Tale of Prince Edward's Poetic Ransom

Here Followeth the Tale of Prince Edward's Poetic Ransom Once upon a time, the Wild Women of An Tir abducted Viscount Sir Edward Zifran. And for ransom Sir Edward offered them this guerdon; that he would do his best effort to win the Coronet of An Tir at the next Coronet Tourney; that he would give each lady a kiss then and there, and that for each lady who gave her name and physical description to the lady designated to collect these, Sir Edward would write a poem in her honor, to be delivered that Twelfth Night. And Sir Edward requested the favor of Dorothea of the Dunes, one of the Wild Women who had so captivated him. And he was so inspired by her at the Coronet Tourney that September in AS XIV that he did indeed win the Tourney. And it came to pass that on Twelfth Night, Sir Edward was crowned Prince of An Tir for the fourth time, and Dorothea was crowned Princess of An Tir and reigned with him. But no poems were forthcoming that Twelfth Night. Still, the Wild Women were pleased that they had compassed the coronation of a prince who could be counted on to keep court entertaining. And preparing for the tourney and then for his coronation was no light task; Sir Edward had not had time to write dozens of poems as well. And when asked, the new-crowned Prince promised to deliver the poems as soon as possible -- at the next Coronet Tourney, or at Egils. But at Coronet and again at Egils, no poems were forthcoming. And what could one do? Sir Edward was the Prince. In June that year of AS XV, though, a West Kingdom Crown Tourney was for the first time ever held in An Tir, at Couer du Val. And Prince Edward was warned that he would again be asked for the poems at that event. And he said that he would have them there. And at the Crown Tourney, Sister Guineth the White, one of the Wild Women, went to the Prince and politely told him that if he had not produced the poems before the end of the event, she would appeal to the King; whereupon the Prince, who was busily writing poems, leered at her and suggested that she do that. Therefore Sister Guineth went to the other Wild Women and asked if any of them wished to assemble with her to petition King Strider to require that their Prince do as he had promised and produce the poems. The others were not willing to go before the King of the West with her, but one produced a staff and another produced a scarf painted with the bust of a lady reclining in sensuous pose and garb, to tie to the staff for a banner signifying the Wild Women, and they assured the Sister that they were all for her petition. And Sister Guineth went unto the court heralds and asked to be put on the schedule to be called before the King to present her petition at the very end of the court. And it was done. When the final court came, and at the last Sister Guineth was called before King Strider, Sister Guineth went forward bearing the banner which her fellow Wild Women had devised for her and flung herself to her knees before the Sovereign of the West. "Justice!" she cried out in a loud voice. "Justice, my lord King!" "Who hath wronged you, milady?" the King asked. "He has," the nun replied, pointing to Prince Edward. "He promised the Wild Women each a poem in her honor. But he has not given us the poems as he promised." The King looked at Prince Edward. "What have you to say for yourself?" he asked. The Prince rose to his feet and took a step toward the sister, towering over her kneeling form. "I have the poems, milady. I could read yours right here in court if you'd like," he leered. "I care not, my lord, so that I get it!" Sister Guineth replied fearlessly. And then and there, Prince Edward read her a short poem written in her honor, and she clapped her hands with glee and laughed, and thanked him for it. And the Prince handed her the written poem, signed by his own hand, and proclaimed that all the Wild Women should come to him after court, and he would read each her poem and present it to her. And so it was that the Wild Women of An Tir finally got their poems.