Tale 211: Princess Hatchling (Misty)

(real tale: The Egg Born Princess)


"Once upon a time, there lived a queen whose heart ached because she wanted so much to have a child." Misty begins. "She was sad enough when her husband was at home, but when he was away she would see nobody, but sat and cried all day long."

"Pi ni..." Happini sighs.

"Now it happened that a war broke out with the king of a neighboring country, and the queen was left in the palace alone." Misty explains. "She was so depressed that she felt as if the walls would stifle her, so she wandered out into the garden, and threw herself down on a grassy bank, under the shade of a Meli tree. She had been there for some time, when a rustle among the leaves caused her to look up, and she saw an old woman limping towards the stream that flowed through the grounds. When she had drank her fill, she came straight up to the queen, and said to her..."

"Do not take it as an evil omen, noble lady, that I speak to you, and do not be afraid, for it may be that I shall bring you good luck." she begins in an older version of herself.

"You do not seem very lucky yourself, or had much good fortune to spare for anyone else."Melody sighs as the queen

"Sometimes the sweetest berries have the roughest skins," Misty replies as the old woman. ‘Let me see your hand, that I may tell your fortune."

Melody holds out her hand, and Misty pretends to read her palm, "Your heart is heavy with two sorrows, one old and one new. The new sorrow is for your husband, who is fighting far away from home but, believe me, he is well, and will soon bring you joyful news. But your other sorrow is much older than this. Your happiness is spoiled because you have no children."

Misty then interjects as herself "At these words the queen became quite angry, and tried to pull away her hand, but the old woman said..."

"Have a little patience, for there are some things I want to see more clearly." she assures Melody as the old woman.

"But who are you?" Melody asks as the queen, "for you seem to be able to read my heart."

"Never mind my name," Misty replies, "but be glad that I can show you a way to lessen your grief. You must, however, promise to do exactly what I tell you, if any good is to come of it."

"Oh, I will obey you exactly,’ Melody cries giddily in character, ‘and if you can help me you will have in return anything you ask for."

"The old woman thought for a moment, then produced a tiny basket made of birch." Misty continues as herself. "She held it out to the queen, saying..."

As the old woman, she instructs Melody "In the basket you will find a bird’s egg. You must be careful to keep it in a warm place for three months, when it will hatch into two children, a boy and a girl. The boy you will bring up yourself, but you must entrust the little girl to a nurse. When the time comes to have them christened you will invite me to be godmother to the princess, and this is how you must send the invitation. Hidden in the cradle, you will find a Swanna’s wing...invoke the charm inscribed on it, and I will be with you directly; but be sure you tell no one of these wondrous things."

As herself, she continues "The queen was about to reply, but the old woman was already limping away, and before she had gone two steps she had turned into a Delphox, who moved so quickly that she seemed rather to fly than to walk. The queen, watching this transformation, could hardly believe her eyes."

Ash smiles--he knows the old woman was really the Delphox Kitsune in disguise. "She thought seriously about blowing it all off as a dream, had it not been for the basket which she held in her hand." Misty goes on. She hurried to her room, and felt around in the basket for the egg. It was a tiny soft blue egg with little green spots, and she kept it wrapped in a warm blanket every day."

"And then?" Brock asks.

"Two weeks after the old woman had paid her visit, the king came home victorious." Misty goes on. "At this proof that the old woman had spoken truth, the queen’s heart leaped for joy, for she now had fresh hopes that the rest of the prophecy might be fulfilled. She cherished the basket and the egg as her chiefest treasures, and had a golden case made for the basket, so that when the time came to lay the egg in it, it might not risk any harm. Three months passed, and the egg hatched into two children, a boy and a girl. She sent for the king, who was ecstatic at the sight of the children."

"Aw..." Melody smiles.

"Soon there came a day when the whole court was ordered to be present at the christening of the royal babies, and when all was ready the queen softly opened the window a little, held the Swanna wing out towards the sky, and invoked the charm written on it."Misty then pauses to sing Karuto, iichiida shou... "The guests were coming in droves, when suddenly there drove up a splendid coach drawn by six shining Ponytas, and out of it stepped a young lady dressed in garments that shone like the sun. Her face could not be seen, for a veil covered her head, but as she came up to the place where the queen was standing with the babies she drew the veil aside, and everyone was dazzled with her beauty. She took the little girl in her arms, and holding her up before the assembled crowd, decreed that she would be named Danielle–a name which no one understood but the queen, who knew that the baby had come from the yolk of an egg. The boy was named Damien."

"Wonderful names..." Brock grins.

"After the feast was over and the guests had left, the godmother laid the baby in the cradle, and said to the queen..."

In a younger version of her older voice, she instructs "Whenever Danielle goes to sleep, be sure you lay the basket beside her, and leave the eggshells in it. As long as you do that, no evil can come to her; so guard this treasure as the Leppa of your eye, and teach your daughter to do likewise."

