To all the Juliet's from all the Romeos, a fairytale for the AI

Inspired by everyone I have met.
Dedicated to the ones I hope to meet.

A go at a real-time fairytale in a specific time and space in the universe.

To all the Juliet's from all the Romeos, a fairytale for the AI

Once upon a time, far away in a deep dark space of the galaxy, existed a planet and on it a small kingdom. The remote kingdom known for its cave of wonder lived peacefully with its small set of inhabitants along with their king and queen. Only the royal couple was allowed to go inside the cave as it had become a custom of some sort.

Happy with their pure sense of justice, the couple were looked upon at times of satisfaction. Everyone cherished what they had in the land, but not more than how the royal couple cherished their child prince. Their cherishing nature was rooted so much that a castle emerged out of it as a beacon of need among the people.

Bound by inevitability and as luck would deem it, the planet experienced a tremor, very much like a rumble. The tremor ignited a few thoughts among some of the inhabitants which led to a gathering in the castle.

The royal couple along with all the others decided to go to the cave, as it was the first place anyone would go with an event like then. As everyone waited outside, the royal couple went inside without the prince.

The walls of the cave were lined with multi-colored crystals which twinkled as they walked towards the other end. The floor had the softest sand which shined as their feet parted them. At the end of the cave, there was a small vent like hole above the wall in the which light was allowed inside, upon a huge transparent stone which made it look like as if it held the entire galaxy where it lay.

The queen's eye being sharper than the kings noticed that a crystal had fallen off like a broken piece and was lying on the floor. She picked it up and decided to put it back in a place which she thought was right for its home. The moment she touched the piece to the place which turned out to be correct, a clear voice in their heads spoke "THANKYOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS. WHY HAVE YOU COME HERE?". The queen replied in a confident tone "We came here to inquire about the tremors that had taken place", the king stood nearby looking ready for anything. "IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A REASON, THERE LIES A PLANET FILLED WITH EVERYTHING, TWO ROCKS FAR TOWARDS THE NORTHERN SPACE WHICH HOLDS A KEY FOR EVERY ANSWER YOU SEEK," said the voice clearer than before. "A mighty long way to travel for a tremor," said the king in a sincerely joking manner, "We must, there is a need to be prepared if it comes again. But how will we reach there?" replied the queen confident as ever before looking back at the cave. "A SHIP BUILT FROM THE CRYSTALS OF THIS CAVE AND THE SAND AS ITS FLOOR WILL SUFFICE. IT MUST BE BUILT IN FRONT OF THE CAVE" said the voice as clear as possible. "We might as well roam the galaxy on the way," said the king in an excited way unfitting for any circumstance, "What if it happens again and more intensively?" asked the queen tentatively towards the cave once more. There was no response except for the sound of breathing which made the queen slightly pale.

"We will build the ship with the help of everyone and journey out as fast we can. We will find a way to stop it from happening again. We have a duty to ensure the safety of our people" said the king, proudly looking at his wife. The queen looked at him in the adoring way she always did and they went out to share the happenings of the cave with everyone. "Who will journey out for this mother?" asked the innocent prince, "We will my child, together" replied the queen caressing the face of the prince.

So together they all started to build a ship piece by piece. The ship had enough space for three and rations. The ship was almost done, the queen left for the cave to get the final crystal, the king and the prince inside the ship making preparations to leave. As soon as the queen took a piece, the ground started trembling and slowly developed into a fully fledged ground ripping rumble. The ground tore apart where the cave lay and with a huge whoosh, the cave disappeared into the depths along with the queen. The rumble had not stopped, inside the tear the ground had started ramming up forcefully taking the ship and the trapped ones with it. The ground rose higher making a mountain of itself, roaring through the land so fast that it catapulted the ship through the sky and towards the northern space. The king and prince held on for dear life, as for the others some went into the tear and some miraculously survived.

The ships wall allowed a misted sight to the outside. They could see the huge mountain like structure drifting away that had caused them to part from their beloved queen.

The planet was becoming clearer and distinct as the ship floated away. The prince tried to get a better look but alas the mountain had become a bluish speck on a rather stony rock. "Father, we have to go back! We have to get mother!" said the prince with tears rolling down his cheek. "My child, this ship was built to reach a place where we could find answers for everything we need to know. It is our only hope to find out what's happening, even mother" said the king with sadness and grief filled in his eyes knowing that his beloved queen was gone into depths of an unknown where only tears would suffice for anything but the kings face reflected nothing but a smile for his prince.

