The Not So Fair Maiden

It needs a lot of work, I know. But it's a start.





        Once upon a time, in a land far, far away from real civilization, there lived a maiden. And to be perfectly honest, a not so fair maiden in the case. She had many suitors. All were acceptable, and average in nearly every way possible. To say the least, she was not pleased. She treated them as a new pair of shoes. She would try them on, and give them a chance, but as soon as the newness wore off she would toss them out to her dragon for a snack. If you said she had bad luck, it would be a tremendous understatement. No matter how hard she may try, she always ended up breaking hearts and causing the suitors pain, even if she tried her best to be a lady.

         She did not believe in love. In fact, she absolutely detested the thought of it. Many peasants, and knights alike struggled to win her heart. Nevertheless, she could not be swayed. She was stubborn and set in her ways. Her thoughts were that - all love died eventually, no matter how pure it was. She thought the only way to “fall in love” was to be infatuated with a person, and then after an extensive period of time the obligation fell upon you to “love” the person. After years and years of analyzing the subject, she was convinced in her thoughts that such a thing did not exist.

         One day, a brave knight approached her after she viciously threw one of her suitors to her dragon. He seemed to be a nice man. Polite, gentleman-like, decently attractive. But something about him did not agree with her. For many years, she denied him. Telling him to wait, she was not ready yet. Then one day, after the maiden had been denied by the man she wished for, she decided to give the knight a chance. He was persistent, after all. In theory, he was a good idea. In actuality, he was not. In the first of their budding relationship, he treated her as a princess; in the latter he behaved toward her in an unsatisfying manner. The maiden, being the kind, caring person she was, did not want to crush him. She tried and tried for what seemed like decades to let him down gently. But it was an impossible task.

         Shortly after she had decided to let down the knight, she became instantly fascinated with a friend of hers. He wasn’t like the other suitors. He was a bright young man, with ambitions. Something she rarely saw in any other. Even her peers. He had captured her eye. It was incredibly unexpected. However, her compassionate nature was holding her back. She still had not let down the knight. She went to her friend in confidence to ask for advice. He was so helpful that they made talking every night a regular habit. As kind as she was, she still could not let the knight down though. In consequence she lied to him every night to be able to talk to her friend. He was completely and utterly mesmerizing, and she couldn’t escape him.

         She contemplated for days. Why hadn’t she realized him before? She supposed she had been caught up in other unimportant things that distracted her from him. On the surface, she knew as soon as she escaped the relationship wrath of the knight it would be inappropriate to spark a brand new one right off the bat. But deep in the depths of her soul she knew that she had to have him. She knew to the very core of her being, if anyone could, he would be the one who could save her from her self inflicted misery.

         As time passed slowly, her heart ached for him. She was infatuated and the only thing he had done was exist. She had felt lost and lonely, even though she was not alone; until he acknowledged her.

         Finally the day came when the knight decided to break it off with the maiden. After the shock, she was ecstatic. She could barely contain herself. She even showed mercy upon him and did not feed him to her dragon. She was changed. Nothing else mattered to her more than winning over the one who had stolen her heart. The very first thing she did was send word to him. She was somewhat disappointed because he was unable to communicate quickly. But the next day, she could hardly contain herself.

         Needless to say, he swept her off her feet. He had convinced her to give love a chance. She always thought that sometimes, people weren’t ready for relationships. They avoided them because they were physically, mentally, or emotionally not ready for them. Now she had discovered that was merely an illusion. The only reason people said that, including the maiden herself, was because the timing was not convenient for her. But she had learned quickly, that anyone is ready if the right person comes along. She used to believe in things like, the person was right, but the timing was wrong, or the person was wrong, but the timing was right. She was convinced otherwise now. She had determined- love is timeless and merciless. It waits for no one.