“You ready?” the Lady, Lady Oxenstiern, hovers over you with her usual good humor, which no longer matches her wrinkles. “I have seen you march up and down this room many times. It is time, my dear knight, to save Princess Emily, and that means you must attempt a heroic act of love.” Her words, your words, echo in your ears like a dusty wind.
You ask her, “Lady, I love Princess Emily.”
“Yes, you said that so often that I am sure you get tired of hearing it.” Lady Oxenstiern is exasperated. “Princess Emily is not interested in the man you are.”
You look around this room populated by poster of generic royalty. You stand in front of an iconic portrait of Princess Emily. You know, it is hard to believe that Princess Emily is not interested in your heroic acts. You have been acting heroically to impress her, even though you have no real idea of how to impress a princess. You are still just a commoner. You are from a family of odd and funny people. Your family is a joke to most of you. So, you decided to become a knight, instead. You wanted to be the hero.
“You have been standing here for days and nothing happened so far.” Lady Oxenstiern watches you. “Maybe, you should just give up on Princess Emily.”
You are surprised. You never expect this cold smiling lady to talk about giving up. But, you already know what she will say next. You know, she is a mighty warrior and one of the best strategists in the world. Her words are always thorough. Therefore, you know that Lady Oxenstiern will tell you that Princess Emily was kidnapped, again. You know that it has been the same story for you for the last dozen times. Princess Emily was kidnapped and you are in front of this portrait of her. You must go and save her. A few days ago, you decided to stop this game and live your life as a commoner. Your story has been stuck in this foregone conclusion. Lady Oxenstiern will tell you that you must try harder, this time. You must. She has tried to transcend your story, but it never happens. It is always the same. Why doesn’t Princess Emily like you?
“Sir Knight?” Lady Oxenstiern asks you.
“Yes?” you reply.
“Do you love the princess?” she inquires you.
“There is nothing that separates us anymore,” you say, “Except me.”
“I know,” Lady Oxenstiern says, “She’s been kidnapped.”
“I know.” You say you know what she will say next.
“Well, if you are ready,” she looks at you, “Then, we must strike out. Your attempt to save the princess will take at least a few hours.”
“A few hours?” You are shocked. You have been pacing this room for days in front of Princess Emily’s portrait. However, you usually save Princess Emily in a mere ten minutes. “Since, I am expecting hordes of attackers, we should wait until we are ready.”
“No, Sir Knight,” she shakes her head, “Princess Emily is in danger.”
You place your hand on your sword, and you demand, “What do we wait for?”
“Well, it will take a few hours,” you know that she smiles, “for you to get to the princess, save her, and live happily ever after.” You think that she is teasing you. You smile and raise your head like she does. You say, “It is always a great excuse.”
“I’m not teasing,” Lady Oxenstiern says, “I really believe you can do this.”
“I am like a fish in water here,” you tell her, “I just died.”
“Hah,” Lady Oxenstiern laughs, “You are like the fish in the sea. You are in love with the princess. You can do this. The princess has been kidnapped before and you have saved her.”
“But, when I saved her, it was too easy,” you say, “The princess was not expecting me at all.”
“If you can just go back to your time and rewrite the last adventure you have where you rescued Princess Emily,” Lady Oxenstiern suggests.
You shrug and say, “It does not need work. I need new goals and new challenges for me.”
“Well, I know.” Lady Oxenstiern puts her hand on your shoulder and says, “One day, you will be stuck in this story. Why not start writing your new journey from the beginning now?”
You chuckle and say, “I am not so sure. This is like a game.”
“It is a game that needs you to be the hero.” She says, “Why not take a look at why you really want to be the hero in the first place?”
You look at the portrait of Princess Emily. Princess Emily is very pretty. You know, you really do love her. But, as you look at the portrait, you know there is something so meaningful here. You feel like it represents something beautiful and important to you, but you do not know what. What does it want from you? You do not know.
“I need your help,” you say to Lady Oxenstiern. Because, you are stuck and you need her help to start your new journey.
“Sir Knight, I had told you that my help is worthless to you right now.” Lady Oxenstiern looks at you and says, “What I mean is that you are stuck. You have been stuck for a few days, and nothing has really happened.”
You nod and say, “I do feel stuck.”
“I want you to try to be the hero in real life,” Lady Oxenstiern says, “That is the only way to break this cycle of the same story.”
“If I saved Princess Emily in a real life, my story should be broken,” you say to Lady Oxenstiern.
“You don’t understand,” Lady Oxenstiern’s eyes narrowed, and she asks you, “What do you really want?”
You look at the portrait of Princess Emily, and you say, “I want to be the hero. I want to save Princess Emily. I want to live happily ever after.”
Lady Oxenstiern says, “That’s it?”
“That is simple,” you sigh and shake your head, “Isn’t it the whole point of anything?”
“I want you to find another purpose in life, Sir Knight,” Lady Oxenstiern tells you, “What I am saying is to be the hero in your real life, instead of your daydreams.”
You say, “But, we are living through our daydreams. A world outside of this is pure fantasy, not to be real.”
“Well, what does your fantasy tell you about yourself, Sir Knight,” Lady Oxenstiern looks at you, “Does it tell you you have a purpose and a meaning in life?”
You think about it, and you say, “No.”
“Well, maybe you are so happy that you do not know what your fantasy is,” Lady Oxenstiern suggests, “It is too happy to be real. Perhaps, it is not real.”
You try to look at her, but you do not see her. You do not know what you see. You do not know what is real. You are lost. You need her help to move on. You must tell her what you really want.
“What do you really want, Sir Knight,” she asks you.
You look at the portrait of Princess Emily, and you say, “I want Princess Emily to like me.”
“But, what does it mean to her liking you?” Lady Oxenstiern asks you, “Does it mean you will save her?”
“I have saved her,” you say, “But, she will not like me.”
“Well, why?” she looks at you, “What is the real meaning of this?”
“It is because she has no interest in marrying me,” you say, “She never has had interest.”
“Why not?” Lady Oxenstiern looks at you and says, “You are a hero. You should be able to protect the princess, and she should love you.”
You shake your head and look at the portrait of Princess Emily. You say, “She is not just pretty. I do like her. I do love her. She is not just pretty, though. I have never told her that I love her. I love her all the time. But, I think she will not like me if I love her.”
“Why do you care what she likes you?” she asks you, “Do you really want her to like you?”
“Yes, I do.” You nod your head. You know that it is true. You do not want anyone else to like you. You do not want to die alone. You do not want to hold on to your old dreams of becoming a hero in real life. You do not want to live in an imaginary world, where you do not know what is real, or what is not. You do not want to be the only story hero that cannot help himself get married.
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