The Jeweled Jaguar

Once, long ago in a land far away, there lived a Queen known by many as the “Jeweled Jaguar”.  At the time, it was known that the cats that roamed the mountains of the land were not like their spotted cousins but were instead as black as night, just like the Queen. Even her eyes glowed as green as theirs.

            One day, the Jeweled Jaguar, in all her finery, was strolling in the paths of the royal gardens, thoroughly enjoying the way the breeze weaved in and out of the willow-like dark strands of her hair and the way the soft grass cushioned her feet as she walked along. Her realm had been at peace when she’d first woken up this morning but it seemed someone saw fit to change that. A servingman ran to her side and entreated her to come quickly to the throne room. “Jaguar” was no idle nickname for the Queen was as quick as a cat with four legs especially in times of emergency.  

            Upon entering the throne room, the Jaguar stopped short, the sound of the golden jewelry that covered her arms and neck and ears and ankles clattering dwindled slowly out of the room. There before her stood her younger brother, the Prince, a smug smile on his face. The Queen had never been fond of her brother so the second she took her seat in her throne of jade, she demanded what he had come to ask of her. The Prince began to simper in a voice coated with artificial sincerity, about how it had come to his attention that his sister had not yet seen fit to provide an heir of her own to the throne. The Queen pointed out that this meant he was next in line for the throne and the Prince parried that because they were so close in age, it was hardly prudent to rely solely upon himself as heir. He reminded her that their foes in the West bore her no love and of how they were in fact terribly fond of him. With a wink and a smirk, the Prince asked her to consider her options and exited the throne room with a proud stride, implying he already thought of the throne as his.

            Now alone in the throne room, the Queen cursed her brother and wished she had the claws of a real jaguar, for then no one would dare to threaten her so. She had given no thought to marriage simply because no one had come along that she deemed worthy enough. She desired someone with intelligence and strength who would help her rid herself of her enemies’ schemes and her brother’s ambitions for good. But for now, she only desired to be alone with her thoughts.

            Donning a pitch black cloak, the Jeweled Jaguar took to the mountains, hoping that an open sky and a warm sun might fill her with inspiration. After she had walked until the sun was beginning to droop in the sky, the Queen, exhausted, decided to rest on a rock before setting off on her return journey. In her exhaustion, the Queen wished aloud for something to eat. To her surprise, the ring on her little finger, in the shape of a jaguar’s face with two round jades in place of eyes, began to glow bright green and suddenly, one of the stones to her side was now a bowl of fruit. Unsure of what to do next, the Queen waited for some animal to come along to test her luck. The first animal to happen upon the fruit was a tiny field mouse who scampered right up to the bowl. The Queen though, with her cat-like agility, was too quick for the mouse and she trapped him between the palms of her hands. Aloud again, the Queen wished the mouse to be a jaguar and as her ring began to glow once more, she immediately threw the mouse in front of her. Before her eyes, what had once been a small, insignificant mouse transformed into a majestic jaguar with a coat like night, a breed well known to the region. It roared and bared its razor sharp teeth. The Queen was about to step back and admire it from afar when she heard someone yell at her to get away form the beast and a young, spear-wielding boy with a mess of black hair ran in front of her, brandishing his weapon at the huge cat. The animal fought back with its huge paws, swiping and scratching as the boy did the same with his spear. The Queen tried to pull the boy away, either to protect him or the jaguar, she wasn’t quite sure. The cat was too crafty though and with another swipe of its claws, the boy was knocked off his feet by an unexpected blow to the face. The jaguar hissed again and was about to pounce on the boy but the Queen stepped in front of him and ordered the cat to desist. Their matching green eyes locked for a moment and then the jaguar turned and skulked away into the trees.

            The boy thanked the Queen for saving his life but was caught off guard when the Queen, in turn, thanked him for saving her life. She had been inspired and now her path to victory was clear, if the boy would help her.  She told the boy of her plan and at first, he refused. He looked down as it became clearer to the Queen that this was no boy but a girl in boy’s clothing. This was no matter to the Queen and she assured the young girl, perhaps only a year younger than herself, of that. So, the girl agreed and only requested that the Queen continue to treat her as the young man who had fought the jaguar and not the girl she saw afterward. The Queen agreed and the two returned to the palace to continue the hatching of their plan.

            The Queen knew her brother intended to use her enemies’ men against her. All she required was a diversion for her brother and a way of dispersing his reinforcements. That night, she sent an invitation to her brother, asking him to meet her new King, to be played by the boy who went by the name Adair. The Queen had yet to decide if this would become Adair’s permanent position.

            When the Prince arrived, she left Adair on her throne of jade while she walked around to the front of the palace to see who her brother had brought along with him. There were but four men outside the doors that led to the throne room but all were armed with at least two weapons each and they all looked like they could crush a man’s neck with but two of their fingers. She wondered if her brother was armed thusly as well. Adair was skilled with a spear but he was not invincible. Silently, the Queen waited out of the men’s sight until the sounds of fighting could be heard from inside and the men prepared to enter and aid her brother. Under her breath, she whispered her wish to her ring and just like the field mouse, the Jeweled Jaguar was transformed into a real jaguar. Her enchanted ring remained on one of her claws. In no time at all, she jumped onto the back of the man nearest the door, driving him onto his knees in panic and eventually onto his face, trying to protect himself from the cat that appeared out of thin air. She slashed at another man who flashed a dagger at her, marking his face with blood. The other two, with their spears, backed her into a corner. She growled at them and with a silent prayer, the jaguar became the Queen they called the Jeweled Jaguar once more. Convinced they were in the presence of a goddess, the men dropped their spears and knelt, entreating the Queen for her mercy. She told them they had it but now they must swear their loyalty to the King and then would all be completely forgiven.

            Two of the men opened the doors to the throne room and the other two, those who almost speared the Queen, walked in ahead of her. Although she walked behind the two men for protection, it was not enough to hide the fact that blood had been spilled on the throne room’s floor. Her first thought was to grieve for Adair who she had meant to make her King but the sound of her brother crying out to her for mercy put that thought in an early grave.

            Below the throne, stood Adair with his foot on the chest of the Prince. Adair was covered in more blood but the Prince was the more frightened of the two. With a nod from the Queen, Adair took his foot off the Prince’s chest and no sooner had he done so, that the Queen’s little brother scrambled to his feet and pointed accusingly at Adair. He said that Adair was an enemy spy from the West who was meant to have a part in the assassination of the Queen. The Jeweled Jaguar coolly replied that if that were so, he, the Prince, would have already been killed having fallen to Adair’s spear. The man whose back the Queen had jumped on earlier spoke up, declaring that Adair was actually the sister to their Western King. Adair mumbled something about really being the King’s brother but the Prince’s ecstatic laughter drowned him out.

            Through with the testimonies of others, the Queen decided to find out the truth for herself and asked of her ring for Adair to tell her the truth. Unable to resist the ring’s power, Adair’s truth spilled from his mouth like water from a waterfall. Yes, he was the brother of the Western King but he had no part in the plot against the Queen. That had been the Prince’s idea. Yes, he had been born female but found it did not suit him and chose to dapple in the grey area between male and female, but preferring the male side. He had run to the Queen’s side because he had witnessed the power of her ring and hoped, if he helped her, that she would make him a man in truth. And finally, Adair concluded his confession with a declaration of undying love for the Queen. He prayed she would not spurn him.

            Slowly, the Queen walked up to Adair and placed her dark hand on his cheek.

            “Adair, you are a man in truth and no ring could ever change that and I will love you until the day I die.”

            Together they kissed, together were wed and together they ruled in love and perfect harmony until the end of their days.

            The End.