The Gentle Prince (a Bedtime Story)
 by Travelling One
 
 
 
 
EMAIL: travelling_one@yahoo.ca
WEB: http://www.travellingone.com
RELATED EPISODES: Helps to know TBFTGOG, Serpent's Lair; Need; Solitudes
CATEGORY: Future story 2017
SUMMARY: One life, fifteen years ahead.While only Sam appears in this short piece, if you know my stories you'll know that Daniel is in here somewhere.
DISCLAIMER: The theme and main characters have been borrowed from the Stargate SG-1 tv series, and are copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. This story has been written for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.
NOTES: When this story was first conceived, Meridian was not even an embryo. Completed and updated now, it seems more appropriate than when first begun.
8/18/02
 
Sam kissed her daughter gently on the forehead, lingering for that extra moment that she knew they both loved. "'Night, sweetheart, time to sleep. Tomorrow's a school day."
 
"Mommy, please? One more story?"
 
"Danielle, you know the…"
 
"Please?" Her eyes were so round, so deliberate. Sam had never been able to say no to her daughter, when it was something like this, with those beautiful gray eyes that were predominant in the female side of her family. Eric's eyes were hazel, but genetics had apparently chosen Sam to pass on most of her traits to her beautiful nine-year-old daughter. While Eric's position in the military kept him away for nearly nine months of every year, Sam had grown close to her only child, and the small family had been her sanity since leaving the SGC ten years ago next month. Her daughter had arrived late in her life, and she knew Danielle would be her only offspring in this lifetime. She cherished her with every ounce of emotion she had left to give, and would never forget Jack's words to her upon giving birth: "Take care of her, Sam, and never let her forget how special she is." Sam never had, so far, she hoped.
 
"Please?"
 
"One more story. That'll make three for tonight. Promise you won't ask for more?"
 
"Ok," Danielle conceded happily. She knew tomorrow night would bring more stories, more special time spent with her mother.
 
Sam resettled herself alongside her daughter's bed, resting her head against the oak headboard and cradling her daughter in her arms. No matter how sleepy, she knew Danielle would remain awake until the very last moment of their time together. Whether it was actually the stories themselves that Danielle so craved or the touch and comfort between mother and daughter, Sam wasn't sure, but she knew in the long run that it really made no difference.
 
"Once upon a time, there was a gentle prince who lived in a kingdom of great abundance and pleasure, yet there lurked evil and wickedness on the dark side of his world.
 
One day, the prince had a vision, given only to him, of his world in great turmoil. The vision showed evil hunters tearing his world apart, destroying all those he cared about, all that he loved, and it saddened and worried the gentle prince. When he awoke, for this was nearly as a dream to him, he knew it still to be true. Rushing to the king, the prince told all he had seen, but was unprepared for the reaction of disdain and laughter. He could find no one who believed his tale.
 
The prince pondered what he had been shown, and the more he thought of it, the more he knew he was right. He had to do something to save his kingdom from the evil ones.
 
The prince had his three knights, who followed him to most ends of the world, on most adventures, and they were dedicated and loyal, as the prince was to them. Yet they, too, did not believe the story of his vision, and the prince despaired. Alone, he prepared to set off to confront the evil ones, when up rode his knights, offering their help and support. While not totally believing him, his knights believed in him, had sworn to protect him, and would never allow him to venture out alone to the darkest ends of the land. Grateful, they rode off together into the dark night, knowing not what would befall them along the way, knowing only that they would not return home without having accomplished their task.
 
Well, when the brave quartet arrived at the kingdom of the evil ones, they hid and listened, and discovered to their dismay that the wicked leaders with the glowing eyes were planning to destroy the serene kingdom of the prince. The prince and his knights cautiously, stealthily, entered the castle, quietly approaching the leader, as the arrogant evil ones had believed themselves too superior to be outwitted. 'Remain here,' the knights told the prince, for they wanted no harm to come to him. But the prince knew that danger lurked in every corner, every passageway, and so he agreed and said, "I shall stay and watch your backs." As the knights strode into the leader's chambers, firing their weapons and disintegrating all traces of the evil king, the prince was set upon by more evil ones, who were determined to avenge their leader and destroy the knights. Outnumbered, the prince aimed his weapon; he hit and killed all the attackers, but not before a fatal shot hit the prince himself.
 
When the knights heard their prince fall, they were horrified and devastated, but they had no time to retrieve him, for the evil leader had vowed that no attackers would ever be allowed to flee his kingdom and remain alive. In his castle, he had created a self-destruct device, so as soon as his death was accomplished, the castle began to explode and burn.
 
