Col. 5, Jan. 2009: An allegory about power

The Reckless King: a fairytale

by Christina Hazelwood
Once upon a time there was a handsome, stalwart prince who lived in a land of hills and valleys. Upon his father’s death, in his 23rd year, the prince, whose royal blood flowed to him through a long line of good and not so good kings, took charge of his father’s lush kingdom. On a clear day with a biting wind at his back, the prince was crowned King Frederick, before the royal court and in plain view of those he ruled.

An arduous task lay before the new king, for the sizable kingdom was in a shambles, besieged all around by enemies, seeking to overrun his father’s, and now his, rule. The new King Frederick listened intently to the ministers from his father’s court, learning many things about the kingdom, and the challenges that beset it.

As a prince, Frederick had been known to be a youth of action, brave and able. And he did just as a man of his age would do in a situation such as this. He took on the kingdom’s most pressing enemy and charged into battle against a threat that came from the badlands to the West. All the kingdom rejoiced in their new, decisive king. In the blink of an eye, King Frederick delivered to the kingdom its first victory in many years, returning to banners and songs of celebration.

In this fashion, the young king continued to rule. He listened to his father’s ministers, endeavoring to understand the kingdom’s position and the nature of its enemies. Then he used his ample skills and resources to lead an attack. The Great King Frederick, as he was now called, took on enemy after enemy, landing swift blows. The mere sight of Warrior Frederick charging headlong into battle, with tawny locks flowing and stony pursuit in his eyes, struck fear in his enemies and pride in his men. His quick-witted strategy and steely intent kept King Frederick’s armies loyal and true, winning victory after victory.

After each war was won, King Frederick, who stood over six feet in height, returned to his kingdom in glory and pride, towering over lesser men in strength of both body and mind. He celebrated with his armies in robust and manly fashion. Then presented his well-endowed personage, in courtly style, before the people to be honored and baptized. The mere sight of King Frederick’s personhood, caused many a great lady to swoon and many a nobleman to grow weak in his knees.

The many successful battles waged by The Great King Frederick enlarged the kingdom’s holdings, filling its coffers as well as many an empty plate. Here indeed, was a king to be proud of, under whose care the land would flourish and grow. Once the squabbles had been dealt with and the enemies nearby were brought under his reign, King Frederick’s attentions turned to the domestic front.

The ministers scurried and hurried about, seeking the most desirable damsel in all the land, one with beauty, mirth, and grace, suitable to both king and court. Many fine ladies were reviewed and considered and many rejected. A high standard surely must be met for so worthy a king as Frederick. Finally a nuptial candidate emerged from a neighboring kingdom with whom alliances were strong—the fair and able Princess Quinella, whose royal blood ran true through her veins. It was time to take a wife.

The marriage ceremony was the grandest spectacle ever seen in the royal court. Even Quinella’s beaded wedding veils could not mask her radiant beauty, shining upon her betrothed. Jubilation overtook the kingdom as all toasted to unity of man and wife. Quinella’s coronation came shortly thereafter. First celebrated as consort to the king, now she was toasted as feminine ruler over their combined court. For the better side of a year, calm came upon their adjacent lands as the royal couple set up house and home.

Quinella proved a quick-witted royal, reigning with a sure hand and kind heart. The queen, upon whom King Frederick came to rely, ran the kingdom in his stead, while he visited at a neighboring court or found himself in the throes of battle. As the situation allowed, Queen Quinella, joined Frederick in the battlefield, proving as brave a warrior as he.

In due time and proper succession, Queen Quinella provided her husband with seven royal children, each with gifts and virtues of their own. The loyal Quinella oversaw the growth and tutelage of the royal family and even dabbled with the politics of court. One by one, the royal couple vanquished their enemies, bringing peace and stability to their growing lands, converting once formidable enemies into allies.

King Frederick kept a watchful eye upon the boundaries of his expanded kingdom from the green river to the East to the high hills at the West, from the Northern mountaintops to the great Southern plains. He stayed alert to every unrest, and learned from his father’s ministers as well as his own, the art of diplomacy and how to win battles before ever they are fought.

King Frederick’s stature grew, as did the royal family. Many enemies rose and fell from within and without, under Frederick’s and Quinella’s rule. King Frederick called upon his armies with restraint, using small battalions to quiet the skirmishes that sprang up here and there and marching large armies only to squelch greater unrest. All the while he kept up the king’s royal guard, ever ready to defend his honor, the royal family and the royal court.

In this fashion of abundance and stability, King Frederick continued. The king and queen’s children grew into fine princes and princesses, learned in the ways of the kingdom and court. The eldest two held nuptial celebrations and bore princes and princesses of their own. The ministers were on the look out for proper pairings for the next two of the royal children, while the last three remained at their parent’s side.

So adept at diplomacy was the Great King Frederick, that he had not waged battle in many moons. Some thought he lost his taste for conquest. When this rumor reached the ruler behind the Golden Gate, it filled the foreign Emperor with jealous desire, for he fancied the hard-won treasures in King Frederick’s court. Scouts were sent through the gate, across the green river divide, and into Frederick’s kingdom, returning with news of riches for the taking.

