Valvazor and the Glass Mountain

Good King Merek of the kingdom of Megonset had a problem. Despicable Prince Lugaid of the Principality of Gherran was intent on marrying his lovely daughter, Princess Perpetua. This would make him the Kingdom’s Prince Consort and complete the first step in his plan to unite Megonset with his principality of Gherran. He had decided to use subterfuge to do it, only because he could not do it by force. His partner in this plan was Megonset’s very own Donguy, 13th Earl of Fullmont.

As for Princess Perpetua, she was of marrying age but she seemed determined to marry no one. With that attitude Prince Lugaid saw his chance to marry the Princess by forcing her parents into a marriage of convenience. He would use his advantage as a Sovereign Prince and his knowledge of the kingdom’s laws to force the issue. How could the royal family resist him?

One day the Prince visited the Royal family under the pretext of bringing a gift of a fine horse for the King. As might be expected his visit quickly turned unpleasant when he all but demanded to marry Perpetua. Afterwards a very upset Perpetua ran from the castle to take refuge in one of her favorite places, the royal stables. There she met Lad, the young man who handled the horse Prince Lugaid had brought for her father. As circumstance would have it they met a number of times and developed a bond and fell in love.

King Merek had to find a way to say no to the Prince’s ambitions without offending him. A direct rebuke potentially held many dangers for the Kingdom yet he had to find an answer. The answer came to him one morning after a unique dream. Late at night, unable to sleep, he went to the castle kitchen to satisfy his sweet tooth. There, his chef Maximillian created a rich chocolate dessert and he ate every spoonful. When he returned to bed he fell into a deep sleep and dreamt of a turbulent chocolate sea from which rose a small crystal dome that turned into a glass mountain. He and caramelized sugar knights emerged and charged up its sides with the single aim of reaching the top. Next morning he awoke knowing he had the answer to all his problems. He’d have a contest. He’d build a glass mountain and knights would try to ride up it to win his daughter’s hand in marriage. To create a more flamboyant event he thought they should have to collect something from the princess as she sat on top of the mountain. He decided golden apples would do wonderfully. Perpetua would have three golden apples to hand to the knight that got to the top. The knight that won them would be the winner and the entire kingdom would enjoy the show. If you wanted to marry his daughter, you would have to compete.

Next morning he told Queen Mildred his idea. She thought it was completely crazy and blamed it on indigestion. At first glance it did seem crazy but the King and his Prime Minister Fendrel had an agenda. You see the mountain would be made so no one could win and without a winner everyone was safe. This would force Prince Lugaid into a competition he couldn’t win and with no other winners his ambitions would be thwarted. It would also give Princess Perpetua a chance to marry the man she chose. The only drawback was that the contest would have to be held every year until she married.

It was during preparations for the contest that problems began. Together, Prime Minister Fendrel and the King decided to search out Valvazor who lived across the Mandragore Meadow next to the dark Thraxhandleberry Forest. They needed his help. Unbeknown to them things had begun to unravel. Princess Perpetua and Lad had continued to meet; Prince Lugaid was not duped by the contest and devised a way to cheat to win. The Prince suspected Lad of seeing someone at the royal palace so confined him to empty stables during the contest. And Valvazor, who turns out to be Lad’s friend and helper, well he turns up in unexpected places. And as Prime Minister Fendrel tells King Merek, “Things are not always what they seem.”