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Secrets of the Deep [self]

Postby crow » 03/26/2017 9:08 PM

Once upon a time, there was a little kingdom near the sea, and in that kingdom lived a little prince.

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The prince's father was a tall, straight man with a neat beard and kind eyes. He laughed when the prince played king with his soldiers, and taught him to ride on his short shaggy pony. His mother, the queen, was elegant but warm, long golden hair and long dresses too. She read to him at night, and called him her darling, and loved to kiss his cheeks. Their kingdom was a small one, and not very rich, but they were good rulers and the people loved them well.
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Re: Secrets of the Deep [self]

Postby crow » 03/26/2017 9:16 PM

They lived in a castle, and the castle sat out on a tall cliff above the sea. In the castle were servants and nursemaids and butlers. He loved to tease them, and they loved to scold him. He also loved to look out the window in the highest towers and listen to the crying of the sea birds.

What he loved best, however, was when the king and queen left the castle, and took him with them.

Every so often, his mother and father would ride out to another town, to meet the people and ask them about their troubles. The king told the little prince that this was very important. "We can't govern people that we don't know," he would say.
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Re: Secrets of the Deep [self]

Postby crow » 03/26/2017 9:20 PM

They would ride through countryside roads, past farms and cottages, through bustling town centers and stretches of sunny wilderness. Everywhere they went, the people would come and greet the king. Some smiled, and some scowled, but mostly they walked away content.

His mother handed out baskets sometimes, of food or wildflowers. More often she would receive offerings herself, and sometimes these got passed on at the next town over. She told the little prince that this was their secret. "They need it more than I do," she said. "They only offer it to us to be polite." The little prince, who loved gifts, thought it was a sad thing, but he understood. His mother only wanted to be kind.
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Re: Secrets of the Deep [self]

Postby crow » 03/26/2017 9:27 PM

Unexpectedly, they came to see the little prince too. People stared, especially children. At first he was confused. "Do I look very funny, mama?" he would say. The queen always laughed when he asked. Sometimes she would say yes, and fix his collar, or smooth his hair, but he knew after a while that she was only teasing.

Later, she told him: "They want to see you. You're going to be king one day. You want to see them too, don't you?"

"Yes," he said. "Father says we can't govern people we don't know." He felt proud for remembering, though he didn't quite know what 'govern' was. It had something to do with being the king, he was sure.
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Re: Secrets of the Deep [self]

Postby crow » 03/26/2017 9:36 PM

The queen laughed when he said that too, and ruffled his hair. "Spoken like a true sovereign," she said. He smiled, because he loved to see his mother happy.

But of all the places they visited, they never went out by the sea. They would visit the villages near the ocean sometimes, because the sea was good for fishing and seaweed and finding pearls. Privately the little prince didn't think seaweed was worth harvesting at all since it didn't taste very good, but his mother said some people liked it. His mother wouldn't lie to him about something like that.
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Re: Secrets of the Deep [self]

Postby crow » 03/26/2017 10:00 PM

When they went to the villages, they did what they always do, and the people came out to see them. But the king and queen never went to the ocean, even when there were people working there, or houses right on the beach. At first the little prince didn't notice, but they visited a lot of seaside villages, and after a while it became a little strange that he had never touched the sand before.

"Why don't we go down there, mama?" he said, during a lull when his father was occupied with the villagers. "There's plenty of people. I want to see the ships." There were quaint fishing junks and bigger, more splendid ships, all moored along the docks. A few could be seen sailing further out, but not many.
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Re: Secrets of the Deep [self]

Postby crow » 03/27/2017 1:21 AM

His mother went quiet sometimes, when she was thinking about something, or when she was upset. She went silent now. The little prince, who had merely been curious and expecting some calm and reasonable answer, didn't know what to do. When she finally spoke, it was slow, as if she didn't quite know what to say. "We do sometimes, darling, but not today. The horses don't like it."

He would have liked to say that they could get down and leave the horses, like they sometimes did, but something made him change his mind. He thought she might have been troubled by his question. He still didn't understand why, but he would rather she be happy again than have the answer he wanted.
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Re: Secrets of the Deep [self]

Postby crow » 03/27/2017 1:29 AM

Besides, he would have time when they were away without him. There was a beach right outside his castle, after all. That was what he thought. He hadn't expected his nursemaid to scold him for that too.

