A true Prince

A/N: The second challenge for the wonderful and entertaining sl_duel on Livejournal: Fairy tale. Freely based on H.C. Andersen's 'The Princess and the Pea'. All the mistakes are mine.

A True Prince

Once upon a time in a beautiful land far away, there was a young Prince. This prince was fair and beautiful as his land. Flowing long hair flaxen, like gold under the sun, his skin as pale and delicate as the finest alabaster. His limbs were as a young and strong colt and his eyes grey like summer storms, intense and piercing in their gaze.

For many years, all was perfect in the land. All prospered, all were happy and all adored their Prince - even if he at times could be a temperamental and headstrong young man, and all thought they had the most beautiful land in the world.

For those many years the Prince was content to live in this happy land, with his happy people, surrounded by beauty at all times. But slowly he started feeling a yearning, oh yes, how he yearned. Not for riches, not for adventure and certainly not for a princess.

Nay, the dear Prince yearned for another Prince. A true Prince who would complete his life, make him happy and also endure his temper. Oh, he yearned so beautifully, it broke the hearts of his people to see the longing in his stormy grey eyes, the wistful curve to his lips, the dip towards the ground of his otherwise always so proudly held chin, and many beautiful and sad songs were composed in its honour, making even the hardest of souls weep for their Prince.

Finally one day, the Prince decided he would yearn no more and journeyed through his lands to find this perfect prince who would make him happy once more. His stately Thestral bore him faithfully from East to West, from South to North and oh, he saw many princes. Indeed, his land was full of beautiful princes who all could think of no greater joy that make their Prince happy. But none were quite right.

After travelling for three years, three months and three days, he finally gave up and a great sorrow came upon the once so happy land. The Prince grew silent and pale, a shadow of his former self, hiding in the towers of his great castle. Nothing could any longer rouse his temper, nothing could any longer make him smile.

The Queen worried for her son, who had once been the pride and constant joy of her life. No longer did his laughter bring light to her heart, no longer did his wit bring smiles to her lips. Oh, how she worried and worried, for many days unable to think of anything other than how to make her beloved son happy again, every day also trying to cheer him up, making him speak of all the wonderful princes he had met on his travels.

But all he would say was "None were quite right." And then he would scowl and pout.

Finally, one day the Queen lost her patience with her son. She could no longer bear to see him scowl and pout and she gave him an ultimatum.

"You must marry one of the princes you met on your travels or I will find one for you!." Her voice was strict

"None were quite right! None were a true prince!" And the Prince scowled and pouted even more.

And so it came to pass that the Queen sent out notice to all the land for all princes to come to the castle and prove they were a true prince. The Prince was still scowling and pouting, but he could do nothing but obey his mother, the Queen.

The Queen still worried though, worried for her beloved son, for her beloved land who was still gripped by a deep sadness, and about how it would be possible to prove who was a true prince. She worried for three days and three nights until one particularly dark night a tap sounded on her window.

She opened the window and in flew a white dove. It landed on her fine bed for a few moments then flew away again. The Queen shook her head and closed the window, going back to her bed so she could be rested for the next day.

But the next day the Queen was not rested. She was bruised and had slept fitfully through the night. She could not understand, since her bed had always been the softest and best in the land, with silken covers and eider down pillows. But as she drew off the covers, she saw the reason and finally knew what she must do.

Over the next many weeks, princes travelled to the great castle and all said they were true princes. All slept in the castle for one night and all were the next morning at breakfast asked how they had slept.

All as one answered; "Oh, I slept so wonderfully, the bed so soft, so warm, so comfortable."

And all as one were told to leave, because they were no real prince.

The Queen despaired, afraid that her beautiful son would be alone and unhappy forever. And the Prince would scowl and pout and stay in his tower.

Then one rainy night, knocks sounded from the castle doors, so weak and so faint they were almost not heard. But the servants, all too distressed by their Prince's sadness, did hear and opened the doors.

In stumbled the most unattractive creature they had ever seen, soaked with rain as a drowned dog. They gasped and stared when they saw his face, a pallor so white, a nose so hooked, features so gaunt they had never seen it's like.

But before they could cast out this dark creature again, this deadly pale young man, he exclaimed "I am a true Prince! I demand to be brought before the Queen!"

Faithful to their Queen's orders, they brought the young man before their Queen and she gasped and stared, quite unable to say anything at all.

The beautiful Prince came down from his tower to see what all the gasping was about and very nearly gasped himself. But no longer he was scowling nor pouting. He was staring though, quite forgetting all around him.

The Queen saw this and gasped again. This could not be. This could not be a true and real Prince. Quickly she ordered the servants to escort the wet young man to his chambers where he would sleep for the night. She could not turn him away, since she had herself called upon all princes of the land for them to be tested. And tested he should be.

The next morning she asked the young man how he had slept.

"Oh, I slept dreadfully. I could not close an eye, all night turning over again and again. I am all bruised. The bed was most unpleasant." And the young man sneered slightly, rubbing his bruised side.

The Queen frowned deeply and worried all day, as she watched her beloved son the Prince stare at the young man without scowl, and without pout. It could not be. That night she ordered her servants to add a mattress to the young man's bed and even more silken covers and eider down pillows.

The next morning she once more asked the young man how he had slept.

"Oh, I slept dreadfully. I could not close and eye, all night turning over again and again. I am even more bruised today. The bed was most unpleasant." And once more the young man sneered, wrinkling his long hooked nose in displeasure.

The Queen could not frown more than she did, but she was more worried than before as she watched her beloved son the Prince smile for the first time in so many years, watching him speak with the young man and even laugh.

It could not be.

The third night the young man was to sleep at the castle, the Queen ordered her servants to add even more mattresses, silken covers and eider down pillows to the bed, certain that this time she would succeed.

The third morning she once more asked the young man how he had slept.

"Oh, I slept dreadfully. It was even worse than the other nights. I can hardly walk for all my bruises." He complained, sneering with displeasure.

Then the Queen had to accept this was truly a real Prince. Only a true prince would be able to feel a tiny pea through all those soft mattresses, silken covers and eider down pillows, only a true Prince would not be able to sleep then, only a true Prince would bruise from this. They had finally found a true Prince. But oh, she found him so ugly and how could it be that a true Prince was not beautiful.

But when she saw her son's smile and laughter, saw the light return to his eyes, heard the temper rise again, joy filled her heart and she decided it was well.
And all was well, because see, the Prince had never sought beauty. He had always been surrounded by beauty, by the most exquisite and gorgeous things in existence, and in the end they had become unimportant to him.

Nay, he had sought something only his heart would be able to recognise, the one true and real Prince that could complete his soul and endure his temper. And he laughed and smiled and kissed his true Prince, so happy to have finally found him.

The other Prince scowled and sneered a little, but in his heart there was joy as well, for he had over the three days he had lived at the castle found love and acceptance he had never before had in his life.

It was well.

The two princes married, loved and lived happily ever after, in time becoming Kings of the beautiful lands.