[Queen's Paradise Special: Bedtime Story]

[05:20] <CYOA-steady> [Queen's Paradise: Bedtime Story]
[05:21] <CYOA-steady> Late at night in the dark of the throne room Lucia's voice breaks the silence.
[05:21] <CYOA-steady> "Are you awake, Aldeas?"
[05:21] <CYOA-steady> "Yes, darling. What is it?" The young king responds, his voice not carrying even a hint of sleepiness.
[05:22] <CYOA-steady> "Tell me a story." Lucia says. It isn't the first time she's asked and in the darkness Aldeas smiles.
[05:22] <CYOA-steady> "Alright...."
[05:22] <CYOA-steady> Once upon a time, there was a knight.
[05:23] <CYOA-steady> He wore black armor and it was his duty to defend a bridge at all cost.
[05:24] <CYOA-steady> One day someone appeared who insisted on being allowed to pass.
[05:24] <CYOA-steady> The black knight refused to yield.
[05:24] <CYOA-steady> They did battle and the black knights arm was cut off.
[05:25] <CYOA-steady> But the knight still did not yield. "It's only a flesh wound!" He claimed.
[05:25] <CYOA-steady> When his other arm was cut off he still did not yield.
[05:26] <CYOA-steady> The challengers quest was noble and he had to pass, but the black knight continued to block his path.
[05:26] <CYOA-steady> Only when the knight was reduced to nothing but a head did the challenger finally get to cross the bridge.
[05:27] <CYOA-steady> As he did the head of the black knight continued to shout insults.
[05:27] <CYOA-steady> "Hehe... that's silly."
[05:27] <CYOA-steady> "Is it?" Aldeas asks.
[05:27] <CYOA-steady> "My mother told me that story, a long time ago before it was told over and over again for it's comedic value."
[05:27] <CYOA-steady> "It had a different ending when she told it."
[05:28] <CYOA-steady> "The challenger never made it across the bridge in her version... even as nothing but a head the black knight never backed down and the challenger turned away."
[05:28] <CYOA-steady> "But.... he was just a head."
[05:29] <CYOA-steady> "If a man who had been beheaded continued to stand before you would you walk around? Or would you stand in awe that he continued to defy even logic and reason in his will?"
[05:30] <CYOA-steady> "Today that tale is told as a tail cautioning stuborness and bravado. The black knight was all talk, is the lesson they try to bring."
[05:30] <CYOA-steady> "But it wasn't bravado, it wasn't about winning or losing, it wasn't even about guarding the bridge."
[05:31] <CYOA-steady> "That wasn't the point... it was about refusing to yield."
[05:32] <CYOA-steady> "Even against a clearly superior foe, even with nowhere to run, with no backup to call as long as you refuse to yield even your corpse will carry that will."
[05:33] <CYOA-steady> "That''s what they fear.... the monsters."
[05:33] <CYOA-steady> "If a monster is outmatched it will yield, they will submit to stronger men for that reason... but we do not yield."
[05:34] <CYOA-steady> "That is what makes us men."
[05:34] <CYOA-steady> "It's not about being strong or weak."
[05:34] <CYOA-steady> "It's not about winning or losing."
[05:34] <CYOA-steady> "It's not about peace or war."
[05:34] <CYOA-steady> "It's about sending a message.... nothing else."
[05:35] <CYOA-steady> "The only part of a man that has inherent value is his message."
[05:35] <CYOA-steady> "When I die, people will remember the things I say. They'll quote me and tell stories about me for years for better or worse."
[05:36] <CYOA-steady> "The people will remember what I say... but the world will remember my message."
[05:36] <CYOA-steady> "Are you saying you're like the black knight?... to be honest I pictured you as the challenger."
[05:36] <CYOA-steady> "Aha! Because the challenger is the good guy?"
[05:37] <CYOA-steady> "That's where you're still naive darling.... there's no such thing as good and evil. It doesn't matter what side of the bridge I'm on."
[05:38] <CYOA-steady> "This bed time story is too complicated..." Lucia says with a pout.
[05:38] <CYOA-steady> "I agree." Aldeas says with a smile.
[05:39] <CYOA-steady> Lucia peers through the darkness and she can see the moonlight reflecting from Aldeas' eyes as he stares at the ceiling.
[05:44] <CYOA-steady> "How dark is the inside of your head, behind that smile.... really?" She asks.
[05:44] <CYOA-steady> "It doesn't matter.... it's on the inside and no one ever has to see it but you."
[05:45] <CYOA-steady> She reaches out across the small gap separating their beds and takes his hand in hers.
[05:46] <CYOA-steady> "It's heavy...." Aldeas says without changing his expression.
[05:48] <CYOA-steady> "Things made of gold always are...."
[05:49] <CYOA-steady> Saying that Lucia pulls her husbands hand to her chest and closes her eyes.
[05:50] <CYOA-steady> [Bedtime Story - End]