January 31, 2000
No, I Mean It Was Really Cold!
Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a beautiful princess returned to her palatial abode to discover that the icy touch of the Winter Queen had invaded her domain and was threatening to take over. The beautiful princess sought in vain to defeat the Winter Queen in single combat, armed only with a flaming spear, only to discover that the traitor her midst had an invulnerability to any sort of flaming weapon. Outnumbered, the cold sapping her strength of will, the princess sought to call reinforcements. But alas, the hour was late, and no help could arrive until morning.
The night was long, with the princess and her lone dedicated follower huddling together for warmth and security. Help was a long time coming, until finally, just after nightfall, a single knight arrived. While soft-spoken and rather inept, he was able to drive back the Winter Queen, sending her fleeing into the cold, cold night. The time had come, it seemed, to live happily ever after, as all beautiful princesses must do, prince or no prince.
Not so, for our stunningly attractive heroine. The Winter Queen soon rallied, and thanks to the traitor (who was given a second chance -- the princess was as merciful as she was lovely) and the faltering work of the young knight, the cold queen was able to once again invade the princess's domain.
The princess, who was due to host a ball later that same day, was enraged, and called upon help once more with such anger and power in her words that help arrived before the clocks had turned once around. This knight was a genteel, wise soul, and defeated the Queen with considerably more cunning and trickery. The traitor was found to be under an evil spell, and the spell was broken.
The ball was an enormous success. The princess now plans to live happily ever after, prince or no prince.
