The Diamond King and Angel of Gold

“Legends say that an Angel becomes a King’s treasure when moved by a possessive hand. Bound by a precious stone, their fates become one. Is love claimed or given?

“I have finally arrived!” The King’s excitement exhaled from his chest.  His boots stomped on the sacred land of which he had spent years of conquest to get to. ”Ah yes, the golden angel statue is mine!” His voice brimmed around the cave. His steps overcame the noise of the echoing droplets inside. Boots mixed with blood and sweat made sludges as he entered.

The King had travelled afoot and battled beasts for years to claim a treasure he heard the legends say. That a golden statue carved into an angel adorned Moonstar Cave. This treasure was going to be his, he thought obsessively.    

He wore a crown that was studded with diamonds, eyes sparkled just as what his crown was bejeweled with and a cape woven with starlit silk. For he was the Diamond King! 

As his steps impurified the cave, he froze. He saw the chandelier glittering with candlelights hanging overhead. A glowing fountain splashed with water that was only found on Moonstar Mountain. He saw the Angel, not frozen as a golden statue, but she was moving. 

She plaited her hair while she sat at the edge of the fountain. The King saw her golden skin as it glowed in the rhythm of a heart beat. Her hair, plaited with individual threads, grew along her scalp, like vines sprouting over an ancient tree. Her wings breathed as if they were her lungs. She looked up, and was taken by the gaze of the King.

“Angel,” the King beckoned, “I am mistaken. Was it not Moonstar Cave, which adorned a golden statue of an angel?”

The Angel’s sing-song voice chimed in the cave as she laughed, “Are you not in search of a wife?”

The King placed his hands on his hips, and said, “Seeking treasures is what I love to do. I am in no hurry for a wife.”

The Angel held the answer. For she had quite liked the appearance of the King. As she splashed her feet in the fountain, she said, “The legends you have heard are true. I was a golden statue until a golden eagle flew onto my shoulder. Then I first felt movement in my toes, and then my neck could move my head about. Now I am an Angel of the skies, I have learnt the language of eagles.”

The King made his way further from the fountain. His face drooped as he stepped backwards. Years of battles only to find nothing of value to him. He said, “You’re not what I’d hoped to find.” While he shook his head in disbelief.

Seeing his disappointment, the Angel thought to make friends with the forlorn King. “If you wish to see the skies, I will be here anytime.“ The Angel said in a voice that sounded like drinking a cup of honey and lemon. 

The King’s demeanour changed, as he thought his kingdom could be expanded. He then gave a smile, “Take me to see the skies!” He fought every beast imaginable on land, what of the beasts that roamed the skies? 

The Angel nodded twice as they made their way to the platform of the cave. She called three notes into the breeze and a cloud strolled beside her, “This cloud can carry the weight of an ocean. Take your seat,” she waved her arm like a ballerina.

The King naturally sprinted from the edge of the cliff onto the cloud. His feet felt the marshmallow softness on his toes. The span of the Angel’s outstretched wings made a shadow on the King as he levitated on the cloud. Her song made her feet not touch the ground and the beat of her wings were the drums to her song.

“Tell me, will you show me what I have not seen on my conquest?” The Diamond King questioned with curiosity. 

“I will show you. Careful not to fly too high.” Her voice was like handing out a tether to him. The pair saw the clouds become fog to their eyes. The Angel felt a stirring within her chest, as if her heart was turning gold.

Like a merging of a watercolour painting, they looked towards the horizon letting the warm colours heat them from the inside. A golden eagle appeared, its beak streaked with a hint of sunlight. The two looked at each other. “What does she say?” The King asked.

“She’s returning to her nest.” The Angel said to the King, and then turned her head to the eagle, “You caught a lot today, fierce one.” Knowing that the Golden Eagles always returned home to their chicklings. The care of a mother, she thought. 

“She is a fierce one, alright,” The King said aloud. “Like me.”

The Angel pointed, “There’s an even fiercer Crowned Eagle approaching.” the Crowned Eagle entered their vision. Its feathers stood up like horns on its head. Its eyes narrowed on them. 

“What does he say?” The King asked gently. The Angel’s face turned soulless.

He says, "There will be blood in his beak tonight.” 

The two looked at each other in panic and flew towards the cave. As they flew at great velocity, the Angel voice pierced through the air like a violin, “They seek prey like seeking diamonds in a mine.”

The King’s face stiffened. Not because he would be the Crowned Eagle’s dinner. But he felt that he was like the crowned eagle. Always mining for diamonds. 

The snapping of its beak was heard as they soared and soared.

Hearts beating in time, and breath panting in time, the two finally landed back at the cliff of the cave and let their feet return to the water that swished in the fountain. It’s light still glowing amber. 

Once they caught a breath, they smiled at each other. “Thank you for showing me the skies.” As he said this, he had felt in his left breast pocket was a diamond amulet he found on his conquest to get to the cave. 

He looked bashfully at the ground, and thought that maybe, showing a bit of generosity wouldn’t hurt. It was only an amulet, he had thought.

“I have a gift for you.” The King said to the Angel with a voice of comfort. She wondered what he may be trying to say? She showed a face of paleness and gave only a little twitch of her lips.

“The only gift I need is to be rich in experiences. You have given me one already. The day, we weren’t turned into a feast. I roam the skies but the curse I bear ensnares me.” The Angel said in half a giggle.

The King, not understanding the Angel’s thoughts, stepped closer. For he only understood the way of trades and exchanges, “This Diamond amulet is for you to call on me when you need. It will bind our fates together.”

“I am not going to accept any treasures, Diamond King. Flying with you was a gift already. I am sure you deserve the treasure as much as I do, for my fate and your fate is grave. I was cursed by a cyclops. That whoever moves me with a possessive hand, will freeze me.” The Angel said while turning her back to the king. 

As she spoke, the King held his heart because he felt pain. He had thought, no one does not accept treasures! He did not know it yet, but his heart stiffened, glimmering golden.

“But you have moved me!” The King said while looking at the ground.

The Angel used her finger to wipe away a tear, “I was moved because you wanted to never lose me. But love cannot be bound. When I was a young girl, I was abandoned. The Cyclops took me in and raised me. He had walked away from me and turned me into gold. He said, ‘your next companion will be a fool like me. Thinking love is claimed, not given.’”

With the strength the Diamond King had left, he placed the amulet around the Angel’s neck. As he opened the latch of the necklace to seal the two ends, the two froze together into a golden statue, with the amulet connected end-to-end. The Angel’s agency was lost, awakening the ancient curse to entomb them both in gold. For the Angel had moved the King that his heart turned to gold, and his fate bounded with hers. The gleam of the diamond mirrored droplets in the cave.

The Angel’s wings were outstretched, with a tear in her eye. As if reaching for the last bit of freedom she could have, while the King’s face was scrunched in confusion. The King’s fingers only held the latch of the amulet, and did not touch the angel at all. 

The touch of a King who only wanted material possessions. The touch of her, never to be felt.