Prince Velor wiped the soot away from his eyes. His nostrils filled with the smell of sulfur mixed with his own sweat. At his feet, Avarice, the Dark Master, lay vanquished, his staff of power cloven in two by the prince's enchanted blade.
"I will ask you only one more time," the weary prince said, raising the sword to Avarice's throat. "Where is Princess Artemis?"
The Dark Master laughed - a throaty, pitiful sound, like the last exhalations of a deer. "You're a fool, Velor," he coughed. "You can search my castle all you like, from the highest parapet to the deepest dungeon, and you will never find her. You may as well strike me down now."
For a moment, Velor's jaw clenched with the firm resolution to do what was needed. He let his breath out, slowly, through his nose. "No," he said. "I will not sully my blade with blood as foul as yours." Velor sheathed his sword and turned away.
"Then you will die!" Avarice revealed a blade he kept concealed in the folds of his robe. He lunged at Velor, the blade held high, and then...
And then a giant bird came and took him away.
What? No, that's not what the book says.
And then a giant bird came and took him away, Daddy, and put him in a big nest, and raised him like a little baby bird, and he never hurt anyone again.
Listen, Jenny, I'm not going to read you anymore stories if you're just going to interrupt me. Now, let me finish.
But you ALWAYS read this part, and it's always the same. I want a different story.
There's no bird, Jenny. Why would a bird fly into the Castle of Eternal Sorrows?
Maybe... maybe it got lost.
Then why would it pick up Avarice?
Maybe he looks like a bird, and maybe the bird was lonely.
Fine, then. A bird came in and took Avarice away. Victorious at last, Prince Velor stood alone. He wiped his blade clean and searched the castle for three days, but the Dark Master's prediction...
What did he eat for three days?
(ahem) ...but the Dark Master's prediction seemed to be true - the princess was not to be found anyway. Weary, the prince leaned against the cold, ungiving stone, when he felt a slight breeze move past his hair. Of course! A secret tunnel! Surely the Dark Master would keep Princess Artemis somewhere only he would be able to find her. Thus, summoning the last of the legendary strength granted to him by the genie's bottle, Prince Velor broke down the wall to find...
A big hole!
Well, yes, of course there was a big hole, but on the other side of it was Princess...
No! There was... there was another big hole.
Why would there be two big holes?
Because the princess got away!
She got away?
Yeah! She was like... BOOSH... and then she went home.
Through the wall? How did she break the wall?
Well, Daddy, she was really a really strong princess.
But it's a thick stone wall. Even the prince needed a genie's spell to break the wall.
Maybe, maybe she found one.
A genie's spell?
Yeah.
There was just a genie's spell lying around in her prison cell?
Yeah.
But that... Jenny, dear, that isn't realistic!
It's just a story, Daddy. There's no such thing as genies.
It's not a very good ending to the story, though. Why would Prince Velor need to come all this way to rescue the princess if she didn't need to be rescued?
Well, maybe... maybe he should have asked her first. If she didn't need to be rescued, he could have stayed home.
Okay, so if the princess isn't in the Dark Master's castle, how did she get home?
Ooh, Daddy! Tell me that story tomorrow!
Anybody read The Princess Bride? Well, this isn't at all like that book. The movie, maybe.
The little girl's voice came almost literally out of nowhere. I planned on writing a story where the hero breaks in to the cell where the evil wizard kept the beautiful princess imprisoned, only to find the princess already escaped. Adding the extra voice of the girl listening to the story helped this little story feel more like something I'd actually want to read.
Whenever I do a digital drawing, I find I lose patience VERY quickly. I imagine I could achieve a lot more detail with these pictures if I took more time with them. Eventually, I think I'll get to that place where I find digital drawing as palate-cleansing as using pen and ink. But that'll be a while, still.
"I will ask you only one more time," the weary prince said, raising the sword to Avarice's throat. "Where is Princess Artemis?"
The Dark Master laughed - a throaty, pitiful sound, like the last exhalations of a deer. "You're a fool, Velor," he coughed. "You can search my castle all you like, from the highest parapet to the deepest dungeon, and you will never find her. You may as well strike me down now."
For a moment, Velor's jaw clenched with the firm resolution to do what was needed. He let his breath out, slowly, through his nose. "No," he said. "I will not sully my blade with blood as foul as yours." Velor sheathed his sword and turned away.
"Then you will die!" Avarice revealed a blade he kept concealed in the folds of his robe. He lunged at Velor, the blade held high, and then...
And then a giant bird came and took him away.
What? No, that's not what the book says.
And then a giant bird came and took him away, Daddy, and put him in a big nest, and raised him like a little baby bird, and he never hurt anyone again.
Listen, Jenny, I'm not going to read you anymore stories if you're just going to interrupt me. Now, let me finish.
But you ALWAYS read this part, and it's always the same. I want a different story.
There's no bird, Jenny. Why would a bird fly into the Castle of Eternal Sorrows?
Maybe... maybe it got lost.
Then why would it pick up Avarice?
Maybe he looks like a bird, and maybe the bird was lonely.
Fine, then. A bird came in and took Avarice away. Victorious at last, Prince Velor stood alone. He wiped his blade clean and searched the castle for three days, but the Dark Master's prediction...
What did he eat for three days?
(ahem) ...but the Dark Master's prediction seemed to be true - the princess was not to be found anyway. Weary, the prince leaned against the cold, ungiving stone, when he felt a slight breeze move past his hair. Of course! A secret tunnel! Surely the Dark Master would keep Princess Artemis somewhere only he would be able to find her. Thus, summoning the last of the legendary strength granted to him by the genie's bottle, Prince Velor broke down the wall to find...
A big hole!
Well, yes, of course there was a big hole, but on the other side of it was Princess...
No! There was... there was another big hole.
Why would there be two big holes?
Because the princess got away!
She got away?
Yeah! She was like... BOOSH... and then she went home.
Through the wall? How did she break the wall?
Well, Daddy, she was really a really strong princess.
But it's a thick stone wall. Even the prince needed a genie's spell to break the wall.
Maybe, maybe she found one.
A genie's spell?
Yeah.
There was just a genie's spell lying around in her prison cell?
Yeah.
But that... Jenny, dear, that isn't realistic!
It's just a story, Daddy. There's no such thing as genies.
It's not a very good ending to the story, though. Why would Prince Velor need to come all this way to rescue the princess if she didn't need to be rescued?
Well, maybe... maybe he should have asked her first. If she didn't need to be rescued, he could have stayed home.
Okay, so if the princess isn't in the Dark Master's castle, how did she get home?
Ooh, Daddy! Tell me that story tomorrow!
Anybody read The Princess Bride? Well, this isn't at all like that book. The movie, maybe.
The little girl's voice came almost literally out of nowhere. I planned on writing a story where the hero breaks in to the cell where the evil wizard kept the beautiful princess imprisoned, only to find the princess already escaped. Adding the extra voice of the girl listening to the story helped this little story feel more like something I'd actually want to read.
Whenever I do a digital drawing, I find I lose patience VERY quickly. I imagine I could achieve a lot more detail with these pictures if I took more time with them. Eventually, I think I'll get to that place where I find digital drawing as palate-cleansing as using pen and ink. But that'll be a while, still.
1 comment:
I enjoyed this! It was fun to read :)
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