theoakleafpancake

[theoakleafpancake]

02. Whisper

It had only been a few months since the return from Skandia, and though Will found himself quickly easing back into the familiar routine, he couldn't help but feel something was off.

And it wasn't the fact that his own studies were skewered in twenty different ways. It wasn't the fact that so much time had passed, but so little at the same time. Change, he could handle.

It was the whispering. Never to his face, and never close enough so he could hear. And it wasn't malicious-he knew that. It was the way Horace shot warning glances to the others when they mentioned Skandia. It was the way he would watch him, his brow furrowed and lips pursed as though she expected him to break. It was the way Alyss would send him reassuring glances every now and then and gently squeeze his arm.

Not that he minded her touch. It was the reason why. He wasn't broken. He wasn't fragile. He thought he'd put himself together fairly quickly.

But every now and then when he turned his head, he heard their voices, small and hushed, concerned and hopeful. They were all waiting for something. Waiting for him to cave, for the realization to come crashing down after everything he'd survived. And when that moment came, he knew they would be there to hold him up, and he couldn't entirely be mad at them for that.

[theoakleafpancake]

Ranger Gathering: Adoption

Will took his time climbing the stairs up to the Baron's office. Usually, at a last-minute meeting request, he would come flying up them trying to get there as fast as possible.

But the letter wasn't marked as urgent, so he took his time. He heard the call outside to signal the change of the guards. The night shift must be beginning now. He glanced out a passing window in the stairwell and estimated the time at around 8pm. The colors in the sky were beautiful. The summer sun sets late, and the residual colors from sunset still resided in the sky, creating a purple-blue hue.

It was stunning.

He finally reached the top of the staircase and walked quickly to the Baron's office door now.

No need to milk the non-urgency of the situation that much. He thought.

He wasn't technically required to knock on the door, but he did anyway out of courtesy.

Hearing the mumbled permission to enter from inside the room, he did. He opened the door and shut it behind him quietly, putting his cowl down as he turned to greet the friendly Baron, who had been like a father figure for Will since he was very young. Being in the Baron's presence had always been calming.

"Hello Ranger Will, I trust you had a safe trip here."

Will smiled at the greeting.

"I did," he nodded as he took a few steps forward, then stopped as he spotted something beside the Baron's chair. He peered closer, glancing back at Arald with confused eyes.

Arald only smiled at him, and pushed the thing closer for Will to get a closer look.

Will physically recoiled as he realized what it was.

He stared, frozen in place, his jaw hanging open.

His eyes darted from the thing to the Baron and then back again.

"I do so wish you could see your face right now." Arald was holding back laughter with little success.

"Arald." Will started, "Why exactly... is there a baby in here?"

The Baron shrugged, returning to the paperwork in front of him as if this were just a casual occurrence.

"Dropped off at the ward."

"That's not funny."

"It's the truth." Arald looked up when he said this, holding eye contact with Will.

Will looked again between the Baron and the child in the basket, waiting for the punchline of the joke to hit him in the gut.

But it never came. He was serious.

By God, was he actually serious??

"Seriously, where'd this kid come from?"

"Seriously, this kid's name is Adelaide, and she was found outside the ward's doors early this morning with a note only saying her name. That's why I called you here. Seeing as your stories are so similar."

Will observed the basket, noticing the nicks and imperfections in its makings. A pang of empathy struck somewhere deep in his heart.

"So you have no idea who her parents are? Or were?"

Arald shrugs, noticing the change in his attitude.

"Unlike the first time this happened, I didn't have a Ranger showing up at my door explaining the situation, nor was there a note elaborating on anything more than her name. So unfortunately, she might not be as lucky as you to get accepted into the ward program..."

Will sighed, "But she's just a baby, what are we going to do with her?"

Arald held back a satisfied smile as he noticed the way Will had shifted into saying 'we.' The Baron had called him here to establish a personal connection for the Ranger, and that's precisely what he had done. Manipulative it may be, but the Baron was not a heartless man, he knew that when Will was determined to find a solution to something, a solution would be found for the betterment of all those involved. He resisted the urge to pat himself on the back.

"I'm going to ask you to investigate. Since you'd likely have a more personal opinion about what is to be done. I want you to figure out where she came from and who she came from. That is, of course, if you're interested. This isn't an official assignment for you, this would have to be done off the record-- only if you were interested."

Will blinked, looking at the Baron with a resigned and slightly frustrated look. "You can't just shove a baby in my face and say it's my responsibility, Arald. What happens if I don't take this on? Where does she go?"

