Why should she be there, he hadn't made an appointment or anything. What would she do if she was there? What would he do if she wasn't? It was too late to think about that now so Theo struggled on.
Finally gaining a good purchase he pulled himself onto the window ledge and gazed in. There she was, incredible, breathtaking, not that Theo had any breath left after the climb. She was sitting down in a chair reading a journal of some kind, she was truly the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She was dressed plainly, nothing too flashy or fancy and only small earrings for jewellery. Theo thought perhaps she was a maid or a lady in waiting for the Princess or even for the Queen. So there she sat, resplendent in her beauty.
It startled Princess Angela to see a young man hanging on the sill of the window of her very tall tower, but being a Princess she remained composed. As she surveyed the young man she thought that he looked very handsome although rather out of breath. The Princess winked at him, this so surprised Theo that he slipped from the sill and almost fell to his death. He managed to grab onto the sill with the tips of the fingers of his right hand just in time. He looked down and saw it was a very long fall to the rocky ground below, a fall Theo would rather avoid. As he dangled from the sill he struggled to regain a firm grip and finally managed to pull himself up. He found the young girl leaning out to see what had happened. She helped him up and beckoned him inside.
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'Come inside before you kill yourself' said Angela
'Thank you' replied Theo.
The room was sumptuous with a large fire in one wall providing heat and a warm light. The young girl was dressed simply but still her beauty was plain to see. He then tried to speak one of those smooth lines he was thinking about while climbing the tower, but they had vanished and all he could manage was,
'Who are you, what's your name, what are you doing here?'. He was rambling
now with his mouth acting independently from his brain.
'I am', she paused 'Angela' she added, not wanting to tell the young man that she
was the Princess. There was no way a simple peasant could have recognised
her as she rarely left the castle.
'I am Theo, a Carpenter' said the young man with some pride. He was breathing
heavily again and feeling rather foolish at the strange situation he had placed
himself in.
'You're beautiful' he added.
'Don't be silly' replied Angela 'I'm not'.
'Yes you are, I wouldn't have climbed all the way up some stupid tower if I didn't
think you were the most beautiful girl I'd every seen, and you are'. Was he
getting too soppy too soon Theo wondered? If he wasn't careful the girl might
throw up all over him from nausea.
Theo felt he had seen this girl somewhere before and decided it was in his dreams, she was the girl of his dreams.
They started to talk about things they liked and seemed to have many things in common. They both liked the same minstrels, acrobatic groups and scriptures. Angela was surprised that Theo, who seemed so young could read because many peasants could not. Theo decided that Angela was beautiful, intelligent, graceful and warm hearted, what more could anyone want.
'I love you' said Theo.
'You're being silly again' replied Angela. 'You hardly know me. I'm not that nice.'
'Yes you are and I love you' insisted Theo.
The Princess was slightly annoyed at this display of affection. She liked the young man but he was being very forward and anyway, there could be nothing between them because she was already promised to the Baron Van Merc.
Princess Angela did not know that the Baron was evil and greedy. Van Merc only wanted Angela for her money and power. Even though he had lots of both of his own, he was very greedy and wanted more.
There was a loud knock on the door.
'Princess, this is the Captain of the Royal Guard, open up please' said a voice at
the door.
'Princess?' said Theo with a puzzled expression on his face.
'Quickly, you must go' said Angela
'How?' replied Theo.
'Use the window'.
'And fall to my death'.
'If you don't you'll probably be thrown in prison or executed anyway.'
'Why?'
'Because I am the Princess'
'Oops!' said Theo 'I should have guessed, it's obvious to me now, I'd better leave'
There was a louder banging on the door, more urgent and angry.
'Open up now or there will be trouble' said the Captain on the other side of the door.
Moving to the window Theo looked down. A voice from below shouted 'Look there he is, at the window'.
Another voice said 'Archers hold your fire', adding 'you may injure the Princess'
The door swung violently open, forced by the guards who stormed into the room. Theo fought them off, first one fell then another.
'Stop it' shouted the Princess but to no avail.
Five guards were on the floor before the remainder finally managed to subdue the young man. His hands and feet were shackled and he was marched from the room of the protesting Princess.
'We apologise to your highness for any inconvenience or disturbance we may
have caused' said the Captain.
'How dare you barge into my room' said the Princess in an angry tone.
'I'm sorry your highness but I'm sure that neither her Majesty nor the Baron
would want any harm to come to you. We must protect you from any intrusion
on your privacy'. The Captain bowed deeply and backed away keeping his head
low, averting his eyes from the Princess.
The Princess was worried for the young man but thought she would clear it up in the morning. He would be brought before the Queen for judgement in the morning. Her mother the Queen would understand that no harm was done by the impetuous young man.
Angela had enjoyed his visit. In fact she hadn't had so much fun just talking with someone for a long time. Now it was time for sleep and she could tell her mother in the morning. The Princess was rather lazy you see and didn't want to walk all the way to her mother's room even though it was only a couple of floors below.
As Theo was being marched down the tower a strange old woman dressed in deepest blue appeared. He noticed that the guards gave the old woman a wide berth and that not one of them even dared to look in her direction. Theo thought this was very strange behaviour.
'Be of good cheer young man. On the morrow shall the Queen decide your fate, and she is of a good heart.' said the old woman.
Theo should have been taken to the castle keep, to be held there in the jail until the morning when the Queen would decide his fate. However. the Captain of the Royal Guard was under the pay of the evil Baron Van Merc and so Theo was spirited off to the Baron's castle where he was thrown into the deepest, darkest dungeon, never to see the light of day again.
