The Briar Prince
Back when the iron was new and the world was close, there lived a medicine man. The medicine man was skilled in his craft and word of his skill spread quickly. People would come from neighboring kingdoms to be cured by his tinctures and poultices. His craft outmatched any problem that was placed before him. Then came the day that his world turned around. Rather than patients coming to him from afar, the medicine man was summoned to the court of a kingdom to test his skill
The prince of the realm was bedridden unable to move for the pain he felt. The prince had been out upon a hunt the previous moon. The lackadaisical prince had been sent by his father though he did not wish to be there. He preferred the court's luxuries to the grime of the wilds. Despite that, his father knew that his men would have to respect their future king and the best way to do that would be the events of tradition. Fulfilling his duty to his father, he agreed to join the hunters on the expedition.
Upon riding to the hunting grounds, the prince sent the hunters on their way. While they hunted, the prince would enjoy the blossoms of spring. The princes' company were in pursuit of a boar when the prince's own horse had turned upon him. Kicking to the sky, the prince tumbled off his mount and landed upon a bed of thorns. The then kicked the prince and he knew no more of that moment.
When the prince's company found him amid the briars, they did their best to extricate their highness with care. The horse was nowhere to be seen and the men had not the time to care. Still unconscious, the company of men returned the prince to the royal court where the best doctors of the kingdom saw to his recovery. His wounds were tended to and what thorns the hunters had missed were removed.
The prince remained in a feverish state barely conscious enough drink bone broth for a week before he had awoken. The weeks the prince has had since were spent in misery as with the ache of his bones and festering of his skin. Whatever the physicians might try, his wounds would not close and his fever would not wane. With no course left to take in the kingdom, our medicine man was called.
While the medicine man wished to help the prince, he did not know how he could do so. To the physicians credit, they had already attempted all of the generic remedies he had to offer. Any further healing would require greater knowledge of the briars he had fallen in. The king, not trusting anyone else in this cause, ordered the medicine man to head off into the woods to find the cause of his son's pains and not return until he had a cure.
The medicine man, wanting to aid the miserable prince, agreed to undertake the quest. Whether he had the option to refuse is questionable, but it is important to know that the medicine man did wish to aid the prince. The medicine man was led to woods where the incident had occurred but no briar bush could be found where the hunters had found the prince.
The company of men split up once more in search of anything they recognized through the wood. While they were away, the medicine man was shocked to find a horse wandering back into the glade without rider nor saddle. The medicine man clicked his tongue to entice the horse to approach him. When he did so, the horse turned toward the man and asked him why he did that.
In shock, the medicine man apologized saying simply that he did not know the horse spoke. The horse accepted the apology and strode over to the man. The medicine man and the horse got to talking and found that they had much in common. They were both good at their jobs and had come to the wood in service to the prince. Upon realizing the connection, the medicine man asked the horse why he had thrown his prince out into a briar patch.
The horse whinnied in a kind of laughter. Had that been the story the prince had shared? No such thing had happened. The horse corrected the story. It was true that he and the prince had abstained from the hunt for a stroll among the spring blossoms. There is simply more to it than that.
While strolling among the flowers, some of them began to raise up for the prince to better smell them. Yet, they never rose up quite enough which led the prince to having to still lean down in the saddle. As the aroma grew in the glade, the flowers began to gather into the form of a woman whose floral had reached up for the prince to take. The prince attempted to raise the woman upon the horse as well. As the prince lifted up, her hand would crumble into it's petals for she was not allowed to leave the ground.
Not to be denied his fun, the prince had dismounted the horse to be closer to the silent woman. The two strode through the glen themselves with the horse behind. As the strode, the prince grew fonder of and closer to the floral woman. The lackadaisical prince made many a promise to the woman. He promised to make her his queen and give her rulership of this forest, the river next to it and the fields beyond.
As the prince made his grand gestures, he and the floral woman laid upon the plush grass in close embrace. He offered her anything he wished if she would merely agree to be his. It was upon that bed of grass, arms and legs entwined, that the floral woman finally spoke. In a soft voice like the breeze, she asked the prince to call off the hunt. The prince laughed.
