The Princess and the King of Reachland

Click-clack, click-clack, click-clack. The four polishes hooves of a centaur escorted the new Princess Madeline down an emerald road towards a castle. Madeline was only seven years old but she wore a silver dress and tiara with confidence, embracing her royalty. She sat sideways upon her close friend, the centaur Braxton. His legs were stout with rich brown hair and his tail was midnight black that gently bobbed as he walked. His torso was fit and powerful, with strong biceps and a broad chest. Braxton fashioned his long midnight hair into a braid that hung over his chest. Braxton had several scars tattooed upon his chest and arms from previous wars. He was no longer a soldier, for he hated war; precisely why Madeline was entering the castle.

Madeline’s father formed a rebellion against the evil Emperor Valerio that previously ruled the land, saving all people and creatures from enslavement. Braxton had aided Madeline’s father with the promise he wouldn’t fight another war if they won. There he and Madeline met, befriending each other instantly.

The castle which Madeline was heading towards was carved out of crystal, with eleven spires that shot up on all sides. One large spire stood in the middle of the castle with a star etched in the top. The castle was about to be renamed in a ceremony, the reason Madeline was on her way.

“Little Mads,” Braxton spoke. His voice was firm and robust, pronouncing each letter of every word. “What would you like your father to name the castle?”

Madeline thought for a moment and then smiled abruptly. “Castle Hope!”

“Castle Hope,” Braxton tested. “Perhaps. We will see what your father has decided. I think he might give the castle a name that feels much like hope, little Mads.” Braxton approached the pearl entrance of the castle. The armored trolls guarding the gate smiled gleefully and bowed for Madeline.

“Weeeelcoooome, priiiinceeeess,” the trolls greeted warmly. The pearl gates opened.

A crowd filled with hundreds of people and creatures gathered outside the castle wall, all looking up to a balcony near the top of the spire with the star. The new king stepped out, garnering instant cheers and applause. Families shouted praises for the king, a pack of wolves howled in unison, soldiers in uniform thrust their weapons high as they chanted. A tall tree humbly took a knee, shaking the earth as it bent; a phoenix screeched as it swirled the sky, leaving a trail of fire behind it. The king waved gracefully from the balcony and embraced their love with open arms. Madeline stood next to the king, her father, and admired him dearly.

The king silenced the crowd with his two hands, waving downwards gently; the enormous audience quieted. The king took a step forward up to the railing.

“The day has come,” the king projected from the castle, “to give this kingdom a new name. But I won’t rename this for my sake, but for yours.” Cheers inevitably erupted. The king quieted them again. “This land was not fought for my sake, but for yours. Not for power, but for freedom. No longer are you enslaved by Emperor Valerio – the people of Reachland are free!” An uproar of applause celebrated the king’s proclamation.

“Now,” the king resumed. “I have thought long for what this castle shall be called. This castle is a symbol of our land. The promise of a fair ruler and a just authority. A king that serves his people. Therefore, I have decided—”

“Madeline!” A woman called out suddenly, clearly and louder than the entire world. Madeline tried ignoring it; she recalled what the king was saying.

“A king that serves his people. Therefore, I have decided to name—”

“Madeline!” The woman’s voice interrupted again.

Madeline shouted out, “What?”

“Dinner’s ready!”

Madeline pouted and gave an aggravated sigh. She reached above her and pulled down a blanket, revealing her own bedroom, in a normal house. Madeline left the world of Reachland and entered back into reality.

Downstairs Madeline’s dinner sat on the dining table, with her real father sitting quietly and lowly. He looked down at his placemat, taking two fingers and moving it back and forth slightly. Madeline’s mother walked out of the kitchen with a plate of food for her father; a chicken breast, some green beans, and a serving of mashed potatoes. Her father thanked her with a nod and a quick smile, which left his face instantly.

Madeline joined her father at the table, pulling out the chair and taking three small scoots towards her plate; her feet didn’t quite touch the floor yet. She looked at her father and watched him take his fork and shift the green beans around, then taking the bottom of the fork and lightly tapping the top of his mashed potatoes. He avoided eye contact with Madeline but glanced rapidly at her mother in the kitchen.

Finally her mother brought her own plate and sat at the head of the table. “Okay,” she exhaled. “Did you say grace?” she asked Madeline’s father.

“Um, no.”

“Oh okay,” Madeline’s mother quickly folded her hands together and shut her eyes. She waited in silence.

