Once upon a time, there was a king who had three sons. He ruled his kingdom wisely and peacefully for many years, but the time came when the king grew old and sickly and needed to pick an heir.  His eldest son was spoiled, self-indulgent, and wasteful. Under his rule, the kingdom would find itself bankrupt and starving. His second son was aggressive, short-tempered, and cocky. Under his rule, the kingdom would be drawn into war. His third son, on the other hand, was kind, thoughtful, and calm. He would rule the kingdom with the wisdom and care that his father had shown. But the third prince was still young and could not hope to defeat his brothers if they should insist upon taking the throne.

And then, one day, quite out of nowhere, a golden-haired girl turned up at court. The queen, who was a woman of some mystery, welcomed the girl into her inner circle with open arms.  And if the queen knew the girl from her time in the Legion of Zenobia, neither of them ever mentioned it.

The elder sons, both hungry for the throne, began to make efforts to ingratiate themselves with their mother’s new favorite. They brought her gifts and wooed her with flattery. But no matter what they did, the girl could not be satisfied.

“Will you walk in the garden with me, my lady?” asked the eldest prince.

“No,” she said, pouting her rosebud lips. “It is far too hot.”

“Will you bathe in the river with me, my lady?” asked the middle prince.

“No,” said she, turning up her button nose, “It is far too cold”

“Is it not lovely to lounge on these cushions, my lady?” asked the eldest prince.

“No,” she said, wrinkling her porcelain brow. “They are far too soft.”

“Come with me to the courtyard, we shall sit on a bench,” said the middle prince.

“No,” said she, with a toss of her golden curls. “They are far too hard.”

The king died. But an heir had not been chosen. Unconcerned with matters or state, or anything but winning the girl, the two elder princes continued their pursuit.

The people of the kingdom, meanwhile, were beginning to tire of the princes’ antics. They whispered about them in the villages and towns.

“He is too lavish,” said the baker, when the eldest prince ordered he send the girl a hundred gilded pastries.

“He is too arrogant,” said the maidens, when the middle prince sneered at them in the streets.

“He will lead us to ruin,” said the tailor, when the eldest prince ordered dozens of jewel encrusted gowns for the girl.

“He will lead us to war,” said the soldiers, when the middle prince insulted the general of a long time ally to impress the girl.

But the princes went on and on, spending their gold and alienating their subjects, all for the favor of the girl with the golden curls.

The innocent young girl they were courting, however, was more than met the eye. From the time she was small, she had been able to soothe and calm the people around her, to arouse their love and to rile their anger at her will. Far from being a bride to be won, the girl had been sent by the Legion to ensure the stability of the kingdom until an able ruler was chosen. The princes, who had, unbeknownst to them, inherited their mother’s power, could not be allowed to simply fight it out among themselves, as other quarreling heirs might, lest their powers cause havoc. The girl was charged with controlling the situation until one of the princes had undeniably proven himself. And every day, the youngest prince was doing just that.

“He is intelligent,” said the bookshop owners, when the youngest prince came in seeking works on diplomacy and philosophy.

“He is kind,” said the mothers who watched him toss a ball with their children in the village square.

“He is humble,” said the courtiers whose advice he sought.

As the weeks wore on, the people of the kingdom learned to love their young prince, and grew to resent his elder brothers.

And so, very slowly, they began to come to the youngest prince with their troubles, and he helped them. When the bakers ran out of flour, he brought more from the furthest reaches of the kingdom. When the tailors lost their source for silks, he negotiated new trade agreements. When the general of their ally’s army came to visit, he impressed him with his wit.

And then, one day, just as suddenly as she had appeared, the golden-haired girl was gone.

The elder brothers awoke from the stupor of their love and found their kingdom was theirs no longer. Their brother had taken their place as the king, and their people had no further use for them. They retired to the country, where they lived their lives just as idly and uselessly as before.

And as for the girl, she went back to her home, back to the Legion, and into the storybooks - the Goldilocks who showed the true natures of three bears.