Beethoven’s Eroica (Story)
To follow the narrative, please click here
In the beginning, you have the introduction of the hero, the princess and the castle she's in. You can almost see and hear the horse shoes clamping against the forest ground as he rides through the forest. Pretty soon, we can see glimpses of the dangers that lie ahead his journey. Sharp pieces of wood, spider webs and darkness. But then, at 1:12, we see the villain reveal themselves. The evil force sends more things the Prince's way in order to stop his quest and pretty soon, he stumbles upon a beauty who is actually a minion of the witch and tries to seduce him into staying with her forever. For a moment, it seemed to be working, but then, at the last moment, he caught wind of what was going on and remembered his loyalty to the king and Princess.
The girl throws a huge fit, causing the prince's cloth to be torn and as he rides away, his horse's shoes become implanted with thorns, causing the horse to have great difficulty in moving about. Looking behind him, the Prince could see nothing but darkness and could sense the danger that lurked close by.
Soon, the prince is running through the night with his horse and comes upon yet another danger. This time, it is a demon flying after him with the hugest and ugliest grin one could ever see. His eyes glistening with fire and rage, his skin like that of a ghost-like mucus. And pretty soon, the Prince's horrified face was wrapped up in the demon's aura - putting him in shock and freezing him into a horrid nightmare where he sees the King ordering him to his death for failing. When he comes back to himself, his draws his sword and with the moonlight glistening onto it, he sliced into the darkness - eyes squeezed shut - and when he had opened them, it was once again day.
For a moment, the Prince breathed hard as he took in the sunrise and listened as the birds were chirping nearby. Soon, he saw another woman dancing about the forest in her chemise, but alas, when he went to go ask the girl for directions and food, her smile became that of an ugly grin and her hair that was once a lovely shade of black seemed to roughen and look more dirty as she revealed her true form. She was the witch and the demon that was just chasing him took hold of his shoulders. He soon lost control of his body and found that he could not look away from the witch's eyes. He was petrified and hypnotized. Her eyes were a translucent purple color that seemed to glow and blind him. And pretty soon, he was back in her web again.
When he woke up, he was in front of the King again, receiving the order to go and retrieve the princess. Confused, he obeyed the order and took flight on his horse. Questioning his realities, he pays no mind to the darkness lurking in the shadows once more, but just as it almost grabs him, the horse and he reach the meadow where the true danger lies. The butterfly that flew past his ear had suddenly caught up with he and his horse and was getting bigger and bigger the closer it got. When he finally looked behind him, he saw the yet another beautiful woman there. Her eyes enticed him and her hair was like that of golden roses from the kingdom of King Midas. But knowing what he had been through before, he was not tricked into her web and the spirit soon revealed itself, scaring the horse and with one swift movement, the horse flew back onto it's hind legs, knocking the Prince off of his horse and out - like a light.
The Prince had been there a while, but soon a villager found him and took care of him until he wakes up. Upon opening his eyes, the Prince sees the wife of a blacksmith taking care of him. Suspicious of the unknown woman, he quickly checks his wrists for any signs of having been strapped down or stolen from. When he looks back up, he thanks the woman and promptly leaves. While getting on his horse, the woman's grin turns ugly once more as she watches as he rides off back on his quest.
Night falls once more, and for the next few days, his quest was the same - ride, eat and sleep. Ride, eat and sleep. They were undisturbed for days, but the witch was most definitely watching him.
Once day, the Prince was riding atop his horse when danger suddenly appears. Another lovely woman appears and he tries to disregard her presence, but then she started screaming. Turning around, he looks at her situation and discovers a wild boar, which he takes out with no issue. The woman thanks him with the goods in her basket and he thankfully rides. away. While riding, he notices the horse growing more tired and stops just before sunset on a hill to rest. He allows himself to become completely engulfed in the beauty of the sky and soon falls asleep. It was then that the darkness crept in and tried to harm him, but it was the horse that woke him up to fight them off. Sword drawn, he looked about himself, bug-eyed and feeling delusional.
