Shrine of the Pegasus: Angel's Story July 16 (10 Apr 2003) Princess Angel is asked to come up with a better ending to a sad story.

The mists part, only some of the way, to reveal a garden, and in its center is a statue of a winged horse rearing up; the rest of the surroundings are lost in the grey and shadows, under a moonlit sky.

The silence is broken by a loud crack. In an instant, the statue shatters, its pieces falling to the ground, the sad face of the pegasus looking blankly up at the sky.

A quiet, light voice comes from the mists. "A long time ago, a terrible thing happened."

After a pause, the voice continues, "A great tragedy befell Ariel. But what if that was not the end?"

A chill wind blows, stirring the bushes in the garden. "But happy endings don't come easily. Not after something as terrible as that. Why should Ariel return? What could make that possible? It is not so simple as one might mend a broken toy.

"You must tell the rest of the story."

The silence waits.

The princess steps forward to the ruins of the pegasus statue and kneels down beside it. She shakes her head sadly before she begins her reply, "I know now that happy endings don't happen by magic, and that bad guys become bad because something happened to them to make them hate other people. Lord Eoin destroyed Lady Ariel, I think, because he felt betrayed. He wasn't picked so he wanted to hurt back. Maybe, too, Lord Eoin was never liked very much. He hurt what Lady Angelique loved almost more than anything. Bryant and Anastasia -- Lord Bram and Lady Angelique -- were hurt and did not forgive but I think also they were not very understanding of their brother's pains. But, you see, by choosing to destroy did Lord Eoin come to the same fault as his brother and sister. And by not forgiving their brother and by not being nice to him again they also hurt themselves. When Lord Eoin surrendered his understanding and his love for people, he became much like what had hurt him. Like a big circle."

"And then things all fell to pieces." She reaches over and picks up the head of the statue and places it in her lap to face her. "It's when people forget kindness and love for one another that people get hurt, and hurt others, and that things break. Hearts and statues and people too. I believe that we should never forget our kindness, and our love. Even if someone hurts you. Maybe especially so. I do not mean to forget, or to let them hurt you, but to remember that each and every person has their own story -- and that sometimes the meanest people have the saddest stories. It's why I decided to be nice to Mr. Cortlynn even though I wasn't sure of him. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, to show him kindness, so that maybe he'll see that not everyone is bad. That not everyone believes he is a villain. To ease his heart and make him feel better. I want to show Lord Eoin that too."

"So, you see, Voice, I believe though sometimes things break, even hearts, that with love and kindness they too can be healed. Maybe all the lines don't go away, the cracks, but something almost new that you fixed is always better than something broken and in pieces. I think the same is true for people, for Lord Eoin, John, too." The little girl smiles at the thought of a Lord Eoin who come to know what she speaks. After a moment of such quiet musing she continues on, saying, "Lady Ariel isn't just a toy. Like a person she was given love and kindness of Anastasia who is also Lady Angelique and that made her real in her heart, but by hatred and sadness she was destroyed by John. So I think to bring Lady Ariel back is not only mending her statue with care, but also mending the hearts that knew her. And though maybe some of those hearts are far away now we must not cease to try to help them, or those that came after them, and by that love and kindness can Ariel be mended and can an end truly be happy. For all hearts, even those once broken, will be whole and happy. And the hatred that destroyed Lady Ariel will be replaced with the kindness to mend her."

The little girl puts one of her hands to her chest and breathes deeply before smiling a little at the statue. "You know," she tells the statue as she tilts her head, "I really do talk a lot sometimes. But you know what also? I think that kindness should happen even when no one is sad. That way others don't forget we care about them, and so we don't forget we care too. I want to help you not just because it's right and kind to help someone who is hurt but also because I love Lord Melchizedek who has always been my protector and who has been very kind to me. I want to give him something back, for all he has given me. And like that his story is happy too, and so is mine -- and yours too, I hope, Lady Ariel."

"Is that your story, then?" the voice asks from the mists.

The little girl turns from the statue head and peers up at the sky. "My story is longer than just that. But I know that making my friends happy and showing people who are hurt -- even 'bad' people -- kindness, my story is happier. I hope my story is very long because then I can help more people. That would be a happy ending for me," she answers.

"Very well, then. Thank you for your story," the voice says from the mists.

"You're welcome," says the little girl.

The mists slowly close in again, and the little girl's surroundings change....

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