A Challenge...Part 01

A Challenge

Prelude…

The long, white glove flew o’er the roaring, chanting crowd to land at his feet.
A smug look on his countenance as it floated down so slowly and so sweet.
He’d never thought their flirtation would amount to such as this.
After all, all he’d been after was the taste of her kiss.

So he stood in an improbable place, faced with the King’s edict.
To court the Princess Ri or face imminent danger, what a choice to predict.
How he had arrived here, how had he been caught?
Well dear readers, let’s see what mischief the Faeries have wrought.

Our Tale Part One

In a serene land far off and long ago, this foolish tale was spun,
The story of dapper Master Gary and feisty Princess Ri had begun.
Her unwillingness to be seen but not heard had led to her being banished,
To the farthest part of the verdant land, it was as if she was to vanish.

But to the stoic Gary, he of the redolent mind and fulsome thoughts galore,
Had a surprise for all, with glee he rubbed his hands at what was in store.
There was no good reasoning in his mind of Ri’s personage leaving,
He enjoyed her sparring and verbiage that left him believing,

That she must have a smidgeon of care for him, that her heart was involved,
And he had to find the answers to his questions and before her leaving he resolved.
So he called forth another King to assist him in his deliberate determination,
He called on King Craig, the King of All Woodlawn Creatures in abject supplication.

He explained that the original misunderstanding had stemmed unchecked,
When he had tried to sweep his voluble Princess in his arms bedecked,
In the Masquerade costume of a graceful Swan. He had grabbed the wrong person
Having been after another and instantly realized his mistake with her cursing.

Her fair skin marred and reddened instantly by her virulent speech,
Her face puckered tight in a look of priceless horror did beseech,
Master Gary never having seen her in such consternation came to his senses in a hurry,
As Swan’s feathers cascaded down around his head and his uncostumed body in a flurry.

When she was once more on her feet, sputtering in her quickly sprung rage,
He had the grace to look askance, if not blush, at the dressing down as if he were a mere Page.
He could not respond, not in this manner, for to cross the Princess to start with was a blunder,
To compound it would only ensure his person was placed in the Guard’s hands to be torn asunder.

So he held his temper, the fine tremoring that invaded to his marrow,
As he insulting thought she no longer looked like a swan, but a drowned sparrow!
His arrogance must have shown itself in that moment on his face,
As she took a swing that landed far left, it was so misplaced.

He grinned playfully at her seeming dilemma, her torment he wailed.
It grew even further as she stamped her foot and her slipper started to sail,
Over to where the benevolent King Doug stood with his glass of mead,
Her slipper flew into his cup and sprayed droplets over his doublet to bead.

His head flew to the scene they presented, in his eyes their mischief a misdeed
As he had hopes of having a sedate and decorous masquerade indeed.
Those flew out the window at the sight of Princess Ri and Master Gary.
He narrowed his eyes as he thought of what he would do to the two who refused to carry

Themselves in a dignified way, as befitted persons of their station.
For tales would spread after the ball to the bottom and top of the Nation,
Were not to be tolerated, not to be rewarded,
But instead it became a situation to be rectified and then a gleam in his eye was afforded

Of taking care of two birds with one stone, dealing with the foibles of the two.
Oh…..he thought, how much this would shake them up and then the fun would ensue.
A proclamation he thought, would be just the thing to address this faux pas,
He glanced at his scribe, Billy and began to rattle off his conditions, making them law.

Billy’s eyes widened at King Doug’s vitriolic terms and his spoken portion,
He covertly watched the silent battle waged and counted his own fortune
At not being restricted as these two would ultimately be,
It was a scene he looked forward to, as volatile a reaction he could imagine and foresee.

end…..part one