THE PRINCESS AND THE PROLETARIAN
By
Nicole Mayer
Timeline: Time Unknown
Author's E-Mail: destiny@bluesky.net.au or destiny@wwdg.com.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
NOTE: 1 day of my week's vacation has passed, one story has been written. Let's hope I can keep going at this pace! Feedback on this story is most welcome.
DISCLAIMER: The characters and situations contained within are the property of Universal/Amblin Entertainment (although they bare very little resemblance to the original by the time I'm finished with them!) No copyright infringement is intended.
The Princess and the Proletarian.
By Nicole Mayer (destiny@wwdg.com)
20 November 1998"Tell me a story, Grandmother?" begged Lydia, smiling beseechingly up at the middle-aged woman who had just entered her room.
With her hands behind her back and an impish sparkle in her eyes, Ellouise countered, "A story? And what makes you think I would do that?"
"Grandmothers *always* tell stories," Lydia stated confidently. "All the books that Mommy reads to me say so." She shuffled higher in her bed so that she was leaning against the synthetic backboard.
"Well I guess you must be right, because look what I brought with me!" Ellouise produced the book with a flourish, noting the smile on her granddaughter's face. A smile until she had the book in her hands, examining it more closely.
"It looks too old," complained Lydia. Leather covers were a thing of the past along with paper and wood. "There won't be any good stories in this." Lydia traced the cover and the title, "Myths and Legends", thinking that she wasn't quite sure what a myth was but it sounded boring anyway.
With a twinkle in her eye, Ellouise replied, "I think you will find you are mistaken, child. There are a great many stories in this book, all about the past when people used to live on the planet."
This got Lydia's attention. "Down there?" she squealed excitedly and bounded out of bed to open the curtains blocking her small window. A brown planet came into view, brilliant in the sunlight.
"Yes, down there," answered Ellouise. "This book has stories about the princes and princesses of ancient times when wars raged and true love conquered everything."
"Wow," Lydia breathed. Her eyes were wide as she turned to look at her grandmother, happy that she was staying with Daddy's rich grandparents for the first time while Mommy and Daddy travelled to another space station for work.
Settling herself in a chair, Ellouise patted the empty bed beside her. "Well, dear, are you going to tuck yourself in and listen to the story?"
Lydia quickly jumped back into bed and watched as Ellouise opened the book.
"What kind of story would you like?" Ellouise asked.
"Um...a story about a princess," Lydia declared. "A beautiful, beautiful princess - oh, and I want to know about the battles. They tell us in school that the wars lasted millions and trillions of years-" (Ellouise hid her gentle chuckle at the exaggeration) "and I want to know about that too."
"Well, I think I might be able to find a story in here that fits that description...ah, here it is!" Ellouise had opened the book to its very first story. "This is how it all began, Lydia. Let me warn you, it's not a very happy story-"
"Does it have a princess?" interrupted Lydia.
"Yes, but-"
"And does she meet her one true love?"
Ellouise paused. "I suppose she does, but to tell you any more than that would ruin the story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"
Lydia nodded her head most emphatically.
Ellouise paused for a moment, wondering if the story would give her young granddaughter nightmares. But Lydia was a precocious child and knew a story from truth. Besides, it would do her good to learn a little more about the past. "Then I shall read you the story, Lydia. Are you snuggled down there?"
"Yes, Grandmother."
Ellouise smiled and began to read.
***
"A long time ago, long before the days when people reached out to the stars, even long before people built machines and lived in houses, there was harmony throughout the world. These were the ancient days when monsters walked the earth and people were few and far between. Not much is known of those great ancients, but one story has lasted throughout time.
This is that story, about a beautiful princess and a proletarian. The princess was more beautiful than anyone else in the land, with a good and kind heart and a courageous soul. She was also very determined, and having been pampered all of her life, was accustomed to having her every whim and desire fulfilled. Yet there was something missing from her life and so she decided to take a great journey across the land to find her true destiny.
With her came a band of small travellers; some said they were the only friends she had in the world. Some came reluctantly, others were happy to begin the journey, and they all believed that something better awaited them at the end.