Arald pursed his lips, "She gets sent to the local orphanage. Unfortunately I can't keep accepting random children on my doorstep into my program. You were an exception, not a norm."

"But orphanages are.... " Will couldn't even finish the sentence. Because well, they were awful. The children he'd seen in local orphanages were sad, lonely, and ill-educated.

There was not much that could be done about it of course, orphanages had a tendency to be short-staffed, and those that were on the staff, were underpaid and thus, lacked any motivation to give the children any more care than was necessary.

Children in orphanages were neglected. It was a sad childhood and one that Will couldn't possibly give to this child without even attempting to find her proper home first.

Will sighed deeply,

"alright alright, you can put the puppy eyes away Arald."

The Baron chuckled in response, "had enough guilt tripping, have we?"

"What exactly do I do with the kid in the meantime?"

Arald just smiled.

---

Three hours later, Will found himself traveling back to his cabin with a baby strapped on his saddle.

"What has the world come to?" he mumbled to the trees

"well if it's come to you Ranger's being babysitters, it's not gonna last long"

Tug answered for him.

Will rolled his eyes. He went over his script in his head, the script he had been working on for the last hour.

The script he was going to use to explain what was going on to his wife.

He was worried about her reaction, but deep down he knows it won't be a bad one. Alyss loves children, and she's going to, of course, want to care for this child as much as she can. Call it womanly intuition or just Alyss' compassion.

She'll be accepting of it. She'll help him and care for the child until they find her family.

At least that's how he hopes she'll react. But as he approached the cabin, he found himself second-guessing everything. When Will pushed the cabin door open, the familiar scent of stew and pine welcomed him. Alyss was at the table, sorting through courier reports. Her head lifted, brow arching in confusion when she noticed the bundle in his arms.

"Will?" she asked slowly, standing up. "What... is that?"

He gave a sheepish smile and closed the door behind him with his foot. "A baby."

Her mouth parted in stunned silence, and a shocked smile formed on her face. “I can see that,” she said. “Why do you have it?”

So, he launched into the story--the note, the Baron, the lack of family, and the request. Alyss stood still, her hands knotted in front of her as she listened. When he finished, her expression hardened, and she spoke clearly and professionally.

"Will, you know why we decided not to have children," she said, taking a step toward him. “Our work is dangerous. We’re away half the time. How can we possibly give a child the love and care that it needs?”

“I know,” Will said quickly, trying not to jostle the now-sleeping child in his arms. “And I’m not asking us to keep her. We’re just watching her for now. Just until I can find her a home.”

Alyss rubbed her temples. “This is insane, we don't know the first thing about any of this.”

"I know, but look!" Will said triumphantly, and then proceeded to pull out a bag from the baby carrier, in the bag looked to be a book on childcare, baby bottles, baby formula, and things of the sort.

Alyss sighed, her forehead creased in concern.

"And I can cobble together a cradle for her tonight, it won't be pretty but it'll be functional for the time being."

Despite herself, Alyss looked down at the tiny girl. Her features softened as she saw Adelaide's little fist curled under her cheek. “She’s… very small.”

"Arald said she couldn't be more than 2 months,"

"Oh my God..." Alyss whispered. "Who would do this?"

Will only shook his head in response, his eyes now on the little girl along with Alyss's.

"Here," he said, "hold her while I put a cradle together?"

Alyss' eyes widened, but she extended her arms and took the child anyway. Her anxiety settled slightly as she got comfortable with her. The only baby she had ever held had been Maddie, and she was always sitting down with her, or around her parents when she was holding her. Never in her life, had she felt so much responsibility all at once for a child.

Eventually, Will finished, and they gently lowered the little girl into the cradle made up of spare boards and thick pillows.

Alyss crouched beside it, brushing a strand of hair off Adelaide's forehead. Her hesitation was still there, but something warmer flickered behind her eyes.

“I guess we’re not sleeping tonight,” she muttered.

They didn’t.

The baby woke three times--first crying from hunger, then from a wet cloth, that had to be changed, then for no reason at all.

Will and Alyss staggered between her cradle, their bedroom, and the kitchen, pouring measured formula from the Redmont nursery into warmed bottles of milk. They moved around each other in a tired, wordless monotony. At some point during the third shift, Will gave up and slumped by the cradle, his head nodding forward until it rested on the edge. Alyss, cradling Adelaide on the couch, drifted off as well.

