Week 2 Story: The Girl and the Basilisk

Once upon a time, there was a young King who fell in love with a servant-girl. However, when the King proclaimed that we would marry the servant-girl, his royal advisors insisted that the King marry a noble. Eventually, the King agreed and abandoned his lover in favor of a princess.

The King and his new Queen were happy, more so when the Queen became pregnant. However, the broken-hearted servant-girl grew jealous and turned to Black magic. In her rage, she cursed the unborn royal to become a basilisk.

When the young prince was born with scales and feathers, the King and Queen were horrified. They sought a cure, but only an act of true love would break the spell. Hopeless of any such love to exist for a monster, the King and Queen sent their child away. With some kindness, the prince was sent to live at the Spring palace, enchanted to have blooming flowers all year-round.

As the years passed, the prince grew in isolation. As the curse transformed his body further, his few servants fled in fear. And so the blooming gardens of the Spring Palace became overgrown with weeds.

In a nearby town, a young girl named Mary lived with her mother on a small farm. One day, Mary's mother was due to travel to the neighboring city. Mary did not want her mother to leave, but when asked if she would like anything from the town, Mary said she wanted roses.

However, a storm delayed Mary's mother for weeks. By the time she arrived at the town, winter was already here. The mother searched across the city, but no store had roses. Any hope of finding roses was futile until she heard of a basilisk's castle that grew flowers all year. Mary's mother did not believe in monsters such as basilisks, but she decided to visit the castle in the hope that she would find even one rose. As Mary's mother approached ornate gates, she was shocked to see not only roses but every kind of flower imaginable in a garden. As she went to pick the roses, a shadow fell over her. Mary's mother turned and saw the castle's basilisk, with the face of a rooster and body of a serpent. 

Mary's mother was sure that she would be killed and crouched in fear. However, when she heard the monster spoke with a soft, mellow voice, her fear lay forgotten.

"Hello? Are you the new gardener? That's good because the garden has become quite messy since the old one left."

"No...I am not the new gardener."

"Then what are you doing with my roses?"

"I'm sorry! I just...my daughter, I promised to give her roses and didn't want to disappoint her."

"Your daughter wanted roses? Does she like them very much? I like them too."

And so the conversation continued, with the basilisk asking questions about daily human life and why didn't humans grow out their claws (they are nails, and longer nails are inconvenient) and what games do human children play (every kind they can think of). The basilisk decided.

"You will be my new gardener."

"What? I can't. My daughter needs me at home."

"Then your daughter can come to work with you."

"Why? What do you plan on doing with us?"

The basilisk eyes widened. "Oh-no-no-no-no. I'm not going to hurt you. I like you, and I think I will like your daughter too. And my gardens need a gardener. So do you promise? If you say yes, I will let you leave this place. If you say no...if you say no...you will have to stay with me until you agree." The basilisk looked proud of his cleverness.

The mother was suddenly reminded of Mary whenever she tried to squeeze out another hour before bedtime or asked for just one more cookie. This basilisk may look monstrous, but he was more child-like than malicious. So she decided.

"I promise."

After the strange encounter, Mary's mother returned home to her daughter. Mary was overjoyed until her mother explained the deal with the basilisk. However, Mary agreed that they needed to keep their promise, and so the next day, Mary and her mother met the basilisk again. After introducing the basilisk and Mary to each other, Mary's mother started to weed the gardens. The basilisk and Mary were left to look at one another.

The basilisk squinted his eyes at Mary. "I've never seen a human child before."

"I've never seen a basilisk before," Mary scrunched her face. "Why aren't you hurting us?"

"Why would I?"

Mary considered that argument before she said, "Okay. Do you want to be friends with me?"

"Friends?"

"You're scary, but you're not mean. I know the difference now. What's your name? I'm Mary."

"I don't have..."

"You don't have a name? Then...how about Florian?"

"Florian?"

"Your garden's full of flowers, so you should have a flowery name."

"Florian. I like it."

After they met, Mary and Florian became thick as thieves. They spent every day playing or learning together while Mary's mother restored the gardens.

As the years passed, Florian and Mary grew closer with hopes that their carefree days would never end. However, soon, Florian became ill. His feathers and scales fell from his withering skin. Mary, determined not to abandon her friend, nursed him as best she could. Until one day, Florian didn't wake up, no matter how Mary tried to rouse him.

Her eyes burned. "Florian please, come back to me. I don't want you to leave! You're my best friend, and I...I love you." But Florian did not respond.

Mary held Florian's talon and cried. As her tears fell, Florian's body began to glow and shift into a young human man's. Florian's eyes opened.

"Mary, why are you crying? What happened to me? I'm human?"

"It's okay. You're healthy again, Nothing else matters."

"But...I don't know how to be human."

"It's okay. We'll figure it out, together."

Author's Note:

This story is based on "The Three Roses." I wanted the basilisk and Mary to spend more time together, so I had them meet when they were young. However, a young girl going to stay at a monster castle alone is a creepy setup, so I adjusted it to where Mary's mother was on the castle grounds. I thought up the gardener position because a monster's castle would cause any servants to run in fear. 

The most important question I had when I read "The Three Roses" was how the basilisk came to be cursed. I decided to create a storyline where a scorned lover curses her ex's son with a curse that could only be reversed by true love. The basilisk's monster appearance would frighten off anyone who came in close. It was only when Mary's mother encountered the basilisk that an outsider learns that the basilisk has an innocent, kind nature. 

I changed the curse from Mary cutting off the basilisk's head to him getting sick because I love the true love will break the spell plot. Mary's growing affection for Florian reversed the curse slowly. The transformation to human puts a lot of stress on Florian's body because his very DNA is changing. His failing health made Mary afraid she would lose Florian. As Mary realized her feelings, the curse was broken. 

By the point where Florian is cured, I had hit the maximum word limit. Rather than writing in a rushed in happily ever after, I decided to leave the story on a hopeful note that Mary and Florian will face anything together.

Bibliography:

"The Three Roses" from The Key of Gold: Czech Folk Tales (1922) by Josef Baudis. Web Source.

Image Information: Basilisk by Friedrich Johann Justin Bertuch (1747-1822). Source: Wikimedia Commons.