A great hole was placed in the wall of the king's chamber, while fire burned outside the room where the prince had been. Knowing they could not reach him, the knights escaped through the wall, riding off on the evil ones' horses until the whole castle had come down behind them. Riding off sadly back to their own part of the world, the knights mourned their beloved prince, bringing their story back to their own king.
 
Despairing the loss of their friend, the knights joined those in the kingdom who had gathered to express their best wishes and thank them for what they had done. But right in the midst of the gathering came a sight they had never dared to wish for - for here appeared none other than the prince himself, smiling and looking healthy and unharmed. The knights ran to him and rejoiced, knowing not how this had come about. The prince told of a special magical box he had found in the castle, right before it had burned, which had healed him. He had been concerned only for the fate of his dear friends, the knights, and now they were reunited with joy and happiness."
 
"For ever?"
 
"Um …for the time being."
 
"I like happy endings, mommy."
 
"So do I, sweetheart." Sam looked down wistfully at her daughter's innocent features.
 
"Tell me about the magical box, mommy."
 
"That's for another story, hon. Sleep now."
 
"Okay." Danielle closed her eyes, and turned her head into the pillow. Sam looked on for a moment at her daughter's innocent, happy face. Happy endings. Don't ever join the Stargate program, Danielle.
 
_____
 
And the day wore on, as it always did. Groceries had been bought, dinner was ready to be cooked.
 
And life went on, as it always did, as it had been going on for the past ten years… twenty since first joining the Stargate program. A lifetime ago that seemed only like yesterday.
 
From her bench, Sam watched her daughter coast down the slide glaring silver in the sunshine as she played tag with her best friend Reena, the late afternoon light glinting off her daughter's golden hair. Words haunted her from her past, "Take care of her, never let her forget how special she is." Wistful words from a man who longed to let his own son know the same things, and would never be able. Sam could learn from the mistakes of others, she'd always known that. She'd learned from the mistakes of her father, as well.
 
Maybe Danielle was old enough now to come here by herself after school, but Sam worried about her being alone outside. She feared for her daughter's safety, what with her own classified past. The Stargate program was still a big secret, but after administration had changed she'd found she could no longer be an accepting part of it. After the retirement of her CO, and her own marriage, Sam had left the world in the hands of those she no longer trusted. She only hoped they wouldn't screw up Danielle's world before she'd had a chance to make a mark of her own.
 
_____
 
Another nighttime, another hour to spend in the company of her precious child. She knew Danielle would request a new round of stories, it was the same ritual every night. Though Sam was tired tonight, she would never have thought of denying Danielle or herself this time together.
 
"Story, mom?" Danielle patted the bed where Sam always lay beside her, asking not a question, but making it a polite demand. She was ready, now.
 
Sam smiled. "Anything in particular?"
 
"Make up another one about the prince."
 
Of course it would be the prince. It had been the same every night for the past two months; since the prince stories had begun, slowly, over a period of several months, Danielle had craved them, until finally there had been at least one each night. There was something about a hero and happy endings that could create a craving for the world of fairy tales in every child's heart.
 
"Sure. Comfy?"
 
"Yeah," Danielle smiled up at her, those bright round gray eyes shining and her smile brightening up the dimly lit room. Sam recalled someone once telling her that her own smile did the same thing. Once, a lifetime ago.
 
Danielle snuggled into her mother even closer.
 
"Once upon a time, there was a gentle prince, who cared for all creatures equally and treated all people with kindness. He had learned as a young boy that all beings deserved happiness, for he had learned what it was to be sad and wished it upon no one else.
 
As he travelled upon his adventures with his three dear and dedicated knights, they came to a part of the world where all the kingdom was enslaved, working in dark, hot castle cellar mines to extract diamonds and jewels for the princess."
 
"An evil princess?"
 
"Yes, an evil princess."
 
"Because the evil king is dead."
 
Another evil king, Sam thought. Too many evil kings in the prince's world.
 
"Right. Anyway, the princess was stingy and selfish, and wanted everything for herself. So, as soon as she saw the prince, she decided she wanted him too."
 
"What did he do?"
 
"Well …the princess' servants grabbed the three knights and threw them deep into the hot smelly mine, where they were chained and couldn't get out, forced to work day and night with little food or water. The prince was horrified, and knew that the only way to free his dear and loyal friends was to give the princess what she wanted. So he agreed to stay with her forever."
 
"And she let his knights go? How did he get away?"
 
"No, she didn't let them go right away. She tricked the prince, and gave him a potion that made him fall in love with her. She wanted to make sure he would never, ever leave her.
 
So the prince did fall in love with her, or so she thought. He seemed to have forgotten about his friends down in the cellar mine, and stayed and kept the princess company for many long days. But the prince had never really forgotten them, for his love for his friends outweighed any trickery and potions a selfish princess could ever have arranged. So one day, though, when the princess was quite convinced of his loyalty and dependence upon her, she allowed the knights their freedom, and watched, waiting, as the prince escorted them home.
 
