The Sweetest Sounds- Chapter 3: Fractured Fairy Tale

(This piece is inspired by Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical Cinderella. I reimagined the story with the prince as the main character. Christopher is a bit of a cornball, completely over dramatic, and is currently in the process of learning about the commoners who live in his father's kingdom. He borders on the self-centered side, but has a kind heart and an almost black and white sense of justice. This is an excerpt of Prince Christopher's initial meeting with Cinderella, after abruptly leaving a hunting trip during an argument with his brother.) 

Christopher had ridden about an hour's time, deep into the forest. The red and golden foliage of fall was a truly spectacular sight, but the prince was hardly in any position to admire such a thing now. Christopher was sufficiently lost. With a heavy sigh, Christopher pulled tightly on the reins, bringing his horse to a halt, dismounted from Sage's back, and rubbed the mare's brown muzzle. Sage whinnied, apparently pleased at the contact, while his basset hound sniffed along the ground, having caught the scent-trail of some unfortunate creature.

"Looks like we're lost," the prince spoke to his animals, "well, I suppose that's my fault, isn't it? Running alone into the woods wasn't my greatest idea."

Suddenly, a small, gray hare came bounding out from the underbrush, and Arrow chased after it, like a dog on a mission. Christopher did not care to see another animal killed this morning, so he brought his fingers to his lips, and produced a sharp whistle. The hound immediately left off his pursuit, in absolute obedience, and padded over to his master.

"Arrow, down boy!" the prince stooped, and flopped the hound's ears playfully, "We're not hunting today."

Then Christopher stood, to brush dirt and other forest sediment from his riding breeches and tunic. The young prince walked in a sort of slow circular pattern, taking in his surroundings. All Christopher could see was trees, and more trees. Some were deciduous, others were coniferous, but they were all trees none the less, and there were no discerning landmarks whatsoever that might have given the prince any clue as to his current whereabouts.

"Well, at least I know we're in the Forever Wood," Christopher began thoughtfully, as if his animal companions could understand him, "who ever said princes were useless!"

At this, his loyal dog perked his ears, titled his canine head, and let out a playful yelp.

The prince shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest, "You wound me, Arrow, with your sarcasm."

Arrow, now lying comfortably in a pile of crisp, fallen leaves, covered both eyes with his paws, and Christopher laughed.

"All right, you two," Christopher grunted, again mounting his mare, "let's explore a bit. Maybe we shall find our way out of here yet."

The prince dug his heels into Sage's stirrups, and the horse started off at a leisurely walking pace. Christopher made a quick glance over his cloaked shoulder, only to see Arrow still reclining happily in a pile of autumn leaves.

"Lazy little dog," grinned the prince, who whistled once more, calling for his hound.

After another twenty minutes or so of aimless wandering, Christopher came across a creek bed, and Sage wasted no time lowering her head to drink the clear, cool water. The prince patted the horse's black mane, thinking. Christopher knew that fresh water was invaluable in these parts, which meant, if he followed the creek upstream, he would most likely find civilization. What a brilliant man he truly was!

"Come on, girl," ordered Christopher, tugging on the reins yet again, "this way."

Sage entered into a canter, and the prince did not even have to whistle for his dog this time around. It appeared Arrow must have thought that Christopher would have willingly left him behind, because the hound bounded after the prince at lightning speeds, kicking up leaves and clouds of dust in the process.

As the seconds ticked away into minutes, Christopher still hadn't met another human soul, but he did notice that the gathering of trees was growing thinner as he continued to move upstream with the creek. That was a good sign; it meant that they would be exiting the Forever Wood soon, and Christopher preferred sooner than later.

Christopher's stomach growled ferociously. He had already consumed the light snack Lucille prepared for him, consisting of cheese, bread, and a small canteen of water, a little under a half hour ago. Christopher had left the rest of the food behind with his father and brother, and the prince was only just beginning to regret his reckless and spontaneous nature. Christopher clutched his empty stomach with his hands, thinking up ways to keep his mind off the hunger, but it was no use. If the poor man didn't find any sustenance soon, he would surely starve! Christopher didn't think that he had ever felt so hungry in all his life. Why did being a prince entail such a difficult lifestyle? There certainly could not be another soul on the planet Earth more miserable than he!

The young prince was just about to resign himself to sighing due to his unparalleled woe, when the sound of Arrow's bark interrupted him. That dumb dog had put a damper on Christopher's infamous dramatic tendencies! Oh, well. He thought. It wasn't like the animals could appreciate good drama anyway.

"Quite down, Arrow," Christopher ordered, but when the hound began to run about in quick little circles of excitement, he added, "did you catch the scent of something, boy?"

Christopher had barely finished his sentence, when the basset hound darted off, running to where the prince could only venture a guess. He had only ever seen the dog behave in such a way in one place... the palace kitchens. Had Arrow caught the aroma of some local's cooking? Not wanting to lose sight of the dog, Christopher yipped, kicked his toes in the stirrups, and brought Sage to a full gallop.

By the time the prince had caught up with Arrow, he and Sage had just exited the forest. That smart little dog had found their way out of the Forever Wood! Christopher could see a modest cottage a little ways off, sitting alone atop a green hill. Now, all the fairy tales Christopher had ever had read to him as a boy, promised that people who lived in cottages were naturally friendly, and would not hesitate to aid a hungry prince in need. He was going to that cottage.

