Week 13 Story: Britomart's Decision

This was the moment that Britomart had been waiting for. She gazed up at Artegall's face and felt... nothing? Well that was strange. Britomart looked again, to be sure. Yep, everything checked out. Strong jawline, wavy golden locks, hunky blue eyes. It was all there, just like the mirror showed it would be. So why wasn't her heart all aflutter like it was supposed to be? Maybe she wasn't doing this right. Britomart tried squinting her eyes but nothing changed. She just didn't see anything behind those eyes. He seemed like a nice man, but no different from all the other men who were wooed by her good looks. She had known from a young age that she was more than just a pretty face, and it was a rare man who saw that in her. She had been sure Artegall, the man prophesied to be her love, would be one of those men. It was heartbreaking to think that she had to settle for a man who only valued her for her beauty.

But wait, why did she? So some stupid mirror told her she was supposed to be with him. He was a famed knight, there were maidens falling all over him. He would be fine, and she owed it to herself to find a love that was good by her standards, not some wizards. Britomart kindly said goodbye to the love-struck knight, and set out on a new journey. Her best friend, Amoret, had gotten lost in the desert, and wandering around in the desert finding her sounded like the perfect way to readjust her views on love. While also nursing her sore heart, Britomart had to admit to herself. It was a little sad that the dream of her knight didn't pan out the way she thought it would. But Britomart shook her head, put on her helmet, and set off towards the desert.

Author's Note: In the original story, Britomart saw Artegall's image in a magic mirror and Merlin told her that was the love of her life, so she set off on a grand quest to find him. She finally finds him and they get married and live happily ever after. She makes a best friend along the way named Amoret, who does get lost in the desert but Britomart leaves that to other knights to find her. After Britomart gets married she kind of stopped being the bad ass princess warrior to me, and just altogether running after a dude you see in a mirror seems a little stupid to me. So I decided to retell it where when Britomart actually meets Artegall, she realizes he is not what she thought he would be. But that's okay, because she has other things in her life that are important to her and she is going to worry about finding those.

Florimell's Flight by Washington Allston

(Wikipedia)

Story source: Stories from the Faerie Queene by Mary Macleod, with drawings by A. G. Walker (1916).