With peace now restored to the forest kingdom, it was back to feasting and revelry for all especially with the prince's wedding soon approaching. \n\nHe was to wed a young maiden who was long of leg and broad of shoulder, not suited for ladyship but the blueness of her eyes and the strength of her strong arm and heart is what charmed him and she too along the way also fell in love. \n\nThe end. \n
“I will not do such a thing.” June responded to the prince's request to end his life. \n\n“But you must! It is the only way…” \n\n“Who is the sheep now? Giving up so easily… There is never only one way.” June left the prince to himself to find some assistance from the other knights. After consulting each of the men, only one said something of value. \n\n“I know of a wise wizard who resides west of the forest… He may know what to do.” \n\n“It is the only lead we have, let us be on it.” June demanded as they headed west on horseback while the prince travelled with them however still bound by chains. \n\n[[West]]
Determining that the serpent would be much easier to slay in his human form, June drew her sword and aimed it towards the restrained prince whom she once loved. \n\n“As you wish my lord.” \n\nWith a swift motion, June beheaded her former future king while the other knights were not there to stop her. Once they found her with the dead prince, no matter how much she tried to justify her actions they did not accept it, which they then preceded by turning her in to the king. \n\nJune was sentenced to execution, that of a similar style of the prince's.
The burden on her heart was too strong to bear, with the realization of how much she loved the prince she could no go through with doing him any harm even though he was a monster. \n\nJune returned to the camp finding the other knights had awoken and claimed she was unable to find the prince. While her comrades returned home to give the unfortunate news to the King, June rode off in a separate direction, never returning to the forest kingdom.
Devon Martin
June and her fellow men, along with the chained prince headed west until they came across a small shed nearby the mountains. June approached the door with a knock, hardly waiting any time before letting herself in. \n\n“Oh my, young lady, did anyone teach you manners?!” The voice came from a pair of eyes hiding behind a desk covered in stacked up books. \n\n“I'd apologize but I'm afraid there is no time to waste old man.” June stated before sliding the piles of books off the surface in order to see the man's face. “Our prince turns into a raging serpent once the sun falls, we must stop it.” \n\n“Ahh.. the curse of the king's greed has finally paid a visit, I see…” \n\n“What can we do?!” \n\n“It is quite dangerous…” \n\n“Does not matter, sir.” \n\n“Young maiden, you must have the serpent shed all of its skin before sun rise, you may need to cut it off yourself. That is when you must embrace the beast, hold him in your arms until he becomes human again.” \n\n“That's impossible! He'll devour her!” Chimed in one of the knights. \n\n“It is the only way to dispel the curse.” \n\n“Then it must be done.” June bowed to the wizard before heading out the door. \n\n[[Sunset]] \n
Before resting the knights decided to head a bit further east to set up camp, not wishing to burden the village by taxing their weighing resources. \n\nIn the middle of the night, June wakes up to find the prince missing. She rushed without waking the others, not wishing to alarm them to find him. Hoping that in his restlessness he simply wandered in the night before she assumed the worst. \n\nIt did not take her much time to find the prince violently shaking as he sat vulnerably curled up. Before she could say anything, she witnessed the prince change shape into a beast that carried a strong evil aura. \n\nEven though she felt conflicted, June knew she had to decide quickly on her next move. She decided to…\n\n[[Slay the beast]]\n\n[[Attempt to restrain him]]\n\n[[Pretend she saw nothing]] \n
“My lady June, it is far too dangerous for us to be accompanied by a young woman and I fear we would not keep you safe. I ask you to please remain behind."\n\nJune's reply was swift, in the audible sound of a slap echoed throughout the castle halls. \n\nThe next morning, when the knights departed so too did June but in the opposite direction. In hopes of finding a kingdom where her talents would be more appreciated.
The night before the departure the prince begged an audience with June. Where he asks June…\n\n[[to be his second in command]] \n\n[[to stay behind out of concern for her safety]]
June felt the best resolution was to restrain him, for she felt if they could both survive this one night they could decide together on a proper course of action once the prince returned to his right state of mind and human form. \n\nShe let him chase her throughout the night back towards camp but not without leaving any scars until the sun rose. Once the light returned, the serpent began to cry and slither in pain until a human body was left. With the other knights now awake, they were able to find June and the prince close by. After explaining what had happened to her fellow comrades, they helped her restrain him with chains before he awakened. \n\nAn hour passes before the prince's eyes open and he is shocked to see himself bound. He violently attempts to wriggle himself free before noticing June approach him, which causes him to calm down but the confusion remains. \n\n“My lady, what is the meaning of this?!” \n\n“I am so sorry… my prince. It is for our safety… and yours as well.” Before the prince could demand more answers, June continued though it appeared hard for her to speak. “Last evening… after the moon had risen, I woke to find you missing and… once I found you, you changed… before my eyes.” \n\n“That can't be true… my lady you are mistaken, your eyes have betrayed you!”\n\nJune showed him the crystal chalice she had been hiding behind her back. “No, my lord… Not only did I see you change into the beast we have been seeking… but I had found this with you.” \n\nThe prince's face swelled up as he tried to hold back his tears as he realized June had been right about him. \n\n“My dearest love, if what you say is true it is what I've feared the most. For in my father's youth, he did break his solemn vow that his heir would bring ruin to the land. This is the price we pay for my father's broken vow. My fairest June, I must ask you to slay me.” \n\nJune decided to…\n\n[[Slay the prince]]\n\n[[Consult the others]]\n
