A Young Prince came of age in a cold cold distant land of Icy Ash.
And the laws of Icy Ash stated, that the day a Young Prince comes of age at fourteen, a Young Prince shall do his time blooming the rarest plants and helping Simple Folk harvest heavy soil.
So, as our prince woke up on his fourteenth birthday, his older brother and sister came to claim him for the secret ritual.
-Come. Get dressed. And be fast. Time is the most precious substance of all, my dear brother. Choose the simplest robe you can find. Make sure it is warm. This will take time.
The boy jumped out his bed at instant. Quickly dressed up in linen. Grabbed a blue woolen jacket and sprinted quickly to join his elder siblings by the Forbidden Well.
-At first, this may seem a little… strange, brother. See the old house made of grey rock? Follow me.
The Young Prince followed his brother. So tall and strong he seemed just three years older of age.
-Oh come know, faster. Stop hiding behind my back like a girl. Nothing scary here, trust me!-the brother cheerfully coughed out, roughly rumpling his little brother`s hair.
- What is the entrance made off, brother? Looks like… Magic.
-First of all, do not use words like magic, brother. But I am glad you asked.
He stared at his little brother`s eyes, opened as wide as they possibly could. Captivated by the yellowee, pink and fire red sunrise reflections, sparkling in every direction off what looked like both glass and stone at once.
-The Arch was sculpted from obsidian a long long time ago, brother. Hardest glass there is. Very rare. Only volcano lava can forge sand and dirt to something this beautiful. And indestructible. Now please ignore what may happen next.
The boy stood quiet for a little while now, but he did feel something inside. A saddest song he`s ever heard pressed that pure little heart so heavily, the Young Prince could hardly breathe. He started remembering things. Dark. Dark things. Like the last stroke on his cheeks, minutes before their mother died. Or burning forests. Screams. As the Alien Men invaded their lands. Or the sound of hands separated from the arm, as an axer was decapitating fishermen for stolen wine, oysters and cheese. The boy shed a few tears. He could hear the drops hit the wet dirt.
-I said ignore it. And do not cry like a girl. See that is one of the reasons for what is about to happen. Some inexplicable… Poison of sorts? The next year will be hard on you, brother. But after you are finished with every duty. I myself will cut some of this obsidian off the Arch. And forge you a ring. A wedding ring it shall be. And from that day on, you will be one of the rightful Rulers of our humble kingdom here.
That word. Wedding. Disgusted the Young Prince. Seemed so distant. And unnecessary. After all, he still cared for swinging wooden swords with other boys. And winning tree climbing competitions.
-Come on.
The older brother gently pushed the boy inside, waking him from some strange daydream he was having.
-Time to grow up, kid.
A gigantic copper tank, with a chimney caught the boy`s attention first. It was connected to a smaller copper tank, decorated with beautiful carvings of eyes and flowers. Nowhere did the boy ever see such beautiful artwork before. A smallest tank was made of glass. No shorter than his brother it was. Wide as an armchair. Tons and tons of fire wood was prepared for later, too.
-Now turn your head right.
The entire southern side of this building was covered in heavy black fabric.
-Move slowly. Open those curtains gently. Theyre usually asleep at this point in history. But just in case, be careful. I dont want any mess if mess can be avoided.
Our boy did as told. Inside, he saw tiny figures. Many of them. All covered in shiny black goo. And the smell… It wasn`t as strong as pig or horse shit. But more sour. Harder to hold. The young Prince was disgusted. Creatures had no eyes. Only dark waxy globs for lids. Luckily, they were all trully sleeping.
-What are they?? Are the freaks dead or alive, brother, I surely am scared now.
-Imagine a million zools in one pine forest. Middle of a crop field. Well, only a few of these are needed to destroy. That much. They`re called forest pixies. Or fairies, sometimes. They poison animals. And us, too. Now stop talking. And being scared. Take this cart. Start filling it up. CAREFULLY.
Soon our boy was left all alone to continue. He rode his cart curtains to the tank all over, till the entire thing was filled… with pixies. As he dropped the last one inside, the Young Prince put on copper casings, climbed down the ladder and started a fire.
-Those walls are thick, as you must`ve noticed. So it will take time. May even be a full day. Make sure fire is burning at all times till the last drop of this precious essence squeezes through this tiny silver tap.
The boy did as his sister told, starving and bored of walking back and forth mumbling things and songs under his lonely nose, he finally finished.
-One last thing! And we`re done!- he clapped his hands cheering in a solitary hall. The Prince slowly turned a silver wheel releasing the yellowish rose honey like liquid off the glass tank and to a barrel.
His sister came back again.
-Perfect! Now. Drop by drop. All this. Shall be used up properly to the last drop in the upcoming three hundred and sixty four days. Make sure that drop is measured correctly. You will help our men sowing wheat and rye fields tomorrow. Now, off to supper. Iiiiiiiin the workers house. By the lake. Get to know them better.
For one year exactly, the Young Prince worked hard as he could, doing everything precisely as told to absolute perfection. He got muscular. Grew taller. Men respected him. They grew quite close together. Time flew by so fast, as his brother finally came to shake hands and announce the wedding.
Soon came the wedding. His wife wasn`t pretty enough, but she did bring a few chests of silk and a huge family forest along with herself.
- You are allowed to have others, you know. I do. Sometimes.
Yet the Young Prince knew deep down family life wasn`t the problem. He lacked. Something. Other lands. Fresh sights, besides what always seemed .Forced. Choices? How were his elders okay with all this?
So one day, his sister yelling and squeaking behind his back, our Young Prince left home. A bag with bread, cheese and water he only carried.
A week walking through forests and villages, sleeping under shiny stars and making rabbit traps seemed perfect. No worries. Just peace. He`d help local farmers or fishermen as he moved further. The Simple Folk. Seemed so much more honest. Warmer.
One day he saw a girl. A month must have passed through his travels. She was the prettiest he`d ever seen. The girl sung songs in a strange foreign language while picking wild raspberries.
-What are you, if not perfect, fair lady?
She smiled at him. One corner of her lips slightly above the other. A sad smile it was. Warm. But all washed with pain.
- Forest fairies, or forest pixies? Is how people usually call my kin. I come from far far away, mister. Quite busy here. Moving. If you don`t mind. Thank you for the compliments, though. And good luck.
The prince turned around petrified. He dropped his bag on the ground. Untied the rope. He sat on cold humid grass, looking at peaceful pond water, holding the rope tight between his fingers as the sunset painted everything red.
Šiauliai. Kaunas.