There once was a girl who served the king and queen of a small country. This girl was hard working and never asked for anything in return for her services, for she loved the king and queen. Night and day she labored on their estate. She cleaned the yards, managed the house and helped the queen with whatever she might need. When the queen became ill this girl cared for her as one would a beloved parent or friend. For years this girl served her king and queen, giving up all her hopes and dreams in order to give herself fully to whatever they might need.
Despite everything she had done, one day the king and queen took everything this girl had and chased her from their estate. They banished her to a house on the furthest end of their lands and put guards about her to ensure she stayed their. Every few days they would have the guards bring her before them and beat her, demanding that she confess to crimes they claimed she had committed. This went on for days, weeks and months. Finally, in utter brokenness and ruin the girl made the confessions the king and queen demanded of her; but that was not good enough. She was forced to stand before all the people in the land and declare her crimes to them. When the assembly heard the words of the girl they were shocked and bewildered, stunned at what the girl was saying. The crimes she was confessing to were so heinous and cruel that it was hard to believe she had committed them. Still, the guards assured the crowd that what the girl said was true.
As a result of her confession, the girl was ostracized in her own country and made to feel that she was a worthless creature unworthy of love. She lived her life separated from her family and friends, being rejected by those she loved most. As if this were not enough, the king and queen demanded that she be made to repeatedly repent of her crimes and be publicly shamed on a regular basis. The girls closest friends were summoned to the king and queen's estate and told stories about her that horrified them. They were encouraged to have nothing to do with her lest she corrupt them as well. Truly everything this girl has was taken from her and she was treated as though she was a criminal. Her sense of dignity, self-worth and simple human rights were stripped from her and she was left for dead.
What, you may ask, would cause the king and queen to treat the girl in this way? Surely, there must be a reason for such actions on their part. The truth is there was a reason for their behavior, but it was not because of anything the girl did. No, the truth is far uglier than anything the king and queen tried to paint.
Late one night, while the queen slept, the king had gone to the girl and asked for a chance to speak with her. The girl had agreed and when the king spoke, his words shocked and confused the girl. The king told her that he loved her, that he would always love her and that, although he knew it was not right, he was not able to move past it. He wanted to share his feelings with her and see if she reciprocated the feelings. Of course, the girl did not know what to say or do. Here was someone she looked up to, someone she had spent years helping, someone whom she thought had good character. She was sickened by the king's words. Her response to the king was that what he was thinking was all wrong and she could have no part of it.
After saying these words the girl quickly left the conversation to find one of the queen's advisers and tell them what had happened. She didn't know what to do or how to handle the situation and she needed advice from someone she trusted. After hearing the story, the adviser called for another adviser, who was also the chief guard, and they discussed what to do about the matter. They went to the king and tried to reason with him but he insisted that he loved the girl and no one was going to change his mind about it. All through the night they talked, and finally, the king was convinced to stay with the queen and give up the girl.
In the morning the queen was informed of the past night's occurrences. She was heart-broken and devastated by the news but she knew what she must do. She quickly banished the girl from the estate and she and her advisers met with the king to discuss the details of what had happened. When they were done talking about it the king and queen agreed that the only way to handle the situation was to blame the girl and find a way to publicly punish her for wrongdoing so that no one would suspect what had really happened. They had their guards interrogate the girl and nothing could be found that was worth punishing her for, so they began to accuse her of things she had not done. The painted an horrific picture of her and ensured that everyone in the kingdom believed it. The king had committed a sin and the girl had refused to participate in it, but the girl was the one who paid the price for the sin being committed.
Now I ask you - which was worse - the married king propositioning a young girl in his service or the king and queen sacrificing an innocent girl to cover up what the king had done? Is there a right answer? I'm not sure, but it is certainly food for thought.
