2.19.2004 ||> The Tale of Sir Evan and the Ladies
Tonight my dear friends I have a story to delight the imagination and snare the senses. It is about nobility and disgrace, the heights and depths to which humanity can rise or sink. It is....
Once upon a time in a land far away there came a man. His name was Sir Evan and he was back from the Crusades. Coming back solid in body (if a little more dark in heart) he found solace in the bright court of the Capital. For he found no better friends than from the lords and ladies therein. After all, what better people in the world were more gallant than John the Good or Nicholas the Compassionate? Or ladies more beautiful than the Ladies Cecilia and Jennifer? They glowed like diamonds and the conversation always sparkled like champagne. However, as with all stories, change was inevitable. The plague struck and while the men stayed to advise the Crown, the ladies flew to their castles to nurture the sick and dying.
Some time later, the nastiness was averted in Lady Jenny's homeland and she was able to return to court. Back in her element she courted her own circle of admirers, not the least of whom was the newly-besotted Sir Evan. He finally decided to request her hand, and made ready for his nuptials. However, on the fateful night he was to propose, Lady Jenny was found in the stables with a squire in Sir Evan's employ. Shattered beyond recognition at this transgression of the heart, he banished her back to her castle in the wreak of scandal.
Word finally reached Lady Cecilia and she sent her condolences to the bereaved Evan. She sympathized to the point where she too, had problems eating and sleeping and promised to come as quickly as the devastation in her Stone City allowed her. However, just then the plague struck again, harsher this time. Bodies filled the streets in every region. Sir Evan, having studied the alchemy in the infidel lands, knew of a potion to help cure the plague. Called "Blue Life," it cured the people, but left a telltale sign (but a small blue mark on the ear was a small price to pay). Unfortunately it was very rare in this kingdom, although it was found in the capital.
So, the question is, to which Lady did he send the potion? Certainly not to Cecilia, who was the true friend (and whose plague was more of a blight). Nope, he sent it to Jenny, with her better medical staff and supplies.
And the moral of the story? Men suck.