Madeline’s father realized he was expected to pray. He folded his hands but looked around the room as if he would find some prayer to read off from. “Dear Lord,” he began in an uncertain tone. “Um, thank you… for this meal. And for Jen for making it – thank you. And for Madeline. Thank you, Lord, for… this family.” There was a long silence before Madeline’s mother opened one eye and looked at him. He saw her watching him. “And thank you for this food. Um, again. Amen.”

“Amen,” they all said together.

A few minutes passed without her father saying a word. But her mother engaged Madeline in conversation.

“How was school Madeline?” she asked her.

“It was good,” Madeline answered casually.

“Yeah? That’s good.” She took a bite of mashed potatoes. “What’d you learn?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember what you learned in school?” she teased Madeline.

“No, I do!” Madeline laughed.

“Then what’d you learn, silly?”

“All kinds of stuff!” Madeline declared proudly.

“Oh good! I thought for a second you didn’t learn anything,” she winked at Madeline. She then turned to her husband and took a bite of chicken. “How was work?” He didn’t answer immediately. When she asked he closed his eyes and looked away. She stopped chewing. “David?”

He put his hand over his eyes. Madeline watched her father’s shoulder shrug as he began to cry. She had never seen him cry in her whole life. He pulled his hand away from his face and made eye contact with Madeline – he quickly looked away.

He turned towards his wife and struggled to speak, “They fired me today.”

He couldn’t help but lean towards her, to which she quickly caught him and embraced him. “Honey, I’m so sorry,” she whispered. Madeline didn’t know what to say.

Madeline closed the door to her bedroom and began resetting the fort back into Reachland. She took boxes of toys and stacked them tall, draping the blanket over it. She placed a big box on the other end and pinned the blanket underneath the box, doing that with a box on all sides to enclose the fort. Just before she entered, she could hear her father crying downstairs. Madeline propped open her bedroom door and listened.

“I’m not upset about losing my job,” she could hear her father’s voice. “It’s Mads. I don’t want her to think I’m not good enough.”

“Oh, David, why would she think that?” her mother asked.

“She sees her dad crying at the table like a child—”

“No, don’t beat yourself up.”

“—because he lost his job.”

“Honey, she won’t think less of you. She doesn’t even really know what this means.”

“I’m trying to make both of you proud, Jen. I’m trying to be what a father and a husband are supposed to be and I can’t do that when I act like that and get fired…” his voice trailed off and turned into sobbing. Madeline could hear his voice muffle as her mother embraced him, crying into her shoulder.

Madeline quietly shut the door and went under the blanket fort. She shut her eyes.

“A king that serves his people,” the king resumed, the mass reappearing in Madeline’s imagination – the wolves, the tall tree, the phoenix flying high in the sky. “Therefore, I have decided to name the kingdom… Castle Proud.” The people cheered. Princess Madeline watched the king wave regally to the city below.

The king turned around, leaving the balcony, and approached Braxton. The king and the centaur shook hands. Madeline watched the king escorted by knights down the hall and turn right towards the throne room.

Braxton trotted up to Madeline and looked at her, cocking his head sideways. “Little Mads, you have something on your mind.”

Madeline suddenly looked up and noticed the mighty centaur was speaking to her. “No,” she denied.

Braxton reached down and lifted her chin with his knuckle. She looked up innocently at him. “A princess does not lie,” he stated. “What is little Mads thinking of?”

Madeline took a deep breath and tried to look at the ground but Braxton’s knuckle kept her chin up. “Do you think my father is great?”

Braxton looked curiously at her. “Of course. He is the mighty king of Reachland, who freed us from slavery. There is no greater man than your father.”

“He doesn’t think so,” Madeline confessed. “He thinks I won’t love him if he isn’t great.”

“A father will often worry if he deserves the love of his family,” Braxton leaned his head down to be closer to her level. “But he is great because you love him. He saved this land, but his greatest pride is you, little Mads. Your father loves you very much, more than you will ever know, even as you get older. Spend your time with him while you are both young. He needs your love, as well.”

Madeline smiled and hugged the waist of Braxton. She ran down the hall and turned right, following the path the knights escorted the king, and into the throne room. She came to the foot of door to the throne room and reached up—

The blanket to her fort came down and fell over her face. Madeline threw it off and stood up, rushing out of her room. She climbed downstairs and saw her father sitting alone on the couch. Madeline ran towards him. He saw her coming and tried hiding his face, but she ran up to him and hugged him tightly. He held his hands in the air for a moment, caught off guard, and then he slowly and tightly wrapped his arms around his daughter. Madeline reached up and gave her father a kiss on the cheek. “Love you, daddy.”

Her father’s eyes looked into hers with disbelief as they welled up with tears. She looked back up at him and admired him dearly. Her father. Her king.