Shouting in rage, the Prince curses the land and chops down the tree with his sword (small tree). Then proceeds to put his sword back into the slot before walking off to find a nearby stream. As he's walking, he hears his horse making weird noises and rushes back to see if it's okay. To his surprise, the horse was sleeping. Angrily, he turned back around and when he arrived in the same spot, the horse made a sound again - causing him to think that the horse was just dreaming and ignored it. He soon finds the stream he was looking for and makes his way back to the place where he had settled with his horse. The shadows were lurking close by and soon began to take the form of another woman. She had just come by to get water in her pail, but he ignored her. Going back to the horse, she follows him and he gets upset the closer she gets and the longer she resides next to him. He soon loses his mind and draws his sword and threatens her, saying, "I know you are a demon! You will not have me!" and slays her, only to see the demon fly from her body and the evidence of the girl's life source on his sword. Overcome with realization, the Prince scrams back to his horse and rides away.
Adagio assai:
Once far enough away from the crime scene, the poor Prince begins to riddle himself with worry and questions who that girl once was, what she did and why the demons used a real woman this time. He felt like a villain and couldn't quite cope with what he had done. But soon, he stumbles upon a part of the forest where the big rock at the edge of a cliff was and sat down to stare at the moon.
Soon, the darkness was near again and he could feel it. His horse began warning him and the Prince stood on his guard. Turning around, the Prince sees another woman, this time dress in ragged clothes. Clutching his sword, he narrows his eyes as he says, "Must you make me kill you again?" The woman only paused for a moment before grinning. "Show yourself. For I know whom you really are!"
"Oh really?" She taunts. "Then, tell me," She says, getting closer. "Who am I?"
"You're the demon that's been following me!"
Her wicked laugh followed. "Dear Prince, I am no demon. I am just the opposite."
"Liar! You are no angel!"
"I am, in fact, a witch." He paused as she came closer to grab him by the chin. "I can give you anything that you desire. But on one condition."
"Which would that be?"
"Do no continue your quest for the Princess."
"And why not?"
"If you wish for anything in this life, you will have to pay the price. But it is up to you to make your price light or hefty."
Picking his sword back up, he holds it up to her throat and soon, she is grinning. "You cunning little witch. I shall sly you!"
"Oh how cute. You think you can kill me."
"I will end you! Watch!" And he slices her throat to watch her bleed onto the ground, but alas, the quiet soon becomes disrupted by the heat that stands behind him. Looking up, there is a dragon. The eyes were blazing and the mouth of it was smiling.
"You can kill my body, but you could never defeat my true form!"
Throwing the fire from its mouth, the dragon sets the horse ablaze with all the supplies. The Prince screams as the dragon laughs.
"And now, even if you could beat me, you would never survive my demons, let alone the forest!" Setting the forest a blaze, the dragon let off an evil laugh before looking at the Prince once more whom wore a look that turned the monster's stomach.
"You think I wish to waste my energy on a creature such as yourself? How dare you think so highly of yourself!" Confused, the dragon changed back into the witch's form.
"Explain." Her hand on her chin, she approached him. Nodding, the Prince began speaking before suddenly plunging the sword into her heart. Before she could cast another spell, he made sure to remove her head and grabbed her life source from it.
With this, the Prince not only sustain himself with the supplies needed, he could undo the Witch's bidding and keep the demons at bay.
And so, the Prince used the magic to bring back his beloved horse and supplies needed for food. He rode and rode until he had finally reached a place where he could see the the castle where the Princess resided. But as he rode, the demons did not wish to submit themselves to him and devised a plan amongst themselves to end his reign once and for all.
Soon, he could see the castle from where he and his horse was and breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Soon, it will all be over." The prince whispered to the horse. But as they rode, different things began to happen. The horse had random gashes appear on its sides and wouldn't run in the direction that the Prince wanted it to go. When the Prince finally took note of the horse's condition, he quickly checked behind himself before stopping at a nearby stable to trade in his horse for the time being.
Scherzo: Allegro Vivace:
With this new horse, he felt a little lighter and more confident than before, but still delusional. The people that saw him ride by waved at him, but he was especially wary of the women. Going up into the mountains, he made sure to always check behind himself, which proved to be relieving each time. He finally reaches the door and the knights let him in. Going all the way to the top of the castle and to the Princess's ballroom, he waited for her to arrive and when the horns blew to announce her presence, he looked up to see the beautiful woman and immediately became filled with doubt.
