Short Fiction · Chapter
Where Is the Prince? explained
The prince, unable to see the princess since she left him, disguises himself as a shoeblack to gain access to the palace and learn about her condition.
What happens
The prince, unable to see the princess since she left him, disguises himself as a shoeblack to gain access to the palace and learn about her condition. The lake continues to dry up, and the princess wastes away, haunted by its decline. A golden plate found in a remaining pool reveals a riddle: only a willing human sacrifice can stanch the lake's leak and save the kingdom.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Divine Chastening
The princess suffers as the lake dries, feeling it is her soul wasting away; the kingdom faces a dire trial requiring a sacrificial hero.
Reality vs. Illusion
The prince's disguise as a shoeblack contrasts with his true identity; the princess's memory of the prince fades as the lake's reality overtakes her.
Characters to notice
- Prince
Disguises himself as a shoeblack to learn about the princess; dives in the lake and polishes the princess's unused boots.
- The Princess
Keeps to her room, brooding over the dying lake; has forgotten the prince and her parents.
Key passages
“Death alone from death can save. Love is death, and so is brave. Love can fill the deepest grave. Love loves on beneath the wave.”
Only a willing death can remedy the death of the lake; love is a form of death, requiring courage, and it persists even beyond the grave.
The golden plate's riddle reveals the sacrificial solution to the lake's disappearance.
“The body of a living man could alone stanch the flow. The man must give himself of his own will; and the lake must take his life as it filled.”
Only a living man who willingly offers himself can stop the leak; the lake will claim his life as it refills.
The plate explains the only effective way to restore the lake.