The Tale of a Queen who can have everything but not Love

There was once a queen who ruled the three kingdoms in the west. She was beautiful, kind and powerful. Other queens from different kingdoms envy her for having all the riches in the world and her unwavering beauty. She was very rich that every single room in her castle was filled with jewels, bars of gold, diamonds, expensive dresses and porcelains. She had a very beautiful face that Helen of Troy couldn't even stood up to her.  All her servants and soldiers were loyal to her and she was kind to them. Everything seems to be perfect for this queen. Yet every night she curls up on her bed and weeps. She wept because she was lonely and it could be heard all over the castle at midnight. No one was there to comfort her. She was unmarried and childless. Two things that she had been longing to have but could never have. She was living in a very large castle with hundreds of servants and soldiers. They are only there for her because she feeds and pays them for their service. If she wouldn't do that, they would all leave her alone. She was desperate for a lover's affection. She wanted to build a family of her own. A king or a prince that would rule the three kingdoms by her side and little princes or princesses that would become heirs. She had liked hundreds of kings all over the world but no one had reciprocated her feelings. Not even a single one. Eventually, the beautiful queen thought she was cursed. She was cursed to become so powerful, rich and beautiful yet no one could ever love her. One winter day, the lonely queen was walking in her garden. She was appreciating her white roses almost covered in snow flakes. She thought how pretty the roses and snowflakes were together. They complemented each other in a peaceful and calm way. A commotion from outside the gate distracted her from those thoughts. She wondered what was that about and walked closer to the gate. Her guards were trying to stop a waif looking girl from coming inside the gate. She was so thin, barefoot and only wearing a gray colored tattered dress. She was shivering from the cold and her feet were bleeding. "My queen! Please let me in! I am so cold and hungry! I have nowhere to go!" the girl called out to her. The queen pitied her and ordered her guards to let the girl come inside. Once inside the castle, the queen ordered her servants to give the girl warm clothes, a meal and clean her wounds. After that, the girl approached the queen who was sitting on her throne. "Oh, thank you so much my queen. I am full and warm now." the girl said and bowed. "You are most welcome. May I ask why were you barefoot in the snow? Did you run away from home?" the queen asked. The girl shook her head. "I didn't have a home to run away from my queen. I am not from here and got lost in the woods until I found your castle. People say that you are a very kind queen so I didn't hesitate to ask for help" the girl said. "People said that?" the queen asked, perplexed. "Yes, my queen. You are a kind ruler, they said. Your people adore you" the girl said. The queen smiled but it didn't reach her eyes.  "But why do you look sad my queen? You should be happy to know that the people love you. You have the saddest eyes I have ever seen" the girl pointed out. "Because I am cursed. If that was so easy for people to love me, then why am I alone?" the queen asked. The girl stared at her for a moment before speaking again. "Are you unhappy because you're alone?" the girl asked. "I am unhappy because I couldn't get what my heart really wanted" the queen said. "Is that the reason why you are weeping every night?" the girl asked. The queen furrowed her brows. "How did you know that? You said you were not from here" the queen asked. The girl smiled and waved her hand. In a blink of an eye, the girl turned into a woman. The woman had sparkly white long hair, silver dress and a wand. The queen stood from her throne in astonishment. She cannot believed what she was seeing. "Are you a witch?" the queen asked. "Yes but I am not just a witch. I am your fairy god mother" the woman said. The queen ran toward her fairy god mother, knelt and grabbed her dress. She started weeping. "I have been waiting for you to come. I want you to lift this curse that I have. I want to be happy. I don't want to be lonely and die alone!" the queen said between sobbing. The witch urged the queen to stand up. She reached out to her cheeks and wiped away her tears. "Why are you weeping? Your life is perfect, you have everything" the witch said. "I may have everything but I am not genuinely happy. I am very lonely" the queen said. "What do you really want my child?" the witch asked. "I want love. I want a man who could love me and help me rule the three kingdoms. I want to have my own family" the queen said. The witch smiled. "Your wants are very simple. It's ironic how a queen like you would only asked for such simple things in life. However, there are things that we couldn't get with just a