"A Bedtime Love Story..."

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there were two princes from different far off lands sent by their fathers to find a princess to marry in the Land of Happily Ever After.

And although the princes were both dutiful and obedient sons, neither was thrilled about the prospect of finding a princess for a wife. 

After journeying alone for quite some time, the two princes eventually met one another while travelling on the same cobbled road towards the Crown City of the beautiful Land of Happily Ever After. As they journeyed together and travelled along, the princes both wondered out loud what the King of the Land of Happily Ever After would make of two princes petitioning for an audience at court to declare the same purpose.

Having endured many trials along their way, the two princes finally arrived to much fanfare in the beautiful city whose golden palace sat upon a hill. Upon hearing of the princes arrival, an audience was granted for the two princes to come before the court. The two princes were each wearing fine and handsome raiments when they appeared before the wise old King. And in turn, each of the princes told of their father's commandment for them to return with the hand of the King's beautiful daughter the Princess as a wife.

Listening to each of the princes speak of their journey and of meeting each other along the road and of their discovering they'd both been sent to seek the same prize, the wise old King seemed to see something in the princes and in their story of comradeship that no one else at court seemed to notice. Once the King had listened to both the princes' impassioned pleas, he commanded them each to spend another week together at the palace, where they were to explain one to the other why one of them should step aside to allow the better man to win the hand of his daughter.

At first the two princes were annoyed with the old King, afterall their journey had been long and arduous and the companions longed to know which of them would fulfill their fathers' command. But by their second day thus engaged together talking and explaining to one another what they could offer the princess, they began to soften their hearts and listened to one another's dreams with more sympathy. Over the course of the rest of their week together, the two princes became ever more inseparable and quite enamoured of one another.

Just as their week together was coming to an end, the wise old King ask his counselors to report on the progress of the two princes. Upon hearing of the princes' spending many hours together each day just smiling and being happy together, the King smiled broadly himself and commanded that the princes should be brought before him in a day's time.

On the princes' last night together, they were quite awkward and quiet with one another until suddenly one of the princes fell to one knee saying, "You are a far better man than I, you have won Dear Prince!" "No!" protested the other, "You are the better man and the Princess will be lucky to have a man so fine as you!" Upon hearing this and much to his own surprise, the first prince then exclaimed, "Were I the Princess, I would marry you today!" And with a tear in his eyes, he rose to his feet while kissing the hand of his princely companion and he then ran away to his quarters.

On the very next day, at the appointed hour, the two princes appeared in the court of the wise old King. Neither of the princes looked at the other as they were summoned to stand before the King on his throne. They stood there in silence for a long while as the wise old King looked at the two princes and knew he had been right all along. When finally the King spoke, he commanded the princes, "Turn to one another and each of you explain the virtues of the other." After several minutes of this, and without either of them running out of praises for the other, which astounded all who were gathered at court, the King interrupted and proclaimed, "You are both fine young men and it is clear to me that neither of you should marry my daughter the Princess."

Despite much shock and murmuring in the court, the King demanded silence, and then he spoke saying, "Two such as you were meant for each other... Do you not love one another?" On hearing this, the princes turned towards one another and each gazed deeply into each other's eyes which were filled with amazement and wonder and with smiles upon their faces, they took each other hands and turned to the King and said in unison, "I do love him, Your Majesty" 

The King then loudly spake these words as a hush fell over the throne room, "There shall be a wedding tomorrow... You two shall be wed and joined in love by me, for all love is ordained as good and praiseworthy and much to be sought after... So let it be written. So let it be done!"

And on the following day, the King married the princes and the Princes lived in happiness and joy ever after.

The End

Yes, I know the gay princes story has already been written... But when I ran across these images, they reminded me of how lonely it felt more than half a century ago when I was just a little boy listening to bedtime stories with happily ever afters that I knew (or so I thought) could never happen to me. I knew I was different when I was just 5 years old and I longed for any story to affirm the truth of my young troubled heart. I was thinking about this again this morning as I was watching a film and a few minutes later, this bedtime love story popped into my head.

I am always remembering...