As herself, she continues "Then, kissing the baby girl three times, she returned to her coach and drove away. The children grew up healthy and strong, and Danielle’s nurse loved her as if she were the baby’s real mother. Every day the little girl seemed to grow prettier, and people used to say she would soon be as beautiful as her godmother, but no one knew, except the nurse, that at night, when the child slept, a strange and lovely lady bent over her. Finally she told the queen what she had seen, but they determined to keep it as a secret between them."

"Kitsune is not gonna like this...." Ash muses.

"When the children were nearly two years old, the queen caught a terrible disease." Misty continues. "All the best healers in the country were summoned, but it was no use--nothing they did seemed to help. The queen knew she was dying, and sent for Danielle and her nurse, who had now become her lady-in-waiting. To her, as her most faithful servant, she gave the lucky basket in charge, and told her to treasure it carefully. "

"When my daughter," Melody weakly whispers as the queen, "is ten years old, you are to give this to her, but warn her that her whole future happiness depends on the way she guards it. As for Damien, I have no fears. He is the heir to the throne, and his father will look after him."

"The lady-in-waiting promised to carry out the queen’s last request, and above all to keep the affair a secret." Misty continues. "The next morning, the queen had joined Arceus in the heavens."

Tarina sniffles a bit, but Brock pets her to reassure her everything will be okay. "After some years had passed, the king married again, but he did not love his second wife as he had his first, and had only married her for ambition's sake." Misty intones. "She hated her step-children, and the king, seeing this, kept them out of the way, under the care of Danielle’s old nurse. But if they ever crossed the path of the queen, she would kick them out of her sight like Growlithes."

"That's not very nice!" Ash gasps in anger.

"On Danielle’s tenth birthday her nurse handed her over the cradle, and repeated to her her mother’s dying words; but Danielle was too young to understand the value of such a gift, and at first thought nothing of it." Misty goes on. "Two more years passed, when one day, while the king was away, the stepmother found Danielle sitting under a Meli tree. She fell as usual into a rage, and beat Danielle so badly that she went staggering to her own room. Her nurse was not there, but suddenly, as she stood there crying, she spotted the golden case in which lay the precious basket. She thought it might contain something to help her, and looked eagerly inside, but nothing was there save a handful of wool and two empty eggshells. Curious, she lifted the wool, and there lay the Swanna’s wing. Figuring the charm on it was worth a shot to invoke, she held it out and sang Karuto, iichiida shou....

She next confirms Ash's suspicions. "In a moment the beautiful Delphox Kitsune stood beside her."

"Do not be afraid," she assures Melody as Kitsune. "I am your godmother, and have come to visit. Your red eyes tell me that you are unhappy. I know that your stepmother is very unkind to you, but be brave and patient, and better days will come. She will have no power over you, and no one else can hurt you either, if you are careful never to part from your basket, or to lose the eggshells that are in it. Make a silken case for the little basket, and hide it somewhere safe, and you will be safe from your stepmother and anyone else that tries to harm you. "But if you should happen to find yourself in danger, and don't know what to do, take the Swanna wing from the basket, hold it out of a window, and invoke the spell I inscribed on it--'Karuto, iichiida shou...' and I will come to help you. Now come with me to the garden, so I can talk to you under the Meli trees, where no one can hear us."

As herself, Misty continues "They had so much to say to each other, that the sun was already setting when Kitsune finished giving all the good advice she wished to give Danielle, and saw it was time for her to go."

"Hand me the basket," she tells Melody, "for you must have some dinner. I cannot let you go to bed hungry."

"Then, bending over the basket, she softly sang some magic words...." Misty then nearly whispers as Kitsune Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... and in a flash of red light, a table covered with fruits and cakes stood on the ground before them. When they had finished eating, Kitsune led Danielle back, and on the way taught her the spell she had to sing to the basket when she wanted it to give her something--'Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul...'

Tarina and Pikachu spark happily, eager to know if there is a quest involved. "In a few more years, Danielle had grown into a fine young lady, and those who saw her thought that the world did not contain so lovely a girl." Misty goes on. "About this time a terrible war broke out, and the king and his army were beaten back, till they had no choice but to retreat back into town, and prepare for a long siege. It lasted so long that food began to run out, and even in the palace there was not enough to eat."

Ash swallows hard at the turn of events. "So one morning Danielle, who had had neither dinner nor breakfast, and was feeling very hungry, weakly invoked the Swanna wing." Misty continues.

Karuto, iichiida shou... Melody's spellsong doesn't have its usual gusto, reflecting her role's condition.

"She was so weak and miserable, that no sooner had Kitsune appeared she burst into tears, and could not speak for some time." Misty continues

"Don't cry, little one." Misty assures Danielle as Kitsune.. "I will carry you away from all this, but the others I must leave in the hands of fate."

She continues as herself "Then, motioning for Danielle follow her, she passed through the gates of the town, and through the army outside, and nobody stopped them, or seemed to see them. The next day the town surrendered, and the king and all his courtiers were taken captive, but in the confusion, Damien managed to make his escape. The queen had already met her death from an enemy spear."

"So, what became of Damien?" Brock is intrigued.

