Intractable: A Tale of Chantilly Lace

         Once upon a time in the far off land of Chantilly, there lived a good king named Amos. Chantilly was a happy land. Under King Amos’ firm but gentle hand, all conflicts were settled peacefully. The people loved their king, and they prospered.

         Life went on this way until the sudden death of Amos’ wife, the Queen Traveaux. The king was devastated, and all of Chantilly mourned with him.

         Into this land there came a foreigner, a beautiful temptress who called herself “Jezebel”. Every man who saw her (and many womemn as well) vowed to make her his own. Happily married husbands left their wives so that they might buy her charms, children went hungry and naked while their fathers fought for her affections, and weeds filled the fields. In his grief, King Amos either failed to notice this, or failed to care.

         Jezebel was a cruel woman who relished the attention and the power that she had over these poor devoted souls. She became fabulously wealthy, and immersed herself in all the pleasures Chantilly had to offer, caring not for the havoc she wreaked upon the kingdom.

         Eventually, once the baubles lost their sparkle and the pleasures of the flesh ceased to satisfy, Jezebel set her eyes upon the throne. She seduced the king’s son, a young man named Samuel, and promised that he could have her body to worship forever, if he would only kill his father.

         In a reckless passion, Prince Samuel attacked the king with a poisoned dagger. Though he was past his prime, King Amos was still a strong and experienced combatant. In the struggle, Samuel’s blade was turned back upon himself. With his dying breath, Samuel confessed to his father, and whispered of Jezebel’s treachery.

         King Amos was enraged. He sent out his magistrates and had Jezebel brought before him in chains. But before he could give the order to have her executed, he looked upon this kneeling woman, and he saw her for the first time. And he saw that he loved her.

         King Amos was amazed, but he knew that it was true. He loved this woman who had sent his only son to kill him, loved her even more than he’d ever loved his dead Queen. Even as Amos admitted this to himself, a tiny part of his soul died, and he knew that he would never again be the same.

         To the collective astonishment of the assembly, King Amos ordered that the woman be set free, and banished from Chantilly forever. Jezebel looked up to sneer and curse at the king; she would not leave this paradise so easily! But then she saw his face. As she stared into his sad, lonely eyes, she was shocked to feel love stir within her heart for the very first time. And she knew that she would never again be the same. Without a word, or a single backward glance, the harlot stood and left Chantilly and ran away to the North as quick as her legs would carry her.

         Days passed, and the shattered kingdom began to piece itself back together. King Amos spent these days alone at the top of his tower, staring North. And wondering.

         A week later, the king shocked his people once again. He abdicated his throne, leaving it to his daughter, the princess Marinette. He packed a single bag, mounted his favorite horse, and tore off into the night, heading North.

         It is said he searches for her still.