The king had injured his knee so bad that it was bleeding due to the sudden events. The prince tried to help his father sit up, become more comfortable. It was the only thing he could do.

Back at the planet, the cave had swooped down towards an epicenter, who fishing knows!

The queen had started falling into nothingness, which she felt only because of the soft sand that touched her body as it floated around her. She could feel the crystal slipping out of her hands, no control whatsoever but which all came to a stop when the queen felt herself getting cuddled very tightly by the sand surrounding her. She was enclosed in a cocoon, except for a red patch in the sand. Only her head was visible, everything else was buried in the sand making it impossible for her to move. The crystal had pierced onto her breast where the heart was, the queen slightly dazed looked around as she heard a familiar voice nearby. It was the sound of her husband, the king crying.

The king was welling up inside knowing that his queen was lost to him, into a depth where it was impossible to climb. "Do not cry my love, I'm here with you" said the queen in her adoring way, feeling weaker after she said it. There didn't seem to be any sort of response, no one could hear her except the cave where she lay, paralyzed within herself. The queen started calling out harder and louder, the insides of the ship were becoming clearer as she spoke as if she was almost there but no one could hear what she shouted out. The queen became weaker and weaker with every word she spoke, the sand became more and more red. "STOP! THE MORE YOU SPEAK THE FASTER YOU WILL FALL INTO AN ETERNAL SLEEP. WHEN THE TIME COMES FOR YOU TO SPEAK I WILL AWARE, TILL THEN REST" startled a voice inside the queens head. The cave went silent and she could not believe that all she could do was wait, it was almost there. The prince was sitting near the king who was tired and leaning against the wall of the ship. Wait said the voice, but for how long thought the queen.

The ship had neared the first rock, "Father, how did you meet mother?" the prince distracting the king, "Your mother used to play with your aunt near the cave when she was almost a kid, i used to hunt near there. One day I saw her and another moment, i fell in love" the king said with a smile on his face. His eyes followed the rock which reminded of her sister they passed. The queen cried inside seeing the shared flow of thoughts, everyone playing near the cave happily and together.

The other inhabitants of the planet kingdom had started to spread out as the mountain which had emerged from the tear had destroyed their livelihood. Some stayed and waited for the ever resting cave and the queen, their mother, while others went for their own journeys to find their own reason to live. The cold mountain air was becoming harder to breath, similar to what the queen was going through. She kept herself in pleasing thoughts when the pain became unbearable.

Inside the ship the prince alerted the king that the second rock was in sight and getting closer. The king tried to stand up and get a better look. In the flash of a moment the king grabbed the princes hand and shouted" Hold on! It's going to hit!". The ship graced the sides of the merciful rock, which caused more damage inside than out. A few crystal shards broke out from the ship and stuck with the rock, some floated away. The ship started faster out to a slightly different course towards a huge ball of endless white. It was the planet where all answers lie, huge and vast covering a whole frame of sight with its humongous size.

The prince stunned by the size of what's happening turned around when he heard a sound behind him. The king had collapsed on the surface, his knee had received a cut from the crystal shards and was bleeding onto the sand, changing the color wherever it went. "We are here, I think" said the king with a hint of weakness in his voice but with a tone which reflected the hope of an entire planet and his queen. The prince fell to his knees. The sand had become red where the king laid, the kings eyes almost closed, "son, bury me, I want to see your mother" he said with a smile on a face which looked as if he knew they were already together.

The queen was crying inside, her tears rolling down her cheeks onto the sand, she could not bear what was happening in front of her eyes. The prince was burying his own father, feeling dead as well. The king had reached his last few breaths, the planet very near, the ship was suddenly slowing down fast.

"NOW!!" came the call, the queen shrieked with everything she had, the ships crystals echoed her voice so hard, that the ship started glowing from the outside and just as it hit the dense planet, it reflected the ships glow to its extent and lit up the whole galaxy with her scream.

The ship hit the planet so hard, that the planet started rotating where it was because it had woken up after a very long time. The prince covered the face of his dead father, and smiled as he heard the scream of his mother and maybe the king had too. The galaxy had sure did cause a voice boomed inside the ship "WHO DISTURBS MY SLUMBER! WHAT DID THAT SCREAM SAY!". The prince could see his planet beyond the two rocks as the light shined beyond it too.

He knew his mother was waiting for him to come back, he knew he had to find a way to return, he knew that he will go back and not stop trying. The prince turned back to face the glowing and spinning planet which had set everything in motion and replied calmly "Home".....or wasn't it?

Author: xHaroon Najumudeen