A long time ago, a king and queen lived in a big castle in the mountains. They were a kind and considerate king and queen who treated their subjects in a nice manner. At this time there existed, in their kingdom, many witches and wizards. Many of these were good people who collected herbs and made medicines to heal the sick. Some of them were wicked; they cast nasty spells on innocent citizens. The king hated wicked witches. He decided to remove the most evil witch from his domain. Her name was Hecuba.
The king sent soldiers to remove Hecuba. After searching, they found her in a cave mixing poisons in a pot.
Hecuba screamed and cursed the soldiers, "I will make the king sorry that he has upset me. Before I leave, by way of revenge, I will place a curse on the queen."
The soldiers told the king and queen about Hecuba's threats.
The king and queen laughed and shouted, "What possible harm can that silly old crone do to us!"
The royal couple were wrong. When a boy child was born to the queen, Hecuba's curse was obvious. Her baby was the ugliest infant in the world. Prince Igor, that was the name of the child, had a yellow complexion tinged with green, a long nose, saucer-shaped eyes and large ears that flapped down below his neckline. Prince Igor was broad-built, but short in stature. The king took one look at his newborn, and full of disgust and shame, vowed never to look at him again. The queen loved her offspring, but she appointed a nurse to care for Igor in a private room in the castle. A furious king sent people to find Hecuba; he wanted to burn her at the stake. She was never found. Hecuba had the gift of vanishing for short periods of time, making it impossible for anyone to find her.
Time passed, and prince Igor was now a young man. Aware that he was not wanted in the palace he decided to leave. One dark night, without announcing his departure, he ventured into the unknown world. He trudged up winding mountain trails, travelled through forests and eventually arrived at a pleasant valley. He discovered a small village, mainly inhabited by farmers and their families. Igor arrived on market day.
When the people saw Igor, they threw stones and rotten vegetables at him. They shouted, "Go away you freak of nature! we don't want you here."
Terrified, Igor ran away and seated himself in a green field. He decided to stay in the village because he knew, that wherever he went in the world, he would receive the same harsh treatment.
The local farmers realised that Igor had one useful attribute. He had the strength of three strong men. The farmers set him to work lifting heavy boulders and other similar tasks. He received no wages, but he had a daily meal, in the fields, with the other farm workers. None of the villagers offered Igor accommodation. At night he slept beneath some trees. He wrapped himself in a sack, in an attempt to stay warm. If it rained at night, he would be soaking wet in the morning. If it snowed at night, he would be covered in white snowflakes in the morning. As for frost, Igor shivered at the mere thought.
What depressed Igor, most of all, was that the farmer never thanked him for his hard work. Exhausted and fed-up, Igor started to cry with loud sobs, "Why am I all alone? Why will nobody, in the whole wide world, be my friend. Is it because I'm so ugly?"
To Igor's surprise a sweet voice addressed him, "Igor, my name is Petra, and I will be your friend."
Igor thought he had arrived in heaven. Before him stood a beautiful girl. She was a natural blond, with deep-blue eyes and a trim figure. The apparition smiled at him.
Igor cried out, " Impossible! I'm so ugly, I don't deserve a friend. I'm useless!--useless!--useless!"
Petra, replied, "Nonsense Igor, you are the best worker in the village. Other men cannot compare themselves with you."
Petra took Igor's hand in hers, "I still want to be your friend and I'll prove it to you, follow me."
Petra took Igor to her father, a farmer.
"Daddy, Igor has nowhere to sleep. Can he sleep at night in our barn?"
Wanting to please his favourite daughter, the farmer agreed.
To Igor's delight, from that day on, when he was not working, he strolled had in hand, through the countryside with his new friend. For the first time in his life, Igor had found happiness. He also knew that he was deeply in love with his beautiful companion.
There lived in the village, a young man called Alix. He had asked Petra many times to marry him.
Petra always replied, " I like you Alix, but I must have time to consider your proposal."
"Petra, why are you always with that monster Igor?"
"Igor is my friend."
"Sweetheart, people are talking about your relationship with Igor. Will you please stop seeing him?"
"No Alix , I wont."
"You leave me no choice, I withdraw my offer of marriage."
"I would never consider marriage with a man who is unable to care for the unfortunates of this world."
A sad Alix, muttered, "Goodbye Petra."
"Goodbye Alix, I hope you find some nice girl to marry."
A few days later, Igor was ploughing a field. He noticed Petra, over a fence, in the next field. She looked stunning in a pretty red dress. Igor waved and a smiling Petra waved back. To Igor's horror, he noticed a big black bull, attracted by Petra's red dress, preparing to charge.
Igor shouted, "Run Petra, run as fast as you can."
The frightened girl, instead of running, fainted. Igor, moving fast, jumped over the fence and confronted the bull as it was about to bore the lifeless girl. Igor grabbed the bull's horns and with one almighty heave, threw the bull onto its back. The bull lay there kicking his feet, grunting, bellowing, and feeling sorry for himself. Igor lifted the unconscious Petra, left the field, and laid her down on a grassy mound.
Petra opened her eyes. She saw a worried Igor looking down at her. Holding her firmly, Igor helped her to stand up.
Acting on impulse Petra said, " Igor you saved my life. I love you."
Petra kissed Igor on the lips. At that moment, two field mice scampered past them. They grew and grew until they turned into two graceful white horses, complete with decorated saddles and reins. At the same time, to Petra's astonishment, miraculous things were happening to Igor. His ears fell off, followed by his nose, then his whole body peeled. In the same manner as a flower sprouts forth from a seed, --standing before her, stood a tall, handsome man. He caressed Petra, took her in his arms, and kissed her tenderly.
Afterwards, Igor explained, "A wicked witch called Hecuba cast a spell that made me ugly. Because of your innocence and purity of heart, you have freed me from her diabolical spell. I have loved you from the day you became my friend."
A happy Petra kissed her now, good-looking Igor.
"Igor, I love you with all my heart."
"I must tell you that I'm no ordinary man; in fact, I'm a prince. I must now return to my beloved mother and father, the king and queen. Are you willing to come with me? We will marry and you will become a princess."
The future princess jumped for joy, "Please, please take me with you and I will love you for ever"
The couple mounted the two horses and set off for Prince Igor's castle in the mountains. They travelled over vast fields, dense forests, and perilous mountain trails. Eventually they arrived at the castle, and soon they were heralded into the company of the king and queen.
A mystified, but overjoyed queen, called out, "Is it really you Igor? Your father and I were anxious about you. And you have a beautiful companion with you."
"Yes mother, this is Petra, she is the one who rescued me from Hecuba's evil spell. We love each other and wish to be married as soon as possible."
The king announced, "And so you shall my son. I will arrange your marriage and organise a wedding banquet." The king kept his promise, and soon Petra became a princess.
After many happy years, the king rested and joined his maker. Shortly afterwards, the queen joined her husband in paradise. After a solemn year of mourning, Igor and princess Petra were crowned king and queen. They continued to rule the kingdom in the same ideal manner as the former, well loved, king and queen.
The reader may well ask: what became of the notorious Hecuba? Her sins found her out. At the very second that Igor was released from her spell, the curse returned to destroy her. Hecuba began to wither and scream, wither and scream, wither and scream until she was no more.
Philip's Army is now available in Paperback and Kindle formats.
ISBN-10: 1479242624
ISBN-13: 978-1479242627
Chapter One The War Council can be read for free here.
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