Week 13 Story: The Mysterious Maiden
IN A LAND, far, far away there lived a maiden, and her name was Paulina. Now Paulina was not like any of the other maiden's who lived in the kingdom. This maiden was independent. She lived off in a forest, next to a river, in a cottage all alone. She did not like to be seen because she was always gawked and laughed at by the others. Unlike the ideal maiden, Paulina was six feet and three inches tall, she was as strong as an ox, and could put away more mead than any other man in the land. She had big burly arms and thick thundering thighs. Because of her stature, she had to make her own clothes and became quite good at it too. That was one thing she did not mind when forced to visit the kingdom's village, her clothes were more extravagant than anyone else's.
One day, Paulina had to run some errands. So, she put on her best dress and fanciest shoes, she fixed her hair and makeup, grabbed her satchel, and left for the kingdom. She first stopped at the bakery, no one could resist the temptation of a pastry after smelling the sweet air when walking by. After buying her sweet delight, she would normally sit outside the shop and enjoy it, however, there was a line waiting out the door, so she decided to slip out the back in an attempt to avoid the usual embarrassment of her presence. Upon closing the shop's back door, she ran into a strange old peasant man, who carried a lot of trinkets with him to sell. Feeling sorry for the old chap, she gave in to his bargain and bought herself an emerald ring. Little did she know, this old man was a wizard and he had enchanted all of his items with a special power. Now, Paulina did not pick up on the changes that had been made when she put on the ring.
When she came out of the back alley, everyone who had waited in line at the shop instantly turned toward the maiden. Since this was not unusual for Paulina, she thought nothing of it. However, everyone else saw a gorgeous, petite, maiden with flowing strawberry blonde hair, and she smelled of honeysuckle. As she walked by the people, all the men and women starred in astonishment at her extraordinary qualities. The women became envious and the men filled with lust.
Paulina carried out her usual business, keeping her head down and speaking as little as possible. On her last stop, she bumped into one of the king's guards, knocking him on his back. He had dark chocolate hair, smelled of moss and patchouli, and towered over seven feet tall. The maiden was so embarrassed that she left without her things and ran off towards her cottage. The knight quickly picked up her satchel and followed her into the forest. Finally, he caught up to the maiden but decided to fall back and wait for her to calm down.
Once Paulina had relaxed a bit, she sat on the edge of the river bank and dipped her feet into the water. The knight felt like this was the best time to approach her. Worried that he may startle her, he called out to her instead of sneaking up on her. Paulina, still startled, quickly jumped to her feet, but this time she did not run away. Instead, she let the knight approach her. The knight handed the satchel over to the young maiden and apologized for running into her in the village. She wanted to properly thank the knight, so she invited him to stay for dinner.
The knight accepted her invitation and they spent the night stuffing their bellies with a hearty boar stew and plenty of mead. When it was time for the knight to leave, the maiden stopped him and insisted upon giving him one last token of gratitude. The only other thing that she had washer enchanted emerald ring. Still unaware of its powers, she slipped the ring off, causing her to change into her natural form. The knight's jaw dropped and his heart began to flutter. Paulina stood there, confused by his reaction. The knight was amazed at her transformation, he was love-struck, and professed his undying love to the maiden, telling her that he wishes to have her hand in marriage. Paulina delightedly accepted his proposal and the knight took her back to the kingdom to bring the king their news. The king made sure that this couple was catered to their every need for their wedding. All of the king's people were invited, which made Paulina uneasy; however, she was not going to let a bunch of village fools ruin what was going to be one of the best days of her life.
Paulina slipped into her wedding gown and stared at herself in the mirror. She then put on the ring and saw the changes, which brought her to tears. It was at that moment she knew she found someone who truly loved her for her, so she took off the ring and left it sitting on the counter, hoping someone else would stumble upon it and find happiness as she had. She picked up her bouquet and stood behind the double doors, waiting for the music that would signal her entrance. The tune began, "bum, bum, ba-dum. Bum, bumm, ba-dum. Bum, bum, ba-dum, dum, da-dumm, dum, da-dummm!" The crowd stood and turned towards the bride, and for the first time, Paulina did not feel shame. Instead, she pulled her shoulders back, held her head high, and smiled from ear to ear, staring towards her groom as she walked down the aisle. The knight and his bride said their vows and they lived happily ever after.
THE END.
Author's Note: This story was based on the Stories from the Faerie Queene by Mary Macleod. It may be a little confusing, but the maiden, Paulina is actually a man. In the Stories from the Faerie Queene, Britomart is a girl who is disguised as a male knight. I thought it would be nice to create a fairy tale with someone who, to be politically correct, is a transgender. So, in that way, I have modernized the story a bit, even though it is placed in medieval times. I also took the idea of an enchanted item from the Faerie Queene stories, which in my story it was a ring that made Paulina look like the "ideal maiden." I thought it would be interesting to have the knight fall in love with her after seeing her true form, which is kind of like Shrek and Fiona. Everything else in the story is original ideas. Also, I hope you can hear the wedding song.