The morning light bled gently through the cabin windows. Will woke first, stiff and blinking, unsure where he was for a moment. He rubbed the back of his neck, aching from the unorthodox sleeping position, and stood, careful not to wake either his wife or the baby on the couch, and slipped out the door to begin his rounds.

He asked around the village, showed the note to a few trusted sources, and inquired subtly about anyone who had recently given birth. But he found no leads. No mother had gone missing. No families claimed to be expecting and then weren't, no scandalous situations of an unmarried woman or a young single woman becoming pregnant. By the time the sun rose in the sky to mark 10am, he was making his way back to the cabin, feeling frustrated and disappointed.

He paused at the cabin door.

Through the window, Alyss was seated in the rocking chair, gently feeding Adelaide from a bottle. Her hair was in a loose braid around her shoulders, and she was humming a soft tune under her breath. There was a quiet, tender glow in the scene—one Will hadn’t seen in a long time. Their marriage had been tense over the past year, something between them was different, and neither of them quite knew why. Maybe the missions, maybe the stress. But this? This moment held something he hadn’t known they still had.

He watched for a long while, a bittersweet ache catching in his throat and settling in his chest. Alyss looked so right like that. So peaceful. So happy.

Maybe a child isn't such a--

He cut the thought off, shook his head, and stepped inside.

Alyss stopped humming and looked up at him, her eyebrows raising in question.

“Any luck?” Alyss asked softly.

He shook his head and set his weapons down on the table, unclipping his cloak. “Nothing. No one knows anything.”

Alyss set the bottle down and looked down at Adelaide, whose tiny hand had closed around her finger. “She’s not just some object left on the doorstep,” she murmured. “She’s a person, a little girl. A whole life... Who would do something like this, Will?”

Will shook his head as he knelt in front of the chair, rubbing the little girl's peach fuzz on her head, "I don't know, honey. Someone desperate, maybe. Someone who thought she'd get better care there than with her, perhaps."

Alyss nodded, "Well I hope she's alright too..."

Will glanced at his wife, taking in her changed attitude from the night before, "I'll keep looking." He said, unsure of which of the girls he was speaking to.

---

Weeks passed.

The cabin changed, subtly and without them even realizing it, it changed. Baby blankets appeared draped over the backs of chairs. A small toy sat in the corner--a carved bear that Alyss had found in town. Will added extra locks to the windows and put any sharp or glass items locked in cabinets. Alyss sang lullabies, Will didn’t know she knew.

So as the cabin changed, it seemed Will and Alyss changed with it.

And still, no one came forward. Will had scoured Wensley, sent mail across fief- lines. He even went to investigate in the neighboring towns, and no one knew anything.

One evening, as Will paced the cabin, trying to settle Adelaide in his arms before putting her to sleep, Alyss leaned against the counter, having finished washing up dinner, and spoke.

“I’ve been thinking,” she said slowly.

Will glanced at her, waiting.

“We said we weren’t going to have children,” she began, “because of our work. But… maybe it’s time to rethink that.”

Will blinked. “Alyss…”

“I know it’s not what we planned. I know it’s hard. But I’ve never felt this way before, Will. She's been here nearly five weeks and...” She met his eyes, soft and serious. “She’s part of our home now, our family, she belongs here. I think… I know I want her to stay.”

He looked down at Adelaide, who was clutching his oakleaf with her tiny, chubby fingers, gurgling sleepily. Little nubs of white teeth were visible in her little gums; she had just begun teething, something Will and Alyss were unfamiliar in dealing with. But Pauline had bought little rubber toys for her to gnaw on, and they appeared to help with the cries of pain from the young girl.

“I do too,” he admitted quietly. “But if we do this, if we really do this. There's no backing out, Ally. If we keep her, I mean, it means things would have to change.”

Alyss smiled. "I know. But it's not like we haven't attempted that change before..." She said gently, bringing them both back to the time Alyss had been with child. It was soon into their marriage, too soon for either of them to be adequately mentally or physically prepared. But they had agreed that they would figure it out, together. And soon after they made that decision, fate had other ideas.

Will's eyes had glazed over, looking at the child, and thinking of the one they never got to meet.

He looked at his wife, tears glistening in his eyes, "She's a part of our family, now. No backing out."

Alyss cupped her husband's face and kissed him gently, "I'm not going anywhere."

----

The Baron was surprised to see both of them when they entered his office the next morning, Adelaide nestled in Alyss’s arms.

