Post by kingfaraday on Aug 25, 2017 10:55:52 GMT -6
"THE CURSE AND THE CRUSADE"
By Goliath
Our story begins in the realm of Therea. Therea is a beautiful land, a realm of sword and sorcery, a time of kings and queens, princesses and princes, sorcerors and dragons, and warriors and heroes. A land also inhabited by great good...and great evil. The land is ruled by the great King Dravid, a good man and a great ruler and warrior in his day, but over time he has lost his edge, and his time is nearly at its end. I am the warrior prince Kristopher, and I help to defend the land, and I am betrothed to the king's daughter, Princess Katrina, the most fair and beautiful maiden in the land, with the most pure heart and soul; inner beauty as well as outer beauty. I would fight a thousand men for her. Her love is what drives me. We are to be wed, and we may rule the kingom together, in her father's stead. This is the greatest, most joyous time in my life. And I have never seen Katrina happier. Katrina is such a beauty, she is truly the fairest maiden in the land. So young, so beautiful, only in her early twenties, yet, had wisdom beyond her young years. As long as I have been with her, I am still in awe of her beauty,with her golden blond hair and soft feautures, with a radiant glow to her soft, milky skin. Her lips were full, her breasts, pert and beautiful. Her eyes were as azure blue as the sea, and it feels as if they could see into your very soul. I cannot describe in words how much I love her, or the depths of her beauty, both external and internal, and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with her.
However, for all the joy in this land, there is a darkness as well. The land was constantly threatened by a dark sorceress queen, an evil enchantress named Morgana. With her powers of sorcery, she led a dark evil army, which held the land in terror with their occassional attacks, which were becoming more and more frequent, and I and others had to defend against it. Morgana appeared to be in the latter part of thirty years, but still had great, dark beauty. However, many said that she was far older than that...some say that she is ancient, but uses the dark arts to slow her aging to an incredible extent, or mask it. Morgana was as vain as she was evil, and would not allow any to surpass her beauty. I have heard many of a tale of her casting spells on beautiful maidens, aging them into old hags. I swore to myself that I would never let that witch do that to my Katrina...and that one day, we would drive her dark evil out of the land, forever.
Then, on the day that Katrina and I were to be wed...what was supposed to be the most joyous day of our lives...the unthinkable happened.
The day started as great as any, as I rode to the castle on my steed. I could almost sense Katrina's beautiful azure eyes staring at me, into my soul, and I looked up to the tower and saw my beautiful beloved. I went inside the castle, and rushed up to her. She was a beautiful and breathtaking as ever. She was wearing a beautiful, ornate pink gown, which cut down and showed some of her pert cleavage, and on her finger was the diamond ring I gave her. She smiled, a most beautiful sight, more beautiful than the setting sun, and her blue eyes staring into my soul. "My beloved, how I missed you!" she said, as we embraced. "And I you, my love." I replied. I ran my hand down her soft cheek, and kissed her full, gorgeous lips. There was nowhere in the world that I would rather be than with her.
Then, one of my men rushed up and interrupted our reunion. "Kristopher, the Enchantress and her army are coming!" he exclaimed. "Gather the men! I'll be down in a moment!" I exclaimed. I had no idead why the sorceress and her men were there, but if they planned on interrupting this day, they were going to pay in blood. "I will return, my love." I said to Katrina. "Be careful, my beloved." she said, holding my hand against her cheek. With a kiss I raced downwards, and mounted my horse. I gathered my men, and on the outskirts of the castle, we found the enchantress and her dark horde waiting on us.
The army was all in dread black armor, on ebony horses. In the center was the sorceress, smiling wickedly. She was wearing an all black gown, with a small, dark-jeweled crown atop her head. Morgana was a beautiful woman in her own right, with some dark, sinister beauty about her, but she was not as beautiful as my beloved. She had long dark hair, hair as dark as a raven. Her skin was fair and milky smooth, and she had powerful, piercing eyes. Her eyes were green, and much like a tiger's, shining in the night, and she stared at you, it felt as though it was cutting through the very core of your being. Her lipstick was black, as was her fingernails. She sat barefoot atop her horse, with ebony-painted nails there, as well. There was a large v-shape on the chest of her gown, shwing large, sumptuos breasts. A slit was up the side of her gown on both sides, showing long, toned legs. She was the image of vanity. Instead of being in awe of her beauty, I was disgusted by the evil that emanated from her. She laughed, a deep laugh.
