Kristen Anne Glover

Five in Tow

{15} An Heir

31 Days: From Enemy to Heir

Day 15 of 31.  For day one, click on the image above.

The ancient door swung open, blinding Jewel with a radiant light from inside.  She could not see anything beyond the whiteness.  “Oh, what is it?” she gasped.

“Just a minute.  Your eyes will get used to it.”

Slowly, the sharp whiteness faded into brilliant sparkles of every conceivable color.  The light condensed into forms and shapes, until Jewel suddenly realized she was standing in an enormous treasury.

It was the biggest room she had ever set foot in.  Giant gilded columns reached up into the heavens to bear the weight of the vast, arching ceiling.  It was stretched high above her head like a canvas, and every inch of it was painted by a master artist.  Captivating murals, depicting the life of the prince and his kingdom, looked down on her from above.

But Jewel’s eyes could not look up, not at first.  Spread out before her, as far as her eyes could see, were riches.  Miles of gems in every cut and color, precious metals, the finest sculptures and paintings, a sea of inky silks, and pearls from the far corners of the world were there to behold.

Jewel looked at the prince in wonder.

“I have a very wealthy father,” he said, by way of explanation.

“I…I have never…I didn’t even know…”  She was absolutely stunned, and even a little terrified, by the opulence before her.  She did not know such riches existed in all the world.

“This is what I’ve been waiting to show you!” the prince said, taking her hand and leading her on a winding path through the vault. “Because it’s yours.  All of this—it’s yours.”

Jewel gasped and shook her head, recoiling at the very idea.  It was overwhelming to her even to wear the flawless stone he had given her on their wedding day.  She could not accept anything more.   It was all too much.

“It’s true, Jewel!  That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, my love.  Everything I have showed you in my kingdom, all of these riches, every beautiful thing of mine—it’s all yours.”

“No, no, no, this is not mine.”  She remembered a time when the Enchanter had given her some small trinket, and how it had made her greedy and jealous and hungry for more.  She remembered the way others had grabbed at it and hated her for it.  Now she was standing in the middle of a sea of riches, and her trinket was but a drop.   She could not imagine how now, she, the wretched Obscurity, could be the owner of such a fortune.

“You are my heir, Jewel.  It is yours.”

“How can this be?  You saw where I came from and this is just…this is beyond me!”  Jewel looked around, almost frantic, for something familiar.

“That is not who you are now, remember?  You are my chosen bride.  You are now an heir of everything I have.  This is what I rescued you for, Jewel!  I wanted to share this with you!”

An Heir

An Heir

“I don’t understand.  I thought you rescued me because you thought I would die.”

“I rescued you so you could live, Jewel.”

She stood in the midst of her husband’s riches and tried to comprehend it all.  “But it is enough,” she stammered.  “It is enough that you saved me.  You do not need to do this for me.”

“No, Jewel, I do.  This was my plan all along.  It is not enough that you did not die, and it is not enough that you live.  I want you to live richly!”

He could tell by the look on her face that she could not believe it.

“What kind of husband would I be if I brought you into my kingdom only to let you live poor?”  He paused for a second so she could let the thought sink in.  Then he added softly, “What would that say about me?”

Jewel knew what that would say about the prince, and she knew that it would be a lie.  He was not the kind of prince who could withhold any good thing from any one of his people.

He was the kind of prince who would spend it all for them.

He was the kind of prince who would make a harlot his bride, an enemy his heir. 

 

{14} Down the Wandering Corridor

31 Days: From Enemy to Heir

Day 14 of 31.  For Day 1, click on the image above.

“Jewel!” the prince called from the courtyard.  “Come with me!  I have something I want you to see.”

Jewel sat at the window, looking out over the vast countryside.  Over the past few weeks, the prince had taken her all over his kingdom.  She saw the rolling green hills where shepherds watched over wooly, bleating flocks, and the sparkling rivers lined with willows.  Docile cattle, thousands of them, lazy with sun, rested along the banks.

Shamrocks

There were glorious, granite mountains that jutted up to the heavens, and lush, fragrant cedar forests, rich with wood enough to build a cathedral for every person in the kingdom.

Everywhere, abundance reigned, and beauty tamed.

Jewel was filled with the sense that she could not even begin to imagine all the wealth her prince held.  If she spent her life thinking of the grandest request her mind could conceive of, she would not be able to outdo him.  He could fulfill her wish without any pains at all, and then he would ask if there wasn’t anything else he could do for her besides?

Down the Wandering Corridor

It was such a shocking contrast to the meanness of her life before, when she groveled for bread and settled for crumbs when all along, a boundless feast was spread for any who would come to the prince’s table.  How needlessly she had starved within sight of his castle.  In fact, the only regret she still harbored in her heart was the fact that she had not been hungry enough to come sooner than she had.

Now, the prince stood below her window with a grin on his face, looking for all the world like a boy with a secret.  “Come on!” he called.  “I have something to show you!”

“I’ve been saving the very best thing for last,” he explained, grabbing her hand and leading her into the depths of his castle.  She still didn’t know her way around very well, and within a few turns down the wandering corridor, she was completely lost.

“Where are we going?” Jewel asked.

“You’ll see.”

The stone passages wound around and down and under the castle until Jewel was certain they were going to come upon the very center of the earth.

At last, they turned one last corner and the prince said, “We’re here!”

They stood before a giant door, heavy with wood.  Great, hand-forged hinges gripped the grain, and the latch and lock were of pure gold.  They gleamed mysteriously in the dim light of the corridor.  Hushed and holy silence filled the hall.

“What is it?” Jewel whispered, half-afraid to speak.

“It’s my vault,” the prince answered.  “Go ahead, open it.”

“I don’t have a key.”

“You don’t need one.  It’s not locked.”

His simple answer set her at ease at once.

“I guess there’s no danger of anyone stealing anything.  No one would be able to find the way!” Jewel said as she reached for the door.

“Oh, there’s a faster way.  See that staircase there?  It leads right up to the great hall.  But where’s the fun in that?” the prince said with a laugh.

“I didn’t know you were so funny.”

“Jewel!” he said with surprise.  “Laughter is one of my favorite things.”

She realized immediately that it was true.  She had never seen anyone laugh as freely as he.

“Now go on,” he said, “open it!”

Jewel put her hand on the great golden latch and pushed.  It swung open easily after a long protest from the hinges.

“Oh!” Jewel caught her breath.  Never in all her life could she have imagined anything like what was behind that door.

{13} What if God…

What if God

What if God

Day 13 of 31 Days.  Click on the link here to find day one.

I have been awed at the way God has brought my eyes across Scriptures that directly relate to the story of Obscurity and the prince.  Romans 9:22-23 is one of those.  I love the opening line.  What if God…

What if God, who has the power, authority, and even right to demonstrate His wrath upon us, chooses instead to show us patience and mercy so that we might understand the riches of glory.  What if God did something like that? 

The good new is, He did.