Just knowing the she was a beautiful woman was enough to make him suspect her to be something other than what the King had said for her to be.
Taking her by the hand, he kisses it and they begin dancing with the rest of the people about them. His eyes never leaving hers, she counted his staring as an attempt at flirtation. Blushing, she smiles, which causes the Prince's eyes to become shot and his blood to boil as he remember the grin all the other women and the witch had given him before. He was losing his mind, but could not separate the truth of reality and what the Witch had wanted him to see.
The dance soon ended and he abruptly excused himself to go stand on the balcony.
Finale: Allegro Molto:
Another dance starts in the ballroom, by the Princess also excuses herself to go and spy on the Prince. As she stood there staring, he finally sighs and acknowledges her presence without ever turning around to make sure that she was truly there. Laughing in delight, she comes up beside him and talks to him about how amazed she is that he could tell she was there without ever turning around. He scoffs before flatly saying that he's had a lot of practice before he had arrived. She nods and then invited him to have a drink with her in her hall of paintings. Declining, she insisted and he finally gives in.
Still knowing that his mind is not in the right place, he is compelled to follow her with a new mindset - different to that of when he first started the quest. While she is chattering away, looking at the paintings, he is standing there studying her. Analyzing every single feature on her face. Her black hair, Purple eyes and beauty all seemed so unsettling to him. And soon, once they had reached the private room, she had only just closed the door when she grinned at him and he snapped.
"I know who you really are" He started, causing her to become quite confused. "Don't act like you're just another innocent woman."
"Prince, what on earth are you talking about-?"
Taking her neck into his hands, he squeezed out the entirety of her life source while saying, "I've killed you before and now I'll kill you again!" Once she stopped breathing, he dropped her lifeless body onto the ground before staring dead at her and saying, "But this time, you will not find me again."
And now, he casually went back to mingle with the rest of the party before planning an escape. It would be nearly impossible to leave because according to the King, He was supposed to come back to claim her as his bride. But now that he had killed her, thinking that she was a witch, he had to make sure that no one knew that he was leaving. But the guards at the door stopped him. He explained the he was just going to admire the garden and check up on his horse.
Letting him go, the Prince then walked as far out of sight as he could before quickly riding away, the darkness now laying on his hands, covering them in darkness. He quickly went back into the town, but all the people that greeted him there looked like the beautiful demons he had been seeing all along. Trying his best to ignore them, he quick went back to the stable, switched out his horse and rode back into the forest where he came upon a cliff and stopped just in time before they fell off the edge.
Back at the ball, the party continues until one of the Lords discovers the Princess's body. In a frenzy, the Lord walks away from the scene before being caught by the guards and taken back to the scene. They soon arrest him and despite his protests, the Lord is imprisoned.
The people all look at the Lord as he is being dragged out and whispers fill the room.
They carry the Princess's body back up to her room to place her gently into her bed before going back down making sure that no one finds out about what has happened. Looking at one another, it is finally revealed that the Guards are not her guards at all, but the demons that we torturing the Prince.
Meanwhile, the Prince is looking down at the cliff with a blank face.
He contemplates everything before looking back up at his horse and spotting the demon that sat on the horse's back.
"So you have come to haunt me?" He smiled. "You cannot make me anymore mad than I already am."
"No" the demon answered back. "I am merely here to guide you."
"Guide me? Where?" It was then that the demon's grin became so large that it stretched to the ends of the earth. The Prince, wide eyed, looked back down at the horse that was actually dead. Covered in blood and slash marks. Looking down at the shiny blade before him, the Prince realized the blade was covered from tip to rim in crimson. Looking at him hands, he witnessed the darkness on his hands and finally laughed in horror. His laughs became louder and louder as the demon approached him and finally did him the favor of pushing him off the cliff.
"You will become on of us now." The demon said before a hand touched his shoulder and revealed the witch grinning over the grave site of the Prince's body.