I pulled my sword from its scabbard, and prepared my men to attack. "Put away your weapon, dear prince." the sorceress said, in a commanding voice. "What do you want, witch?" I asked, staring the evil one in her face. "You, Kristopher." she replied. "What?" I asked, confused. "You will be my beloved, my betrothed...my lover. I command it..and my will must always be done." Morgana said, with the utmost arrogance. "Or else, sorceress?" I asked. "You know my power, dear Kristopher. I will place a dread curse upon your kingdom...or, should I say, upon the one you hold most dear..." the sorceress said. "Still thy blasphemous tounge, witch!" I shouted. "You know the consequence...I always get what I desire..damn the cost. And you are what I desire." she continued. Then, a voice all familiar to my ears shouted out, "NO!" I looked behind me, and saw my beloved walking towards the sorceress, facing her with fearlessness and determination in her voice that I had never heard before. "So, you...the king's lovely wench of a daughter...dare to stand in my way?" Morgana said. "I dare, witch." Katrina said, fearlessly. "Katrina...this is no place for you...please...get back to the castle!" I pleaded with her, for I knew all too well the witch's power. "No, my love. You have always stood for me, my father, and my home...protected me...and now I do the same for you!" Katrina replied. "Listen to him, young fool. Turn and leave...give your beloved to me...or your kingdom...and you most of all...will face the consequences!" the enchantress exclaimed. "No! I don't care what you do to me...but you will not have my beloved, you wretched old hag!" Katrina exclaimed, with more fiery passion in her voice than I had ever heard, with fury that was in the strongest warrior's heart. A look of smoldering hatred then appeared on the sorceress' face. "Hag, am I? We shall see who is a hag before the day is through, beauty! Now pay the consequences!" the sorceress said. She then ponited at my beloved, and muttered a strange incantion, in some unknown language. She had cast a spell upon my beloved. "Accursed witch, what have you done to her?" I said, drawing my sword. "Before the day is through, prince...you shall see...and your thoughts on my offer to be my lover will have changed!" The evil one and her horde then turned and left, and were soon lost in swirling mist. Katrina appeared to be fine, but I rushed towards her. "My love, are you all right?" I asked. "Yes...I feel fine." she said, looking at me with those beautiful blue eyes. I didn't know what the enchantress did, but it didn't seem to be having any effect...yet. I took her back up to the castle.
There, in her quarters, I stayed by her side, making sure she was all right. "Why did you face her, my love?" I asked. "For the very reasons I told her...you would have done it for me..." she replied. "But that witch did something...and with her evil power, there is no telling..." I said. "She put a curse on me...like so many others before me, who stood against her or challenged her beauty. And it will only be a matter of time before it starts to take effect." she said. "No, my love! I won't let anything happen to you!" I said, taking her delicate right hand into mine.
I stared at her delicate hand, when, suddenly, before my astonished eyes and hers, something began to happen. The delicate, flawless skin of her hand started to become transparent, as veins became visible on them. Then, age spots appeared, as the smooth, taut skin began to become lose and wrinkle. Her fingers became yellowed,wrinkled and bony, and her nails became yellowed and cracked. It aged before our eyes. It now looked, and felt, old; looking wrinkled, veined, weathered. She was as shocked as I was. "The spell...it begins!" she said. She held up her other hand, and watched as the same thing happened to it. "No!" I exclaimed, as I saw lines began to creep around her azure-set eyes, and on her flawless, delicate face. She got up and went to her mirror, and we watched the changes occur, in shock. I happened so quickly, and we were unable to do anything. We watched as time tiself seemed to go forward, as her beautiful features became ravaged by time and age. Lines and wrinkles appeared more and more on her face, as the decades added on in seconds, the youthful radiance and flawlessness of her face fading like a fast-vanishing phantom. Her golden hair begin to lose its luster, as it began to turn a dim gray. The youthful skin above her breasts became weathered and age-spotted, as the pert, sumptuous breasts began to wrinkle and sag down to the castle floor. She was standing barefoot, and her dainty, delicate feet began to become wrinkled, weathered and age spotted, the toes bending with age, and the nails becoming cracked and yellowed. Her face was covered in hundreds of deep-set wrinkles, her hair turning completely dull gray, as her once radiant, youthful face sagged. Her nose even developed a small crook in the end. Then, the aging seemed to stop...and my beloved and I were both in horror. She looked so old now, maybe sixty or seventy years of age. We watched, in a matter of seconds, as she aged, and her beauty faded, replaced by nothing but age and the wounds of time. She looked more like a withered old peddler woman on the street than the fair maiden she once was...she was barely recognizeable. In shock, she ran her withered fingers down individual wrinkles on her face as she came to them. She touched her face with weathered hands, and tears began to run down her lined face. "No..this can't be happening.." she said. I went over to her. Despite what had befallen her, my love was still strong. "Don't look at me!" she said, coveing her face with aged hands. I moved her hands, and looked into her aged face...but, somehow, though she was much older, I still saw the beauty I knew within her. "We can beat this curse, my love...we can beat it!" I said.
