Preamble

Once upon a time, there was a deaf princess who believed her future prince would be deaf and ordinary with sweet and kind personality. She has been born deaf and didn't know what is like to hear. It didn't bother her a bit. She enjoyed the silence and used her eyes to enjoy the colors of her world. She uses sign language to communicate. Fingers moved to convey meanings. Facial expressions conveys the tone of her language. As she grew up in her deaf world, she became educated and found a way to be a queen without a king to rule her kingdom after her parents gracefully passed away of old age. They left her with wisdom and guidance in how to rule the kingdom with a gentle heart but with a firm mind. 

One day she was walking through her beloved forest which ranged behind her castle, she saw a woodsman finishing up in moving the logs from the trail. She started to sign, "Hi! Is it a beautiful day?" He startled and moved and half bowed awkwardly. She touched his shoulder to have him stand up and repeated her question. He shook his head and pointed to his ears, showing he doesn't understand her. The deaf queen realized the woodsman didn't know sign language. She quickly thought back to her brief lesson about encountering people like him. Sign slowly and try to enunciate every word.

The woodsman smiled and nodded politely. Something about him intrigued the deaf queen. She decided to not pursue the speculation since the status between them are far between. As she walked away and looked back at the woodsman, the woodsman looked at her and waved. Her hand went up to her shoulder and waved politely. 

She found herself taking more walks through the same trail where she met the woodsman. Sometimes, he was there working or eating his lunch. When he could, he would sit by her and learn how to sign so he could be a better subject to the crown. Few weeks and months passed by. The deaf queen and the woodsman became friends and both were able to communicate through sign language. The woodsman didn't talk much about his past or his family. Only that his family lived far away and he didn't get to visit them very often. He seemed sad but determined to make the best of the situation. The deaf queen admire that in him, and his other traits of work ethics and value in quality work. Little she knew how his strengths could work against her.

She learned that the woodsman can hear different things and he comes from a kingdom of people who can hear: The Hearing Kingdom. Also the hearing people likes to make noises and they call it music. She couldn't understand what music meant until one day, the woodsman surprised her with his beautiful wooden hollow stick with strings during one of their walks together. They stopped and sat on a huge flat rock by the moat. The woodsman asked the deaf queen to put her hand on the bottom of the wooden stick. He strummed his wooden stick and the deaf queen felt the vibrations from the strings to the wood. She became fascinated and kept her hand on the wood. He played an upbeat song. She glimpsed of why the hearing people liked this noise because it had rhythms, just like dancing. How she adored dancing during the seasons ball. They had dance festivals during every change of a season in her kingdom.

She gained appreciation of what the woodsman tried to show his favorite thing to do; he loved to compose songs and perform but in her kingdom, there are not many people who would appreciate his music since it wasn't loud enough or doesn't have drums included.One sunrise brought a new change for the queen and the woodsman. The court was flashing lights with the crystals and candles, as a signal of someone needing the queen's audience. The queen hurried to her throne and nodded to the guards to let the subject in. It was the woodsman! She was confused why he decided to hurry and see her instead of waiting for their usual meeting in the forest. The woodsman's face was in exhilaration and jubilation. "My uncle who was a king of the Hearing Kingdom passed away without producing a heir," he explained, "which made my father the next king. It means that I am now a prince, not a woodsman." The queen consoled him about his deceased uncle but pleased for his change of luck. Still, she couldn't understand why he could have just waited until later for the news."I am sorry to hear about your uncle but I am happy for your fortune. Why does this feel urgent?"

"I want to marry you. Now I feel I am worthy of your companionship."The whole court was silent, holding their breath. The queen, shocked but impressed with his bravery, gasped with giddiness. "Yes! Yes!"They rushed to each other and hugged. Every eye but those two were widen with disbelief. Their thoughts were, "How can it be? They are so different from each other. How would this work, she a queen and he a prince. She is from the Deaf Kingdom and he from the Hearing Kingdom." They nevertheless cheered half-heartedly and their eyebrows were crooked with puzzlement.

After the wedding, they have decided to create a small cottage in the woods on the border between the Deaf and Hearing Kingdoms. They went their own castles during the day and rode to the cottage during the night. The routine works well for them and they were happily married. The prince gets more attention for his music in his kingdom. He was a devoted prince to his subjects. His subjects loved him.  The queen continues her work as a kind and wise ruler.

Happily Ever After... until his father's heart stopped. Their world they carefully planned out became the plan of obstacles instead of happiness. The prince was crowned the king of the Hearing Kingdom. The cottage became an unsure grounds. The queen started to wonder... what are the values they shared? What do they have in common? How they can coexist and still fulfill their responsibilities as rulers? Will they still have the daily walks through the forest to keep their love grow?