“So,” he said, not yet looking up from his briefing on the desk. “Did you find her family yet?”

Will and Alyss looked at each other. Will spoke first.

“I think… that we did.”

A beat passed before the Baron slowly looked up from his desk, realization lighting up his face in a big, bright, knowing grin. He leaned back in his chair, folding his fingers together atop his belly and looking between the two young people who he thought of as his own children.

"Well, congratulations then, you two." He said, standing to, first hug them, and then find the official adoption documents that he would need the new parents to fill out.

--

Halt swung the door to their apartment open before Will or Alyss could even knock.

He smiled at Alyss and smiled even harder at the bundle of white cloth in her arms. He and Pauline had been asked to babysit on more than one occasion over the last month, and Halt had, despite himself, grown quite fond of the child. He also found it more wild then humorous that Will seems to have found himself in custody of a child in the same manner that Halt had himself all those years ago. More and more, as Halt grew older, he found himself bamboozled by how often history tended to repeat itself. But always with small changes.

His expression shifted from happy to curious to suspicious in half a second, though as he noticed the papers in Will's hands.

“What did you do?” he asked immediately.

Will huffed. “Why is that your first assumption?”

“Because of your face,” Halt said. “That’s your ‘I did something major and possibly stupid, but I’m hoping you won't be mad at me’ face.”

Alyss grinned at the jab. She always found Halt's interactions with her husband amusing.

Will sighed. “Alright, look. There’s something we need to tell you and ask you. You and Pauline, if she's around...” He said, trying to peer over his mentor's shoulder.

“Well, you'd better come in then,” Halt said slowly.

Pauline stood from her chair in the living room, setting a bookmark to hold her place in the novel she was reading.

She nodded greetings to both of them and immediately took Adelaide from Alyss' arms, "Hello, sweetheart, how are you?" She cooed.

“So would this 'something' have to do with her?” Halt gestured to the baby, who gave Halt a crooked, gummy smile.

Will and Alyss exchanged glances.

There was a long silence.

“If you're asking us to babysit again...” Halt said flatly.

Will rolled his eyes. “We’re not asking you to babysit. We’re trying to tell you… We’re keeping her.”

Halt raised an eyebrow at the language. “Keeping?”

“We’re adopting her,” Alyss said simply, "and the paperwork states we need legal Godparents who are appointed legal guardianship should anything happen to us, and we were hoping...?" She left the question hanging out in the open.

For once, the old Ranger didn’t have a comeback. He looked between them, then down at Adelaide again. Then up at his wife, who also appeared to be speechless.

Pauline quickly cleared her throat, appalled at her own lack of manners, "I'm sorry, we just had no idea you two were even considering adopting her. This is, of course, joyous news!! I'm so happy for you!" She quickly stood, and Alyss grinned as she was enveloped in a hug from her old mentor. A bit of an awkward one, as both women were aware of the child between them.

Will smiled at them, then looked back at his former mentor, trying to get a read on his thoughts. But Halt's expression was unreadable. His eyes masked any sort of emotion he might've been feeling. But then, he looked at his former apprentice, his expression softening, as his lips were pulled into a broad grin.

He stood to pull Will into a bear hug, "Congratulations, son." He mumbled into the man's shoulder.

"Thanks, Halt." Will mumbled back.

Halt released him but kept a hand on his shoulder, his expression, once again, shifting and unreadable. "Walk over here with me a moment."

Will's face fell, and he immediately followed.

Once out of earshot in the kitchen, Halt began speaking quietly and cautiously.

“You know what kind of life you lead.” The words were gentle, but all the more firm because Halt knew Will needed to hear them.

“We do,” Will replied.

“And you’re prepared to change that-- or risk that-- for her?”

“We already have,” Alyss said. She had entered the kitchen without either of the rangers noticing. “And we want her to grow up knowing what it means to choose people, to love people. Even when it’s hard. Even when it’s not the most convenient.”

A strange silence settled. Then Halt held up his hands in surrender, and allowed the grin to show through on his face again, “Well, it’s about time I had a grandchild then.”

Will choked. “What?”

“Did you think I trained you all these years just to let the line die out? I need a succession for my legacy.”

Alyss burst out laughing. Will looked like he wanted to crawl into a kitchen cabinet.

"Grandpa Halt," Alyss said, amused.

“Has kind of a ring to it,” Halt grinned.

