Once upon a time there was a dreary kingdom ruled by a weary and bitter king. Now, a kingdom thus ruled isn't a very happy place—in fact, it is rarely a happy place at all. King Decoltur, however, hadn't always been the cold and saddened man he had come to be.
At the beginning of his reign and in the prime of his life, the young king might have been numbered among the happiest men alive. He was kind and just, and with confidence lead the kingdom in prosperity. He prided himself in the care he took to come to know and understand the individuals over whom he ruled, and his people loved him for it.
Just as beloved, if not more so, was the beautiful and kindly Queen Florryn. While her husband's great care for the people stemmed at least partially from a sense of duty, Queen Florryn's welled up from the simple goodness of her heart. She seemed able to summon forth a love of nearly infinite extent for all those she knew, and even for those she had only heard of but never met. Besides being graced with so gentle and boundless a sense of compassion, she had great gift in music, and possessed the loveliest of singing voices. When she sang, she always brought the happiest of smiles to the face of the king and immeasurable joy to his heart.
King Decoltur loved Queen Florryn, and she him. A stronger love than theirs has not ever been recorded in all the histories of men, and probably never will be. Each accompanied the other in most everything, and the twain never spent a night apart. They intuitively seemed to understand each other, which, though in other cases may have only made such conversation obsolete, made their conversation that much richer. Each was more than truthful and faithful with the other—they hid nothing, and always sought to improve themselves and their love. Indeed, each made the other a better person, calling forth all that was good in the other and inspiring it to flourish (though it was generally recognized that the queen greater influenced the king for good that he was could ever so influence her).
They two would often, after long and tiring days, spend the evening immersed in music. He would play his violin while she sang the lines of the love poems that one or the other had penned. Anyone who happened to hear them could not help but smile and have his spirits lifted.
Yes, they were in love.
Although it was always understood that the king would sacrifice anything to protect his people and his kingdom, it can only be wondered if he would have chosen his wife over his kingdom, had it ever come to such a choice.
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