Many years ago in the land of Sorriso, there was a kindhearted shepherd named Ricardo who lived on the outskirts of the kingdom, with just his sheep and his daughter Angela to keep him company. While Ricardo spent his days working with the sheep and taking care of them, Angela stayed and worked in their conjoined house and textile shop. She worked tirelessly on cleaning and spinning the sheered wool into different cloth items, with her only breaks being when she would go get water for her father. The two of them lived such an antimaterialistic life that neither of them wanted anything, but just to make things interesting, Ricardo would boast about his daughter's abilities to any customers they had. Whenever her father would get in an over-the-top bragging mood, Angela would simply blush and look away, but that wasn't possible when their farm had a rather important visitor.
When word spread throughout the town that King Matteo from the nearby kingdom was going to be visiting the area, Ricardo and Angela made sure they looked their best in case the King entered their shop. Sure enough, Angela was working at her spinning wheel when she heard the door to the shop open, causing her eyes to widen before springing to her feet when she saw King Matteo enter with a couple of his guards. After His Majesty assured Angela that she didn't need to be so formal, the two of them loosened up enough to have a casual conversation, complete with the guards joining in on their discussion. It was after a few minutes of chatter when Ricardo came inside, having seen the carriage outside and wanting to meet the King, but that was the moment Angela feared the most.
"Your Majesty! How grand it is for you to stop by and see the handiwork of my wonderful daughter Angela!"
Ricardo exclaimed as Angela blushed while King Matteo nodded, and His Majesty had just complimented the quality of the wool when Ricardo's next sentence changed everything.
"My daughter is so good with her spinning wheel that she can turn wool into gold and gems!"
While Angela looked at her father in shock and embarrassment, King Matteo's eyes widened in surprise at such an idea. The next few minutes passed in a blur for Angela, but the next thing she knew, she was saying goodbye to her father before being led into the royal carriage. As the carriage took her away to King Matteo's castle, His Majesty explained that he wanted to see if her father was telling the truth, to which she gulped and nodded before the King patted her shoulder. Since she didn't partake in Ricardo's bragging, he assured her that she wasn't in trouble, but her father would be thrown into the dungeon while she was locked away for life if she didn't succeed with spinning the wool into gems and gold within 2 days and nights.
"I... I promise I'll do my best, Sire, and give you the finest gems and gold you could ever wish for."
Angela spoke after a moment of thinking, to which King Matteo chuckled and patted her shoulder again, after which he encouraged her to look around as they made their way to the castle. With a nod, Angela looked out the window and took in as many sights as she could, knowing that she should savor all of it before her trial with the King would start. Along the way, Angela spotted an unusual tree that the carriage happened to pass, and it happened to be a very special tree.
YOU ARE READING
Cuore D'oro
FantasyShe's a girl thrown into unfortunate circumstances because of her father's fib, and he's been searching for someone to assist after being turned away for years. Their meeting brings magic into both of their lives.