I then took her before her father and the court sorcerer Elrod, who were in awe and shock, and filled with hatred over the creature responsible."I've seen this before. An aging curse." the sorceror said. "And it's not finished." I looked at him in shock. "You mean that she will get even older?" I asked. "Yes. Perhaps until she reaches eighty years of age." he said. I couldn't believe it. "Can the spell be broken?" I asked. "Yes...but only if Morgana is killed...or.." Elrod said. "Or what?" I asked. "Or, you destroy the source of her perpetual youth and beauty." he said. "Then what is the source?" I asked. "She possesses an ancient jeweled idol. It's magic is what has stoped her aging...but, if it is destroyed, then she will become her true age." he exlpained. "However, she keeps it close to her. It is impossible to get close to..." Then, I got a brilliant idea. "I know how. The queen wanted me..if I go to her dark castle..pretend to be her lover, appealing to her vanity...then I can get close to it...and destroy it, and her!" I exclaimed. "A brilliant plan! But, you must hurry! If the spell reaches it's course before you have had an opporunity to destroy the idol...then Katrina may be trapped at he great age...forever." Elrod explained. "Don't fear...I will destroy the witch queen and save my beloved...this very day!" I swore.
Before I departed on my quest, I went up to see my beloved in the tower. She was standing at the window, the wind blowing through her silvered hair. I came from behind her. "I must go, my beloved...to destroy the witch queen, and break the curse. If it wasn't for me..if I had only surrendered myself..then this wouldn't have happened to you!" I said, feeling the guilt for her condition. "No, my beloved, it isn't your fault! I did what I did..because i could never see you become her slave...no matter what it cost me!" she said. We embraced. I looked into her unbelieveably lined face, and into her eyes. I carressed her cheek with my hand. Unlike before, the skin felt leathery, weathered. But, as I looked into her eyes, I could still see that youthful glint in them...and I knew that the Katrina I loved was still in there, beneath her aged exterior. "Funny...I always thought we'd grow old together...but I did first." she said, sighing. "Today was supposed to be our wedding...but now I'm too old to be a bride...or a princess!" she broke into tears. "And it will still be our wedding day. We will get through this...and our love will be stronger than ever!" I said. I kissed her thin, wrinkled lips, but as I did I tried to imagine how they once felt, full and warm, and I knew they would feel that way again. "Be careful, my love." she said, with that beautiful blue youthful glimmer still in her eyes, despite her time-ravaged features. With her azure eyes still watching me, I rode off to the enchantress' dark tower, knowing that time was of the essence.
The dark tower was in a gloomy area of dead trees and blackened sky, and the black tower itself stood like an ebony monolith. Two hulking guards in black armor, armed with war axes, met me. "Warrior prince, what brings you here?" one of them asked. "To meet Morgana's demands....to become her lover." The two guards then laughed, a hellish, triumphant form of laughter. They took me up to the enchantress' quarters, which was filled with crystal balls, ancient magic tomes, statues, and all manner of things related to the occult. Then, the sinister, evil beauty herself faced me. She looked as sinisterly beautiful as ever, in a dark see through gown that showed everthing, especially her large breasts. "What brings you here, dearest Kristopher?" she said with a wicked smile, her burning emerald eyes cutting me to the core. "I have come here...to concede to your offer, Morgana." I said, and the words were almost too hard for me to say, but I knew I had to for my beloved. "So, you see what my curse has done to her? What an ancient hag she has become...as she would have become anyway, over time?" she said. "Yes." I said, lying. "You see, my prince, I will never age...not like that. Not any more. And once you are with me..neither shall you. You see, now, don't you, how my beauty is the greatest in all the land...how it is forever...eternal?" she said. "Yes, my queen. I see now your great dark beauty...I could not deny it. Katrina is now nothing but a withered hag...her beauty could not begin to equal your timeless visage!" I said, and the words were like bile in my throat. But, I was telling the sorceress queen what she wanted to hear. "Excellent. Come with me." the dark beauty said, smiling wickedly. I followed her into a bedroom, which was filled with even more peculiar, arcane items, and her bed, which was large and ornate, with black curtains covering it. Then, in front of her bed, I saw it. The idol, the source of her eternal youth and beauty. It was ornate as the wizard had said, and looked like some type of demon's head, with fiery red jewels in the eyes. That was what I had to destroy...but I had to find the perfect time..get her by surprise before she had the chance to retaliate with her dark powers.
