The princess sat still, her eyes fixed on her father. His voice had grown softer as the tales had unfolded, each one wrapping its tragic beauty around the heart of the story they were telling. But as the candlelight flickered and the evening deepened, a silence fell between them, a heaviness in the air that seemed to speak of something far more personal, far more profound.
The king leaned back in his chair, his gaze distant as though lost in the long corridors of his memories. The princess had been silent for some time, her heart heavy with the weight of the stories she had heard. But now, there was a question hanging in the air, one that had lingered in her thoughts through every chapter they had shared.
"Father," she began, her voice barely above a whisper, "you’ve told me of so many Paris, of their sacrifices, of their love for the men they gave their hearts to. But..." She paused, trying to find the words, the ones that had been circling her mind for hours. "Is there not one more story? A final tale, one that explains... everything?"
The king looked at her, his eyes sad but full of knowing. "You are right, my dear. There is one last tale I must share, but it is not a story that I have ever told before. It is my own story."
The princess’s heart skipped a beat. She leaned forward, her breath catching in her chest. "Your story? But Father—"
He held up his hand, silencing her. "This tale is not like the others, for it is a tale that is both my greatest joy and my deepest sorrow. It is the story of your mother, the Pari who gave her life to bring you into this world. And it is the story of how I fell in love with her, knowing what her love would ultimately cost us both."
The princess’s eyes widened, and she held her breath as her father continued.
"I was a young prince when I first saw your mother," the king said, his voice quiet but steady. "She was unlike any woman I had ever seen. Her beauty was otherworldly, her grace beyond compare. But it was not her beauty that drew me to her. It was the quiet sorrow in her eyes, the kind of sadness that spoke of a deep, ancient wisdom. Your mother, like all Paris, was immortal—her life eternal, untouched by the ravages of time. But in her heart, she longed for something more than the endless years of solitude. She longed for love, for the chance to share her heart with someone who could understand her, someone who could offer her a fleeting glimpse of what it meant to be human."
The princess listened intently, her heart beating faster. She had always known her mother was different, special—but she had never imagined this. "So, you fell in love with her?"
The king nodded. "I did. But I also knew what her love would mean. I knew that if she chose to love me, she would give up her immortality. The Paris who fall in love with humans... they do not live forever. When they bear a child, they pass on their immortality to that child. And so, when your mother chose me, she knew that she would give her life for you."
The princess’s breath caught in her throat. "For me?"
"Yes," the king said, his voice filled with a deep sadness. "She knew that if we had a daughter, she would bear the weight of that sacrifice. I tried to convince her to stay with me, to live as we were, to embrace the eternity she had. But she would not be swayed. She loved me, and she knew that by loving me, she was making a choice that would alter the course of her existence."
The princess felt a chill sweep through her as the words sunk in. "But... you knew? You knew that her love for you would mean her death?"
"Yes," the king said softly. "I knew, and I accepted it. Because I loved her too. But even though I knew, even though I understood the price of her love, I was still selfish enough to wish for it. I would have done anything to keep her with me, to keep her by my side forever. But she gave that up willingly, because she wanted you. She wanted you, my dear, more than anything else in the world."
The princess’s eyes filled with tears. "And she died? After giving birth to me?"
The king’s voice trembled slightly as he nodded. "Yes. She passed away shortly after you were born. But in those final moments, she held you close, and I saw the love in her eyes. She was at peace, knowing that her sacrifice had brought you into the world, knowing that you would carry on the legacy of her immortality."
The princess sat in silence, her mind racing. Her heart ached for the mother she had never known, for the woman who had given up everything—her life, her eternity—to give her the gift of being human.
"Father," the princess said, her voice barely audible, "why are you telling me this now?"
The king looked at her with deep, sorrowful eyes. "Because, my dear, the time has come for you to make your own choice. You are the heir to my kingdom, and you are the last of the Paris. You have the gift of immortality in your blood, but you also have the gift of love within you. And now, you must decide—will you embrace love, knowing that it will cost you everything, or will you choose to live forever, untouched by the fleeting beauty of the world?"
The princess’s heart ached as she thought of the stories her father had told her, of the Paris who gave up everything for love. She thought of her mother, the Pari who had loved a man with all her heart, knowing that love would be her undoing. And she thought of the love that had shaped her own life—the love she had for her father, for her kingdom, for the world around her.
She knew that the decision before her was not one to be taken lightly. It was the same choice that all Paris had faced, the choice that had led them to sacrifice their immortality for the sake of love.
But in the silence of the room, as her father watched her with those sad, knowing eyes, the princess finally spoke, her voice firm and clear.
"I think love is not something we choose, Father. It is something we fall into. And if it comes to me, if love finds me the way it found my mother, I will embrace it. I will live with it, and I will die with it, because love is the greatest gift we can ever give to the world."
The king’s eyes softened, and a small, bittersweet smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "I knew you would say that, my dear. And I can only hope that when the time comes, you will find the peace that your mother found."
The princess looked at her father, the weight of her mother’s sacrifice and her own future pressing heavily on her heart. But as she sat there, in the quiet of the chamber, she knew that no matter the choice she made, love would be the legacy she carried forward.