Daleth
Gregorick gave a playful scowl to his nephew. “If you don't lay down, Troy, I'm not going to tell the story.”
The
little boy instantly stilled. He drew his knees up to his chin and
hugged them, as it that would hinder his jumping on the bed again.
“I'm sorry. Please tell it!”
“I'm
already asleep, Father.” Another voice came from the corner, and
Daleth chuckled.
“Do
you talk in your sleep, my boy?”
Fort's
young brow wrinkled in thought. After a long moment, he said, “Aye.
And I listen good, too, so you can go ahead and tell the story.”
With
both boys' attention glued on him, Daleth couldn't help himself. He
rubbed his chin. “Well, now, I don't know. It is getting late. And
you've already heard this story more times than I can count.”
Troy
and Fort both lunged for him. “No, no! You promised to tell us!”
Daleth
laughed as he wrestled with both boys. He knew he shouldn't get them
all excited again, not when it was already past their bedtime, but he
loved their tumbles together. Fort was definitely getting stronger,
even at nine years of age, and his father was proud to note all the
signs of a worthy leader in him. He had a strong command about him
that not many boys his age could uphold, and Daleth knew without a
doubt that Fort would be the one to lead the Gregorick name back into
its former glory. How could one look at Fort and believe otherwise?
Troy,
on the other hand, was full of an innocent and childish energy. His
bright eyes eagerly looked upon the world and refused to find fault
with it. The six year old's curly blond hair never was smoothed down,
and he steadfastly followed his cousin into whatever game or mischief
Fort could come up with. Troy had been so young when his parents had
died, and yet, almost as if to spite his bleak past, he was never
bitter about it. He didn't remember much about his mother or father,
and Daleth supposed that helped.
“Father!
You said you'd tell it tonight!” Fort cried as Daleth's strong arms
pushed him back. “You can't back out of your promise!”
“Tell
it! Tell it!” Troy chanted, bouncing up and down once more on his
own bed.
“All
right, all right!” Daleth threw his hands up in surrender as Fort
leaped up to tackle him again. “Sit down, both of you.”
Fort
relinquished the fight with a satisfied sigh as Troy dropped himself
flat on the bed, eyes dancing.
Daleth
cleared his throat. “Dortsa Rosa was a princess many years ago. She
was the prettiest maiden in the land, and suitors flocked from all
over the Twelve Kingdoms for a chance to win her hand. But she never
looked at one of them, for you see, her father had already arranged
her marriage to a man worthy of her title and heart.”
“Troinlus
Gregorick!” Fort announced, not noticing that he was interrupting.
“I'm
named after him,” Troy announced innocently.
Fort
turned a scowl on his cousin. “No, you're not.”
“Aye,
that he is, my son,” Daleth said. “Now, are you two going to tell
the story, or are you going to let me do it?”
“Sorry,
Uncle!” Troy buried his face into the blankets. “Keep going!”
And
so Daleth did. “Troinlus Gregorick was my great-great-great uncle.
He was a good man, strong, handsome, clever, and brave. He was
friends with every fairy, dwarf, elf, and man in Malarber. There was
no obstacle he could not overcome, no problem he could not fix, no
song he could not sing.”
Fort
puffed up his chest and whispered to Troy, “Just like me!”
“Troinlus
loved the princess Dortsa Rosa with all his heart. The king, too,
loved Troinlus like a son, and he was so happy to see him engaged to
his daughter.”
“Did
she love him?”
Daleth,
caught off guard, blinked twice. “I'm sorry?”
Troy
took a deep breath. “I mean, did the princess love Troinlus? They
couldn't get married unless she loved him, too.”
“Well...
I'm sure she did. Her father would not have arranged their betrothal
unless he knew it would make his daughter happy. She must have loved
him very much, for he was ever her only choice for a suitor.”
Daleth lowered his eyebrows. “I thought you said you were going to
be quiet.”
Troy
blushed. “I'll bite my tongue, Uncle.” And following his words,
he did just that, crossing his eyes in an attempt to catch a glimpse
himself in the act.
Daleth
laughed but continued. “But there were many people who did not
approve of their marriage, and so a week before the wedding, someone
crept into the palace. The guards never saw him, nor was his evil
presence ever detected.”
Even
though he knew the story, Troy gasped. “Who was it?”