One day, Paulina had to run some errands. So, she put on her best dress and fanciest shoes, she fixed her hair and makeup, grabbed her satchel, and left for the kingdom. She first stopped at the bakery, no one could resist the temptation of a pastry after smelling the sweet air when walking by. After buying her sweet delight, she would normally sit outside the shop and enjoy it, however, there was a line waiting out the door, so she decided to slip out the back in an attempt to avoid the usual embarrassment of her presence. Upon closing the shop's back door, she ran into a strange old peasant man, who carried a lot of trinkets with him to sell. Feeling sorry for the old chap, she gave in to his bargain and bought herself an emerald ring. Little did she know, this old man was a wizard and he had enchanted all of his items with a special power. Now, Paulina did not pick up on the changes that had been made when she put on the ring.
When she came out of the back alley, everyone who had waited in line at the shop instantly turned toward the maiden. Since this was not unusual for Paulina, she thought nothing of it. However, everyone else saw a gorgeous, petite, maiden with flowing strawberry blonde hair, and she smelled of honeysuckle. As she walked by the people, all the men and women starred in astonishment at her extraordinary qualities. The women became envious and the men filled with lust.
Paulina carried out her usual business, keeping her head down and speaking as little as possible. On her last stop, she bumped into one of the king's guards, knocking him on his back. He had dark chocolate hair, smelled of moss and patchouli, and towered over seven feet tall. The maiden was so embarrassed that she left without her things and ran off towards her cottage. The knight quickly picked up her satchel and followed her into the forest. Finally, he caught up to the maiden but decided to fall back and wait for her to calm down.
Once Paulina had relaxed a bit, she sat on the edge of the river bank and dipped her feet into the water. The knight felt like this was the best time to approach her. Worried that he may startle her, he called out to her instead of sneaking up on her. Paulina, still startled, quickly jumped to her feet, but this time she did not run away. Instead, she let the knight approach her. The knight handed the satchel over to the young maiden and apologized for running into her in the village. She wanted to properly thank the knight, so she invited him to stay for dinner.
The knight accepted her invitation and they spent the night stuffing their bellies with a hearty boar stew and plenty of mead. When it was time for the knight to leave, the maiden stopped him and insisted upon giving him one last token of gratitude. The only other thing that she had washer enchanted emerald ring. Still unaware of its powers, she slipped the ring off, causing her to change into her natural form. The knight's jaw dropped and his heart began to flutter. Paulina stood there, confused by his reaction. The knight was amazed at her transformation, he was love-struck, and professed his undying love to the maiden, telling her that he wishes to have her hand in marriage. Paulina delightedly accepted his proposal and the knight took her back to the kingdom to bring the king their news. The king made sure that this couple was catered to their every need for their wedding. All of the king's people were invited, which made Paulina uneasy; however, she was not going to let a bunch of village fools ruin what was going to be one of the best days of her life.
Paulina slipped into her wedding gown and stared at herself in the mirror. She then put on the ring and saw the changes, which brought her to tears. It was at that moment she knew she found someone who truly loved her for her, so she took off the ring and left it sitting on the counter, hoping someone else would stumble upon it and find happiness as she had. She picked up her bouquet and stood behind the double doors, waiting for the music that would signal her entrance. The tune began, "bum, bum, ba-dum. Bum, bumm, ba-dum. Bum, bum, ba-dum, dum, da-dumm, dum, da-dummm!" The crowd stood and turned towards the bride, and for the first time, Paulina did not feel shame. Instead, she pulled her shoulders back, held her head high, and smiled from ear to ear, staring towards her groom as she walked down the aisle. The knight and his bride said their vows and they lived happily ever after.
THE END.
Author's Note: This story was based on the Stories from the Faerie Queene by Mary Macleod. It may be a little confusing, but the maiden, Paulina is actually a man. In the Stories from the Faerie Queene, Britomart is a girl who is disguised as a male knight. I thought it would be nice to create a fairy tale with someone who, to be politically correct, is a transgender. So, in that way, I have modernized the story a bit, even though it is placed in medieval times. I also took the idea of an enchanted item from the Faerie Queene stories, which in my story it was a ring that made Paulina look like the "ideal maiden." I thought it would be interesting to have the knight fall in love with her after seeing her true form, which is kind of like Shrek and Fiona. Everything else in the story is original ideas. Also, I hope you can hear the wedding song.
Hey Madi! I love how you said that Paulina loved the fact that she had to wear special clothes that she made only because her stature was unconventional. If I was to add anything to this story, I would add a couple of other instances where we see that Paulina loves herself and it's just society that doesn't love her. I only say this because I would love to see that Paulina doesn't depend on the knight's acceptance of how she looks for her self-love. It was there all along and he was the one out of all people to appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteHi Madi! I read Britomart's stories too! The self confidence Britomart had is reflected really well in Paulina's love for herself. I love that the knight liked her even more in her natural form and that she got to live happily ever after. There were two minor typos that I found, so if you decided to edit this just read it carefully for those minor adjustments. Overall, great story!
ReplyDeleteHi Madi! Honestly, when I first heard you mention the knight chasing after her when she was wearing the ring, I got a little nervous. I thought your tale was going to follow the storyline of "girl changes self to become lovable." So when you had him fall in love with her after seeing her as she was, I could not have been happier. Great story, great take. Well done.
ReplyDelete