snap of our fingers. I have seen you grow my queen. I knew what you have been through to get where you are now. I was there all along guiding your decisions without you knowing. When you were just a princess, you wanted to rule a kingdom and here you are, ruling not just one kingdom but three. You have gotten what you wanted yet you are still unhappy" the witch said. "It is because I'm cursed. I can never get what my heart wants. No one would ever love me. Please, I'm begging you to lift the curse" the queen said. The witch smiled and said: "My child, you are not cursed at all. It was just that you fell in love at such a young age. When you were just a princess, you fell for the wrong prince. You thought he was the one and that you cannot let go of those delusions of what could have been. Until now, you are sad because you thought you almost had it all" the witch said. The queen was tongue-tied. What the witch said was true.  How could she say those memories that she had been repressing? "If you really are my fairy god mother, why can't you just give me what I want? Like what happened to Cinderella?" the queen asked. "Cinderella only asked for a beautiful dress and shoes. She didn't ask for love. It was her fate to meet the prince and fell in love. I cannot give you something intangible" the witch said. "Then tell me what should I do to be genuinely happy? How should I be happy in my solitude?" the queen asked. The witch moved closer to the queen and touched her face. "Look around you. What can you see?" the witch asked. The queen looked around her kingdom. She saw her servants looking happy while doing their chores as well as their children playing in the garden.  She had given these people a home inside her castle and she hadn't realized that. She was too occupied in her own sentiments that she neglected to see what was around her. "A beautiful warm kingdom" the queen said. "You have been hiding in your own bubble of loneliness that you hadn't realized the warmth that you've created for these people. You gave them home and happiness. You were the reason why they have roof above their heads, food in their stomach and a smile on their faces. You made them happy, so why can't you make yourself happy?" the witch asked. Then the queen realized something. "Because I am too impatient and discontented of what I have at the moment. I have been focusing on the things that I still don't have while not appreciating what is around me. I fail to appreciate what I have achieved because I have been loving people who are unworthy of me" the queen said. "Very well my child. So stop weeping and sleep peacefully at night. Fate has something greater prepared for you. All you have to do is to wait for it to unfold" the witch said. "How would I know there is something I should wait?" the queen asked. "Because you have a kind heart and you haven't hurt people despite your power. You have used it very well for the good and shared it to everyone around you. Do you really think you wouldn't be rewarded? The world isn't really cruel, it is just how we perceived it" the witch said. The queen smiled and for the first time in a very long time, it reached her eyes. The witch helped her burst the bubble of loneliness she had been hiding for so many years without using any magic. She had made the queen realized to appreciate the things she has at the moment. The witch reached for the queen's crown and re-arranged it on her head. "Your crown is falling. You should hold your head high and stop weeping. When your golden time will come, you'll flourish and everything that you want, including love will come at your doorstep without you expecting it. For now, spend your time and be busy on your kingdoms and the people who adore you while waiting for the righteous king to arrive. All you have to do is to wait..." the witch said. The witch urged the queen to sit back on her throne. "You are not alone. I am always here for you my child. Just be patient..." the witch whispered to the queen. From then on, the queen stop weeping. Her kingdoms flourished for many years and she was still waiting for her righteous king to arrive. One summer night, the queen was gazing at the full moon from her balcony. She was thinking about the festivities that her kingdom will celebrate in the coming days. Then she heard a horse neighing from a distance and its hooves stomping on the ground. It was a dark horse and someone was riding it. The dark horse ran towards the gates of her castle but her guards stopped it. Her brows furrowed. Then a knock on her bedroom door startled her. "Come in!" she said without leaving the balcony. Her butler came in and said: "A prince from the South is at the gate and he needs our help. He had lost his way to his destination and can't find a place to stay for the night. He said he heard that a kind queen is living in this castle. The people pointed him into this direction" her butler said. The queen smiled and again, it reached her eyes. "Open the gates" she said. THE END