Then he stepped closer, cleared his throat, and gently rested a hand on Adelaide's tiny head, who was now nestled in her mother's arms and cooing gently.

“She’ll be alright,” he said. “With you two as her parents, she’ll be more than alright.”

And for the first time in a long while, Will felt everything click into place--like all the restlessness, the tension, and the quiet distance between him and Alyss had finally led them somewhere.

Her.

Home.

[theoakleafpancake]

1 - Adoption

"no Crowley, I did not kidnap a child" older piece i drew for my modern au, before I even started writing anything

[theoakleafpancake]

Ranger Gathering 2025 - 1. adoption Halt being cranky after his adopted son went on a mission without him. Last time I tormented you with whumps - this year let's have some fun x] The humor is the best part of these books, after all.

[theoakleafpancake]

01. Adoption

Of course I’m putting in the man himself (and his adopted son) on the platform

[theoakleafpancake]

Welcome to the Ranger Gathering, coming August 2025!

Despite how quiet this account has been this year, the Gathering is still being held! We invite you to take a look at the prompts below.

How it works:

The Ranger Gathering will run for the entire the month of August, 2025. Each day has a prompt that participants can use to inspire works about Ranger's Apprentice, The Early Years, The Royal Ranger, or Brotherband.

Check out last year’s stuff here!

If you want to participate, tag your post with #ranger gathering 2025 so we can all find it!

A few notes on the Gathering:

You do NOT have to do all the prompts, or even most of the prompts to participate in the Gathering! The most important thing is to have fun and avoid burnout. Pick whichever prompts inspire your creativity, and ignore the rest.

The Gathering is meant to show off all forms of creativity! This means art, music, writing, memes, textpost, moodboards, playlists, or whatever else you can come up with. Don't feel like you can't participate if you're not an artist or author.

This blog is going to showcase a few posts from the tag every day of the Gathering, so make sure you support the creators with reblogs and comments.

Good luck, and see you all at the Gathering!

Text Prompts:

1. Adoption

2. Whisper

3. Trickster

4. Runes

5. Cavern

6. Masked

7. Throne

8. River

9. Forge

10. Famous

11. Dance

12. Hunter

13. Fading

14. Bloom

15. Trade

16. Anguish

17. Satisfied

18. Armor

19. Feast

20. Duel

21. Melody

22. Unlock

23. Dream

24. Tool

25. Chain

26. Portrait

27. Gift

28. Release

29. Oath

30. Generations

31. Roots

[theoakleafpancake]

[theoakleafpancake]

I saw a post talking about putting characters in an Orpheus and Eurydice situation and who would turn around/who would make it. Most of that stuff was shipping stuff, but I decided that it could be familial or platonic, too. People can go to hell to save their family and friends. So of course I started thinking about the Stowe siblings.

I think that, if Alex was the one leading any of his siblings, he would turn around. With Fifer and Thisbe it would be because he's an overprotective older brother who struggles to see them as their own people who are capable of making good decisions. Maybe if we're going towards the end of his arc with Fifer they would make it. It would be a similar thing to the throwing scatterclips at each other scene, where it's a test of their trust for each other for both of them. Alex has to trust Fifer enough to follow him and she has to trust him to lead her. If Alex was leading Aaron. . .I also think he would turn around. This goes for most points in their character arcs. Alex asks Aaron to follow him so many times throughout the series, and Aaron turned away so many times. In the end, he did follow Alex. But not at first. And I think that, no matter how far their relationship comes, in a high stress situation like this, it would still be weighing on Alex. Not necessarily in an 'is Aaron following me' way, but in a 'when will he follow me' way. How far behind is he? How long will Alex have to survive without him before he follows? And also in the Quests portion of their arc, I think Alex would also be wondering if Aaron felt like he deserved to follow Alex back to the living (kind in a reverse of the situations they're in in the epilogue). So yeah. Alex turns around for his siblings and looses them. Very tragic. Very fitting.

If Aaron was the one in the lead, I don't think he would turn around. Not because he loves any of his siblings any less, but because he a) trusts them to make their own decisions and b) is pretty good at compartmentalizing things. He'd be able to shove aside his worries about them at least until they made it out. He's also smart, so he'd probably have some sort of plan in place to make sure he doesn't turn around too early once he's out. Oh, and he likes following rules. The situation that I could see Aaron turning around in is if he doesn't trust the person who is telling him the rules. But even then I think he'd figure that he has more to loose by not following the rules than by following them but getting tricked. And he'd be able to think through his emotions, so he'd also probably realize that, if this doesn't work, he can find another way to get his sibling(s) back. He is a Stowe; they're all creative and stubborn.

