Clown Princess Keiko

*comes upon an old scrolls while searching threw his things*

Oh yes, I completely forgot about this old thing. Guess it's story time my friends as I tell you the tale of the Clown Princess Keiko. Allow me to translate as best as I can...

+++

In Feudal Japan, there once was a Lord who gloated over all beneath him about everything he possessed. From his palace and wealth to the beauty of his wife and, most especially, his daughter, Keiko, he'd gloat about everything. Every day he would parade the princess about with him as he claimed her to be the most beautiful girl in all the lands, much to the daughters own embarrassment as she looked upon the faces of the sad and miserable villagers.

One day, the Lord's arrogance got the better of him as he paraded his daughter about as normal but, when proclaiming her most beautiful, a voice cried out 'What makes her the most beautiful?'. Outraged, the Lord turned to the person who had said it, a foreigner who wore a strange mask of clay and metal.

'My daughter is most beautiful that all who see her weep in joy upon her beauty' cried the Lord in a rage. Never had anyone dared question him about the beauty of his daughter!

The Foreigner titled his head as he looked over the girl and replied 'She looks no different then most fair maidens I've come upon. And I see no one crying for joy, only a foolish lord gloating to the frightened mass.'

It was now the Lord was livid as he planned to have his guards execute the stranger on the spot. However, the stranger did not linger as he passed by the Lord and approached the princess. 'Fair maiden, take this crown I place upon your head. It will grant you happiness and a beauty no others in the land can match' he whispered to her before he vanished into the wind.

The Lord examined the crown upon his daughters head, mostly comprised of just a strange orb that shined many colors in the light. The Lord tried to remove the crown upon his daughter's head but it would not budge and not even his strongest men could remove it with out causing harm to the princess, giving the Lord no choose but to let the crown remain.

As the seasons passed, the princess changed. Her skin became fair to the point all pigment left her body, making her as white as the clouds. Her fine black hair turned so green on one side and so pink on the other that there were no words to describe how bright it was. Any and all clothing she wore seemed to change color to be almost equally as bright as her hair in blues, greens, yellows, and pinks. But the worst for the Lord was when his daughter's slender nose seemingly ballooned and became as round as the orb that perched on her head before the skin around it turned a deep shade of purple.

While the Lord trembled in fear of ridicule and hid his daughter for many nights from the people, Keiko was not ashamed of her appearance at all. In fact, she never felt happier in her life as she laughed and smiled almost always, her lips almost never seeming to falter from there curled position.

One day, when the Lord went again to the streets, Keiko accompanied her father. She had on what she considered her finest kimono and sash and had placed upon her face make up of purple and gold over her eyes and across her lips, outlandish in her fathers eyes but the princess no longer would listen to him.

The villagers were surprised by the daughters appearance. So caught of guard they were that they nearly stumbled over when the daughter broke away from her father and began to act out right strange as she walked with a strange jiggle, would trip over unseen rocks so she could fall onto her large backside, and began to tell everyone humorous stories.

The Lord was so embarrassed by his daughters antics but then, something strange happened. The villagers started to laugh! They just laughed and laughed and laughed that they began to cry, cry in joy as the Lord had said to the foreigner all those season ago! That had been the point all along! To truly make the princess, in the eyes of the people, most beautiful in both appearance and in spirit. The Lord hid his face in shame as he left, allowing his daughter to remain and entertain.

The Lord soon made fewer and fewer trips to the market, too embarrassed by his daughter to show his face, though she continued to go out and entertain the villagers every day, finding new ways to humiliate herself just to get a laugh from the people. She wasn't ashamed of her appearance, no, she was happy for it! For so long, her father had made everyone so miserable that to bring about joy made her feel wonderful inside that she'd laugh along with them! And, as her father had wanted, she was now truly loved by the people.

So the princess continued her new found duty in life, all the while never seeming to grow older as many seasons came and went. Finally, one day, she simply vanished. Whether it was her father finally grown too ashamed of his daughter or perhaps some other cause, it is never known what happened to the princess.

It is said, though, that the princess Keiko did not merely vanish, but that all the laughter she had brought allowed her to become more then a mere human. She had become a deity, an immortal being, and had sense decided to travel the world, bringing joy to all those who need it. They say that the only sign that the princess was around is a smaller version of the orb on her head, somewhere lying on the ground where she had been.

Be warned, though, as the orb is said to make those who find it just like the princess. Perhaps that's the princess Keiko's way of spreading her legacy? Or perhaps she is merely lonely and hopes to have more join her some day...

+++

And that's about it. The scroll is a little torn but that seems about it... Hmmm, man with a mask of clay and metal? *looks over at Ohm, experimenting on splicing a bee and a chicken together* I wonder....

Anyways, I drew the picture as a sketch awhile back, getting close to a year now, and, after a LOT of persistent begging from , I agreed to color it on the condition that he NOT persistently begged me for any other pics, and that he'd commission me if such a thing that he would beg me for came up again. So I decided why not and went ahead. Had a bit of fun drawing it and writing the story of course.


Art and Story © =Dragon-FangX