Chapter Text
“Once upon a time,” started an old man, “there were four great leaders. The four of them worked together to build one beautiful kingdom, one in which all kinds of magic could flourish-”
“Daa-aad,” whined the boy in bed next to the man, “I swear you’ve told me this a million times. And I have to hear it in class! I think I know this story by now.”
The man chuckled. “Then I guess I do not have to tell it to you? I mean, if you already know it by heart, little prince, you could always tell it to me instead.”
“Fine,” he huffed, his black hair becoming mussed on the pillow, “I’ll listen. But you have to promise me that you’ll tell it really really well, okay?”
Smiling and nodding, the man began again. “Once upon a time, there were four great leaders. The four of them worked together to build one beautiful kingdom, one in which all kinds of magic could flourish. Water, earth, air, and fire magic thrived together in one huge kingdom, and, despite how much the rulers sometimes fought, they loved living together in that way. Some of the old scholars would even go on to write about how the four balanced each other out; it seemed to many that the tempers or the brashness of-” he coughed pointedly “-certain rulers were neutralized by the tranquility of other the other rulers,” the king pointed to himself and grinned proudly, making his son giggle. “People living in the kingdom were happy. They were free to practice magic as they pleased, and although each person had a certain type of magic that seemed to fit them best, there were allowed and even encouraged to learn they types of magic that did not come so naturally to them. Food was plentiful, since water, fire, earth, and air magic were all used to grow crops. It was such a time of peace, people could go anywhere they wished in the kingdom without fear of what may happen.”
As the king droned on, Prince Elmer’s eyes glazed over. He allowed for his mind to wander back to a time when his feet could have gone wherever he wished, without the consequences he might face. In his mind’s eye, he could walk, barefoot, directly across the river and into whichever other area he pleased. He would be greeted by anyone and everyone he met, welcomed with smiles and open arms and offers of food for the young Prince of the Water Kingdom.
His father smiled lovingly and progressed with the story. “When peace left, it was like the departure of a flock of birds after they have heard a threat. Panicked, each of the leaders withdrew to separate lands which they had claimed for themselves. Practicers of one kind of magic followed the ruler with whom they identified the most, forming makeshift nations, divided along shaky borders, and leaving behind any friends and family who had specified in one certain type of magic.”
The prince’s eyes grew wide, and his father wondered if he had this reaction every time he heard this story.
“None of the scholars or poets who wrote of this time remember exactly how the peace was lost. Some say,” he leaned forward, resting his hands on the edge of the bed, “that the queen of the fire magic grew greedy and dissatisfied with what she had been given. Those who followed the laws of fire magic accused the monarch of the earth magic of withholding crops from the people of fire. The monarch of earth magic is said to have thrown charges against the king of the water magic - that would be your great-great-grandfather; they said he had flooded the crops on purpose, and that if the reason the people of fire had received less food than normal, that was the reason why. The only thing that the scholars can agree on is the air queen’s reaction.”
“What did she do?” Elmer pulled himself up to sit.
“She tried to intervene. She attempted to get involved and end the fighting,” the king shook his head. “That only made things worse; all of the other rulers turned on her, forcing her to retreat into the mountains of the northwest corner of the kingdom. And without her there, the remaining three turned on each other until they were too tired to continue fighting. They tried to order troops to mobilize, but no one would comply. Each ruler withdrew to small homes in the corners of the kingdom, eventually settling on building castles for themselves and drawing boundary lines, building nations that they claimed were temporary,” the king sighed.
“And were they temporary?”
“No,” the boy’s father’s chest rose and fell. “No, they were not temporary. I think that there may be some hope for the future. Possibly one day, the four kingdoms will be able to see sense; maybe then we will reconnect and live together again, like we once were able to. But unfortunately, that time of peace is one that my father was too young to remember, as I am, and as you are. So it is possible that none of the rulers of our separate kingdoms know how to make peace with each other, no matter how much may we try.”
The prince gasped. “But you have to try and make peace, right? Because if you do, then everything can be good again, like it used to be?”
Standing, the king ruffled his son’s hair. “Yes, I suppose we do need to keep making attempts toward peace. I promise that I will do everything in my power to sway that decision. However, I am only one man, and they are many.”
He pulled the blanket up over Elmer’s chest and shuffled his way over to the door. He was growing old, and the boy behind him was the only child he and his wife had ever had.
“Maybe you’re right,” he whispered to the boy, whose eyes were already closed in fatigue. “Maybe we should tell you different stories. For my sake, if not for yours.”
The king turned out the light and closed the door.