Finally Home
For Charlie and Judy
as a housewarming present
Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a young prince named Charles. As his eighteenth birthday approached, a wizard visited Prince Charles and offered him a single birthday wish. Prince Charles sent the wizard away and spent several days considering his wish options. On his 18th birthday, Prince Charles awoke to find the wizard in his room. He was startled for a moment, then said, “Fortune and success.”
“Your wish is my command,” replied the wizard. “But remember, wishes always have consequences!” And with that, the wizard disappeared.
Prince Charles did grow to have much fortune and success, though he seldom thought about the wizard’s connection to that fortune and success. He finished university and met his lovely wife, Judith. Together they created a home in the land’s castle.
Eventually, after they raised their two children, they dreamed of owning their own castle, as Prince Charles’ father was still living and ruling the country. They chose a property in the city, as Princess Judith loved the city, and they commissioned a new castle. Before building could even begin, though, the prince and princess encountered some problems. It turned out that the land they chose to build the castle was not actually owned by the state. They contacted the landowner to purchase the land, but the landowner was not interested in selling it. He was a well-loved landlord to many peasants, and he did not want them to lose their homes. Prince Charles and Princess Judith also did not want the peasants to lose their homes, so they chose a piece of land slightly north of the city, still very close to the city and along the river. The state did own that land, so the builders began to order supplies and begin work.
Unfortunately, word had already spread to the peasants that the prince and princess were interested in building a castle in the city. Terrified that they would lose their homes, they staged a revolt and looted the area where the builders were warehousing the supplies for the new castle. Prince Charles and Princess Judith felt so terrible for this mishap that they did not charge the peasants. Instead, they held a meeting, explaining that they had no desire to uproot any of them, and that they had chosen a new property. The peasants apologized, returned the supplies, and welcomed the prince and princess to the city.
As building was about to begin on the new castle, the foreman contacted the prince and princess. There had been a horrible oversight. Since the new property was closer to the river, they would have to spend the rest of the season draining the water table so the castle would not sink, as so many of the older castles were experiencing this phenomenon. This set back construction several months, as they would not be able to start building before winter came.
Princess Judith was so pleased that they discovered the draining issue that she did not mind having to live with the King for another winter. Besides, this situation gave them plenty of time to order all of the exotic items they wanted to use to furnish their new castle. The builders even completed the draining early, so they would have time to lay the foundation before winter. The prince and princess were thrilled.
Unfortunately, that year in the faraway land winter came early. The builders worked furiously, day and night, to get the foundation covered to protect it through the harsh winter until they could begin laying the stones for the walls. It was a long, dark winter, but as it always does, spring came, and along with it came hope and excitement of the new castle. Everyone in the land was bustling about the building and the wonderful improvements it would bring to the land.
As the builders removed the protective covering, they found an area that had not been protected thoroughly enough and had developed mold. That area of the castle–what was to be the kitchen–had to be redone. They got right to work to replace the foundation, as they knew the prince and princess were anxious to be in their new castle before the next winter.
The official first day of spring arrived, and along with it, the stones for the castle arrived. People from all over the land traveled to see the masons work to lay the stones. It was so exciting! And the prince and princess were thrilled! Finally something was going as planned! They, too, watched the masons work and anticipated the day when they would finally be able to move into their new castle.
Halfway through building the walls, the stones ran out. The builder had no idea how they had made such an error, but more stones would have to be ordered. This was a significant setback. The prince and princess were quite displeased. They also knew that they would have to wait, though, as there were no other options.
The day the new stones arrived, Prince Charles received word that the fleet of ships carrying the exotic goods to furnish their new castle had been accosted by a group of pirates, and the pirates would not release the goods. Prince Charles went to bed with such a heavy heart. Nothing was going right with the building of the new castle. He did not even know how to tell Princess Judith of this latest development. Even if the castle were to be finished before winter, they would have nothing with which to furnish it. He was devastated.
Prince Charles tossed and turned most of the night, and when he did sleep, he had the strangest dreams. In one of the dreams, the wizard who granted him the wish on his eighteenth birthday visited him again. In the dream, the wizard said, “I said there would be consequences. With your wish came the consequence of no personal home. You must tell your wife, as the castle will never be finished. Even if it is finished, it will be too drafty for anyone to ever survive a winter living there. This is the consequence of your success and fortune.”
Prince Charles sat up quickly and ran to his office. He must find the wizard! He must discover a way to break the curse. He could not disappoint his wife in this way. He knew he must find the wizard.
Princess Judith was quite concerned when she awoke the next morning and found Prince Charles gone. She probably would have worried more if she had known all that was happening. But Prince Charles was convinced to never let Princess Judith know this piece of the castle building fiasco. In disguise, he searched high and low for the wizard from dawn until dusk. At dusk, he entered a sketchy pub near the original property, and the barkeeper instructed him to follow the river to a cave near the new property. At the cave, the prince found a troll guarding the entrance. The price demanded to see the wizard. The troll said, “Ugh,” and lifted his club to express his displeasure with the prince’s request. The prince removed his disguise, and the troll fell prostrate before the prince, allowing him to pass.
The wizard was unhappy to see the prince, but Prince Charles was angry, and the wizard did not want to further upset him. Prince Charles had defused the troll so quickly, the wizard knew that even his greatest powers were no match for Prince Charles’ love for his wife and desire to please her. So, he offered Prince Charles a deal. Prince Charles and Princess Judith would travel to Rome, and Prince Charles would take Princess Judith for meatballs at the world-renowned La Meatball Factory. There Princess Judith must wish for the castle to be finished, over a bowl of meatballs. Prince Charles reluctantly agreed, unsure of how he would make this come to pass. He knew that if he told Princess Judith about the situation, she would be furious. So, he must make it come to pass without telling her.
He headed back to the King’s castle and told Princess Judith to pack her bags. They were going to Italy. Princess Judith was confused, but welcomed the break from the building drama. They left on the next ship to Rome. Princess Judith tried to ask Prince Charles where he had been the day before, but he would not respond. Each time she asked, he became very quiet and sad, so she eventually stopped pressing for an answer.
They arrived in Rome the in the middle of the night, and retired to their lodging for some sleep. At noontime, they awoke, starving. Prince Charles suggested that they visit the world-renowned La Meatball Factory for some prize winning meatballs. Princess Judith thought that was a wonderful plan. Over their bowls of meatballs, the prince asked, “If you could wish for anything right now, what would it be?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” she responded. “I wish our castle would be completed so we could finally move in before winter arrives.”
The wizard appeared before the prince, unseen by Princess Judith, and said, “Your wish is my command!” The wizard winked at Prince Charles and disappeared.
After several days of respite in Rome, Prince Charles and Princess Judith journeyed home. The port was filled with cheering crowds. They were shouting, “Welcome home! Welcome home! You can finally go home!”
The prince and princess were confused, but as they stepped off of their ship, the builder met them. There had been no more problems, and the castle was finished! The furnishings had been released and delivered, and they could finally go to their new home. Prince Charles kissed his wife, and they got in the carriage that would take them home.
The early morning sun was just coming up over the river when they arrived. The castle was even more beautiful than they had ever imagined. Their children were there to greet them and welcome them home. Finally home.
The End