Similarly, if Fifer was leading, I don't think she'd look back, regardless of the sibling. She's confident in herself, her abilities, and people's willingness to follow her. She wants them to follow her, but, by the end of her arc, I think she knows that she can't force people to follow her. So she'll let them make their own decisions. I think it would be pretty low stress for Fifer with Thisbe and Aaron, because she's always gotten along well with both of them (and her and Thisbe have the whole telepathy thing). There would be a little more tension with Alex, with her hoping that he trusts her leadership skills enough to follow her out of death. But she still wouldn't look back and the experience would make them closer.

If Thisbe were leading, she wouldn't turn around if it were Aaron or Fifer. By the end of the series, she and Fifer have a bond that can withstand pretty much anything, but especially distance and not being able to see each other (plus, again, telepathy). And Thisbe gets Aaron. She knows that he'll follow her. She doesn't have to check. With Alex though. . .throughout Quests, Thisbe is desperate for Alex's approval, but she also doesn't think she'll ever get it. So for her, him following her out of death would be like a test of his approval and trust. And she doesn't think she has either of those things from him. So her insecurities would get the better of her and she'd turn around, loosing him forever.

Oh, and if any of the Stowe siblings were following any of each other, they would. It's what they do.

[theoakleafpancake]

The uniquely bittersweet tragedy of reading a book for the first time twenty years too late

[theoakleafpancake]

Started watching rtte for the first time :D

[theoakleafpancake]

spotting a hot guy 🔭

[theoakleafpancake]

“i thought u left the RA community!!!”

uh, well, as long as Cassandra isn’t queen, i’m not going anywhere 😤😤

(yes this is a threat)

[theoakleafpancake]

the turkey swiss on rye incident

[theoakleafpancake]

the past is always close behind

[theoakleafpancake]

Halt and Will’s reunion in b4 always gets to me. Will literally had zero hesitation running up and hugging him. I know Will sometimes struggles with impulse control (especially in these earlier books), but still. Zero hesitation, no ‘is that really you?’ moment. He saw arrows coming from the trees and went “that is Halt and I know it because he is my mentor and he promised he would find me” 😭

Also. Everything leading up to this moment has been underlining how brave Will is. He killed the Kalkara, he and Evenlyn burned Morgarath’s bridge, hell, his warmweed addiction was a result of him trying to defend another slave. He is heroic to a legendary degree. But in this moment, I’m very bluntly reminded he really is just a kid.

[theoakleafpancake]

The last name Treaty really began and died with Will, huh?

[theoakleafpancake]

A witch puts a spell on a girl, a sleeping spell that promises the girl shall wake through true love’s kiss. Men come and kiss her. She slumbers. Women come and press their lips to hers, but still she sleeps. Many years past, and the girl remains still. One bright morning,  a lost little boy finds her resting spot and clears the dust and grime from her face. He offers her a kiss on her forehead, and her eyes flutter open. She never feels romantic love for a man nor a woman, and she cares for the boy until the day she dies.

A young woman is imprisoned in a castle by a monstrously formed prince. The servants of the castle hope for them to fall in love, and when the spell is broken they assume their prayers have been answered. They are all surprised, but nonetheless pleased, when it is revealed to them that the young woman and prince are the truest of friends, and nothing more.

They say the kingdom is ruled by an evil queen, a woman who is incapable of loving. She is unmarried, she has no consorts, and she wishes for no partner. She is the wretched queen, the heartless queen. She must hate her daughter, for her daughter is beautiful, and women are incapable of liking another woman who’s prettier than themselves. It must be for this reason that the princess was sent away, not for how she was attacked by a man in the woods. They say the kingdom is ruled by an evil queen because she cannot love. The queen loves her daughter, and that is enough for them both.

There lives a prince who is forced to choose a bride at the ball. He meets many beautiful women, but find none which he loves. He spies one in a gorgeous gown and wonder in her eyes, and he dances with her all night long. The kingdom is sure he has found his bride. When the clock strikes midnight he tells her how he will never love a woman, or a man, in the way he is expected to. The beautiful woman smiles and tells him she expects nothing from him. The next morning the prince and the beautiful woman are missing, having run off together to see the world. They leave their shoes behind in their haste.

Many kinds of love exist. It doesn’t all have to be romantic.