Work Text:
(The story can be read below, or listened to/downloaded in audio form here or through the embedded player.)
Once upon a time,
there was a great and sometimes annoying king,
who was king of the stars
((shush, Gwyn, I'm telling a story))
and this king was cursed with sleeping badly,
and sometimes with being a pain in the ass –
((no, QUIET, I'm telling a story))
And so, this king,
under the advice of his primary advisor,
whose advice was always good and sound and whom the king knew that he must always listen to for his own good,
((Gwyn, you've really got to stop interrupting))
this king decided to go on a quest to find a solution to his sleeping curse.
He took with him only the essentials: a pack of food, water, clothing,
and of course
all the tools of the trade that his advisor thought necessary, since his advisor would be coming with him and might get bored.
((Gwyn, stop making that face at me))
They did NOT bring the king's ice dog,
because it was a large, grotesque, and smelly thing,
who always left a mess everywhere,
and the king knew better than to argue with his advisor about it.
And so, they set off.
They traveled far and wide,
ranging the breadth of the kingdom and beyond.
But no matter who they spoke to,
none knew of a way to break the curse.
The king despaired
and thought to give up,
((shh, trust me, Gwyn...I do know how to tell a good story))
but his advisor suggested they look one more place before returning to the palace.
And so,
they visited a water spirit
who lived in a secluded forest
and she told them of a special lake on a mountain top
and that if they went on a cold, clear night,
when the stars were the brightest,
and bathed in the water,
and danced under the stars,
the king's curse would be broken,
and he would sleep once more.
And so they went to this lake.
And the waters were so still and clear that
the stars from above were reflected perfectly
in the waters below
and when the king of the stars stepped into them,
it seemed as if he were surrounded by the all the stars in the heavens.
And so he bathed in a sea of stars.
And when he stepped out of the lake,
he danced with his advisor around the entirety of the shores.
And when at last they left the lake,
and returned home,
the king fell into his bed
and immediately drifted off into a deep and dreamless sleep.
And his advisor stayed to watch over him,
keeping him forever safe.
((Ah, Gwyn, you look so peaceful when you are asleep...
and you're not being a pain in the ass...))