Now it happened that there was a young man who soon after reaching manhood became a Knight; so valiant and brave was he that his deeds soon became known throughout all the lands. Many women loved him, and he was in the confidence of many a great lord and king. But the Knight soon became weary of traversing the land doing good deeds, for he had a restless spirit, and his one great dream had always been to sail the seas on a ship of his own.
The Knight came to the great Kingdom-by-the-Sea, and he freed that land from a terrible monster which had been the terror of the place for many a long year. Then went he to the court of the Kingdom, and there was so humble and yet so bold that he won the favor of the King. And in return for his great act the King offered the Knight any reward or boon he asked, provided it was in the power of the King.
Now the King had six daughters, all very beautiful, and all found the Knight very handsome and compelling, as were many knights who came to court. But the youngest Princess looked at the Knight and saw a spirit brighter and nobler than any she had seen. She sat by him, and charmed him with her grace and her lovely singing, and when the King offered him anything he wanted he took her small dark hand in his and looked long into her eyes. But he remembered his dream, and his dissatisfaction with the life he led, and tearing himself away from the Princess he asked the King for a ship and a crew to sail her with.
This the King granted willingly; and the youngest Princess, when she saw how much this meant to the Knight, was even more in love with him. So she went to her father, King of the Kingdom-by-the-Sea, and falling to her knees she begged to sail away on the ship with the Knight. The King was unwilling, but when the Princess continued to ask, he said:
“So be it! My youngest daughter shall see the world.”
And the Princess rejoiced, as did the Knight, for they were deeply in love. They married the next day, the Princess beautiful with her white gown setting off her dark skin and dark hair, the Knight handsome in his finest tunic with his sword hanging from his belt.
Then the Knight met his crew: the Healer, a gruff man learned in herblore and the healing arts; the Swordsman, a great and brave warrior who steered the ship; a navigator, the Youth, who was from distant lands and spoke with a strange accent; a great Builder who had helped to construct the ship and who would help to repair it should it suffer damage on their journey; the Healer’s Apprentice, a beautiful young woman with hair golden as the sun; and many others.
And so the Knight and his lady Princess and all the others set sail, ready to explore new worlds and discover other peoples; to sally forth and go where no one had gone before!
They had been sailing for some weeks when the Swordsman sighted in the distance a small dinghy; and they wondered that such a boat was to be found so far out to sea. The Princess clung to the Knight’s arm as they drew near, for she was afraid there may have been the skeleton of some long-dead sailor, floating on the sea. Instead, when the Swordsman and the Youth drew the dinghy aboard, they found lying there near death one of the Faerie folk; a man, seemingly young, handsome but draggled and thin. The Healer was called forth, but he was distraught, for he had never treated one of these strange folk before. They fed the Faerie and gave him water, and he came to himself enough to tell them of his story.
“I am a Prince of the distant land of the Faeries,” said he, as the Healer’s Apprentice supported him. “My ship was attacked by pirates, and I am the only survivor. I have not had food nor drink for nigh on two weeks.”
Then they marveled, not only at how he had survived but at how coldly he said all this: that his shipmates were dead, and his ship reduced to debris floating on the ocean. Truly they had all heard the stories of the Faerie folk, that they were cold, cold as ice, and felt not anger nor sorrow nor joy; but none had truly believed it until they saw this Faerie Prince, weak and trembling yet utterly calm. Some of the crew were repulsed, and drew back, but the eyes of the Healer’s Apprentice were wide, and her breath quickened as she beheld this great warrior.
The Knight, who admired the Faerie Prince for his courage, gave him a place to sleep and gave him food and drink, and questioned him about himself and the land he came from. Then did the Faerie Prince, trusting the bold Knight, admit that his land was in danger. “For a great beast who fears not our magic and our strength pillages our cities; it carries off our women, and its breath spreads a disease fatal to the Faerie folk, which men are impervious to. None can escape the dangers of the illness but myself and my mother.” Then the Knight and the Princess looked at each other in confusion, and the Healer, who remained to make certain of the Prince’s wellbeing, asked him to clarify his meaning. For the first time, the Faerie Prince seemed very slightly uncomfortable as he said, “My mother is of your people, and long ago did she wed my father the Faerie King. I am truly of both races, though I choose to follow the way of my father’s folk.”
Then they understood that his blood had protected him from the disease, but he alone could not slay the beast. He had sailed with a small crew to find help for his people and his land.
The Knight saw his first chance for a great adventure, and with the Faerie Prince’s directions set sail for the land of the Faeries. They sailed for long, for the land was far, and the Faerie Prince and the Knight became good friends. Also did the Healer become friends with the Prince and the Knight, though he was sometimes cruel in his jests with the Prince.
And the Healer’s Apprentice watched the Faerie Prince from a distance, and whenever she looked at him the light of love shone in her eyes.
As they neared the land of the Faerie Folk, the Princess came to the Knight and spoke to him, saying, “My husband, you know I love you above all others. I beg you to be careful.”
He smiled, for he knew her cares, and said to her, “My wife, it is my duty as a Knight to free this land from the beast.”
“I know,” said she, “but when you fight, think of your Princess, and do not jump too willingly into the embrace of death.” And she covered her face wept, for she loved him, and could not bear to think of him being hurt. But he raised her chin and told her that she would come with them when they fought the beast, for he knew that she would not wish to stay behind.