"Absolutely not, your highness! I won't allow it," she said, when he asked very nicely to go to the beach. That was strange too. It really wasn't a very odd request. He'd seen people near the ocean, out at sea, and it certainly didn't look dangerous. He had picked his time carefully too. It was dinner, and the king and queen were away on royal business, and he had eaten all his vegetables, even the seaweed, which he hated. The seaweed had reminded him of the ocean.
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Re: Secrets of the Deep [self]

Postby crow » 03/27/2017 6:18 PM

"What?" said the little prince, at first more confused than upset. "Why not? It's not raining. I ate all my vegetables," he reasoned. It was a perfectly sensible request.

Still, his nursemaid shook his head. "A no is a no, your highness. Off to the baths with you," she said, ushering him away from the table. He badgered her all through the bath, first to reconsider, and then for a reason, but he found himself rebuffed at every turn. The butlers and the maids all said the same thing. No, he wasn't allowed to go down to the beach. It was too dangerous. But he could go out to the stables, or to the gardens, if he liked. Wouldn't he like that?
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Re: Secrets of the Deep [self]

Postby crow » 03/28/2017 12:35 AM

And normally he would have. Normally, the little prince would have liked all of those things very much. The trouble was, he was determined to go to the beach now, firstly because he’d never been there, and secondly because everyone seemed so adamantly opposed to it. The prince wasn’t normally a wilfully disobedient child, but he was also accustomed to having things explained to him. Being refused something without reason struck him as both unusual and highly unfair.

Because he was a clever boy, however, he did not say as much. He said only, “I suppose,” and allowed himself to be led away to do these other things, which were after all still enjoyable, even if they weren’t what he wanted. He walked through the gardens, and rode his pony, and studied fencing with his teacher. He went to his lessons and visited the kennels, where he played with the newest litter of hounds.
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Re: Secrets of the Deep [self]

Postby crow » 03/28/2017 12:35 AM

He did as he was told, and spoke no more of going to the ocean, though he occasionally went up to the tower to look out at the shore. No one thought much of this, as it was something he had always done before. And anyway, he was only looking.

In short, he waited and bided his time.

It wasn’t hard to go out to the beach, he reasoned. It was right there, outside the castle, below the cliff. It must be possible, somehow, to get down there. Cliffs had to end somewhere, after all.
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Re: Secrets of the Deep [self]

Postby crow » 03/28/2017 12:36 AM

Nevermind that he had never seen anyone else on the beach; this was the castle grounds, and no one was allowed here except the royal family and the castle staff. And lords and nobles, sometimes, when his father hosted parties, but even then they only came with invitations and permission. Therefore, it wasn’t odd that he’d never seen anyone. And if there wasn’t anyone else down there, it meant he didn’t have to worry about highwaymen and bandits, which his nursemaid was forever threatening him with if he went out alone.

He waited until his parents were away again, and everyone else in the castle was asleep. It was hard, waiting for night. The adults stayed up later than he did most of the time. For the first hour it was exciting to stay up, but there was nothing to do in his room except to wait, since he had to be quiet.
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Re: Secrets of the Deep [self]

Postby crow » 03/28/2017 12:37 AM

Soon enough his eyelids started to droop, and he had to keep shaking himself awake, which wasn’t much fun at all. He found himself wanting to sleep, but he reminded himself that this was important. He had to stay awake, or else he would never have to go, and then he would have to wait for another trip to try again.

When the clock struck midnight, he decided it was late enough. Slipping out of bed, he crept bare-footed across the room, opening the door ever so slightly. There were guards, but not very near to his door, and they were busy playing cards. He wished he could have seen what they were playing, but that would have given him away.
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Re: Secrets of the Deep [self]

Postby crow » 03/28/2017 12:38 AM

Instead he slipped out the door and tiptoed away in the opposite direction, holding his breath. He must have been very, very quiet. They didn’t notice him at all. He crept along the wall and ducked past the nearest corner, his breath short with nerves.

He knew he couldn’t sneak out of the castle by the front gates. Those were always guarded, and those guards probably weren’t playing cards or drinking or doing things like that. The main gate was important, even at night. However, he did know a few secret passages, shown to him by his mother when they played hide and seek.
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Re: Secrets of the Deep [self]

Postby crow » 04/16/2017 6:46 PM

He made his way to it now, creeping close to the walls. His heart was beating loud enough that he was sure he would be discovered at any moment, but the halls remained thankfully empty. After what seemed like eons, he came to the door at last. Taking a deep breath, he pulled it slowly, carefully open, just wide enough for him to slip inside.

When he had closed the door behind him, the tunnel went completely dark. It was scary, but he had made it all the way there, hadn't he? It was too late to turn back. He made his way down by feeling out step after painstaking step, until he finally reached the bottom.
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