The King's Garden

The King's Garden

         In a time before you and me, in a land very far from home, where only those who lived there know where it is there was a radiant kingdom. This benevolent place was the pinnacle of a great land surrounded by farms that grew the most luscious fruits and scrumptious vegetables. Further in there lay a small village that circles the shining castle full of the friendliest people you'll ever meet. As for the castle it gleams a rainbow color as the light reflects in the daylight and even at night during a full moon.
         This kingdom is ruled by a kind and generous king who people adored and admired, a large and jolly man with a snow-like beard and hair with powerful voice. Unlike other kings he didn't care for gold, conquests, or power but for friendship among his people. He especially loved children and flowers most of all, he would have gardens all over the courtyard of his castle and invite the children from his village to play as long as they want. The children would help him plant new gardens at every corner and even at their homes they would invite him to join them in picking flowers in the fields just beyond the farmlands.
         One day the king took a glance outside and sees the children playing games and laughing that it would bring a tear to his eye for even though he loved children he had none of his own. Discouraged he decides to seek guidance from his most loyal and closest friend, a sorcerer with incredible power and amazing ability with magic who hides his face beneath a large hat and shrouded in a dark cloak. He knocked on his door and called out, "My old friend, I ask for your help. I wish to have children for my own but I do not wish to be wed. How can this be done?"
         The sorcerer spoke in a low voice, "Listen well king if you follow my advice I will guarantee your children. Take five seeds from any five flowers of your own choosing, and bring them to the middle of your garden in the center of your courtyard there I shall meet you with further instructions."
         The king did as he commanded taking five seeds from five flowers in his garden and return to the central courtyard where the sorcerer awaits. He handed him the seeds and the sorcerer plants all five while reciting enchantments, once he was done he turned to the king and told him this, "Take special care of these flowers as you would any other in your garden and by next spring you shall have your children."
         As time passed, the king did as he promised. Every day he waters them, rids them of weeds, and made sure that they have a proper amount of sunlight. Autumn has come and the king still continues on as he is told with winter following and he still persists in his instructions to keep great care until spring has come. At last in the middle of spring the king was awoken by one of his servants to come outside and see an incredible miracle. In the garden there were five large buds at rest above the ground where they were planted. Suddenly the buds began to shake and move until finally they bloomed and sitting in the center of each flower was a girl different from one another in every way. They step down and approach the king who smiled as tears began to race down his face as he is full of joy from the sight of them.
         "Do not cry father. A kind man such as yourself deserves children to love and now that we are here what shall you name us?"
         The king cleared his eyes and took a close look at each girl one by one. The first girl was beautiful with glistening blue eyes, long shining red hair, and red lips that resembles the roses of his garden with a full feminine figure.
         "I shall name you Rose."
         The second girl has raven color hair with blue eyes just as her sister, but she has a strong curiosity and a powerful urge to learn about the world.
         "Your name will be Violet."
         The third girl has short white hair with hazel eyes with a sense of fearlessness and a sense for adventure beyond her homeland.
         "You shall be known as Daisy"
         The fourth girl has long bright pink hair and grey eyes that is as kind as her father with a congruent love for children as if they were her own.
         "I will call you Blossom."
         The last girl with curly blonde hair and purple eyes happens to be the youngest and wants to spend most of her time with her father to play and laugh.
         "And you can be my little Lily."
         From that day the king wears a smile on his face as he spends time with each of his daughters. He would spend the morning in the kitchen helping Blossom prepare the meals along with the chefs and servant people. Afterwards he and little Lily would go outside the castle walls to play the other children until mid-day when Daisy invites him to explore the forests, observe the wild animals, and hunt ferocious beasts. When they return at sunset he continues with his studies along with Violet as they work in the library until dinner time when he helps Rose prepare with a floral center piece. It went on like this for a few years and the king has never been happier.
         The news of the king's daughters spread across the land and suitors from all around travel from far and wide hoping to win the hand of one of the fair maidens. This new has attracted the attention of two people especially, one of them was an evil countess who despised the king for his good nature and loathes his love for children, and the other was a poor but happy farm boy named Copper who lives with his father and brother from the farthest parts of the country. One day Copper decides to leave home in order to try his luck but as he leaves everybody laughs at his decision saying, "he doesn't stand a chance, what does he have that can hope to win his chances." He travels for days until he meets a hare working on a strange machine. "Greetings friend, what are you working on?"
