The Prince's Wedding

I wrote this a while back and thought you might enjoy it. It is a little long for a blog, but I hope it is worth it.

Listen my friend and I will tell you the most amazing story ever told:

Far away in a land across the sea lived a King who had a fine son. His name was Prince Iisous. The King desired for his son a bride and a fair maiden by the name of Chara was betrothed to him while she was yet a child.

One day something terrible occurred and Chara disappeared and no one could find her, it was as though she had fallen into a terrible, black abyss, unreachable, lost. So the King sent his son into the kingdom to look for his bride. Prince Iisous searched throughout the kingdom and came to the dark part of town, the dirty dangerous streets where unspeakable things occurred.

Prince Iisous’ attention was drawn to a circle of angry people gathered around a woman. They were taunting the pour soul, hurling insults and hitting her. Having a full heart and a compassionate eye, Iisous stepped in to stop the woman from being abused. As he approached, he realized that this one that received the towns scorn, was his beloved Chara.

She immediately recognized Prince Iisous and full of shame ran from him, for she was sure he would be angry with her and reject her. With a determined heart he pursued her and finally found her hiding in the bushes along a pathway they had once walked together many years before. Prince Iisous reassured her and said, “My Chara, I will not be angry with you, please tell me your story.”

“When I was a child, playing in the King’s garden just below his castle,” Chara said, “an evil one approached me and told me horrible tales. He told me you didn’t love me and no longer wanted to share your life with me. He whispered to me you were angry with me and that I was ugly, worthless and no longer under the King’s protection.”

“I was scared,” she blurted out through tears “and angry with you. So with a broken heart I followed him, only to find out he had other plans for me.” Chara then told of how he kidnapped her, sold her into slavery and gave her over to a life of being used and abused.

As times became more difficult, Chara struggled to take care of herself and began trying to please men in the hopes they would like her and share with her money and food to survive on. Many years of hard living took their toll and she had found out she had contracted a deadly, incurable disease that was easily spread to others. The news of this only increased the scorn of the town people. In order to cope with her devastating pain, Chara took many powerful drugs that eventually controlled her and hurt her further. She was now in the final stages of their destructive rule.

Iisous was heart broken for how the years had been cruel to Chara, and spoke these words to her, “I still love you, my Chara! I always have. Nothing up high or down low, nothing from your past and nothing to come in our future will tear away my love for you. I am still going to marry you and I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

Some of the leaders in the kingdom were appalled at the news of their marriage and did everything in their power to stop their wedding, yet Prince Iisous was even more determined to love his precious Chara. When some of his friends realized he was not changing his mind, they pleaded with him to follow through with the wedding but for health reasons not to sleep with her. The Prince would hear nothing of it; he loved Chara and said, “I would rather die than not be completely hers.”

The wedding occurred and it was a small ceremony. Iisous arranged it that way, for he knew she was still ashamed and embarrassed. Some guests did show for the wedding and although the King was unable to attend, he sent his announcers and musicians and gave his son his full blessing, “I am well pleased with you, my son; I can’t wait to see my new daughter.”

The King’s servants invited some of the bride’s town people to the wedding; they were commoners who worked out in the fields, the kind you wouldn’t expect at an occasion like this. They were instructed to go share the news of the great wedding with whomever they saw. It was a simple but lovely ceremony, there were even a few presents given.

It was now time for the honeymoon, just a short one, only three days and then it was off to the castle to be welcomed by the King with a grand reception. Everyone wondered how this diseased, tattered and stained bride could enter into the King’s courts.

“She will spread the disease to the King!” some murmured.

“The King’s courts will be polluted!” still others screamed.

“How terrible, it’s not the King’s way!” even more scoffed.

No one heard from the bride and groom for the three days and most just went back to their old routines, trying to forget all that had transpired. Some were scared that this was the end, “He’s going to sleep with her, you know. He’s as good as dead when he contracts that horrible disease. It’s all over now. The kingdom will never be the same.”

But on the third day there were some amazing things that happened. Prince Iisous and the Princess Chara came back through town in an amazing display of splendor. And the most astonishing thing of all was that Princess Chara had been transformed! She was radiant, beautiful, and almost unrecognizable. Gone were her stains and wrinkles and flaws. She was adorned in a gown that shown brilliantly white, whiter than the whitest snow! Some of her scars were still there but they were now somehow beautiful.

Prince Iisous was full of excitement and told his friends this fantastic story, it’s still almost too hard to believe! “On our wedding night when we entered into the marriage chambers,” he said, “we found that it was a cold, dark and somewhat unnerving place. We were all alone because all of our friends had left us. We held on tight to each other and there in that dark place our love for each other was fulfilled and we experienced the full love of being man and wife.”

“When we awoke the next morning the most wonderful thing had occurred, Chara was healed from her disease! It was gone! I hadn’t received Chara’s disease; Chara had received my wholeness!”

Some didn’t know what to make of it; others ran throughout town drunk with excitement telling everyone of the great news, and still others not believing what was before them set out to discredit Prince Iisous and his story.

After they had visited for a while with their close friends, Prince Iisous and Princess Chara left for the King’s castle and I wish I could tell you what happened but the details are still sketchy. There are just some rumors that have been leaked by those who know Prince Iisous. The King’s Herald did release the official wedding book and many other books have been written attempting to explain what all this means. As for me, I like to hold on to what is said in official wedding book, listen:

“And you also were included in the Prince’s wedding when you heard the true story, the good news of your wedding. Now having believed, I give you the King’s seal that guarantees your entry into the castle.”