Mona Lisa
Prince Erik galloped away on the borrowed horse and into the woods next to Baron Marko’s property. Imagining he was finally alone, the Prince slowed the horse to a trot and simply enjoyed the scenery. Unfortunately, this caused him to walk straight into a road, on which a caravan was being robbed by bandits.
“Stop! No, no you can’t have that! I demand you put that down instantly!” A tall blonde woman in a flawlessly white coat was chasing around the bandits who were emptying the carriages screaming at them. She had on a flawlessly white coat that seemed to give color to her porcelain skin. Prince Erik realized the woman had on heeled knee high boots, to give her the appearance of height. She seemed cold and passionate all at once, held back only by her entourage, which formed a barrier between her and the bandits as if her life were too precious to risk over loss of material possession, a thought she clearly did not share.
One particular bandit walked by her with a canvas storage tube, and the woman looked at him with a look of pure hatred. “You will give that back this instant or so help me-“
The blonde woman spotted Prince Erik on horseback and ran to him. “Please sir, you must help me! That man is stealing my life’s work!”
Erik looked down at her in wild confusion. “I- I ca-“
The woman in white looked at him with a cold kind of determination. “”You /must/. This is a matter of life and death.”
On the other side of the road a royal patrol emerged from the forest. Prince Erik decided that this woman’s request was suddenly worth his time.
The bandits made a dash for the forest as soon as the royal patrol announced themselves, in fear of incarceration. Prince Erik reigned the horse to follow the bandit with the woman’s precious tube, though he couldn’t for the life of him understand how it could mean her life. The bandit had a small head start, which didn’t last long on account that he was running on foot and the Prince on horseback. Prince Erik reached out to grab the man by the shirt, but the man tripped and brought the prince off his horse as he hit the ground. Recovering quickly, the bandit continued to run. Prince Erik followed closely behind.
The ground beneath them came to a sharp downward slope, and the bandit slipped on wet leaves. Prince Erik lunged after him and caught hold of one end of the canister just as the two of them fell off the cliff and into the river below.
Seconds passed before Prince Erik burst out of the cold water, gasping for air. The canister, his prize, surfaced shortly after himself. The bandit was making a break for it downstream, but the Prince did not care enough to catch him.
Prince Erik was able to eventually hike his way back to the caravan and the woman in white. The royal patrol was still lingering, and the Prince sighed heavily. So much for not getting caught.
“Mademoiselle, this belongs to you I believe?” Prince Erik said as he approached hearing distance of the caravan.
“Oh bless the skies, you’ve saved me!” The woman in white nearly snatched the canister from his hands.
“You’re welcome,” Prince Erik said as he dismounted his horse. “You said this was a matter of life and death- but I do not see how.”
“A woman always is,” The woman in white said as she pulled a rolled canvas out of the container. The canvas unrolled to reveal an exquisite portrait that could be mistaken for nothing but the famous Mona Lisa. “It’s my life’s work, you see.”
“You’re Signora DaVinci? Emma Leona DaVinci?” The Prince said in disbelief.
“Just Emma to you, my good sir. And you might be…?” Emma looked at him expectantly.
“He is Sir Erik, the crowned Prince of France, Mademoiselle, and he is currently out against the king’s wishes,” the lead of the royal guard interrupted.
“Yes, yes,” Prince Erik rolled his eyes. “But you! You are DaVinci! The maker of modern thought! A social visionary! My father is the king of backward reason, perhaps you could bring him into the sixteenth century!”
Signora Emma looked to the royal guardsman for help. “Translation?”
The guardsmen sighed and explained, “Prince Erik suffers from an arranged marriage… Among other things.”
Prince Erik ignored the insult. “Please, Signora, if anyone could change my father’s mind about the whole ordeal, it’s you.” The Prince begged.
Signora Emma looked at the Prince with pity. But he had done her the kindness of saving her painting, and she supposed she owed him the favor. “I will talk to him for you, but I cannot promise anything. I am just a painter, dear prince.”
“Yes! Thank you, thank you so much Signora!” Prince Erik embraced Emma in an expression of gratitude. Turning to the royal guard, he said, “Now, I believe you are on a mission to return me to the king? Senora DaVinci needs the escort as well, as you can see. And a horse, if you’d be so kind to my father’s honored guest.”
Signora Emma smiled at the courtesy. “A white one, if you don’t mind.”