So they began the journey, and amongst the princess's small band was a proletarian and his young daughter. He was tall and not handsome upon first glances, but his face showed a pride and steadfastness that betrayed the pure spirit of his heart. Of course he grumbled and pretended to be the thorn in the princess's side, for he was the only one who would dare to challenge her decisions.
At first, the princess was quite outraged at this, so accustomed had she become to being obeyed. But gradually, she learned to listen not only to the proletarian but to the minds of others in her band, and the travelling companions became even closer as the time went by.
A childhood friend of the princess's, and one who travelled with her, discovered that he was a mage who was able to contact the spirits of the earth. From that time forward his guidance was well respected by the princess. They had many adventures during their travels, frequently encountering frightening dangers but always persevering. They made friends with a wise man in a mountain who promised to watch over them. But more often than not, their encounters over the months were fraught with trouble.
Evil men along the way tried to kill them and the monsters that roamed the earth in those days were a constant source of terror. But there was one enemy greater than all of those combined, and that enemy was the land itself. What had been a beautiful mild year suddenly turned evil, into a frigid winter where food was scarce. The princess and her band began to weaken and had to halt their great journey for they could not go on any longer. And still the snow fell and there was little food. The days grew very dark indeed.
There was a time when they found magical tunnels which took them to the other side of the world, and there was great rejoicing amongst the travellers. The princess and the proletarian entered these tunnels but found that it was the wrong direction; the princess's destiny did not lie there. And so they spent a simple day by the ocean together, talking, enjoying the sunlight, and bringing food back to their tables.
But the tunnels were not safe, and because the proletarian had almost died, the princess decreed that the magic tunnels were not to be used and again, the travellers had very little food.
The princess, however, never lost hope. She had an unyielding faith in both herself and her friends and refused to believe that they could succumb to death so easily. Through all of this, the proletarian's friendship became more important to her than ever. They grew closer every day - she turned to him for guidance and he loved her without reservation, although he could never tell her this. For she was a princess and he was nothing but a proletarian with a daughter to take care of.
One day when the proletarian and his companions were out searching for food (the princess stayed indoors, for she was unwell) they stumbled across the body of an ancient monster, a monster who had been buried in the ice for centuries. Its name was Anarchy.
The travellers did not know what they were digging up, but soon it became apparent that an evil had been unleashed. Accidents plagued the group and they began to accuse each other of being sinful. The princess could not keep control, even with the proletarian's help.
So the princess and the proletarian sought out the guidance of the wise man in the mountain, for she did not know what else to do.
The wise man told them the tale of Anarchy, a lost evil from the past when great wars had raged across the world. The princess found this hard to believe because the earth spirits were peaceful now. Nonetheless, she heeded the words of the wise man in the mountain and returned to her people, resolved to discover just whom had become corrupt with the darkness.
It was her mage. No longer could they rely on him to receive guidance from the earth spirits. Instead, he ran screaming into the forest and snow and bade everyone to keep far, far away from him. The princess was saddened to see her friend so overcome by darkness. She wanted fervently to help him and so she, the proletarian, and their healer followed the mage's tracks all the way to the man in the mountain.
But along the way the proletarian became angry. His anger was far beyond what was allowed to him and the princess and the healer became frightened as they realised that the mage had run because he was scared of the proletarian. Anarchy lived in the proletarian. The princess was horrified because she had come to care deeply for the proletarian. She whispered to the healer that something must be done and together they tricked him into entering a blind cave and stole his weapons from him. And in those moments, Anarchy completely overtook the proletarian's body.
Anarchy raced towards the princess with evil in his eyes. The princess, her heart heavy, held out her lightning maker ready to wound him. But she did not shoot it. She could not, because in her heart, she loved him.
The mage, who had been told by the old man in the mountain that he was the only one who could kill Anarchy, entered the battle. For hours they fought, not only on the earth but in the plane of the spirits as well. But gradually, the mage began to grow tired. He could not defeat Anarchy no matter how hard he tried.