It was a long while before the prince was free of the magical potion, but his knights stayed with him night and day, until he was better.
 
When the potion had completely disappeared from inside his body, the prince rode back to the land of the evil princess. Upon seeing him, she began to cry, for she had missed him so much. She knew that he would never stay with her because of her wickedness, and asked for his forgiveness. The gentle prince forgave her easily, for that was what he did best, and made her promise to give up her evil ways. Together, they destroyed her potions, and the princess lived to rule her kingdom in gentleness and forgiveness as well, for she had had the best teacher of any world. Even though one day she married, she never forgot the prince and what he had taught her." Sam paused, lost in thought.
 
"Mommy?"
 
"Yes, hon?"
 
"One more story?"
 
Sam laughed. There were always two anyway, Danielle need not have asked. "Last one," she reminded.
 
"I know." Her daughter's eyes twinkled, as she rearranged her covers and took her mother's hand in her own.
 
"Prince?" Sam was checking, knowing the answer.
 
"Yup."
 
"Once upon a time, there lived a gentle prince, with hair of lazy silk and eyes the colour of the summer sky. He had many followers, but we both know that three knights of the kingdom were his closest friends and protectors.
 
One day, returning from a special mission for the king, he discovered that two of his knights had been lost, and no one in the kingdom had any idea where they had gone or whether they had been captured or were still alive. The prince was determined to find them, and the king agreed to send messengers out to search all areas of the land. The prince waited, and waited, comforted by the third knight, who worried just as deeply as he for the missing duo. You see, all three were as close to each other as they were to the prince.
 
Finally, all corners of the world had been thoroughly searched, and the king called the prince to his throne. 'I'm sorry,' the king said, 'but we have nowhere else to look and I cannot afford to send more messengers. I will find new knights for you to take with on your adventures.'
 
'NO!!' cried the prince. 'That's just not good enough.'
 
'It will have to be,' said the king. 'Those are my final words.' And he left the prince and third knight to cry together.
 
But the prince didn't care if he got in trouble with the king, for he knew he could never leave his friends to their fate, as they would never have left him. So he stayed up each night, thinking, thinking, until he had an idea. He knew of one more place no one else had dared to look - a cold, cold dark part of the world, that had been cursed long ago by a wizard. He did not know if his friends were there, but he had nowhere else to turn, and he knew none of the messengers would have dared venture there alone.
 
So the prince set off, on a long long journey with only his last knight by his side. They travelled for many days, and finally, they came to the place where the snow and ice lingered for twelve months and a day of every year. Lo and behold, there he found his knights, lost and alone in a cave, almost frozen and dying, where a magical current had thrown them. The prince knew that they did not have much time. Quickly, he put them on their two horses and they galloped as fast as they could, back to the warmth and safety of their own homeland. The king was pleased to see them all, and thanked the prince for his dedication. But it was the two lost knights who knew most what the prince had done, and remained grateful for eternity." Sam stroked her daughter's hair, in silence. If the prince had not persisted with this battle, neither she nor Danielle would be here, together, this night.
 
The stories had ended for another evening, and Sam rose to leave, tucking the blankets gently around her daughter.
 
"Mommy?"
 
"Yes, sweetie?"
 
Danielle giggled. "I think you love the prince as much as I do."
 
Caught off guard by the innocent remark, Sam hesitated in her response, feeling the lump in the back of her throat. "Yes, I do, Danielle," she responded quietly.
 
"Who is he, mommy, really?"
 
Sam regarded her daughter, the curiosity in her eyes, the intelligence, the warmth. She was proud of who Danielle had become, was becoming. Her daughter was old enough to find out some things…wasn't she? "His name was Daniel."
 
Her daughter's eyes widened, sparkling even more than usual. "I was named after the prince? He knew me?" Her awed voice was eager and receptive, hopeful, even.
 
"No, sweetie, he never really knew you, but he would have been honoured to have you be his namesake." And he comes around on every birthday, Sam thought. Somehow, she just knew.
 
And she knew why she loved those stories, and why she'd tell them for as long as her daughter enjoyed hearing them. Sam would do all she could to teach her daughter of her guardian angel, and she would never, ever, let Daniel's memory fade away.
 
Sam watched her daughter for a last moment from the doorway, before heading to her own peacefulness, the relaxation of nighttime, allowing herself the luxury of dwelling in her own thoughts, be they happy or sorrowful. She whispered the words she had come to think of as the path to a part of her life from a time long ago, diminished but never to be forgotten. 'Good night, sweet prince, wherever you sleep tonight.' Perhaps, she hoped, he could hear.
 
 
 
 
~ the end ~
 
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