The Princess and Her Flower (Part 2)

Where did we leave off? Ahhhh yes, Larissa has just be taken away from her home. She is on her way to an unknown place and an unknown groom.

As Larissa sat in the carriage that took her to the unknown, she pondered what was to become of her. She thought of her mother and what her father told her during their last discussion. She thought about her garden and who would take care of it. She thought of Sunshine and if it would live without her. She thought on these things for a long time because she had a long time to think.

Many days of travel passed when the carriage finally came to a stop in front of a beautiful castle. This castle was much larger than her own and far more majestic. Whatever her future husband looked like or acted like, Larissa knew that he, most certainly, was not poor. Larissa was then escorted inside and ushered into an enormous room where servants attended her. She was brought the best of food and drink, given a bath, and then given the most beautiful clothes and jewelry she had ever seen. Once Larissa was bedecked in the finest raiment, she was taken to another part of the castle and there she met an old man.

Larissa was terrified. Was this the king that her father talked about? Was this the man that was to be her husband? She did not know what to do. She wanted to scream, to run away, to hit the man, to hit her father, to hit the servant that brought her; but, she couldn't do anything. So she just stood there and waited for what would happen to her next.

The man examined her and nodded in approval at the servant. The servant acknowledged the approval and smiled accordingly. Then the man told Larissa to follow him and he walked through magnificent double doors into the throne room of the king.

This was like no throne room she had ever seen before, not that she had seen any other throne room other than her father's. However, this throne room was not like and will never be like any king's throne room. The room itself was very large. It had four walls, the double doors that Larissa just went through, and a small humble wooden door on the adjoining side, but this throne room had no roof. Apparently it had no cover either so the sun and rain could come into the throne room whenever it wanted. This throne room  also had no floor, at least not the kind of floor Larissa thought a throne room should have; in fact, it didn't even have the kind of floor that any room in any house should have. The floor was covered with the most richly colored green grass Larissa had ever seen. She thought that, surely, this was not grass, but emeralds on the floor. When she stepped on it, however, she found out that it really was grass. It was the most soft and springy grass that Larissa had ever walked on. Instead of pillars of marble that her father had in his throne room, Larissa saw that this throne room had great trees. The trees created a path from the humble door right to the throne and onto this path the old man lead Larissa.

The throne room was situated on a hill so that when you first started out on the path you could not see the actual throne. During this interval of thronelessness, Larissa admired the surroundings. She admired the emerald grass and the trees that stood like sentinels. Then the old man and Larissa reached the crest of the hill and she saw the throne and the king. The throne was made out of a living tree. It was formed so perfectly that the branches were intertwined to make the back and armrests of the throne and the stump was the seat. The king was the most beautiful man Larissa had ever seen. He was tall and muscular, very much in resemblance to the trees that watched over the throne room. He had dark hair, shoulder length hair. At the moment he was playing with some little kids and their dog and did not look up to notice the approach of his bride.

 When Larissa was halfway to the throne the king looked up and looked directly into her eyes. Larissa though that he saw to the very depths of her soul with those piercing blue eyes and perhaps he did. Then he smiled and showed a perfect set of teeth, relieving some of Larissa's fears. Then Larissa reached him. The old man introduced her to the king. The king once more looked at her and said, "Welcome Princess Larissa, Daughter of King Laurence, Bride to King Elvane, Queen of The Mountain". And with those words he took her and wedded her and she lived happily ever after.

I wonder how many readers thought that this story would end this way. Maybe I should tell the reader that this city is the very city where Sunshine's seed came from and that Larissa had a whole garden of sunshines that she tended too. Larissa and King Elvane loved each other very much.

Well that is all, dear reader, of Larissa's adventures. I hope you enjoyed them.