Using stealth and wile, the Far East Ruler sent foreign acrobats, all in disguise, into King Frederick’s court to test him and cause dissention. Grown wise in the ways of the mighty, King Frederick greeted them with warmth, but watched and waited, gathering ministers to his side and using guile of his own. The Great Emperor prodded and threatened King Frederick, just as he had done to Frederick’s father and to his father’s father.

The foreign ruler sent mercenaries and other foe to wreak havoc across the kingdom and busy Frederick’s armies. Yet, Frederick remained patient and poised, using artful diplomacy to stave off the threats, while together with his ministers, he strategized and readied his military and his own royal guard. Finally Frederick could take no more. He announced to the people of his kingdom his intent to wage war against the foreign invader’s attacks. The people prayed and prepared themselves, backing their able king, filled with the zest of rightness, but were also afraid.

Casting his impenetrable gaze upon his opponent’s forces, King Frederick drove his armies across the green river, crashing through the Golden Gate. Using courage, strength, and will, King Frederick laid siege upon the Emperor and his Eastern lands. Riding high in the saddle with his tawny locks, now threaded silver, splayed in mad disarray, King Frederick moved his men to great feats of glory.

He fought the foreign invader upon his own ground. Moment by moment, battles were waged with a gain and a loss and again a gain. The might of King Frederick’s armies pitted against the stealth of the Emperor’s forces. The more slippery the Emperor and his peculiar terrain, the more agile and focused became the king.

After seven long and uncertain years, the battle came to a close. The Great Eastern Emperor was overcome. In shocked humility, the Emperor conceded, vowing to cease his attacks on Frederick’s kingdom and his greedy ways, allowing the king to quarter his armies upon the Great Emperor’s lands.

King Frederick returned home to Queen Quinella, and a grand, victorious celebration. The people rejoiced in the leadership of their virtuous king, who now tasted the sweetest triumph of his reign, the conquest of a great enemy, not just of his own, but the enemy of his father and of his father’s father. "Long live the king!," so the villagers cried out. Now surely peace and prosperity would endure, not only through Frederick and Quinella’s rule, but also through the reign of their children and their children’s children. All was well in the kingdom. And so it remained for a very long while.

Frederick’s legacy was grand and noble and his kingdom prosperous and peaceful. Many villagers grew fat upon their rich land, growing idle and bored. Some gathered together, and with a rebellious bent, entertained themselves with words against their king. Others gathered to hear the outrageousness of this talk, rousted from their careless slumber. Emboldened by the attention, the rebels grumbled and moaned, speaking with disdain over the fortunateness of their lot. The ministers remained watchful and worried, advising kingly action against the grumbling lot.

There arose among them a band of youthful rascals who met on regular occasion. Unsatisfied with their lives, they blamed the king, making up stories, one greater than the next, against the reign of the royal family, claiming King Frederick daft and unfit to rule. With each meeting they became more brazen, convinced that any one of them could better run the kingdom than Frederick. In jest at first, the youths hatched mischievous plans against the royal family to entertain themselves, then became more serious.

The ministers reported these youthful activities to the king, who laughed aloud at their silly ways, having been a youth once himself. They were only restless young men with too much time on their hands and flapping mouths. The king took no action and waved his ministers away. He had greater things than this to worry about.

One day King Frederick returned to his castle after a satisfying hunt in the fields. He headed towards his quarters to have a rest after the day’s excursions, but was stopped by his good and loyal Page Ryan, who informed King Frederick that an intruder had entered the castle with ill intent. Page Ryan had it on good word, that one of the plotting youths had entered the King’s private chambers with murderous intent. King Frederick was furious over the intrusion, all the more so, after showing mercy to the idle youths. Yet now they dared to invade his own private quarters.

King Frederick and Page Ryan stood outside the chamber as the murderous villager waited within. Page Ryan bowed deeply to the king and said, "Of course, King Frederick, you will call upon your royal guard to capture the arrogant foe. The great king bellowed, "I’ll have nothing of the kind. I’ll dispense of him myself!" The king was filled with fury over such audacity, and a tinge of vengeance ran across his face.

Page Ryan pleaded with the great king not to let down his royal guard and needlessly take on the impertinent villager. Although forewarned and forearmed, King Frederick would have nothing of it. He had tackled foe much greater than this. Brandishing his sword, King Frederick charged into his own chamber to give the youth a taste of his metal.

The wily young man hid behind the chamber door, shaking and screwing up his feeble courage. As the king entered, the villager dealt King Frederick a deathly strike, running a blade straight through his mighty heart. The valiant king battled, in spite of the wound, slicing the devious villager across the neck. The villager, whose head now hung from a fleshy thread, slumped behind the door.

The Great King Frederick collapsed upon the floor, breathing a dying breath. His faithful page rushed to the king’s side. "You fought well, my lord," said Page Ryan, wondering what would come of Queen Quinella, the royal court and the whole of the kingdom. "Aye," said King Frederick, feeling strong in spirit even with the heaviness upon his heart.

"And now you will leave the kingdom never to return," said the loyal page in grief and angst. With eyes fell close the great king retorted, "Nonsense! I chose to do battle and I will choose to return!" And died, there upon his chamber floor.

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