Meren, Princess of Sand and Sea, admired the box between her small, pale hands, nearly drunk with self-satisfaction. She had always known the legends were true and there she stood with the proof itself. The box was golden, heavier than expected, and heart-shaped. It was shaped like an actual heart with black diamonds and rubies inlaid as the intricacies of the veins and valves. Meren was as fascinated with the craftsmanship of the box as she was in awe with what was inside it. It was a handsome box, a royal box. A box fit for the Heart Of The King. The story of King Elvin, elf king of Pearl Cove, and his buried heart, was a legend spread across the land; it said that only his True Queen may have the honor of returning it to its rightful place within his chest.

*** 

    King Elvin had known love exactly once in his immortal existence. The day he had met his love was painted into his mind. Nearly 600 years earlier, while on one of his monthly full moon hunts, he had been drawn to a large crystalline lake cast in moonlight. The lake was surrounded by forest and flowers, with a small waterfall across from where he stood. 

King Elvin had been drawn in by the lure of the light, the song of the animals calling in the night, the fireflies twinkling in delightful conversation. He had walked as though in a trance to the mystical sight, instructing his small hunting entourage to, “stay put, men.”. They stayed begrudgingly, still at the ready, as they watched their king disappear into the mist of the lake.

The King stood and marveled at the oasis of magic he had come upon. Movement from across the lake drew his eye and he spotted a small flock of swans splashing about and playing in the waterfall. They were all of them beautiful with wings of pale silver and beaks of pale gold. The most beautiful among them, however, was the swan as black as ebony. She was the largest, the most graceful. The most lonely. She swam alone near the middle of the lake as if she was waiting for something. Or perhaps someone.

“Sire, no!”

Elvin heard the call of warning from his disobedient crew, but they were distant and easily ignored. He pushed his way through the overbrush of the shore and stepped clumsily into the water, his eyes only for the black swan in the middle of the lake. 

The moon continued to rise at an alarming rate, quickly reaching its peak position in the midnight sky. The proud moon basked in the light of its own reflection, illuminating the entirety of the lake and all its denizens. The black swan swam to meet the moon, hesitating for only a moment, before she swam into the full circle of its light on the lake. 

Several moments passed by as the king waited in bated silence. Then he saw small sparks of magic begin to fly from within the black swan. The sparks grew and soon the swan began to writhe and flap its wings in pain. The water beneath it splashed and rippled and mingled with the sparks of power.  The swan began to change before King Elvin’s very eyes. Its wings began to elongate, its feathers began to recede. Its neck shortened, and its beak got smaller. 

After several moments, a young woman stood unclothed and floating where the black swan had been. The woman was the most beautiful thing he had seen in all of his long life, and he fell in love instantly. 

“Fair, Swanmaiden, please allow me the greatest honor and accompany me back to my castle.”

The swanmaiden stood in all her grace, comfortably nude, and wild. She crossed the lake, walking atop the water, to the shore. She raised King Elvin to his feet and in his gentlemanly way he gave her his riding cloak.

“Gentle king, how have you come to be in this place?”

Her voice was the sound of windchimes and bells, the sound of it made him swoon and feel as though the sun shone on his face..

“I heard your call, swanmaiden. Through the thick of the forest, I heard your call.”

“Then, gentle king, you are the one destined to free me from my curse and captor. I am a prisoner here in this lake and not just...