“Love in Time”

In a faraway land, in a gracious and prestigious kingdom lived an elegant princess. The princess was 16 years old, living
in a huge palace with the king, his father. Despite having everything and the world to possess luxury that she could ever
want, is a very simple girl. She is an exceptionally beautiful young lady that has a face truly remarkable that a lot of young
men wishes to court her and so asking for the king’s permission. However, the king promised her that she may have the
freedom to choose her ideal prince who will be proven worthy enough to be her husband only by the time she reaches 18.
The princess on the other hand, bypassed her father’s restrictions and fell in love with a knight. They were deeply in love
and he did everything he could to make the princess happy. They meet in secret every evening and the princess would wait
for the knight to knock three times on her window as a signal for her to come out.
One unfortunate night, they were out for a walk in the park when a wild eagle struck the princess’ face, damaging both her
eyes which caused her to lose her vision. The king found them out and got furious at the knight for he had failed to protect
her daughter. He scolded the princess and ordered the knight to never go anywhere near his princess again. Before the two
of them separate, the princess whispered a promise of marrying the knight once she turns eighteen. In return, the knight
gave her a small, chubby racoon as a gift, one that they shall raise together soon. He knocked on the window three times
and left.
Two years later, when the princess is already of age, it was time for her to choose a prince. Many fair young men at the
valley went to the capitol to propose to the princess and win the king’s favour. But only one knight owns her fragile heart
and one she had promised to marry.
Thus, she began her search and ordered the palace’s servants to look for the particular knight. And so, men began claiming
the knight’s identity in desire to marry the princess and for the power that comes with being the prince. All the three
possible candidates gathered at the palace, all professed that they were the knight that the young lady was searching for.
The princess, being blind; cannot distinguish the three men in front of her. The racoon seemed to be agitated, flapping its
tail and snarling at them angrily. The princess, confused by its behavior, shrugged it off. To test the candidates, the
princess asked a question for each. The first candidate was asked, if you are the knight I’ve been searching for, what lake
do we usually visit to catch some goldfish? The first candidate responds, To the nearby lake, your highness, near the oak
tree by the hospital. He was correct! The princess was surprised but it was a rather easy question, because the nearby lake
was her highness’ favorite fishing spot.
She asked the second candidate, what is my favorite food?
The second candidate responds, “It is pudding, your majesty.”
She was once again shocked, because the candidate was right. He couldn’t possibly have guessed that, the princess
thought.
Finally, she asked the last candidate. “What was the last jewelry you gave me?”
The last candidate responds, “It was a necklace, of sparkling emeralds and silver!”
The princess was stunned. All of the candidates answered her questions right. The princess couldn’t tell who his knight
was. She was stressed and confused. The king appeared in front of her, holding another racoon, and the one on his lap
tapped its feet three times on the princess’ legs. That moment, the princess knew who the knight was. And he was with her
all this time.