The Prince and the Burning Inn
By Wendel Schwab
Once upon a time, in a small kingdom, there lived a prince. The prince was the bravest man in the whole kingdom, he fought dragons, he led armies into battle, and when it came to battles of wits, he could defeat almost everyone in the kingdom. But, there was one thing the young prince was not brave at. There was a princess living in a kingdom near his, and he had fallen madly in love with her. She was all he thought about night and day, he had dreams about her, he felt blissfully happy whenever she was around, he even daydreamed about marrying her. But, he was far too afraid to ever tell her how he felt. "What if she doesn't love me?" He often asked his father, the old king. "I don't think I could take that kind of rejection!"
One day, the prince rode from the castle to meet with the princess who would be arriving in his kingdom later that afternoon. She was going to be staying at a small cozy inn near the border between their two kingdoms. So the prince had set out that morning with his two pages. The mixed emotions of excitement and worry made him feel sick and his knees weak. He wished there was a dragon to slay along the way so he could maybe calm his nerves.
After many hours of riding through lush forests and valleys, they came across a rundown shack. They stopped to water the horses and have a bit of a rest. The prince went to the door and knocked. A very old and ugly woman answered the door, it was obvious that she was very poor.
"Aha! Your Highness!" The old woman said. "Come in! I've been expecting you!" The prince was a little baffled, but he entered the shack and sat in one of the only chairs, it was grimy, and one leg was too short.
"How did you know I was coming here grandmother?" Asked the prince.
"I know that you ride forth to visit the one you love." The old woman stared into his eyes, it was as if she knew his whole life's story, and everything that would ever happen to him as well.
The prince looked back at her. He could see kindness and gentleness in her eyes, so he said. "You're right grandmother!" He then leaned froward, interested in all she had to say.
"But, I must warn you..." The old woman's gaze grew dark and troubled. "There will be a fire at the inn she is staying at. However, there is no need to rush."
The prince looked at her, his eyes wide with worry. "No need to rush!? What if she gets hurt... or... killed...?" The last part trailed from his lips.
"This is where my warning comes in, my young prince. You will be faced with two choices." She looked at the prince sagely. "You can try to save your beloved, but then you won't ever get to be with her; or you can stay outside the inn and do nothing, then you may be with her for the rest of your lives."
The prince rushed from the shack and jumped onto his horse. He barely had time to tell one of his pages to leave almost all of the money he had brought with the old woman (he was also very generous.) The prince spurred his horse on, and rode for the inn as fast as he could.
A few hours of hard riding later the prince could see curls of smoke rising at a distance and, despite his noble steed's exhaustion, he dug his heels into the horse's flanks and whispered encouragement into his ear for a final burst of speed. The inn was now in sight, the horse was now foaming at the mouth and nearly dead from exhaustion. As the prince prepared to leap from his horse's back he thought back to the last thing the old woman had told him. He knew he couldn't wait, as she had counselled. He had to save the one he loved, no matter the cost. Without a further thought he ran to the inn. The thatch was already in flames and smoke billowed from the doors and windows. The poor little inn was already doomed.
The prince ran right into the inn with no regard for his safety. He looked about the common room, but it was deserted and the remains of supper sat untouched on the tables. Wisps of smoke already drifted along the beams of the roof, and the room was already uncomfortably hot. The prince bounded up the stairs, heedless of the smoke and heat, and started searching through the rooms. He coughed and sweat ran into his eyes, but he had to find her. More than once burning thatch and wood nearly fell on him, he could smell the singe of his hair, he couldn't breath, and he could barely see, but he kept searching. After a few moments he found a shield clasped in the outstretched hand of a guard. The guard was already dead from being crushed by a burning rafter. The prince recognized the princess's royal crest emblazoned on the shield, and he knew he had found her room. The door was hot and jammed shut. The prince put his entire weight into it and the door smashed open. Fire and smoke filled the room, but no matter how hard the prince looked, he could not find anyone there... The prince collapsed, and coughed until he was out of breath.
Outside, the princess stood stroking the prince's horse's neck. Tears slowly slid down her cheeks. She watched silently as the inn burned.
