Sealed in Time

Sealed In Time

Once in a prospering little ancient town, there lived a King and Queen. They had the most beautiful daughter, Princess Isadora, whom they kept away from mortal eyes, deep inside their palace. The King and the Queen, having nothing much to do since their town was prospering in perfect harmony, led a life of decadence with the service of their court jester, Jasper.

Jasper grew up at the outskirts of the countryside and had the ability to read the stars. He also had great wit and humour which made him the prided subject of the King. One night, reading the stars, Jasper found out that there was a pending disaster falling upon their thriving village, a disaster unprecedented in history.

Jasper ran up to the King and Queen who were in the dining hall, quite drunk from their merry-making, and screamed, “Disaster! Sire! I see disaster striking upon our town!”

“Nonsense! My dear Jasper, can’t you see how happy life in our town is? Everything is so calm and peaceful,” the Queen threw aside the notion of an impending disaster.

“But m’am, I read the positioning of the stars and –” but before poor Jasper could finish his sentence, the King ordered the guards to throw him out of the great dining hall.

Jasper went to the back of the palace and lay in the pale green garden which was filled with colourful flowers, all the favourites of Princess Isadora. “Jupiter’s in line with Mars, a clash between the Titan and the God of War. Venus rising from the lift, a mark of eternal regret, most possibly from the showdown.”

“What do you mean by that, Jasper?” a soft, sweet voice asked.

“Princess Isadora!” Jasper quickly got to his knees and greeted the Princess.

The full moon glowed behind Princess Isadora producing a silhouette of a porcelain doll-like girl, with her long wavy blonde locks of hair and clear blue eyes. The Princess sat down on the lawn beside Jasper. “I wonder what life is like outside the palace,” the Princess sighed.

Jasper pondered carefully over the question, but no matter how smart and witty he was, he could not come up with an appropriate description that satisfied the Princess. Finally, he decided to sneak the Princess out of the palace to let her experience life in the town.

The night was still young as the full moon glowed brightly. The market was crowded with people from all walks of life that Princess Isadora never in her life met.

“Now, get lost!” shouted an angry shopkeeper as he kicked a handsome young man out of his shop. “I don’t need your grapes!” which saw a bunch of grapes being thrown out and fell all over the young lad.

Jasper went up and helped the young lad up. Princess Isadora took out her handkerchief and gently wiped away the dirt on his face. Never in his life has he ever met such a beautiful woman, feeling ashamed, he wanted to turn and leave after thanking his saviours.

“Join us for dinner, young lad, you look starved, instructed Jasper. The young man was tall and dark with the most handsome features, but from his sunken cheeks, it was evident that the young man had not enough to eat.

The young man introduced himself as Benedict to his saviours. He was a grape farmer held in bondage by the local landowner as his uncle sold him away after his parents died. Feeling sympathetic of Benedict, Jasper took out some gold, he too had witnessed the death of his parents and had to work hard to achieve his standings today, he knew how tough it was to suffer. “Redeem yourself,” Jasper handed the gold to Benedict, “A man of your calibre should not be in bondage of others.”

As the moon behind Benedict was setting, Jasper jumped out of his seat. “The moon will obstruct the paths of the Venus! There might not be eternal regret after all. Does that mean that the King and Queen would heed my advice?” With his head facing the sky, Jasper mumbled as he tried to find a better view of the stars.

“I must leave too,” said Princess Isadora.

“Can we meet again?” asked Benedict, with no idea that his saviour was the Princess.

“Tomorrow, right here.”

With that Princess Isadora disappeared into the darkness and returned to the palace, quite unnoticed as her parents were still drunk.

The next night, Princess Isadora sneaked out of the palace again to meet Benedict. Concealing her true identity, they fell in love. During the next few weeks, they met up every time the King and Queen basked in their wine and dance, but Princess Isadora never answered Benedict’s query on why they can only meet at night.

At the meantime, Jasper became increasingly worried about the impending disaster. Even though there would not be eternal regret by Venus, the paths of Jupiter and Mars came so close together that they would crash head-on. He must do something to save his people and get them out of the town as soon as possible. He went out onto the streets and screamed, “Disaster! Leave the town as soon as possible!”

When the King heard about the antics of Jasper, he flared up and threw Jasper out of the palace.

to be continued...

however, if you think you have a vague idea on what the conclusion could be, feel free to comment about it, the closest entry wins a mystery prize! (Hint: note the title)