The Queen and her Knight

"Fly me up on a silver wing
Past the black where the sirens sing
Warm me up in a nova's glow
And drop me down to the dream below"

Linkin Park - Castle of Glass

...

I'm going to tell you guys a story. It took me some time to draft it up, and the drawings took even longer. The story is cliched, stupid, and boring - but...but...oh, whatever. Ignore the art and layering fail. 

...

Enjoy the metaphors (or whatever the hell they are).

...

Once upon a time, there existed a Queen. She lived in a lonely castle, waiting day after day for the King of her dreams to appear. Princes from other countries tried their best to approach her, but the stubborn Queen was not drawn to any of them. She found them boring - none of them piqued her interest long enough to be even considered a companion.

One day, the Queen met a ruffian - a ruffian who was by no means anything special. He was sarcastic, rude, and caused a great deal of trouble in the country. The Queen’s countrymen hated this ruffian – they claimed that he was callous and too outspoken with his ideas.

The Queen didn’t care much about a mere man, of course - but on one occasion, she ended up speaking to the ruffian. They didn’t get along well - both viewed each other as enemies to verbally assault. The Queen, in an out-of-character moment, taunted him with childish insults - to which he responded with vigor, ignoring the fact that she was the country's ruler.

Until one day, the unexpected happened. The ruffian happened to witness the Queen at one of her weakest moments. He never knew that there was this side to the brash, annoying, proud lady.

Things changed drastically after that. They began talking to each other – the first few conversations were slow, hesitant - but quickly evolved to casual chats that carried on day after day. Sometimes they asked about each others lives, sometimes it was just discussions about their goals and dreams. The Queen laughed a whole lot more, not feeling too lonely in her castle anymore. She had him to look forward to seeing all the time, and they gradually became close.

One day, the ruffian called her his “Queen”. 

The Queen was startled, of course. To call her by her title was proof that he had acknowledged her as his ruler, as the one who lead the country. It was proof of his loyalty - loyalty that he never showed to anyone else before. 

As such, the Queen did something she had never done in her life – which was to assign a Knight for herself. 

From that day onward, the ruffian was her Knight, and she was his Queen. It was a startling development, one that surprised everyone around them. They paid no heed to the looks and gossips around them, knowing that they had each other to believe in. 

The Queen and her Knight were always together. She would provide him encouragement whenever he felt like he was next to nothing, assuring him that he was worthy – while he would stand by her side and protect her from the demons within her lonely castle.

 

 

It was then when the Queen realized she was beginning to fall for her Knight. It was something not to be thought of, something that shouldn’t ever be brought up. The Knight existed only to protect the Queen, and the Queen existed to rule. Perhaps the Knight had felt something for his Queen too, but it was hard to tell. He gave enigmatic answers - answers that even the Queen could not understand. She was afraid to push the boundaries, and decided that issues of the heart could be dealt with later.

Times were getting harder. The enemies were upon the castle, threatening to invade and overrule the country. The Knight and her Queen had burdening duties to carry out. While the Knight tried his best, sometimes the Queen herself had to join in the battle. Try as they might, both were worn down by extreme battle conditions - the Queen and her Knight were trapped in an imposing world, where nothing much was left.

“You don’t have to fight the enemies,” he once told her exasperatedly. “All you have to do is sit and look pretty.” 

The Queen was having none of that bullshit. “Well, I can’t just let you fight out there without being by your side!"

“Then…then go and manage the village or something,” he said, clearly frustrated. “Just don’t get any blood on your hands.”

The war eventually did end. The Queen and her Knight were tired, of course, but they managed to share moments of peace, quiet and happiness once more. They talked about the war, the future, and what the world was about. 

He liked the way she asserted her opinions, and the Queen was incredibly proud, then, to have chosen him as her Knight. In turn, she admired the way her Knight stood up for what was right. 

The Queen missed her Knight horribly whenever he wasn’t around. She wanted to know more about him, wanted more from him. Thoughts about him haunted her throughout the days, and she yearned to have him by her side all the time. 

Things, however, weren’t going to stay peaceful for long. 

The pressure was on the Queen once again to choose a partner for herself in order to secure the stability of the kingdom. She despised it, but her Knight urged her to be patient.

That was when she couldn’t take it anymore. She let months of feelings out, confessing to him what she thought of him to be, and what she hoped him to be. The Queen wanted them to always be together – not as Knight and Queen, but as King and Queen. 

She looked at her Knight, expecting happy smiles and acceptance.

But things just weren't meant to be.

He couldn’t, he said. He just couldn’t. He was merely a Knight – not someone worthy to be King. He mentioned that there were many others far more worthy to be King – and that she deserved someone better.

But the Queen knew better. There was another reason for his rejection. 

“Why?” Her question rang hollowly, the accusation in her tone apparent. “Are you afraid that I will fail you?” 

It went both ways, the Knight told her calmly. He was worried that she would fail him, and she would worry that he'd fail her. 

The Queen told him, indignantly, that he would never fail her, and that she would try her best regardless of how difficult the relationship would be - but her Knight had his mind made. It just wasn’t meant to be. He was sorry, he said, but he just couldn’t do it.

The Queen couldn’t believe that this was happening. She was devastated. What else was there to be done now? At this rate, she didn’t even want to face anyone. She refused to. She wanted to go away, disappear from the world, hide from reality. Her pride was in tatters, shredded to bits and pieces of nothingness. 

“I’m sorry.” His tone was gentle. “Will you be alright?”

She wanted to laugh maniacally, to go on a violent massacre on any other kingdom that had once done her wrong. She wanted to scream – she wanted to cry – and cry she did, on the night after that – though no one would ever know. Instead, she forced a grin on her face. “Well, I can't make you stay here anymore. Work hard,” she said. “Whatever you do in the future, work hard, shine, and achieve. I’ll always be cheering for you.” 

There. That was his cue to leave. "Thank you," he replied.

With that, the Queen watched as her Knight - the one who was supposed to always protect her, walked out of her life forever.

...

"Now in my remains
Are promises that never came
Set the silence free
To wash away the worst of me"

Linkin Park - In My Remains 

...

"Have you ever thought about it?"

"Of course I have. Do you see me as a fool? I've considered everything."

"Then you should know that if we ever had a relationship, it would be a time bomb." 

...

...

You're right.

...

You're right.