         "Isn't it obvious? It's a flying machine that can take anyone to anywhere. I almost have it working but I need just one more component." As he tries to find the missing piece a loud sound of trumpets thunders through the trees and the hare makes his way to the bushes. Out of the forest a band of hunters appear looking about until they notice Copper standing next to the machine. They approach him asking if he seen the hare, Copper responds by shaking his head and the hunters turned away and headed elsewhere. The hare reappears from the bushes and thanks him and in return he allows him to travel with him once his machine works. After hours of hard works he finally succeeds in bringing it off the ground and together the duo travels into the sunset and into towards the kingdom.
         The next day they arrive to the kingdom and landed on the outskirts of the village close by. As they landed a farmer ran towards them in panic screaming about a carnivorous beast living in the trees. Copper headed into the forest looking for the monster and as he went deeper the low grow grew louder until the beast pounced from the tree tops. As the monster fell to Copper an arrow was shot striking the beast in the eye and out of Copper's direction. Out of the direction of the arrow Daisy appears ready with her bow to fire again, but the beast whips her bow out of her hand and knocked her off her feet. As the beast prepares to end her life a rope lassos the beast's neck choking it while Copper returns Daisy's bow allowing her to deliver the finishing blow.
         "Excellent this will make and perfect trophy."
         "Greetings I'm Copper and you are?"
         "Sorry about that, my name is Daisy and thanks for helping me with this thing." As she began to pull the body Copper notices a scratch mark on her shoulder. "Here let me take care of that for you first." Daisy began to take a liking to Copper for while he was healing her for he was gentile and cautious and once he was done they both pulled the monster out of the forest and attached it to Daisy's horse. Before she took off she gave Copper a kiss on his cheek and headed back to the castle.
Copper and the hare gathered their things and began to make their way to the castle through the farmlands. After a while they crossed through a flower field where they both heard a small sound of laughter beneath the flower bed. They both called out to the voice only to find Lily popping out from the distance. They approach her with care as they sat down to ask what she was doing.
"I'm making special presents for my family and friends out of these flowers."
"Really, do you need any help?" Lily agrees and the three made more flower presents than you can imagine, each one was an elaborate blend of colors as a rainbow in the sky. After making so many Lily thanks them for their help. Copper gives her one of his floral creations and as she began to head back to the castle but not before giving Copper a kiss on his forehead.
Copper and the hare resume their trip into town towards the castle and as they passed by a small group of children were gathered around near one of the alleys. There were sounds of shouting and arguing as two of the children were fighting in the center rolling around as they tussle in the mud puddle. Refusing to ignore it, Copper and the hare both broke the two boys away from one another trying to calm the pointless violence. Just as it seems the violence is never-ending, another voice came from the outside of the group and Blossom was standing over them. The group dispersed all except Copper, the hare, and the two boys as they all stand in the puddle dripping in mud. The two boys looked at Blossom with guilty eyes as if they committed a crime, she gave the boys a stern discussion before sending them home until only Copper and the hare was left alone with her.
"I'm terribly sorry about those two, they usually behave well."
"It was nothing, the least we could do is try to help out otherwise either one of them could get hurt." Copper wipes off the mud as best as he could until he fell over when Blossom tries to clean his face with her handkerchief. They both laughed for a moment until they heard a small child crying behind them and as they turned they saw a little girl with eyes full of tears because she lost her way home and it was getting dark. After Copper and the hare finished cleaning themselves they offered to escort Blossom and the girl back home. By the time they return the girl to her home it was nearly nightfall and after the girl was safe Blossom thanks Copper for his kindness and kisses him on his cheek before taking her leave as well.
The moon was high above the earth by the time they reached the castle. They landed their flying machine in the center of the garden in the courtyard where they were greeted by one of the king's servants. He offered them lodging and an audience with the king but they had to wait patiently for a short time. While they were waiting they discovered a raven haired girl with glasses taking a gander at their flying machine.
"This thing is a marvelous contraption, did you built this thing?"
"My friend the hare built this machine and it flies over a great distance within a short period of time. We used it to travel here from far away, I'm sure you would like to know how it works."
Violet nodded and she was given a full explanation to how the machine works. "With this machine I can discover more of the world and see things no one else has."
"Once my business is done with the king then we can travel the world together."
"That would be wonderful!" The servant returns for Copper but before he enters the castle Violet grabs hold of his arm and plants a kiss on his cheek before entering through another door into the castle.
Copper and the hare are in awe as they follow the servant down the finely decorated hall. It has tapestries over all the walls, curtains on each window, and on each table was a bouquet of flowers from the gardens all beautifully arranged. Copper was distracted by the marvelous scenery that he accidentally bumped into Rose. She was wearing a red dress decorated with golden flowers and her hair was tied together in a red bow.