She took me to a table with a crystal ball upon it. "You see, your former beloved isn't finished withering away...my curse fulfills itself, as we speak..." the enchantress says, and waves her hand across the crystal. Suddenly, an image appears in it, and we were peering inside my beloved's bedroom. It seemed she was in her bed, but couldn't be seen b the covers. Then she rose, and she was unrecognizeable...she looked even more ancient that before! Her skin was even more sagging and withered, and her hair was pure white. The spell had completed itself, she was every bit of eighty years of age. She was shocked, distraught, possible her mind was distorted by age. "Kristopher!" she shouted. My heart dropped into my stomach. Then, the image of my terribly aged beloved disappeared. "That will never happen to me. Now you have me...and I you...for all eternity." the dark sorceress said. I was distraught. The spell had completed itself...was I too late? Was my beloved now trapped, aged beyond her youthful years...the fairest maiden in the land. consigned to being an old hag, for the rest of her days? I was so distraught, that I barely noticed Morgana removing some of my armor. "Let us begin, my new, eternal lover." the dark sorceress whispered into my ear, running her soft hands down my chest. She then pushed me onto her bed. She parted the curtains, and sat atop me, her legs bent...ready to make love with me...and I knew I might as well be selling my soul, no matter how beautiful she was...I knew how evil her heart was...and all that she had done...
She touched me all over, getting pure enjoyment out of it. She thought I was hers. She was wrong. I then began coughing wildly, acting ill. I pushed her off me. "What's wrong, my lover?" she asked. "I feel..ill." I replied. I then looked at the foot of the bed, and saw the idol sitting there, upon a table, it's burning jeweled eyes staring at me. I then pulled a dagger from my boot, and threw it at the abomination of stone. "NO!" the sorceress screamed, but she was too late. The dagger pierrced the idol, and it fell to the floor, smashed into pieces. The sorceress looked up, and stood in abject shock.
"No...do you realize what you've done? Do you?" she shouted. "Yes." I replied. She turned to a mirror, and both of us watched as her true age began to show. Age began to ravage her sharp but beautiful features, as deep canyons of creases began to appear all over her face. Her shining dark hair began to turn white. Through her nearly see-through gown, I could see all the changes happening to her youthful body, and it was disgusting. Everything began to wrinkle and sag, especially her large breasts, which were once her great attribute. She screamed and pleaded as it happened, but she could do nothing. For all her power, she could not stop this. Her long, slender legs became thin, withered sticks, lined and veined, and her feet shrivelled up and crinkled, as wrinkles, veins, and age spots swept across the now rough, weathered skin. Her arms became the same as her legs, and her hands became disgusting, gnarled things, and even had warts on them. Her long, withered fingers with cracked nails at the end almost looked like disgusting, withered talons now. The witch's sharp, gorgeous facial features sagged, looking unbelievably ancient. Her nose was hooked some, and a wart was on the side of it. Her hair turned snow white, and was scraggly. The withered sorceress then turned to face me, and I saw what a pathetic, ancient hag she had become. So decrepit and ancient and hideous, she looked more like an old, ancient hag of a witch, warts, wrinkles, and all, than the beautiful, dark maiden she was moments ago. She stood, shrunken, aged, every disgusting, sagging detail of her body seen through the dark see through garment. She was every bit of 100 years old. "No..." the ancient hag said, in a voice that now sounded as if it belonged to an old peddler hag. "That is for my beloved, you withered old crone!" I said."You..you shall pay!" the hag said, shaking a withered finger at me. "You shall pay...with all the power left within me...I curse you!" she exclaimed.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and when it cleared, the crone was gone. Where she once stood was her empty garment and a pile of dust. She apparently put all the energy she had left into cursing me. I then fled from the dark tower, knowing my task had been completed. I wondered if the spell had been broken on my beloved Katrina. If not..I had my revenge upon the dark queen, and she paid for it. I couldn't wait to return to my beloved, and prayed for the best.
When I returned, my prayers had been answered. I was greeted by my beloved, who was youthful and radiant once again! With tears in both our eyes, we embraced. I caressed her soft, delicate cheek, and kissed her full, beautiful lips. Everything was back to normal, and the dark queen was gone.
That evening, our wedding began, the most joyous day of our lives. Se looked so beautiful in her jeweled, white as snow gown. As we exchanged vows, I looked deep into her eyes, and could see the happiness in her. Now, we would grow old together. Then, as I place the ring on her finger, something began to happend.
Suddenly, her delicate hand became wrinkled and withered again. "No..oh no.." I said. I then watched as my beloved's delicate features began to age once again, and soon, to everyone's shock, she was a withered, elderly woman once more! My bride was now ancient once more..this was Morgana's curse, made by her dying breath!
Afterwards, the best sorceror's tried to aid my distraught, now aged bride, but to no avail. That's when I began my own journey. From that day forward, I sought to find a way to restore my beloved's beauty, no matter how long it took. I would travel the land...and I swore that I would not rest until I had lifted the curse, so we could be together, forever. This is my never-ending quest...my crusade, for my beloved.