The prince ushered the woman on for another request of lands or titles, gifts or celebrations. With the power of the kingdom at his call, what could he order his men to do for her? The floral woman maintained her one request to call off the hunt. The prince delayed: the hunters simply doing their job and having a grand time of it. The woman persisted. He had promised her anything she wanted and she had spoken. The prince then denied. The hunters were too far off, it would be impossibly difficult to find them and far too hard a ride to make it before the hunt ended now.
As the prince finished his denial, a squeal was heard in the distance. The princes eyes widened as the call marked the end of his dalliance. The lackadaisical prince attempted to raise but could not for his arms and legs were entrapped by the floral woman's. As he struggled, the blossoms of the woman fell away to reveal the thorns underneath that dug deep. The plants rooted into the ground and squeezed the man until bones cracked and lungs crushed inward. Prince slipped from consciousness but did not die.
A single butterfly escaped from the briar patch and flitted before the horse. As it did so, a shower of petals fell from it and the ruler of the wood stood before the horse. Removing the saddle and reins, the ruler of the wood set the horse free. The prince had been given the chance to use his servant under every motivation and had not done so. With that, the horse would no longer be expected to serve a lazy master. The horse thanked the ruler of the wood and would later finish recounting this story to the medicine man.
The medicine man listened to the tale and understood. While he might have found the cure for the prince, he was not sure it was one the court would except. The medicine man thanked the horse for his time and asked the horse if he knew where the ruler of the wood resided. The horse heartily agreed saying that he was welcome within the court whenever he wished. The horse offered to take the medicine man there but the medicine man denied. If the the horse wished to pass on kindest regards, it would be appreciated though there was no expectation. The medicine man parted with the horse. In time he would find the king's men and depart from the wood. Once outside, he wrote down the best suggestion he had for the prince's condition and gave it to the men. The medicine man apologized for not being able to see to the treatment himself but felt that the physicians would have better chance at administering it than he did. The medicine man the returned to his village to continue his craft in new insight. When the king's men returned to the court, they presented the medicine man's note to the physicians. Upon reading it, they knew the condition was uncurable. The physicians began a hospice procedure to comfort the prince until his passing. The note had read “To treat bed sores, I suggest daily activity.”
The prince of the realm was bedridden unable to move for the pain he felt. The prince had been out upon a hunt the previous moon. The lackadaisical prince had been sent by his father though he did not wish to be there. He preferred the court's luxuries to the grime of the wilds. Despite that, his father knew that his men would have to respect their future king and the best way to do that would be the events of tradition. Fulfilling his duty to his father, he agreed to join the hunters on the expedition.
Upon riding to the hunting grounds, the prince sent the hunters on their way. While they hunted, the prince would enjoy the blossoms of spring. The princes' company were in pursuit of a boar when the prince's own horse had turned upon him. Kicking to the sky, the prince tumbled off his mount and landed upon a bed of thorns. The then kicked the prince and he knew no more of that moment.
When the prince's company found him amid the briars, they did their best to extricate their highness with care. The horse was nowhere to be seen and the men had not the time to care. Still unconscious, the company of men returned the prince to the royal court where the best doctors of the kingdom saw to his recovery. His wounds were tended to and what thorns the hunters had missed were removed.
The prince remained in a feverish state barely conscious enough drink bone broth for a week before he had awoken. The weeks the prince has had since were spent in misery as with the ache of his bones and festering of his skin. Whatever the physicians might try, his wounds would not close and his fever would not wane. With no course left to take in the kingdom, our medicine man was called.
While the medicine man wished to help the prince, he did not know how he could do so. To the physicians credit, they had already attempted all of the generic remedies he had to offer. Any further healing would require greater knowledge of the briars he had fallen in. The king, not trusting anyone else in this cause, ordered the medicine man to head off into the woods to find the cause of his son's pains and not return until he had a cure.
The medicine man, wanting to aid the miserable prince, agreed to undertake the quest. Whether he had the option to refuse is questionable, but it is important to know that the medicine man did wish to aid the prince. The medicine man was led to woods where the incident had occurred but no briar bush could be found where the hunters had found the prince.