They made port in the Faeries’ land, and they smelled the sickness in the air. And though the Faerie Prince could not sicken and die, for his mother’s mortal blood preserved him, he felt somewhat weakened by the disease. The Healer and his Apprentice went off at once to try and ease the suffering of the many Faeries who had succumbed to the illness, and the Knight took his wife, the Faerie Prince, and the Youth with him while the Swordsman and the Builder remained to guard the ship from the cowardly pirates who attacked lands in times of crisis and trouble.
The Healer’s Apprentice, as she spoke soothing words to a Faerie who, despite his stoic and cold exterior, was clearly near death, saw a woman walking toward her who did not have the pointed ears and slanted eyebrows of the Faerie folk. The woman smiled sadly as she neared, and the Apprentice saw that she must have been very beautiful, when she was young.
“Who are you, lady?” asked the Apprentice; and the woman said that she was the Queen of the land. Then the Apprentice knew that this was the mother of the Faerie Prince, whom she loved. Briefly she explained that they had met the Prince, and were here to help the land of the Faeries.
The Queen took the Apprentice and went to find the Healer, and then, convincing them that nothing could be done for the ill Faeries until the beast was slain, brought them with her to the palace to await the others.
Meanwhile, the Knight and his group had gone in search of the beast. The Faerie Prince, because he felt weaker the closer he got to the beast, led them until he felt as though he could move no further. Still, keeping his face free of expression, he continued, though he had to lean on the shoulder of the Knight.
Suddenly the Youth gave a cry and pointed straight up. The Princess clutched at the arm of the Knight, but her hands landed only on air, for the beast had swooped down and seized the Knight all of a sudden, flying off before any could do more than stare.
Finding within him the strength, the Faerie Prince began to run, leading the other two after the beast who had taken their beloved Knight. Suddenly they all heard a great and dreadful shout, and they stopped and watched with horror as a small figure dropped from the claws of the beast, right over some rocks the Faerie Prince knew were sharp and treacherous. Tears springing to her eyes, the Princess rushed into the arms of the Faerie Prince, and he held her awkwardly, his eyes meeting those of the Youth, who appeared stunned.
Silently the Faerie Prince led them across the awful barren lands near the home of the Faeries, moving ever closer to the beast’s lair. An awful place it was: dark, dank, with the smell of death all around. They moved slowly through the entrance of the cave where the creature made its home, determined to avenge not only the Faerie folk but the great Knight.
Again weakened by the sickness in the creature’s foul breath, the Faerie Prince leaned upon the strong arm of the Youth. It was silent in the cave, and their breathing seemed loud. Doubts entered their minds as they went, and the Princess wept silently, but somehow they managed to continue.
Hearing something the other two could not, the Faerie Prince flung out his arm to stop them. Then the beast’s breathing grew loud in the darkness, loud and close, and even the Youth and the Princess felt ill. But calling upon the magical power within him, the Faerie Prince made a brilliant light appear, and the beast backed away, stunned for a brief moment.
It was the advantage they needed. The Youth leapt forward and slashed the beast with his dagger, infuriating him, and then the Faerie Prince signaled for them to retreat outside the cave, which drew the beast outside as well.
He slashed with his claws and would have finished off the Princess had she not jumped out of the way just in time. The Faerie Prince drew his sword and stabbed the beast while the Youth distracted it, but it was not enough. Snapping at the Youth, the beast left a long cut on his arm.
Suddenly, up from behind the cave ran a figure that leapt before the beast and drove his sword through the creature’s heart, slaughtering it. In shock, the Princess stepped forward and stared at her Knight, dirt-streaked and with his tunic ripped but otherwise fine.
And then, before the corpse of the beast, she stepped forward and kissed him.
The Knight had fallen, but he had landed, through sheer luck, on a soft spot of grass. Bruised but all right, he had run to the beast’s cave to fight him. Now the Knight, the Princess and the Youth all smiled in exultation, while the Faerie Prince concealed his inward joy, and all went back to the palace.
On the way, they met the Swordsman and the Builder, who had driven away some pirates. Their superior fighting had terrified the disorganized ruffians, and the ship was safe. And with the death of the beast, the awful smell of sickness was dissipating from the land. The Faerie Prince breathed of the air of his home and felt strong again, and the Builder and the Swordsman rejoiced that no one had been hurt. Also, the Swordsman was pleased to see that his friend the Youth had escaped with only a cut on the arm.
They came to the palace, where waited the Healer and his Apprentice. Seeing the Faerie Prince well, the Apprentice wept and nearly threw her arms around him. Inwardly the Healer felt equally as relieved. And they all went to the Hall where the Faerie King waited, newly recovered from the sickness, with his mortal Queen by his side.
Then was the Knight honored, and all his companions; and the King looked upon the Faerie Prince with the faintest traces of an emotional pride. They tarried in the palace for many a day, feasting and enjoying the hospitality of their cold hosts. But at last the time came for the Knight and his ship to sail on, and the Knight and the Healer went to bid farewell to their great friend the Faerie Prince.
They found him with bags packed, and when they questioned him, he asked to sail with them and to share in their adventures. And so began the great journeys of that ship, with the bold Knight, his beautiful Princess with the dark skin and the dark hair, the Faerie Prince who, though raised with the coldness of his people, would occasionally allow himself to feel anger or sorrow or joy, the learned Healer who was great friends with the Knight and the Prince, the daring Swordsman who fought in many battles, the strong Youth from distant lands, the great and wise Builder, and the lovely Healer’s Apprentice who loved the cold Prince. For years they traveled together, and their names will never be forgotten.
Story Notes: This was an English assignment in which I had to write a fairy tale. Naturally, it turned out Star Trek-ish. This is cementing my belief that I am incapable of writing TOS fic that isn't AU.