THE END
By Goliath
Our story begins in the realm of Therea. Therea is a beautiful land, a realm of sword and sorcery, a time of kings and queens, princesses and princes, sorcerors and dragons, and warriors and heroes. A land also inhabited by great good...and great evil. The land is ruled by the great King Dravid, a good man and a great ruler and warrior in his day, but over time he has lost his edge, and his time is nearly at its end. I am the warrior prince Kristopher, and I help to defend the land, and I am betrothed to the king's daughter, Princess Katrina, the most fair and beautiful maiden in the land, with the most pure heart and soul; inner beauty as well as outer beauty. I would fight a thousand men for her. Her love is what drives me. We are to be wed, and we may rule the kingom together, in her father's stead. This is the greatest, most joyous time in my life. And I have never seen Katrina happier. Katrina is such a beauty, she is truly the fairest maiden in the land. So young, so beautiful, only in her early twenties, yet, had wisdom beyond her young years. As long as I have been with her, I am still in awe of her beauty,with her golden blond hair and soft feautures, with a radiant glow to her soft, milky skin. Her lips were full, her breasts, pert and beautiful. Her eyes were as azure blue as the sea, and it feels as if they could see into your very soul. I cannot describe in words how much I love her, or the depths of her beauty, both external and internal, and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with her.
However, for all the joy in this land, there is a darkness as well. The land was constantly threatened by a dark sorceress queen, an evil enchantress named Morgana. With her powers of sorcery, she led a dark evil army, which held the land in terror with their occassional attacks, which were becoming more and more frequent, and I and others had to defend against it. Morgana appeared to be in the latter part of thirty years, but still had great, dark beauty. However, many said that she was far older than that...some say that she is ancient, but uses the dark arts to slow her aging to an incredible extent, or mask it. Morgana was as vain as she was evil, and would not allow any to surpass her beauty. I have heard many of a tale of her casting spells on beautiful maidens, aging them into old hags. I swore to myself that I would never let that witch do that to my Katrina...and that one day, we would drive her dark evil out of the land, forever.
Then, on the day that Katrina and I were to be wed...what was supposed to be the most joyous day of our lives...the unthinkable happened.
The day started as great as any, as I rode to the castle on my steed. I could almost sense Katrina's beautiful azure eyes staring at me, into my soul, and I looked up to the tower and saw my beautiful beloved. I went inside the castle, and rushed up to her. She was a beautiful and breathtaking as ever. She was wearing a beautiful, ornate pink gown, which cut down and showed some of her pert cleavage, and on her finger was the diamond ring I gave her. She smiled, a most beautiful sight, more beautiful than the setting sun, and her blue eyes staring into my soul. "My beloved, how I missed you!" she said, as we embraced. "And I you, my love." I replied. I ran my hand down her soft cheek, and kissed her full, gorgeous lips. There was nowhere in the world that I would rather be than with her.
Then, one of my men rushed up and interrupted our reunion. "Kristopher, the Enchantress and her army are coming!" he exclaimed. "Gather the men! I'll be down in a moment!" I exclaimed. I had no idead why the sorceress and her men were there, but if they planned on interrupting this day, they were going to pay in blood. "I will return, my love." I said to Katrina. "Be careful, my beloved." she said, holding my hand against her cheek. With a kiss I raced downwards, and mounted my horse. I gathered my men, and on the outskirts of the castle, we found the enchantress and her dark horde waiting on us.
The army was all in dread black armor, on ebony horses. In the center was the sorceress, smiling wickedly. She was wearing an all black gown, with a small, dark-jeweled crown atop her head. Morgana was a beautiful woman in her own right, with some dark, sinister beauty about her, but she was not as beautiful as my beloved. She had long dark hair, hair as dark as a raven. Her skin was fair and milky smooth, and she had powerful, piercing eyes. Her eyes were green, and much like a tiger's, shining in the night, and she stared at you, it felt as though it was cutting through the very core of your being. Her lipstick was black, as was her fingernails. She sat barefoot atop her horse, with ebony-painted nails there, as well. There was a large v-shape on the chest of her gown, shwing large, sumptuos breasts. A slit was up the side of her gown on both sides, showing long, toned legs. She was the image of vanity. Instead of being in awe of her beauty, I was disgusted by the evil that emanated from her. She laughed, a deep laugh.