The company of men split up once more in search of anything they recognized through the wood. While they were away, the medicine man was shocked to find a horse wandering back into the glade without rider nor saddle. The medicine man clicked his tongue to entice the horse to approach him. When he did so, the horse turned toward the man and asked him why he did that.
In shock, the medicine man apologized saying simply that he did not know the horse spoke. The horse accepted the apology and strode over to the man. The medicine man and the horse got to talking and found that they had much in common. They were both good at their jobs and had come to the wood in service to the prince. Upon realizing the connection, the medicine man asked the horse why he had thrown his prince out into a briar patch.
The horse whinnied in a kind of laughter. Had that been the story the prince had shared? No such thing had happened. The horse corrected the story. It was true that he and the prince had abstained from the hunt for a stroll among the spring blossoms. There is simply more to it than that.
While strolling among the flowers, some of them began to raise up for the prince to better smell them. Yet, they never rose up quite enough which led the prince to having to still lean down in the saddle. As the aroma grew in the glade, the flowers began to gather into the form of a woman whose floral had reached up for the prince to take. The prince attempted to raise the woman upon the horse as well. As the prince lifted up, her hand would crumble into it's petals for she was not allowed to leave the ground.
Not to be denied his fun, the prince had dismounted the horse to be closer to the silent woman. The two strode through the glen themselves with the horse behind. As the strode, the prince grew fonder of and closer to the floral woman. The lackadaisical prince made many a promise to the woman. He promised to make her his queen and give her rulership of this forest, the river next to it and the fields beyond.
As the prince made his grand gestures, he and the floral woman laid upon the plush grass in close embrace. He offered her anything he wished if she would merely agree to be his. It was upon that bed of grass, arms and legs entwined, that the floral woman finally spoke. In a soft voice like the breeze, she asked the prince to call off the hunt. The prince laughed.
The prince ushered the woman on for another request of lands or titles, gifts or celebrations. With the power of the kingdom at his call, what could he order his men to do for her? The floral woman maintained her one request to call off the hunt. The prince delayed: the hunters simply doing their job and having a grand time of it. The woman persisted. He had promised her anything she wanted and she had spoken. The prince then denied. The hunters were too far off, it would be impossibly difficult to find them and far too hard a ride to make it before the hunt ended now.
As the prince finished his denial, a squeal was heard in the distance. The princes eyes widened as the call marked the end of his dalliance. The lackadaisical prince attempted to raise but could not for his arms and legs were entrapped by the floral woman's. As he struggled, the blossoms of the woman fell away to reveal the thorns underneath that dug deep. The plants rooted into the ground and squeezed the man until bones cracked and lungs crushed inward. Prince slipped from consciousness but did not die.
A single butterfly escaped from the briar patch and flitted before the horse. As it did so, a shower of petals fell from it and the ruler of the wood stood before the horse. Removing the saddle and reins, the ruler of the wood set the horse free. The prince had been given the chance to use his servant under every motivation and had not done so. With that, the horse would no longer be expected to serve a lazy master. The horse thanked the ruler of the wood and would later finish recounting this story to the medicine man.
The medicine man listened to the tale and understood. While he might have found the cure for the prince, he was not sure it was one the court would except. The medicine man thanked the horse for his time and asked the horse if he knew where the ruler of the wood resided. The horse heartily agreed saying that he was welcome within the court whenever he wished. The horse offered to take the medicine man there but the medicine man denied. If the the horse wished to pass on kindest regards, it would be appreciated though there was no expectation. The medicine man parted with the horse. In time he would find the king's men and depart from the wood. Once outside, he wrote down the best suggestion he had for the prince's condition and gave it to the men. The medicine man apologized for not being able to see to the treatment himself but felt that the physicians would have better chance at administering it than he did. The medicine man the returned to his village to continue his craft in new insight. When the king's men returned to the court, they presented the medicine man's note to the physicians. Upon reading it, they knew the condition was uncurable. The physicians began a hospice procedure to comfort the prince until his passing. The note had read “To treat bed sores, I suggest daily activity.”
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