"Sorry miss I didn't see you there I was taken in by these wonderful sights."
"All is forgiven, but you think my flowers are wonderful?"
"No doubt but you have to be the most beautiful flower in the garden, surely you are a rose without thorns." Rose blushes behind her fan for this was the first time that anyone has taken her beauty into unparalleled measures.
"Thank you fair boy and I hope our paths meet again." She kisses Copper the same as the other girls and she headed down the opposite direction. 
They resume following the servant until they reached the grand hall in which the king sat in his throne looking at Copper with a jolly smile on his face. "Greetings traveler, what business do you have with me?"
"I come from the farthest farmland in hopes of seeking one of your daughters for a bride." The king laughed heartedly for a moment and it echoes throughout the room giving the sound of a live audience.
"My boy we have plenty of suitors from nearby kingdoms who tried their luck and failed, however you may just be the kind of person that suits my daughter's needs." He summons his daughters into the room and in amazement he was surprised that the five princesses are the girls he met throughout the day. The girls were thrilled when they saw their next suitor to be the same boy who demonstrated more kindness and compassion than any other suitor; however this became more difficult for Copper for he did not know how to choose. As he tried to make his decision a flash of lightning and clash of thunder enters the room shrouding it in complete darkness void of any light. When the light returns the king, Copper, and the hare were left alone in the room with no one left in sight. They searched the castle but neither of the princesses could be found. The king's heart became heavy with sadness for his long awaited children were gone, but hope was far from gone for Copper.   
"Your majesty, allow me to rescue them and I shall return them to you without any harm." The king accepted and sent him to the sorcerer in the tallest tower where he found the location of the princesses' entrapment, but before Copper and the hare took off the sorcerer gave them three beans and told them, "Each bean will help you on your journey. One bean will create a giant beanstalk that can grow taller than the mountains, the second bean will give allow you to summon fire from your hands, and the third bean will make your body as strong as stone." After accepting the beans the duo took off in the flying machine and headed over the mountains to the countess' tower.
Upon arrival of the tower they notice the tower floating high in the sky where not even the flying machine can reach it. The tower was dark and gloomy, black as the night as it floated on a storm cloud. Copper took out the first seed and tossed it over letting it fall until it hit the ground. At that moment the bean began to grow into a beanstalk that grew taller and taller until it was able to reach the tower. Copper climbs the beanstalk alone leaving the hare with the flying machine in order to secure their escape. He walks through the door where he saw an entire horde of goblins armed with the sharpest weapons, eating the second bean he became as hard as stone rushing through their defenses leaving their weapons broken in pieces causing the little fiends to run away in terror. He climbs the stairs until he reaches the top chamber where he finds the countess and the princesses asleep in giant lanterns.
"Foolish boy you are too late. They are asleep in these giant lanterns and no source of human fire is enough to light them up."
Copper thought this to be true until he swallows the final bean and in a split second his arms are engulfed in flames. He launches a burning barrage of fire to the fuses on top of the lanterns lighting each one by one until they were all lit, but even with the fuses ignited the princesses still remained dormant.
"Silly boy, magic flames or not they have already fallen before me. Now I have the king's greatest treasures!" Frustrated Copper used the last of his fire to ignite the countess. She screams in pain and agony as the burning scorches consume her flesh until she was nothing left but a pile of black ashes that lay afoot from Copper.
"It a magic fire won't save them what will?" He thought hard for a moment but all he could imagine was the memories of their meeting and the warm kisses that were laid on his face. The purity of those memories created five butterflies that took flight from his heart and flew into the lanterns and into their own hearts. Copper opens the lanterns to find the princesses all wide awake and grateful for their hero have come to rescue them. As soon as all five were released the tower began to sway and rumble as if it was going to fall. They escaped on the beanstalk and landed on the flying machine leaving behind the dreadful prison of the once despicable countess.
When they return to the castle the king was overwhelmed with joy for his daughters are all safe and for that he promises Copper his entire kingdom as his token for his excellent deed. As for his decision Copper was granted permission to not marry one but all five princesses. They had an incredible rainbow wedding of all colors and the entire kingdom attended, Copper's village who doubted him now see him as their hero and praised him for his accomplishments. Thanks to the hare, they were able to give the entire kingdom the ability to fly and Copper spent the rest of his life traveling the world while loving all five flowers of the king's garden.