There once was a kingdom surrounded by a forest that was so dense and wild so anything could live there. And the people worshiped the old ways. \n\nThe king and his court protected by his many knights, who were known throughout the land as the bravest and the strongest spending their nights feasting and their days in revelry. \n\nThere lived a maiden named June, being long of leg and broad of shoulder she decided that ladyship was not suited for her. \n\nTo the chagrin of her parents, she chose instead to become a knight. Where she soon proved her worth and made friends with the prince, who seemed not to notice her height and the broadness of her shoulders but instead enjoyed the blueness of her eyes and the strength of her sword arm. \n\nAll was well until their 18th year that a great and terrible serpent came to make it's home into the kingdom. The carcasses of other great beasts evidenced the destruction the creature wrought. Death followed in the serpent's wake as it left towns and villages in ruins. \n\nAt the outcry of his kingdom, the king called upon his knights. Led now by the prince and set to them the great task of slaying the serpent. \n\n[[Next]]\n
The next morning the knights rode out to the forest, a hero's ballad on their lips unaware of the dangers they'd soon face. \n\nThey came first to… \n\n[[a river that fowled by the monster's evil stench]] \n\n[[a cave that led to the beast's latest kill]] \n\n[[the village the creature last struck]]\n
They waited till sunset before releasing the prince of his chains. \n\n“Are you sure of this?” He asked his second in command. \n\n“Absolutely.” June responded. \n\n“No matter what happens, I'm sorry.”\n\n“I know.” \n\nThe prince took off in a dash, hoping to provide some distance between him and his fellow men before he transformed. \n\nThey all heard his cries and took it as their queue for June to initiate the plan. After taking in a deep breath, she followed after her prince. The stench of his aura even stronger made it impossible for him to be untraceable. Once she spotted him, he made a lunge for her, which she was able to dodge before planting her knife onto him. She wrestled with the beast while skinning him throughout the night. Once she had finished she held onto him for dear life as he began settling down till the sun returned. \n\nThe prince was back to his original state and they all cheered happily, with a hero's ballad on their lips while they made their great return to the kingdom. \n\n[[Kingdom]]
Once reaching the river the knights discover the serpent's evil has spread, infecting the water with its poison they could see fish floating upon the surface as the shores lined with other carcasses. The serpent was not to be found and there was nothing more could do so they decided to investigate… \n\n[[a cave that led to the beast's latest kill]] \n\n[[the village the creature last struck]]
June felt she had no other choice, as it was her duty as a knight to bring justice and safety to her kingdom. She drew her sword towards the beast, which called its attention. They fought and were surprisingly evenly matched as the battle lasted very long before the serpent fell victim to her blade. \n\n“My prince… I am so sorry.” She fell to her knees as she began to cry beside the now dead evil creature. \n\n[[Return to king]] \n
Once reaching the cave the knights discover a blood trail that led them to the creature's latest kill. A unicorn lay marred by the serpent's fangs at their feet. Nothing else was to be found, so they decided to investigate… \n\n[[a river that fowled by the monster's evil stench]] \n\n[[the village the creature last struck]]\n
Once reaching the village the knights find remnants of the bedraggled towns folk. A disheveled peasant woman approaches them. \n\n“My lords, my lords! Thank goodness you have come! Not only has the beast devoured many of our people but has also taken the sacred crystal chalice from our shrine along with many lives.”\n\n“My poor lady, if only I could of prevented this, though I cannot return to you the lives of your kin folk perhaps I could provide you with retribution. Tell me which direction the beast has fled.” Says the prince. \n\n“The creature has headed east, my lord!” \n\n“Thank you for your time.” And with a turn to his comrades, the prince orders. “My fellows in arms, you heard the lady. The beast is east, let us be upon it.” \n\n“Perhaps my lord,” June interrupted. “Before we go on, we would do well to rest for you appear to be as weary as we and the night is soon to come.” \n\n“My lady June, I thought you were of sterner stuff. Are the rest of you so eager to sleep?” \n\n“Yes, my lord.” They all respond in unison. \n\n“We would not stand a chance with that creature once the light is gone.” One knight chimed in. \n\n“Very well. Perhaps a night of rest will turn you quivering sheep back into men.” \n\nThough the other knights did not, June noticed the quickness of the prince's temper for he was normally even minded and compassionate. Perhaps the quest began to weigh on him. \n\n[[Later that evening]]\n
June returned to her fellow knights with the crystal chalice in her hands, which she had found soon after slaying the serpent. They all questioned what had happened which she melancholically relieved the events as she explained them to her comrades. \n\nWith great sadness they headed back to the kingdom where they met with the king.\n\n“He was my only son… though I had feared a day like this would come. I thank you June, for I do believe you made the right decision for this kingdom and would like to grant you any reward you may desire.” \n\nJune rose from kneeling to the king. “That is not necessary, my grace. For the one thing I desired is no longer possible. I shall now find a new life for myself.” And those were the last words heard of June before she rode off into the night, never to return to the forest kingdom.
“Fairest June, it has long been my belief that you are the strongest of my father's knights and I would be honored if you were to be my second in command.” \n\nJune's response was swift as she took to her knee with a fist to her heart. \n\n“My prince if you were to find me worthy of such a title, I would be more than proud to accept."\n\n[[Next Morning]]