1553
The (Un)Finished Tale
RubberStamp
They reclined in a grassy part of the garden; the encompassing mist parting just enough for them to see beyond the forest pines at the distant and unreachable glistening sea. The ocean breeze gently swirled around them and stirred their flaxen hair. It was a small respite and comfort for them - sitting beside one another like this. A rare insouciant smile graced her lips as she braided a windflower crown. The air was peaceful and silent, almost lazy. And for once they felt no dire urgency. :: Here, for now and this time, he was not the Hero and she was not the Princess. They were but lovers beneath the cerulean sky, whose titles and duties carried little weight. Upon the grass, beside her dearly beloved, she had no country to mind; no mother-queen to please and no insolent prince to wed. Likewise he, under the golden sun crowned by his paramour with a windflower circlet, had no malevolence to challenge; no demesne to save and no Princess to win. :: "Tell me of us," he encouraged. :: She tilted her head slightly to one side as though to ask if he had forgotten. He smiled reassuringly at her for how could he ever forget? She grinned in an amused way, understanding it was her turn to spin a story - their personal fairytale. "Once upon a time when our souls were first entwined, innumerable worlds ago when the realm was greener with new found life, and when we were young...," she began. "There was a fair Lady and a valorous knight, whose love transcended even time..."