Once long ago, there stood a kingdom ruled by a beautiful, yet most obstinate queen, Queen Lillia. Oh it was so difficult for the citizens in the kingdom to make any changes and she ruled with a rigidity that was hard to bare. Every day citizens would come with entertainment, with requests and pleas, but always she said “No”, not even amused by the court Jesters. Very stern and difficult she was, and since the rulership of her father, the king ended, due to his untimely passing quite some years ago, not much in the kingdom had changed. The merchants and architects had been requesting a new shipyard to be built, to bring their small kingdom into a more prosperous and culturally rich age, however Queen Lillia was hesitant to change the things that were stable and working, that her father had put into play.
The beautiful queen however had a terrible secret. In her chambers, she would privately change and bathe and at her bedside she would sit alone and lament that there would never be a king or heir. That she had to hold face and make sure she maintained authority, by ruling in such a strict and stable manner because, well, she was actually bald, and was so certain that if the citizens and royal court knew, they would all laugh at her and her throne would be usurped by someone with a full head of hair. So, every day she wore a wig and retired in solitude.
Her father, the late King Lil however, had left a very positive impression upon the people and the courts and citizens tried to support the queen and continued to attempt to soften her heart with gifts, plays, music and banquets, but unfortunately her insecurities did not allow her to express that she did find their dedication touching. So on she maintained her hard-headed persona and it began to really exhaust her. It exhausted her so that she began to fall asleep at the throne!
“My Queen”, Evelina, one of Queen Lillia’s ladies in waiting gently roused the Queen. “Have you fallen asleep, my Queen?”. Queen Lillia, arose in terrible confusion and embarrassment. “How dare you, Evelina! I was in deep contemplation!” Queen Lillia responded. Attempting to hide her indiscretion. However as the day went on, Lillia fell asleep several more times, and Evelina just let her sleep, not wanting to embarrass her. They never spoke of it again, however Queen Lillia was MORTIFIED and felt in even more of a panic about maintaining authority. So she sought out the old castle Alchemist Marcellus, who lived high up in the Tower, and was still on the payroll, despite the Queen “not-believing-in-all-that-nonsense”. However, it was her Father’s wish that the Alchemist maintain his position and continue his work.
“Surely he can make me a potion to keep me awake!” Queen Lillia said to herself as she climbed the stone steps of the castle tower. The Alchemist, being a very close with her father, was the only one in the castle who knew her secret. So she entered his laboratory, with all it’s beautiful glassware, strange herbal smells and long lenses that pointed at the sky.
“Dear Marcellus, it has been some time” Says Queen Lillia.
“I have been expecting you”, Marcellus bows, and the Queen seems perplexed. She explains her throne-sleeping predicament to a thoughtful Marcellus.
“How did you, oh nevermind. I am after a waking potion, Marcellus. I have been so exhausted of late, my Lady in waiting had to wake me up while I was on the throne. I could not tell her I had actually fallen asleep! How could she trust a sleeping Queen? How could anyone? So you must Understand , I need to stay awake! I cannot have the people think me weak or incompetent!” Lillia concludes.
“Better a sleeping Queen than an inauthentic one.” Marcellus replies.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” Queen Lillia queries, but before she can get worked up Marcellus tells her he will have a potion delivered to her in 40 days, and it will ‘provide her something she has been missing’.
‘Something I’ve been missing? Surely this will grow in my hair!” Queen Lillia thinks to herself as she returns to her chambers.
On continues the tedium of rulership. ‘No, you can’t have a shipyard. We won’t build more bridges. The Tavern does not need renovations. The old, reliable order of the time seems to be working fine!’ Queen Lillia shuts down all progress and innovation. But the merchants are getting restless. The store houses are getting full as the ships in the kingdom are only small, and cannot carry the freight of the beautifully woven silks, ceramics, crafts and unique grain that is locally produced. The merchants craftsmen begin forming private clubs and in desiring the power to carry out innovations and wealth on their own, and without an heir, some shadowy characters begin to see murder as a beguiling option for enacting that shift.
Evelina, her trusted lady in waiting and Queen Lillia sit at the castle balcony, when one later afternoon a swan flies over to them and holds in it’s beak a small potion bottle with a note from Marcellus.
“Drink me before going to bed” reads the note.
Queen Lillia is thrilled to receive her potion and as she looks at her bald head in the mirror before bed, she fantasizes about being able to brush her hair, adorn herself, and not being intimidated by the prospect of everyone finding out she is bald. She is going to finally be able to relax and think of some new strategies for ruling her kingdom, because frankly maintaining all this authority on her own is a little boring.
Upon waking the next morning, she checks the mirror again and finds her hairless scalp to be just the same as I was before she went to bed. Disappointed she hastily puts on her wig, has her servants make a strong coffee and returns to her duties on the throne.
Today something is different however… The butcher man makes a request for bigger plots of land for grazing more cattle and she approves!
Every time she tries to say no, Queen Lillia begins to approve of requests. Word spreads around town like wildfire, and soon a few village kids catch wind of it.
Georgie, Ruby and Lance overhear the butcher telling baker Bernard that he had more cattle grazing land approved. “This is the first time she has approved anything in years!” The butcher tells Bernard, feeling chuffed.
“Georgie, I dare you to ask if you can wear her crown!” Ruby tells Georgie. Georgie, who is the youngest in the group, wanting to impress and sound brave responds emphatically with, “I’ll do it Ruby!” and they make their way down to the castle and sneak their way into the line for requests. Inside these special chambers, there are people of the court, many important Lords and Ladies overseeing the Queens commands and maintaining their positions of power. Georgie boldly comes up to the queen and requests her crown! Surely not, the barons think. She couldn’t possibly…. But Queen Lillia, as if possessed, cannot help but take off her crown and place it upon young Georgie’s head. However! The crown is caught in her wig, and the whole thing comes right off!!!
Queen Lillia, up until that point was, kind of enjoying herself but now she was mortified. The worst thing she could think of was happening, and the silence in the room could be sliced with a butterknife. Then suddenly, instead of laughing the people in the chambers begin to clap. Georgie and Ruby and Lance, all clap and cheer. This is the first time they had really seen their Queen and she was beautiful and bald and awesome, and actually listening to people’s requests! Queen Lillia begins to laugh at how worried she was. So now, no longer needing to hide, and seeing as changes are not that tragic, Queen Lillia approves the shipyard and maintains a much more open rulership.
Once the new shipyard is built, Master wig makers from all over the globe begin coming to Queen Lillias kingdom, with the most beautiful and extravagant wigs for her to wear. A flood of artistry and prosperity begin to pour into her kingdom which becomes known for it’s cultural expansion and appreciation of skilled crafts and artisans.