“No
one knows to this day who that man was, or even if he was man at all.
Some people think it might have been a dwarf, or even a fairy. But
they never caught him. And they never suspected that someone would do
something so ghastly as he did.”
Fort
was also hooked. “What?”
“He
poisoned Dortsa Rosa.”
“No!”
The two boys breathed at the same time.
“Aye,
that he did. One week before the wedding, the king and queen held a
magnificent banquet in Troinlus's honor, and the very next morning,
they found the princess asleep in her bed.”
“But
that was a bad thing,” Troy offered, forgetting his promise to be
quiet. “Because she never woke up.”
Daleth
gave a sad nod. “Her parents did all they could to wake her.
Doctors were called from every corner of Malarber, and some were even
summoned from Troisem and Darancia. But no one could wake her. She
slept, and she would not be stirred. Weeks passed, months passed, and
still the princess slept. Her parents grew old and died, and Troinlus
was devastated. He kept her memory alive and never married, always
pledging himself true to his betrothed. But he could not last
forever, either, and it wasn't long before the good people of
Malarber buried Troinlus.”
“And
that's when bad luck fell on the Gregoricks.” Fort looked very
solemn, but his facial muscles twitched in deep thought.
“Aye,
with Dortsa Rosa asleep, Troinlus could not marry her, and thus the
family of Gregorick passed into a lesser name. Troinlus's younger
brother married and kept the family alive, but their former glory was
all lost.”
“And
what happened to the princess?” Troy asked in a whisper.
Daleth
studied the face of his nephew. “No one ever saw her again. Some
say she still sleeps, only to waken after a hundred years have
passed. Others believe that she will never waken again.”
The
story finished, Fort and Troy settled under their blankets. Daleth
gave them each a good-night kiss on their forehead and then left the
room. As the door shut behind him, Troy bounded out of bed and raced
to keep it open.
“Uncle!
Uncle!”
Daleth
turned. “What is it, Troy?”
“What
does Dortsa Rosa mean? Why do we call her that?”
“It
means his flower sleeps. Troinlus gave her that name while she
slept to honor her memory, and so she is still called today because no one can remember what her real name was. Now, are
you quite finished with questions?”
“Yes,
Uncle. G'nite.” Troy shut the door and scuttled back to bed.
No
sooner had he jumped onto his pillow then Fort yanked it from beneath
him and smacked him in the face with it. With a stifled giggle, Troy
snatched his cousin's pillow and counterattacked. The fight only
lasted a few moments before Fort had the six year old pinned down on
the floor.
“All
yours!” Troy gasped. “Get off!”
Fort
rolled off with a grin. “Say, do you want to know a secret?”
Troy's
eyes gleamed. “What secret?”
The
older boy crawled to his bed and reached under the mattress. When he
pulled his hand back, he displayed two matching rings to his cousin.
They were made from the purest gold, with a thin red thread of metal
worked into the circle. On the inner curve was etched something that
looked suspiciously like words to Troy's eye, but he wasn't sure what
it said. After all, he was only six.
“What're
those?”
“Dortsa
Rosa and Troinlus's wedding rings. I found them in the treasury.”
Troy
gaped. “Are you allowed to go there?”
“No.”
Fort grinned proudly. “But Father will never miss them. They're
ours now. They'll stand for our pledge.”
“Right.”
Troy wasn't sure what a pledge was, but hearing Fort speak of it like
that, it must be something awfully important.
Fort
grabbed his cousin's hand and placed it on top of his with the rings
between their palms. “Dortsa Rosa is real, Troy. I just know it.
And it'll be us who find her one day. She may be sleeping, but we're
going to wake her up. That is our pledge.”
“Aye!”
Troy shouted happily.
As
the two of them climbed back into their beds, Troy lay awake for a
while, thinking as only a young boy could think. He knew Fort would
find the sleeping princess. Fort could do anything he set his mind
to. Fort was just like Troinlus, and if he said Dortsa Rosa was
sleeping, if he believed that they could find her, then it was all
true. Fort would be a hero in all Malarber, and Troy would be his
right hand man.
Like
Troinlus, there would be nothing they could not do. Not as long as they were together.
~ Beyond the Thorns
(Copyright of Kiri Liz; please do not steal; thanks)
God bless!