"As soon as Danielle and Kitsune were safe, Danielle disguised herself as a peasant, and in order to disguise her better, Kitsune transformed her face completely.

"When better times come," she instructs as Kitsune. "and you want to look like yourself again, you have only to softly sing the spell I have taught you into the basket, and your true form will be restored. But you will have to wait a little longer."

As herself, she goes on "Then, warning her once again to take care of the basket, Kitsune told Danielle goodbye. For many days Danielle wandered from one place to another without finding shelter, and though the food which she got from the basket prevented her from starving, she was glad enough to take service in a peasant’s house till brighter days came. At first the work she had to do seemed very difficult, but either she was wonderfully quick in learning, or else the basket may have secretly helped her. At the end of three days she could do everything as well as if she had cleaned pots and swept floors all her life."

"One morning Danielle was busy cleaning a wooden tub, when a noble lady happened to pass through the village. The girl’s bright face as she stood in the front of the door with her tub attracted the lady, and she stopped and called the girl to come and speak to her." Misty continues.

"Would you like to come and enter my service?" she asks as the lady.

"Very much," Melody replies as Danielle, "if my present mistress will allow me."

As herself, she continues "The same day they set out for the lady’s house, Danielle sitting beside the coachman. Six months went by, and then came the joyful news that Damien had raised an army and had defeated the usurper who had taken his father’s place, but at the same moment Danielle learned that the old king had died in captivity. She mourned for his loss, but secretly, as she had told her mistress nothing about her past life."

"Azu?" Azurill asks.

"At the end of a year of mourning, King Damien announced that he intended to marry, and commanded all the maidens in the kingdom to come to a party, so that he might choose a bride from among them." Misty explains. "For weeks all the mothers and all the daughters in the land were busy preparing beautiful dresses and trying new hairstyles, and the three lovely daughters of Danielle’s mistress were just as excited. Danielle was quick with her fingers, and was busy getting ready their beautiful clothes, but at night when she went to bed she always dreamed that her godmother Kitsune bent over her and said, "Dress your young ladies for the feast, and when they have started follow them yourself. Nobody will be so fine as you."

"Now it's turning into 'Cinderella'" Brock muses.

"When the big day came, Danielle could hardly contain herself, and when she had dressed her young mistresses and seen them off with their mother, she flung herself on her bed, and burst into tears. Then she seemed to hear a voice whisper to her..."

She whispers as Kitsune "Look in your basket, and you will find in it everything that you need."

"Danielle did not wait to be told twice!" she grins as herself. "She grabbed her basket, and repeated the magic words...."

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Melody fills in the spellsong.

"...and in a flash of red, there lay a dress on the bed, glittering like the stars." Misty continues. "She put it on with fingers that shook with joy, and, looking in the mirror, was awestruck at her own beauty. She went downstairs, and in front of the door stood a fine carriage, into which she stepped and was driven away like the wind."

"And then?" Ash asks, excited.

The king’s palace was a long way, yet it seemed like only a few minutes before Danielle arrived at the great gates." Misty continues "She was just about to get out, when she suddenly remembered she had left her basket behind. What was she to do?"

"Go back and get it, of course." Brock guesses.

"Thankfully a little Taillow flew up with the basket in its beak." Misty assures Brock. "The party was in full swing, and the hall was shining with youth and beauty, when the door was flung open wide and Danielle entered, making all the other maidens look pale and dim beside her. Their hopes faded as they gazed, but their mothers whispered together, saying, ‘Surely this is our lost princess!’"

A sick feeling wells up in Ash's stomach--are brother and sister going to marry each other?

"King Damien did not recognize her, but he never left her side nor took his eyes off her." Misty continues, noting Ash's pained look. "Around midnight a strange thing happened. A thick cloud suddenly filled the hall, so that for a moment all was dark. Then the mist suddenly grew bright, and Kitsune appeared in the room."

"This," she tells Ash as Kitsune, "is the girl whom you have always believed to be your sister, and who vanished during the siege. She is not really your sister at all, but the daughter of the king of a neighboring country, who was given to your mother to bring up, to save her from the hands of an evil wizard.’

She concludes as herself "Then she departed for heaven, and she and King Damien lived happily ever after."

"Are you sure you didn't just put that in to satisfy me?" Ash asks--the previous events and the ending don't add up in his mind.

"No, it's how the story goes." Brock assures him. "I've read several versions of this tale, and up until the end you think the brother and sister are blood related, but there is a subtle clue before the supernatural godparent--who it is depends on where it comes from--reveals the sister's true identity. It sounds like an Arceus ex machina, and in some versions, it flat out is, but if you really think about it, this version makes sense."

Ash thinks back over the story's plot. Is it possible that the usurper Danielle fled from was the evil wizard?

Misty notices Ash thinking hard. "Did you at least like it?"

"Yeah..." Ash smiles."But I'll leave the twist open to interpretation as to how it happened."

"Let's hope your next tale makes a little more sense." Melody smiles as Ash gets up to start his next tale....