I pulled my sword from its scabbard, and prepared my men to attack. "Put away your weapon, dear prince." the sorceress said, in a commanding voice. "What do you want, witch?" I asked, staring the evil one in her face. "You, Kristopher." she replied. "What?" I asked, confused. "You will be my beloved, my betrothed...my lover. I command it..and my will must always be done." Morgana said, with the utmost arrogance. "Or else, sorceress?" I asked. "You know my power, dear Kristopher. I will place a dread curse upon your kingdom...or, should I say, upon the one you hold most dear..." the sorceress said. "Still thy blasphemous tounge, witch!" I shouted. "You know the consequence...I always get what I desire..damn the cost. And you are what I desire." she continued. Then, a voice all familiar to my ears shouted out, "NO!" I looked behind me, and saw my beloved walking towards the sorceress, facing her with fearlessness and determination in her voice that I had never heard before. "So, you...the king's lovely wench of a daughter...dare to stand in my way?" Morgana said. "I dare, witch." Katrina said, fearlessly. "Katrina...this is no place for you...please...get back to the castle!" I pleaded with her, for I knew all too well the witch's power. "No, my love. You have always stood for me, my father, and my home...protected me...and now I do the same for you!" Katrina replied. "Listen to him, young fool. Turn and leave...give your beloved to me...or your kingdom...and you most of all...will face the consequences!" the enchantress exclaimed. "No! I don't care what you do to me...but you will not have my beloved, you wretched old hag!" Katrina exclaimed, with more fiery passion in her voice than I had ever heard, with fury that was in the strongest warrior's heart. A look of smoldering hatred then appeared on the sorceress' face. "Hag, am I? We shall see who is a hag before the day is through, beauty! Now pay the consequences!" the sorceress said. She then ponited at my beloved, and muttered a strange incantion, in some unknown language. She had cast a spell upon my beloved. "Accursed witch, what have you done to her?" I said, drawing my sword. "Before the day is through, prince...you shall see...and your thoughts on my offer to be my lover will have changed!" The evil one and her horde then turned and left, and were soon lost in swirling mist. Katrina appeared to be fine, but I rushed towards her. "My love, are you all right?" I asked. "Yes...I feel fine." she said, looking at me with those beautiful blue eyes. I didn't know what the enchantress did, but it didn't seem to be having any effect...yet. I took her back up to the castle.
There, in her quarters, I stayed by her side, making sure she was all right. "Why did you face her, my love?" I asked. "For the very reasons I told her...you would have done it for me..." she replied. "But that witch did something...and with her evil power, there is no telling..." I said. "She put a curse on me...like so many others before me, who stood against her or challenged her beauty. And it will only be a matter of time before it starts to take effect." she said. "No, my love! I won't let anything happen to you!" I said, taking her delicate right hand into mine.
I stared at her delicate hand, when, suddenly, before my astonished eyes and hers, something began to happen. The delicate, flawless skin of her hand started to become transparent, as veins became visible on them. Then, age spots appeared, as the smooth, taut skin began to become lose and wrinkle. Her fingers became yellowed,wrinkled and bony, and her nails became yellowed and cracked. It aged before our eyes. It now looked, and felt, old; looking wrinkled, veined, weathered. She was as shocked as I was. "The spell...it begins!" she said. She held up her other hand, and watched as the same thing happened to it. "No!" I exclaimed, as I saw lines began to creep around her azure-set eyes, and on her flawless, delicate face. She got up and went to her mirror, and we watched the changes occur, in shock. I happened so quickly, and we were unable to do anything. We watched as time tiself seemed to go forward, as her beautiful features became ravaged by time and age. Lines and wrinkles appeared more and more on her face, as the decades added on in seconds, the youthful radiance and flawlessness of her face fading like a fast-vanishing phantom. Her golden hair begin to lose its luster, as it began to turn a dim gray. The youthful skin above her breasts became weathered and age-spotted, as the pert, sumptuous breasts began to wrinkle and sag down to the castle floor. She was standing barefoot, and her dainty, delicate feet began to become wrinkled, weathered and age spotted, the toes bending with age, and the nails becoming cracked and yellowed. Her face was covered in hundreds of deep-set wrinkles, her hair turning completely dull gray, as her once radiant, youthful face sagged. Her nose even developed a small crook in the end. Then, the aging seemed to stop...and my beloved and I were both in horror. She looked so old now, maybe sixty or seventy years of age. We watched, in a matter of seconds, as she aged, and her beauty faded, replaced by nothing but age and the wounds of time. She looked more like a withered old peddler woman on the street than the fair maiden she once was...she was barely recognizeable. In shock, she ran her withered fingers down individual wrinkles on her face as she came to them. She touched her face with weathered hands, and tears began to run down her lined face. "No..this can't be happening.." she said. I went over to her. Despite what had befallen her, my love was still strong. "Don't look at me!" she said, coveing her face with aged hands. I moved her hands, and looked into her aged face...but, somehow, though she was much older, I still saw the beauty I knew within her. "We can beat this curse, my love...we can beat it!" I said.
