Once Upon A

Why did no one warn me about that spotlight?

Once.

Seriously, I can’t see a thing.

Once upon a time,

Is that Ryan?

there was a castle in a city on a hill. 

It’s so sweet that he came again tonight.

A river ran through the city, 

You know, as a friend. 

past the castle, where children and workers and friends would swim and sail boats and float. All around

Use your hands.

the city with the castle in it were mountains. These mountains kept the city safe. 

The people in the city were very happy. 

Smile.

They had a kind King and a just Queen with many daughters and sons of varying talents, each lovely in their own way. The kingdom was prosperous. All was well.

Remember what Nell said. Don’t give it away again.

No one knew the second daughter was cursed.

In the city with the castle, by the river with the boats, there lived a Young Man of stout heart and good conscience. 

Did Ryan just move up a row? 

Each day, as he watched the guards entering and leaving the castle, he grew closer to realizing

I swear, that’s not where he was sitting before.

how much he would like to join them.

I think he’s smiling at me.

Up, up, up in the mountains around the city with the castle lived a kind Old Woman. She lived with her animals and any weary travelers who needed a place to lay their heads for a night or seven. Each Thursday, she brought a basket of flowers or berries or nuts or tired bits of trees to the market in the city. She would also bring tales told to her by the travelers, stories of monsters and heroes, loves lost and won, families broken and saved. When the woman came town, all the people listened. They shared their stories in turn and the woman carried those stories up the mountain along with the goods she gained from her wares. 

All was well

Oh, for the love of God, did your voice just break? 

Get it together.

until the day that the Old Woman came to the city with the castle with news of that most vicious and hulking of monsters- war. Travelers, fleeing from villages that had been razed to the ground by shadow beasts that none could describe nor defeat, had shown up at her door. Panicked and destitute, they had come across the mountains to seek the shelter of the castle, but unless a force went to meet them and throw them back, the horrible shadow creatures could not be far behind.

The good King and Queen called their councils to order, weighing the woman’s tale. The entire kingdom waited in anticipation, none more than the good people of the city with the castle in it.  The next day, the King called all who would listen to the city square and announced that the kingdom would send out soldiers to fight in this war against the shadows. The Bravest Princess and Prince would go out to fight with them, as a symbol of the King’s commitment to preserving the kingdom’s lands. 

I’ll give it to you, Nell. This is a good moment. 

The gathered crowd gasped

Make them see it.

and cried out and the city square shook with their disappointment and fear, for the Bravest Prince and Princess were well loved by the people. When they rode out of the city with the castle surrounded by the mountains, the roads and the river were covered with white flowers, placed by the people with the promise of remembrance. 

Did that old man seriously cough just now? Way to ruin the atmosphere, Grandpa. 

With so many fighters gone,

How much of a stink eye is professional to give to a cougher?

the Young Man who lived by the river got his chance. 

Seriously, can I get you a lozenge? 

He joined the castle guard

Can anyone get him a lozenge?

and spent his days protecting the Second Princess. He stayed by her side as the war dragged on and the shadow army approached and were thrown back time and again. They followed the progress of the battles together and watched the world change around them, growing less secure and more frightening. He held her tightly on the day they received the news that her brother had been killed in battle.

Eyes anywhere except Ryan.

They fell in love. 

The Queen didn’t approve and the King had hoped for royalty, but together they understood the value of a celebration at a time like this. The ceremony would be small, to reflect the war efforts, but it would be a reason to rejoice nonetheless. The Second Princess and the Young Man from the river were greeted by crowds gathered in the gardens of the castle minutes after they were married and they waved at the people from the shortest balcony on the south wall of the castle, radiant in their happiness.

Oh, Nell, why didn’t you end the play here?

Seasons passed and the Old Woman returned to the city with the castle with the best of news.

Hey, where did…

The war was ending. 

Did he leave?

The monsters, defeated, retreating, had left the villages on the other side of the mountains unmolested for months, thanks to the King’s brave forces. There was a kingdom-wide festival of light and food and color and togetherness, for they had all come through this dark time side by side, hand in hand. Joy was everywhere

Pause. Breathe.

except in the castle. 

The Second Princess’ curse had finally come to life. 

As the kingdom around her returned to normal and bards composed songs of the tales brought back from war, the princess was racked from head to toe with unspeakable pain. The King and Queen had her moved to the top of the highest tower to give her quiet and help her heal and still her screams echoed through the castle, bouncing off the grey stone of the walls. 

The royal family worked day and night to find a cure for the curse. After all, they had just won a war, the Bravest Princess reasoned. Surely this was but another battle to fight. 

The bravadic idiot.

But the neither the Bravest Princess’ sword nor her siblings’ wisdom or charity or tenacity or patience could defeat the curse. None could find a way to rid the Second Princess of her pain. The years wore on and the royal family gave up all hope. 

I still can’t believe Ryan left. 

All except the Young Man from the river. 

There’s like two minutes left.

He would come to his wife’s side each evening when her throat was too raw to do anything other than moan, just before the healers put her to sleep. He would hold her tightly, as he had held her in her loss, and say over and over again, “I love you, I love you, I-

love you.” 

RYAN?! What the... you can't just...

Annabelle, you're a professional. Be cool. Be cool.

Because her husband was so devoted, he was the first to see her on the morning that

they found the cure for the curse.

Are we really doing this? 

Nell really isn't going to stop…? 

All right.

The second princess couldn’t believe it. After years of immense pain, it seemed like hope was at last in sight. 

The cure required a quest, a long journey to search for the ingredients. The Young Man volunteered right away,

leaving his wife,

in order to save her. 

I NEVER NEEDED YOU TO SAVE ME.

The journey took two years, four months, one week, and one day, but the Young Man from the river returned with every ingredient in the amount needed, completely safe and sound.

Unfortunately, during that time, the Second Princess had

forgotten who her husband was. 

Because she died. She dies, Ryan. She DIES. Saving her cheapens the story, wraps everything up in a bow, misses the point of this play, the play that I am doing night after night as a favor to my friend, a favor TO MY FRIEND, and you have missed the point that just because you win one war does not mean that you win them all. SHE. DIES.

But he remembered. 

He remembered her hair and her face and her laugh and her smile. He remembered how they’d fight over the most useless things, 

Ryan…

but how they’d come back together

Ryan, step back.

with a kiss. 

A kiss can’t save every story.                                                                    A kiss can’t save every story. 

He could only hope that it would save this one. 

...

...

The Young Man came back on a Thursday. 

Take my hand. 

That night, as the Old Woman travelled back to her home in the mountains, she carried home a story different from the one she had expected to tell. Instead of the deep purple cloths of mourning, she carried the bright yellows that announced a new festival. The story she carried, 

it was a story of rescue,

a story of chances, 

chances that wouldn’t be wasted. 

Twice. 

I can't believe you. Honestly, I can't. 

Now bow with me, you glorious mistake. 

God, that light is bright.