She was asleep. Listening to the steady breathing of this unfamiliar woman, the prince stood in place for a while, absolutely still.
The princess opened her eyes. The prince could not see this, and continued to stand there without realizing.
“Who are you?” demanded the princess. “Why are you in my chambers at this hour?”
The prince gave a start. But he managed to calm himself down and slowly replied, “I am here to meet my bride.”
5
As the prince carefully felt her face, the princess closed her eyes and remained still. The touch of this stranger’s fingertips on her face made her feel shy and ticklish; it also felt good, somehow. The feeling of doing something forbidden disconcerted her and scared her a little, but it was also pleasurable and secretly thrilling. She could feel herself blushing a little more each time the prince’s fingertips caressed her face.
By the time he took his hand away, the princess was completely and utterly in love. But she didn’t know whether that love was for the prince or for her own excited emotions.
“You are beautiful,” the prince whispered. “If only I could see … If only I could see my beautiful bride’s face, just once …” Large tears sprang from the prince’s eyes.
“Please don’t cry.” The princess tried to console him. “You can touch my face any time you so desire, just like now. I will stay by your side for the rest of our lives.”
“But I am not the only one who will end up in misfortune,” the prince said as he continued to shed tears. “The master of the golden ship cursed my whole family. As long as my father’s blood rules the sands, no one will be safe, he said.”
The princess was taken aback. “But why? Who would make such a fearful curse?”
“It’s because he was defeated in a war and lost one of his arms,” explained the prince. “He said my father had taken his virility, so all my father’s descendants would also have their virility taken from them.” The tears rolled down his cheeks. “If you marry me, our children, and their children, they will all have useless bodies like mine. And when the master of the golden boat invades our land again, this country—ruled by a king with no virility—will immediately fall.”
And the prince lowered his head and cried copiously.
The princess embraced the prince and tried to console him. Her shoulder became drenched with the prince’s tears.
He was gone from her chambers before the sun rose. Sitting alone in the darkness, the princess stared into the brightening gray of the eastern sky. As she watched the golden-gear ship slowly crossing the firmament above the sun rising on the horizon, the princess made a decision.
She was going to go to the master of the golden ship and break the curse for the prince who was to become her husband and for her children who were to be born and their children too.
6
It was not easy, sneaking out of the palace. The princess was a bride whose wedding was imminent, a future queen no less. She was surrounded by handmaidens at all times, and even when she was alone in her room, there was always a guard posted right outside her door. Thus, when the prince again visited her chamber in the middle of the night, she asked for his advice.
“Not only are you beautiful, you are brave,” marveled the prince. “I know a way out of the palace. But once you are out and find your way to the golden ship, you will have to face him on your own. Are you up to it?”
The princess was firm. “I must try. I’m not going to challenge him to a duel, I’m simply a defenseless woman who is asking for a favor. He wouldn’t harm me, would he?”
“We don’t know that. He is a cruel man …” The prince sighed. “If only I could see, then I could accompany you …”
The princess smiled gently. “If you could see, we wouldn’t need to go see the master of the golden ship in the first place. Please do not resent me if I am unsuccessful in my petition.”
“I would never.” The prince gently cupped her chin in his hands. “I am only grateful you are being so brave for me.”
“One more thing,” the princess said. “Even if I succeed, the king will be most displeased to learn that I escaped the palace before the wedding. If I’m discovered on my way back, I may be banished to my country of birth forever.”
“Do not worry. Everything you are doing is for me, and I shall protect you. You are my bride, my wife.”
Instead of an answer, the princess kissed the prince’s lips.