I then took her before her father and the court sorcerer Elrod, who were in awe and shock, and filled with hatred over the creature responsible."I've seen this before. An aging curse." the sorceror said. "And it's not finished." I looked at him in shock. "You mean that she will get even older?" I asked. "Yes. Perhaps until she reaches eighty years of age." he said. I couldn't believe it. "Can the spell be broken?" I asked. "Yes...but only if Morgana is killed...or.." Elrod said. "Or what?" I asked. "Or, you destroy the source of her perpetual youth and beauty." he said. "Then what is the source?" I asked. "She possesses an ancient jeweled idol. It's magic is what has stoped her aging...but, if it is destroyed, then she will become her true age." he exlpained. "However, she keeps it close to her. It is impossible to get close to..." Then, I got a brilliant idea. "I know how. The queen wanted me..if I go to her dark castle..pretend to be her lover, appealing to her vanity...then I can get close to it...and destroy it, and her!" I exclaimed. "A brilliant plan! But, you must hurry! If the spell reaches it's course before you have had an opporunity to destroy the idol...then Katrina may be trapped at he great age...forever." Elrod explained. "Don't fear...I will destroy the witch queen and save my beloved...this very day!" I swore.
Before I departed on my quest, I went up to see my beloved in the tower. She was standing at the window, the wind blowing through her silvered hair. I came from behind her. "I must go, my beloved...to destroy the witch queen, and break the curse. If it wasn't for me..if I had only surrendered myself..then this wouldn't have happened to you!" I said, feeling the guilt for her condition. "No, my beloved, it isn't your fault! I did what I did..because i could never see you become her slave...no matter what it cost me!" she said. We embraced. I looked into her unbelieveably lined face, and into her eyes. I carressed her cheek with my hand. Unlike before, the skin felt leathery, weathered. But, as I looked into her eyes, I could still see that youthful glint in them...and I knew that the Katrina I loved was still in there, beneath her aged exterior. "Funny...I always thought we'd grow old together...but I did first." she said, sighing. "Today was supposed to be our wedding...but now I'm too old to be a bride...or a princess!" she broke into tears. "And it will still be our wedding day. We will get through this...and our love will be stronger than ever!" I said. I kissed her thin, wrinkled lips, but as I did I tried to imagine how they once felt, full and warm, and I knew they would feel that way again. "Be careful, my love." she said, with that beautiful blue youthful glimmer still in her eyes, despite her time-ravaged features. With her azure eyes still watching me, I rode off to the enchantress' dark tower, knowing that time was of the essence.
The dark tower was in a gloomy area of dead trees and blackened sky, and the black tower itself stood like an ebony monolith. Two hulking guards in black armor, armed with war axes, met me. "Warrior prince, what brings you here?" one of them asked. "To meet Morgana's demands....to become her lover." The two guards then laughed, a hellish, triumphant form of laughter. They took me up to the enchantress' quarters, which was filled with crystal balls, ancient magic tomes, statues, and all manner of things related to the occult. Then, the sinister, evil beauty herself faced me. She looked as sinisterly beautiful as ever, in a dark see through gown that showed everthing, especially her large breasts. "What brings you here, dearest Kristopher?" she said with a wicked smile, her burning emerald eyes cutting me to the core. "I have come here...to concede to your offer, Morgana." I said, and the words were almost too hard for me to say, but I knew I had to for my beloved. "So, you see what my curse has done to her? What an ancient hag she has become...as she would have become anyway, over time?" she said. "Yes." I said, lying. "You see, my prince, I will never age...not like that. Not any more. And once you are with me..neither shall you. You see, now, don't you, how my beauty is the greatest in all the land...how it is forever...eternal?" she said. "Yes, my queen. I see now your great dark beauty...I could not deny it. Katrina is now nothing but a withered hag...her beauty could not begin to equal your timeless visage!" I said, and the words were like bile in my throat. But, I was telling the sorceress queen what she wanted to hear. "Excellent. Come with me." the dark beauty said, smiling wickedly. I followed her into a bedroom, which was filled with even more peculiar, arcane items, and her bed, which was large and ornate, with black curtains covering it. Then, in front of her bed, I saw it. The idol, the source of her eternal youth and beauty. It was ornate as the wizard had said, and looked like some type of demon's head, with fiery red jewels in the eyes. That was what I had to destroy...but I had to find the perfect time..get her by surprise before she had the chance to retaliate with her dark powers.
