The Gift of Grace: Kelita's Crown - #1
Here is the story that follows the story hook drabble which I originally wrote for the "Write a Story from a Single Song" challenge from Holy Worlds. The song is "The Portrait" from the movie "Titanic". It's quite long (3,115 words, before finishing the editing) so I'm going to post it in installments. I would really appreciate any advice or criticism of it! (Please note: This is the first piece of fantasy work I've done outside of the Spiritual warfare genre) PS. Don't let the sparkly picture I toyed with in photoshop turn you off!
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The Gift of Grace: Kelita's Crown - Part 1
By BushMaid
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Princess Kelita’s eyes slid shut as a wave of emotion washed over her. Words, actions and feelings from the past flooded back to her, echoing through her mind. Adoration. Excitement. Fame. Admonishment. Rejection. Fear. The long ago words of her Father’s mentor came back to her hauntingly.
“The power of your talent is great, and if you continue to abuse it, it will lead to your destruction. But if you surrender it to the King, He will use the talent through you more powerfully then you could ever imagine.”
How Kelita wished she had heeded the wise words of her Father’s counsellor.
The kingdom of Crystallis was ruled by King Jezoar. However, the land of ice and snow was so large that He rarely stayed in one city for long. The largest city, Chios, He left in the hands of His daughter. After entrusting her with a gift that would become powerful under the proper use, He left for a distant realm, and the people of Chios did not see Him for many years.
Kelita remember the gift, and the day of its giving just like it were yesterday.
~*~
“I have a gift for you, precious daughter.” King Jezoar spoke gently. Standing on the castle balcony, Kelita remembered every detail; the clear blue sky, the sunbeams dancing on the ice castle walls, the colours of the rainbow reflected in the million crystallizations.
She watched as her Father brought forth a glass box from behind His back. Opening the lid carefully, He extracted an object which, at its appearance, caused Kelita to gasp in awe. It was a tiara, which seemed to have been made of spun glass. The peaks of the crown spiralled delicately skyward, accented by rainbow crystals encrusting the edges.
Kelita was speechless. That such a precious gift was to be bestowed on her was astounding.
“This,” said the King, holding the delicate crown with care, “Is the gift of Grace. It will become a part of everything about you- your thoughts, your character, your posture, your movement. It will guide you in decisions you will have to make.”
Something in her Father’s voice made Kelita look up to meet His gaze. She sensed a sorrow there, and wondered at it.
“Use it only for the good with which I give it to you.” The King said simply. Then He brought the bejewelled crown down upon her head, gently resting it over her frost coloured hair. Light burst from the crown and looking up, Kelita could just see it dissolving into tiny crystals; flying, swirling points of lights that engulfed her body. Her heart swelled, and her limbs tingled as the last of the glowing tornado faded into the air.
Kelita opened her eyes wide in wonderment, and her Father smiled.
“Grace has become a part of you.” He spoke softly. “Use it wisely in all you do, Kelita, as you carry out the task I have given you.”
“I will Father!” Kelita replied in earnest.
~*~
For a while, Kelita ruled the city of Chios like any princess of the King should. Her poise and grace was a marvel to her subjects, and she dealt with them in love and in justice. The city dwelt in peace, and life was wonderful for everyone, until Kelita listened to the call of the Snow Queen.
A nymph, a faerie, no one could be sure, but the Snow Queen was an evil presence in the land of Crystallis. Infecting the mind of rulers, she buoyed them with a sense of selfishness, self gratification, greed, and lust, calling them to use their gifts for themselves rather than for the good of the Kingdom. Princess Kelita heard her words when she was ice skating.
“You could become famous if you use your talent for skating.”
“I don’t want to become famous, I want to serve my Father.”
“Ahh, but if you used the gift of Grace you have been given, coupled with your talent, you could become the greatest skater in all of Crystallis.”
“Hm...”
~*~
Kelita swallowed against the pain and shame welling like tears into her throat. She had risen to stardom as she fed off the Snow Queen’s murmurings. Throwing herself into skating, she spent every waking moment parading before the people of the city, engulfed and consumed by the praises she received. She had shunned every piece of wisdom that had been offered to her, even her Father’s counsellor, Meresh, could not break through the Snow Queen’s hold on Kelita.
It was only when she was performing on one of the grandest scales she could muster, declaring a day free of work so that people could observe her skating routine, that the scales fell from her eyes. At the last sweeping bow, she was startled to look up into the eyes of her Father. He had returned, and she hadn’t even known it. He looked upon her with such heart rending pain and sorrow, she wished with all she had that the ground would open and swallow her. As a wave of guilt reddened her face, she heard a peculiar sound. A splintering and shattering of glass. Looking up, she noticed that she could once again see her crown; the gift of her Father’s. Only she was horrified to see that it was now black and shattering. Pieces of the crown fell down around her shoulders, tinkling on the ground. Bending down, Kelita tried to gather the fragments, but they dissolved into a cloud of smoke, choking her with its dark fumes.
Before she could begin anything like an apology to her Father, a harsh icy wind blew across the rink. The sky darkened suddenly, and Kelita cowered.
“You have brought this upon yourself.” Her Father said mournfully.
“What have I done?” Kelita whispered.
“You abused your gift that I so lovingly gave to you that you were to use only for good. Now you have used it for evil, and you must face the Snow Queen.” Her Father’s eyes were sorrowful.
Kelita’s fear magnified. “What should I do?” She cried to her Father, rushing forward to cling to Him.
The King gazed down into the frightened face of His daughter. “You no longer have the gift of Grace I gave to you, but you still possess a talent.”
“A talent?” Kelita questioned.
“Yes. Your skating. If you had coupled my gift with your talent and used them for me, I would have taken you further than you ever dreamed. I would have done great things through your talent with the Grace I gave to you. But now, you must face the Snow Queen with your talent alone. The fate of your life depends on what you decide to do with the talent you have.”
The wind whipped up snow into a frenzied funnel, as the King took the princess by the arm.
“The Snow Queen is waiting for you.” He said.
End of Part 1
Psst! This is your cue to shout "No more!" if you don't like it! *grins*
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More! :D This is really good, BushMaid! *noms on popcorn* Please?
ReplyDeleteHaha, Shawn! Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it! And since you're so sweet, and you want to read more, I will post some more. ;) :D
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