The prince dismounted from his horse, leading Sage along the ground, by her reins. When he reached the little, yellow cottage, Christopher left his mare to graze in the grass at the foot of the hill, and Arrow went off to chase a terrified looking squirrel. Shaking his head at Arrow's antics, Christopher marched up to the cottage, and knocked firmly on the door. There was no answer, but the prince knew someone had to be home. Something was cooking! He could see the thick, black smoke escaping the chimney flue, and he could smell the savory dish... whatever it was.

"How incredibly rude," Christopher remarked to himself, "Imagine... ignoring the prince! They should be ashamed of themselves!"

Christopher turned to leave, when he noticed a tall apple tree standing prominently nearby the cottage. Apples were edible. Christopher was hungry. The math was simple. For a fleeting moment, Christopher thought that the owners would be unhappy with him eating their apples without permission, but he soon pushed such thoughts aside. If they didn't want him to eat their precious apples, then they shouldn't have ignored him. It was logic, really. The prince rubbed his hands together in gleeful anticipation. He couldn't very well eat the apples that already littered the ground; they were all more than likely infested with nasty, wriggling worms. No, Christopher would have to climb the tree, and it was just his luck that the reddest, juiciest looking apples were all growing near the highest branches.

The prince blew a tendril of his golden brown hair away from his eyes, and swung his leg over the lowest tree branch. Christopher used to climb trees all the time when he was a boy, that was, when his mother wasn't watching him like a hawk. Granted, the prince was decidedly more nimble when he engaged in such activity all those moons ago, but that small detail didn't matter in the least. Christopher was an excellent tree climber!

It wasn't long before Christopher reached the top of the apple tree, and settled himself comfortably in one of the high branches. Then, the rogue prince plucked a sample of the coveted fruit, buffed it against his tunic sleeve, and began munching happily. For a while, the only sound aside from the birds twittering, was the crunching of Christopher's apple... until he heard something else. He heard singing. Christopher cautiously leaned his body forward, and he realized that he pretty much had a perfect view into the cottage's attic window. There stood a girl, a servant by the looks of her, sweeping away at dust bunnies, and as she swept, she sang.

I'm a mermaid dancing upon the sea.

I'm a huntress on an African safari...

it's a dangerous type of sport and yet it's fun!

In the night I sally forth to seek my quarry,

And I find I forgot to bring my gun.

I am lost in the jungle all alone and unarmed,

when I meet a lioness in her lair...

"Hello!" Christopher greeted enthusiastically, when the poor, unsuspecting thing turned to face the circular-framed window.

The girl immediately screeched, having apparently been startled out of her pretty skin, and whacked Christopher over his head, with her sturdy broom.

"Ouch!" the prince cried, "That hurts, you know?"

Only his yowls of distress did nothing to deter the girl's assault, and she continued to bring the broom down forcefully, over Christopher's throbbing cranium. The prince was left with no other choice but to defend himself, so he covered his poor head with both hands, causing him to lose his apple, as it fell from his grip, and landed in the grass ten feet below him.

Finally, the frightened maiden let up on her attacks, and Christopher uncovered his head, so that he might look upon his attacker.

"I was still eating that," he grumbled, before Sage trotted over to the half-eaten apple, and nearly swallowed it whole, "greedy little horse."

"Who are you?" the girl questioned indignantly.

"Christopher," he answered simply, as if it were plain as day, "what's your name?"

"I.. you have..." the girl stammered, still in apparent shock at his presence, "get out of that tree!"

"You know," Christopher began, as he purposefully plucked another apple from the tree limb, "you really shouldn't keep your hair tied back in a kerchief like that. One can hardly get a proper look at you," he finished, taking an arrogant bite out of the scrumptious fruit, and it gave a satisfying crunch.

The prince took a good hard look at her, then. The girl was dressed in a drab excuse for a garment, and stray strands of black hair rebelliously escaped from a tattered kerchief, that nearly covered the maiden's striking, cornflower blue eyes.

"It looks as if you could be pretty otherwise," he added, with no other intention than to taunt the girl. Well, she deserved it, after all. She had attacked him completely unprovoked!

Understandably, the girl let out another shriek of rage, and took a swing at Christopher with her broom. However, before the maiden even had a chance to graze the prince with her trusty weapon, Christopher heard an ominous crack, originating from the branch he was straddling.

"Uh-oh," Christopher voiced, before the tree limb completely gave way, and the prince fell with it.

The prince yelped, as gravity claimed him, and he hit each tree branch on his trip down, and he hit them hard.

"Ugh," grunted Christopher, as his heavy, autumn cloak fortunately snagged against the final tree branch, saving the prince from serious injury, "the heavens love me!"

Only, as Christopher finished his narcissistic exclamation, his cloak tore, and he tumbled the remaining two feet to the grassy knoll. As he hit the ground, his rifle discharged, and in result, the stray bullet blew out one of the cottage windows. What luck. In hindsight, Christopher should have set his rifle down at the base of the tree, before he began his valiant climb up. Oh well, the prince couldn't alter the fact now. Christopher whimpered as he stood painfully, rubbing his sore bottom. Well, to say the least, this was not one his most shining moments.