The mage and Anarchy returned to the living world, both terribly wounded, but both still alive. Anarchy knew that he would not survive another battle with the powerful mage and so he fled the caves, taking the proletarian's body with him.
The princess cried out in anguish for him to come back as the healer comforted the mage. But Anarchy was no where to be found. For days, the princess and her band searched for their missing kinsman - and the princess's one true love - but he had left the land and gone south into the great unknown wilderness. They did not believe they would ever see him again.
And although the princess was distraught for several days, nothing she did nor said would comfort the proletarian's daughter. The daughter raged bitterly that something more could have been done and swore that she would never, ever forgive the princess for driving him away.
Time passed, and eventually the princess was able to resume her journey. She even smiled again, and the daughter glowered at her with pain in her face every time she saw this happen. The princess despaired over the daughter, but even the princess did not know that a blackness had entered the daughter's heart.
When the princess's journey was ended, there was great rejoicing throughout the world. From the princess's home land came many settlers to the new kingdom and all was happy and good.
But deep in the south, trouble was brewing. Anarchy had long since destroyed the proletarian's mind but still possessed his body. And he had not forgotten the injustice done to him by the princess and her mage. He swore revenge and bided his time building up his forces. He seduced many of the earth spirits to join his quest and found other people who hated the princess. All joined his band, their numbers growing every year.
When the day came for attack, the princess's kingdom was prosperous but unprepared, so Anarchy sent a lone warrior bringing warnings and tales of doom if the princess did not meet Anarchy's demands. One demand was for the princess herself.
Her subjects begged her not to leave them but she could not be persuaded to stay away from Anarchy, because deep in her heart, she still loved the man he once was and thought she could reach him. For many days she travelled until she was taken by Anarchy's forces and received into his fortress.
Darkness fell over the land while everyone waited to see what would happen. And then the princess emerged from the fortress, her eyes filled with tears, her hands stained with blood. Anarchy was dead. And with his death, the pall over the southern kingdom had been lifted and it seemed there would be hope in the world again.
Yet the proletarian's daughter was so outraged that her father had been murdered that she stole into the palace late the next night and killed the princess. The daughter was captured and judged harshly for her crime, but there were those who also felt a kinship with her.
And from that day forward, the princess's family and the proletarian's family were sworn enemies. The friends of the daughter fled to the lands of the south and joined Anarchy's forces, who had become less evil when their leader died. The princess's followers stayed in the northern kingdom and cursed the southern family.
The wars lasted a thousand years."
Ellouise put down the book with a sigh and brushed back her granddaughter's hair. "I'm sorry, child, but that's the end of this particular story."
"But then what happened?" Lydia wondered.
"That's another tale for anther night. Besides, I'm sure you've learned about the wars in school."
The little girl's eyes were wide as she said, "Yes, Grandmother." She paused, then asked, "Do you think this story is true? Is that how the fighting between the Adair Family and the Danziger Family started?"
"It's the only record we have," replied Ellouise. "Not much remains from the Dark Ages. In fact, not much at all remains of Eden."
"I know," said Lydia sadly. "I guess it was a really beautiful planet once, huh Grandmother?"
"I believe it was," she responded sadly. Ellouise stared wistfully out of the window, wondering how war had managed to destroy such a beautiful world. It was a blood feud born from an innocent chain of events centuries ago, a feud that people had been unable to let go of even as technology developed. For all the great things humanity had achieved since its earliest beginnings on Eden, the war was the one thing no one could let go of. North versus south in the third world war and before anyone knew it, Eden was too polluted to support life anymore. So now they lived on space stations, wondering about their lost world.
Terrians had become a thing of myth, and the stories of creation were lost in time. There were many who believed that the humans living on Eden had migrated there, being part of a superior alien race. And there were just as many who disbelieved the theory and countered that humans had evolved alongside the terrians.
Ellouise didn't know what to think. But as she stared at the brown planet and idly stroked her granddaughter's hair, she could only hope for a better future. A new world, where they could start over for Lydia's sake, and this time, do it right.
-The End-
This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.