Mikhail's reflection stared numbly back at him through the gashes he had cut into the ice wall. His father's sword fell from his hanging gauntlet and clattered forgotten on the hard ground at his feet. The Knight thought he saw, ever so faintly, dragon fire and smoke clouding the whites of his eyes. And in that terrible moment, Mikhail knew in his heart of hearts that what Spirit had told him was true.
"To your own self be true," the saying goes. But there are times in life when every boy and girl, every knight and princess, makes choices that keep them from being their "own" self...their best self. Of course, knowing that each of us has these terrible moments gazing into the ice mirror doesn't make them any easier.
"The princess..." Mikhail's desperate voice broke the heavy silence. For even in moments of great despair, a true knight is quick to think of others before himself.
"The princess is safe," Spirit quickly replied. "All the villagers are. They took shelter in time."
Mikhail nodded wordlessly and stared numbly at his worn face in the ice's reflection. "The ashrooms," he spoke in a bare whisper as he slowly sunk to his knees on the frozen ground. "It was the ashrooms, wasn't it?"
Spirit gently nuzzled his fallen friend, but remained silent.
"They were always wrong," the Knight continued. "I knew it was dangerous to numb my heart, but I had no idea I would become...this. Every town that was burned...every field that was trampled...all along, I was attacking those villages."
The stallion nodded sadly. The moon rose high in the night sky, and still Mikhail remained motionless, his knees slowly melting the bitter frost of the hard ground beneath him. And Spirit silently grieved with his friend.
At length a bright moon beam glanced off Mikhail's always-polished shield and caught his downcast eye. "Nothing can polish this armor!" the Knight suddenly spoke. "It is meant for someone who is faithful and true...." Fierce anger swelled in his heart, and he threw his shield to the ground, then his helmet. The rest of the Knight's shining armor soon followed. Mikhail quickly lifted the heap of precious protection and cast it through a crack in the ice covering a nearby stream. "Please do what you can to help our friends in Altai Village once the mountain pass clears," the Knight whispered to Spirit as he hugged the stallion tightly.
Without another word, Mikhail turned and walked south into the darkness.
"To your own self be true," the saying goes. But there are times in life when every boy and girl, every knight and princess, makes choices that keep them from being their "own" self...their best self. Of course, knowing that each of us has these terrible moments gazing into the ice mirror doesn't make them any easier.
"The princess..." Mikhail's desperate voice broke the heavy silence. For even in moments of great despair, a true knight is quick to think of others before himself.
"The princess is safe," Spirit quickly replied. "All the villagers are. They took shelter in time."
Mikhail nodded wordlessly and stared numbly at his worn face in the ice's reflection. "The ashrooms," he spoke in a bare whisper as he slowly sunk to his knees on the frozen ground. "It was the ashrooms, wasn't it?"
Spirit gently nuzzled his fallen friend, but remained silent.
"They were always wrong," the Knight continued. "I knew it was dangerous to numb my heart, but I had no idea I would become...this. Every town that was burned...every field that was trampled...all along, I was attacking those villages."
The stallion nodded sadly. The moon rose high in the night sky, and still Mikhail remained motionless, his knees slowly melting the bitter frost of the hard ground beneath him. And Spirit silently grieved with his friend.
At length a bright moon beam glanced off Mikhail's always-polished shield and caught his downcast eye. "Nothing can polish this armor!" the Knight suddenly spoke. "It is meant for someone who is faithful and true...." Fierce anger swelled in his heart, and he threw his shield to the ground, then his helmet. The rest of the Knight's shining armor soon followed. Mikhail quickly lifted the heap of precious protection and cast it through a crack in the ice covering a nearby stream. "Please do what you can to help our friends in Altai Village once the mountain pass clears," the Knight whispered to Spirit as he hugged the stallion tightly.
Without another word, Mikhail turned and walked south into the darkness.
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