As Theo lay in the dungeon he thought about Angela. He thought he'd never see here again. Even worse was the thought that the evil Baron would soon hold her in his cruel arms.
There was a noise, a turning of a lock and the door of the cell opened. It was the Baron.
'Let me go, I have the right to see the Queen' Theo said
'The only person you will be seeing is the executioner' said the Baron, adding a
vile chuckle to his reply.
'What?' screamed Theo
'Let me tell you what I'm going to do to your precious Princess' started the Baron.
'Soon I will marry her. It will be a huge wedding and all you peasants will cheer
and rejoice, on pain of death! Soon after that joyous occasion the Queen will fall
ill. See this ring?' the Baron showed Theo a ring on the middle finger of his right
hand. 'This ring contains an undetectable poison which I shall secretly
administer to her Royal Majesty.' said the Baron making a meal of the word
Majesty. 'Then I will rule this land and your unfortunate Princess will soon die
from the same illness that afflicted here mother' the Baron laughed and added
scornfully, 'You peasant folk will feel so sorry for me that you'll be happy to join
the armies I will raise to conquer foreign lands. To divert me from my grief of
course.' The Baron burst out laughing 'You are all so sympathetic, so loyal, so
UTTERLY STUPID!'
'NEVER!' shouted Theo
'Kill him now!' ordered the Baron as he left the cell.
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Three guards came in, unchained Theo and forced him to his knees. The first guard began to withdraw a sword. Theo suddenly remembered the meat hook which he still had with him. He grabbed it and slashed the first guard across the chest and stomach. The guard fell to the ground in agony, pumping blood all over the floor. Theo withdrew the guard's sword and held it out. The second guard lunged at Theo jumping over the first guard but as he did so, he slipped in the pool of blood which was now gushing out onto the floor. As he slipped he skidded forward and was impaled on the sword Theo was holding out. The guard's eyes bulged out but only a faint breath and a gurgle left his throat as he sank to the ground.
The last guard was very worried at this moment. He had been a guard for only 2 weeks and so he hesitated and panicked. Theo charged at him waving the sword. The foolish guard, not used to using a sword threw up his right arm in self defence. Unfortunately for the guard his armour was incorrectly adjusted. Theo's sword found the gap between the shoulder and the arm and sliced the guard's arm clean off. The guard fell to his knees looking at his severed arm and then fainted.
Theo spied a small set of keys the guard had on his belt and took them as he thought they might be of some use. The guards had not locked the cell door as they expected to leave immediately after the execution, leaving the young mans body to rot as an example to the next occupant of the cell. He crept out of the cell looking around passage way very carefully. The place was empty, few guards came this way, perhaps once a day to feed the unfortunates below. After ascending many stairs he finally came to a locked door. Trying the guards' keys he opened the door and stepped into the courtyard. It was nearly dawn but the Baron's castle was still in deep sleep. Theo stole his way towards a small but heavy door in the main gateway. The guards' keys also opened this door and so he was able to quietly slip away into the night and freedom.
Carefully making his way to the Royal castle Theo decided he must see the Queen. The court was in session and so he petitioned to see the Queen as was the right of every citizen.
As he entered the main hall he could see the Queen sitting on the throne which was on a raised platform. Also on the platform to the right of the Queen was the Princess Angela. The Baron was strutting backwards and forwards a few feet away below the platform and saw Theo first. He gestured to the Captain of the Guard to capture this intruder, but Theo slipped through his fingers and cried out.
'Treachery your Majesty'
'Who would say such a thing and about whom?' inquired the Queen surprised at
the outburst in her court.
'I Theo the Carpenter would say it of Baron Van Merc your Majesty.'
'Let me rip out his tongue and feed it to the dogs, if it pleases your Majesty' said
the Baron.
'These are strong charges you bring young man' said the Queen. She looked at
Angela who nodded her head in reply to an unasked question. 'Come closer
young man, guards put down you weapons' continued the Queen.
'My daughter tells me in conversation you spin a good yarn and in construction
you build a good chair.' the Queen said in a slightly mocking yet very formal
manner.
'If the Princess says it is so, then so must it be' Theo replied trying to match the
Queen's tone of conversation.
'What proof have you of your charge?' inquired the Queen.
'Baron Van Merc wears a ring on the middle finger of his right hand that contains
a poison. With this poison he would kill you and your daughter and take over
your throne, your Majesty' Theo had said what he had come to say.
'Baron?' said the Queen looking directly at Van Merc.
'Of course I have a ring with poison but it is purely for an emergency your
Majesty' said the Baron.
'If that's the case, then why is it undetectable!' Theo shouted stretching out his
arm and pointing his finger directly at the Baron in a very dramatic way.
'The young man speaks the truth' said an old woman dressed in deepest blue.
Theo has seen her before, it was the old woman who spoke to him on the stairs
after he had been captured, the one the guards seemed afraid of.
'Thank you Godmother' said the Princess.
At this turn of events the Baron knew the game was up and made a dash for the door, pushing his way past the guards pausing only to shout back 'You will pay for this young man!'
'I think not' replied Theo throwing the meat hook directly at the Baron. It landed in the Baron's neck ripping his wind pipe and a jugular vein. The bleeding was profuse. The Baron sank slowly into a pool of his own dark lifeless blood. He was dead.
The entire court gave a sigh of relief, nobody had liked the Baron.
Theo and Angela were married soon after and I'm sure they must have lived happily ever after.