The Smith and the Prince

"You want a story huh? How about a story about a prince and a princess? Does that sound good? Alright.

"Once upon a time, a very plain smith with a very sharp mind set out to make herself a daughter. You see, no one in all the land was fine enough to give her the daughter who danced in her dreams. What a fine daughter she was, with four arms like the Sun, and hair dark and sharp as the night.

"So the smith gathered up her materials, and secluded herself far away from the princes of the land who wanted her to bear them sons for their thrones. And she tried to build her daughter. But there was something missing, something wrong in every attempt. Her jade lips did not move to cry out with joy at her mother's face. Her onyx eyes did not blink in the bright light of the sun. Her limbs were stiff as the brass she was made from.

"And the smith despaired, for she could not make the daughter who came to her in dreams. As the Sun set on another attempt, she cast her failure away from herself, and sobbed bitter tears.

"While she cried, a prince from a strange land where a different Sun shone came to her secluded place. He plucked the metal daughter from the tree where she had landed, and admired the smith’s finest work.

"'What have we here?' The prince asked of the bewildered smith, as he admired her stillborn daughter.

"'Who are you, how have you found this place?' Asked the smith, for she had chosen a place where no mortal might see her shame.

"'You do not know of Our glory?' Asked the prince. 'Truly, this land has fallen. I am the Prince of the Demon City, lord of all craftsmen and women.'

"The smith could but remain on her knees in shock, for the Sun she loved had turned his face from her great works. Instead, it was the Prince of Demons who had seen merit in her. And she did not know if this were some further shame, heaped upon her heavy heart, or some honor she could not comprehend.

"'It would appear I owe you a favor,' said the Prince, for the demon's realm had long been sealed away. 'It has been a thousand years since We tasted the skies We helped to create. Normally, We would but allow you to live, but you remain properly on your knees in my presence, and you have freed the shackles that bind me, with no strings. So. We will grant you a boon.'

"The smith did not know what to ask for. The prince could have slain her for asking the wrong boon... and there was very little the smith desired which she could not gain on her own.

"'We would advise haste,' The prince said softly. 'My generosity leaves with Sunrise.'

"And the smith knew what to ask for. 'It is wrong!' She cried out. 'No matter what I do, she does not live!'

"The prince's eyes lit up with interest! 'To make a spark of life… For such a thing… In… six hours? Truly?' The prince had not been presented with such a worthy challenge in over a thousand years, for the Prince of Demons was a most accomplished smith.

"'Please?' asked the smith.

"The prince began to laugh, and shook his head! Shoosh, dear, I'm not finished. That's a good boy! 'The spark can be created!' The prince told the smith! 'But the work must be yours!'

"The smith was confused, for she was just a mortal. She had no magic. But the prince knew this.

"'I have a better deal for you,' The prince told her. 'Come back, with me… And I will show you, how it is you will no longer fail yourself.'

"The smith was torn, for her kingdom was all she knew, but the prince had fanned a spark of pride in her. And so the smith agreed. 'I will come back with you,' she told the prince.

"And the prince summoned forth one of his servants, bearing the power of the Demon King. In her heart, the smith heard a whisper. 'In the beginning, there was logos. Accept the Word, and become something greater than Sun or Man.' And the smith whispered back her acceptance.

"And so it was, the smith became betrothed to the prince of demons, and so became the princess of hell, above all others save her husband."