She took me to a table with a crystal ball upon it. "You see, your former beloved isn't finished withering away...my curse fulfills itself, as we speak..." the enchantress says, and waves her hand across the crystal. Suddenly, an image appears in it, and we were peering inside my beloved's bedroom. It seemed she was in her bed, but couldn't be seen b the covers. Then she rose, and she was unrecognizeable...she looked even more ancient that before! Her skin was even more sagging and withered, and her hair was pure white. The spell had completed itself, she was every bit of eighty years of age. She was shocked, distraught, possible her mind was distorted by age. "Kristopher!" she shouted. My heart dropped into my stomach. Then, the image of my terribly aged beloved disappeared. "That will never happen to me. Now you have me...and I you...for all eternity." the dark sorceress said. I was distraught. The spell had completed itself...was I too late? Was my beloved now trapped, aged beyond her youthful years...the fairest maiden in the land. consigned to being an old hag, for the rest of her days? I was so distraught, that I barely noticed Morgana removing some of my armor. "Let us begin, my new, eternal lover." the dark sorceress whispered into my ear, running her soft hands down my chest. She then pushed me onto her bed. She parted the curtains, and sat atop me, her legs bent...ready to make love with me...and I knew I might as well be selling my soul, no matter how beautiful she was...I knew how evil her heart was...and all that she had done...
She touched me all over, getting pure enjoyment out of it. She thought I was hers. She was wrong. I then began coughing wildly, acting ill. I pushed her off me. "What's wrong, my lover?" she asked. "I feel..ill." I replied. I then looked at the foot of the bed, and saw the idol sitting there, upon a table, it's burning jeweled eyes staring at me. I then pulled a dagger from my boot, and threw it at the abomination of stone. "NO!" the sorceress screamed, but she was too late. The dagger pierrced the idol, and it fell to the floor, smashed into pieces. The sorceress looked up, and stood in abject shock.
"No...do you realize what you've done? Do you?" she shouted. "Yes." I replied. She turned to a mirror, and both of us watched as her true age began to show. Age began to ravage her sharp but beautiful features, as deep canyons of creases began to appear all over her face. Her shining dark hair began to turn white. Through her nearly see-through gown, I could see all the changes happening to her youthful body, and it was disgusting. Everything began to wrinkle and sag, especially her large breasts, which were once her great attribute. She screamed and pleaded as it happened, but she could do nothing. For all her power, she could not stop this. Her long, slender legs became thin, withered sticks, lined and veined, and her feet shrivelled up and crinkled, as wrinkles, veins, and age spots swept across the now rough, weathered skin. Her arms became the same as her legs, and her hands became disgusting, gnarled things, and even had warts on them. Her long, withered fingers with cracked nails at the end almost looked like disgusting, withered talons now. The witch's sharp, gorgeous facial features sagged, looking unbelievably ancient. Her nose was hooked some, and a wart was on the side of it. Her hair turned snow white, and was scraggly. The withered sorceress then turned to face me, and I saw what a pathetic, ancient hag she had become. So decrepit and ancient and hideous, she looked more like an old, ancient hag of a witch, warts, wrinkles, and all, than the beautiful, dark maiden she was moments ago. She stood, shrunken, aged, every disgusting, sagging detail of her body seen through the dark see through garment. She was every bit of 100 years old. "No..." the ancient hag said, in a voice that now sounded as if it belonged to an old peddler hag. "That is for my beloved, you withered old crone!" I said."You..you shall pay!" the hag said, shaking a withered finger at me. "You shall pay...with all the power left within me...I curse you!" she exclaimed.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and when it cleared, the crone was gone. Where she once stood was her empty garment and a pile of dust. She apparently put all the energy she had left into cursing me. I then fled from the dark tower, knowing my task had been completed. I wondered if the spell had been broken on my beloved Katrina. If not..I had my revenge upon the dark queen, and she paid for it. I couldn't wait to return to my beloved, and prayed for the best.
When I returned, my prayers had been answered. I was greeted by my beloved, who was youthful and radiant once again! With tears in both our eyes, we embraced. I caressed her soft, delicate cheek, and kissed her full, beautiful lips. Everything was back to normal, and the dark queen was gone.
That evening, our wedding began, the most joyous day of our lives. Se looked so beautiful in her jeweled, white as snow gown. As we exchanged vows, I looked deep into her eyes, and could see the happiness in her. Now, we would grow old together. Then, as I place the ring on her finger, something began to happend.
Suddenly, her delicate hand became wrinkled and withered again. "No..oh no.." I said. I then watched as my beloved's delicate features began to age once again, and soon, to everyone's shock, she was a withered, elderly woman once more! My bride was now ancient once more..this was Morgana's curse, made by her dying breath!
Afterwards, the best sorceror's tried to aid my distraught, now aged bride, but to no avail. That's when I began my own journey. From that day forward, I sought to find a way to restore my beloved's beauty, no matter how long it took. I would travel the land...and I swore that I would not rest until I had lifted the curse, so we could be together, forever. This is my never-ending quest...my crusade, for my beloved.
THE END