Week 3 Story: A Kingdom of Love

(Lion in the dark; online source, pinterest)

The Ways of the Pride.

Taking place many years ago, our story begins in an area known today as Tanzania, in a deep valley nestled in the grasslands not too far from Mount Kilimanjaro. A rather large lion pride colonized the space, maintaining 6 or more males and around 50 females of varying ages at one time. Not too different from other prides, this was a polygamous society. Females generally mated many times throughout the year & the males even more because of a high female to male ratio. Once they hit an age appropriate for mating, young lionesses were expected to breed to maintain the longevity of the pride. They were allowed, if they wished, to maintain a more intimate relationship with one male; a husband of sorts. If this was their chosen path, they would typically breed with multiple males but spend quality time with and nest with their chosen mate at night. Most of the lionesses were content to follow a life of solitude and breeding with no strings attached but a fair few would decide to take the path of romantic companionship.

Amoralite and Enoc.

When a young lioness chose the path of love, she would often venture a visit to Enoc’s cave. Enoc was known well in every pride within a 400-km radius as the god of love and persuasive charm. A lioness would visit Enoc when she chose to take the path of love. He would concoct a potion specialized to the love seeker. She would share the potion with the mate she chose and both would be overcome with passion for one another. Lions are keen hunters but they’re not prone to intimacy. So, most often, when a lioness desired an endearing relationship, she would have to turn to Enoc to help promote loves alluring pull; much the same as a lioness lacking the fertility to help populate her pride would visit Amoralite. Amoralite was blessed with heavenly beauty and throughout her youth, the males in her pride would beg of her to be their mate. Amoralite however, didn’t think any of her prospects were worthy of one of such beauty and she soon left her pride in favor of a life of solitude. However, unbeknownst to her, she would soon find herself impregnated with a son. “How is this possible?” she pondered, as she hadn’t mated in quite some time. “I can’t be carrying a cub.” Eventually, Enoc was born. Word spread about the lions that Amoralite had conceived without a mate. Every day after, she became known as the goddess of fertility. So, son and mother, lived alone in a cave far from any other lions. Prides from areas all around provided food and provisions to Amoralite and Enoc in exchange for their blessings of fertility and love. By this way, the two could live in solitude, hunting unnecessary as they were provided with more than enough from their servants, very unlike any of the other lions.

A Fit of Jealousy

Back to our pride in the valley of Tanzania, one summer three daughters would be birthed to the leader. All three were blessed with natural beauty but one was more beautiful than anything any of the other lions had ever seen. Cyrilla’s coat, smooth and sleek, shined in a bright caramel brown. Her back and sides would shimmer in a glittery fashion when she moved. She was so beautiful that the males in her pride began to fight over who would be her mate. This overwhelming affection shown to Cyrilla angered Amoralite and she ordered Enoc to ruin her. He was to watch her and create a love potion that would insure she fell in love with a foul, hideous beast! “That will teach her not to flaunt her beauty!” breathed Amoralite with a heavy cackle inside her own head. “I’m the most beautiful one in all the land. Who does she think she is?” To her son, she bade, “You will set her heart to flutter for that on which she should feast. A hyena should do, I would say. She’ll be disowned in no time and, with any luck at all, she won’t live to tell this tale.”

A Betrayal of Loyalty.

Enoc meant to do as he was ordered. He watched the young Cyrilla for days. He couldn’t help himself though, and he began to have affectionate feelings for her. She was beautiful and majestic, graceful, and quaint. Enoc couldn’t help but to be taken aback by her magnificent allure. He caught her alone, not too far from her pride one day and approached. After giving her the sleeping drought his mother had created, Enoc was soon looking at her unconscious body. Dragging her away in haste, the decision to betray his mother wasn’t his to make. He was enchanted by her charm and without a thought, he had dragged her body to secluded cave. He would sow the seeds of humiliation later. He regretfully informed Cyrilla’s father that she had ran off, in love with a hyena. She would never be accepted in her pride again. Enoc, of course, gave her the love potion. It wouldn’t improve her affections for a hyena, however, as his mother had ordered. Cyrilla would wake, overcome with lust for Enoc.

The Confusing Matrimony.

Cyrilla woke just before dusk with a rush of panic. “What happened? Where am I, and how did I get here?” she wondered. “And why am I overwhelmed with such feelings, of which I’ve never felt before?” She didn’t know the name of her love interest but she was certain she was meant to be with him. Suddenly, she heard movement at the cave entrance. She wasn’t afraid though. Somehow, she knew that she was with her lover, even though she knew nothing of his face. Enoc spoke softly to her, “My love. You’ve finally woken. How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling rather content to be here with you but I’m not quite sure how I got here or why. I’m overwhelmed with affectionate feelings for you and I don’t even know your face.” she whispered, tilting her head and squinting in attempt to see her newfound companion. “You shouldn’t try to see me, Cyrilla. For if you do, we shall be separated forever. Can you promise me, love, that you won’t try to reveal my identity?” He vowed to return to her side every night, so long as she remained ignorant to his identity. Cyrilla was contented with her lover’s proposal. She was overwhelmed with all these fluttering feelings for her new husband and could see no reason to betray his trust. She could smell his scent when he was nowhere around, feel his touch in the soft wisp of the wind on a breezy afternoon, or hear the melodic hum of his whisper in her ear as they dropped off to sleep. She was rather content. So, why should it matter if she didn’t see him? The couple could live in eternal bliss, if only things would continue in this way.

Author’s notes.

I chose to use this section as a challenge to myself. I’m glad I did, because I feel like I pushed myself a little harder on this one and I think it paid off. I tried to write in a similar style this time too. I wrote in sort of small chunks with an overall theme for each piece and I tried using some more direct dialogue here. I took my inspiration from the original story of Psyche and Cupid. I wanted to retell this story, because I feel that it’s a beautiful story of compassion. Cupid for Psyche and Jove for Cupid. I also really liked the suspense of the story. Who is Psyche’s lover? Will she ever find out it’s Cupid? Will she be driven to betrayal of her husband by her sisters’ jealous actions? There are just so many aspects to this original story and that’s what I wanted to capture here. I chose the lion pride storyline, because I wanted to use strong characters that give off confidence and power. The lion is often referred to as “king of the jungle”, because they’re strong and have no fear. I thought that a perfect fit for the characters I wanted to portray here. The names I chose are just a play on the original character names. Cupid is known in Greek mythology as Eros, so I went with “Enoc” for him. I had a difficult time coming up with something for Psyche but I think Cyrilla is a fun and unique name and I believe it works well in this story. Finally, venus’ name in Greek mythology is Aphrodite, so I went with Amoralite for her. My intention was to portray the entire story, because I think it is a beautiful testament and I believe the story suffers if pieces are removed. However, this ended up quite longer than I intended it to be and it’s now 1:30AM and I would like to write about the same amount more to complete the story. I think this portion is okay along as a short little love story but I would like to finish writing to conclude the conflict between Enoc and his mother, whom he has betrayed. I’d like to bring a bit more closure to the story.

Resource.
Cupid and Psyche by Apuleius, online source. Translated to English by Tony Kline