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3.20.2009

The Strawberry Kingdom



In a far away land there once was the great Kingdom of Strawberries. The King of this great land, had just passed away, and was missed dearly by many. The heir to the throne was the beloved Prince of the kingdom, but he was nowhere to be found. Upon his father’s death he had rode off into the dark abyss of the night, and no one knew why. It was not like the Prince to do such a thing. Many other nations around envied this great Kingdom, and were inciting their plans to overtake the people of the Strawberry.
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On the outskirts of this kingdom was a town that was ousted by all, for this town could not produce strawberries, but instead they produced raspberries. Many of the people thought these people to be barbarians, and spies for other nations, and that they would betray them. In this tiny little village, lived a small young woman, Autumn Bell but everyone called her Bells. She was very kind-hearted and always about with a smile, and was the pride and joy of the whole town. Even the hateful Strawberry-folk loved her. She always had her nose in a book, reading all she possibly could, fascinated by the world around her. One day while she was picking some raspberries, reading her newest book, she came upon a very old woman. The woman smiled at her and asked if she could spare some raspberries. Bells of course was more than happy to share, and when she touched the woman’s hand, the raspberries hit the ground and Bells was never heard of again.
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Prince Anthracis rode fiercely into the night, charging after the darkness. Had he really felt her? What had happened? Why had she sent out that world-crushing shockwave? He had to find her, and he had to find her now. He knew there was no question about it, Bells was in trouble. Had someone found out about their love? Were they jealous? Threatened? He shook his head, trying to clear his mind, searching for her, reaching out for her presence. He could feel, he could always feel her, but for some reason the pulsing beacon of her aura, was not locatable. Something, no someone was inhibiting her magic, and he would find out whom. Crack! His horde charged faster, crushing the earth beneath its hooves. Nothing could stop him, no one at all, yet confusion overtook him, and he had to stop. As he fell to the ground, not a sound was made. His feet seemed to almost float a centimeter above the ground, as if he was walking on the tip of the dust that hovered around. He felt it…
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The wicked witch moved about her cauldron, gazing deeply into her book, searching. The spell she was looking for was no where to be found. She had searched all her books, and yet none had what she needed. Where was that bloody spell? Grabbing one last book, it called her, she knew this was it. She let the book fall open, and there it was, at last the Spell of Death and Reanimation. With this she would be able to control the Prince, and thus the whole Kingdom of Strawberries. She alone would have ultimate supreme power and no one would dare cross their beloved Prince Anthracis.
The witch went outside, gazing the earth, calling upon it for guidance to find the herbs she needed. As she stumbled through the darkness, she came upon some moss, growing on the southern side of a great giant oak tree. She found this most peculiar but, gathered her herbs and headed back inside.
The spell was almost finished; all she needed to do was drain the blood of Bells, into the cauldron and wait for the full moon to set. There was nothing anyone could do, she would be the new ruler of the Land of Strawberries. She prepared her Athame, and gathered her glass vials. She bathed Bells with a sponge soaked with water and rose petals, dressing her in a white gown, plain and simple.
THUMP. The whole house shook, as the witch whirled around to see what the hell had happened. No one was there, nothing was out of place. “Damned door,” she muttered under her breath, as she locked the latch so it wouldn’t blast open again. A high shriek pitched the air, as the shadow of Anthracis emerged in front of her. Everything fell away, a dark bluish-black haze hung around them. She couldn’t see much, but she knew she didn’t have to, as she felt those black wings rise up. She could feel the energy rising through Anthracis and she knew she had to do something fast.
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Lightning flashed, and clashed a white bubble, and both dissipated back into that dark haze. Anthracis could see his foe perfectly, huddling there, bent over in malice. He sword gleamed from its sheath, and was ablaze with his fiery wrath. He wasn’t known as Anthracis, the Bringer of Death for nothing. He was the fiercest warrior ever known to the world, and would strike down any foe that dared to disturb his peace. This vile hag that stood before him, and tried to steal the one person who meant everything to him and right when his dad had died too. She would know the meaning of death, and would know it to the fullest of its agonizing pain.
Another flash, this time, a blinding light flew into the shield, as a vortex of flame shot up at him, engulfing him in flames. His energy channeled the flames to immolate his body, leaving his magnificent wings to stand tall and proud in the darkness. He passed though the barrier of light, and grabbed the despicable old hag. The flames around him, spiraled downward, swallowing her with them, as his sword pierced her heart, leaving it fully intact upon his blade. Her shrieks crying shattering the clouds in the sky, bringing down rain upon the world. The haze lifted, he was once again back in that little house, and there she was; Bells.
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Her eyes opened, and she was staring into those of her Anthy. She couldn’t believe it, she was with him, safe and protected. “He must have felt my cry for help,” she thought silently to herself. She wobbled onto her feet, but feel even faster into his arms. She felt cold, and realized she was in the rain; the tiny house was up in flames, destroyed. She searched him for an answer, and she understood exactly what had happened. She stepped lightly onto the ground, her strength renewed by his. She turned to face him, opening her mouth to speak…
“I am so sorry. I should have known this would eventually happen. I knew she would come back, I just never thought so soon. I have failed you my Bells, but fail you again I will not. I love you so much, I should have told you sooner, but I was so afraid of what might happen to you. Yet my fears came true not because I told you, but instead because I did not. Bells, marry me.”
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That Fateful Night

On November 15th, around five-thirty in the evening, Ry picked me up from my house. Upon entering the car I was delightfully surprised to find a beautiful dark rose awaiting me in the front seat. With our stomachs grumbling, he drove us to San-Sai for a bountiful feast where we ordered everything under the sun: shrimp tempura, chicken teriyaki, egg rolls, miso soup, and edamame! After enjoying our delicious dinner we headed over to the Moorpark theatre on High Street to see a play called Bell, Book & Candle. We sipped our usual hot cocoa while watching the romantic play that had a witty twist that brought many laughs and chuckles. The main story line was about a teenage witch who discovers the meaning of true love, which made me think of my special relationship with Ry, which then brought on the urging question of " Is it tonight?!?"...

After the play we headed over to Thornhill Broome Beach and spent like 45 minutes trying to come up with a way to sneak in to the campsite. Unfortunately, it was almost eleven and the campsite closed at ten. Originally we were going to set up a campfire (which we had done once before) and play music, and dance, and hang out. However, as life is filled with many twists and unexpected turn, Ry and I moved on and in the end found something better! We drove down the PCH into Malibu, and I followed Ry as we made our way to a life guard tower. I had never really been on a life guard tower in the middle of the night, so it was pretty exciting for me! We settled down under the clear dark sky that was glowing with glimmering stars and a bright full moon. After some chit-chatting and snuggling Ry pulled out this adorable book he made me. It was filled with stories and poems we both have written over time. As I was flipping through it, pointing out poems I remembered he turned the page to a little story he had written. It is called
The Strawberry Kingdom, a bedtime story he made up a long time ago when I had trouble falling asleep and has the adorable boy he is, added more overtime. As he had me read it out loud he flickered on his Zippo (a lighter for those who may be wondering). Right when I was close to the end, he slipped right in to the dialogue and finished the story with a big grin "Bri, Marry Me."
And of course I SAID YES!

AND later that night we celebrated at Denny's with French Toast and Milk...AT THREE IN THE MORNING!!!!!!!!!