Arion the Ark

Arion the Ark
by  Kalpesh Patel. 

The palace of mirrors stood silent beneath a bruised sky, its glass walls catching the last flickers of Queen Ciliopetra’s fading glow. Once radiant enough to calm storms and stir the hearts of her people, her light now trembled like a candle in wind. In the shadowed corridor below the throne room, Arion—slave, survivor, and secret bearer of forbidden love—watched the glow dim with a pain deeper than chains. He had once hung between life and death for loving her, and though the rope had spared his breath, it had never loosened its grip on his fate.

Years ago, Arion’s love had been declared treason. A slave daring to love a queen was a crime no mercy could pardon. The gallows had welcomed him, the rope had kissed his neck—but it snapped before the sentence could finish. Some called it divine intervention, others a flaw in justice. Arion called it endurance.

Now, as the queen’s glow waned, the council gathered once more. They feared her compassion, her silence, her sorrow. And they feared Arion most of all.

“Your Majesty,” Councilor Varas declared, “the slave must be hanged. His love is a stain upon your crown. Mercy spared him once, but mercy cannot rule a kingdom.”

Arion stood in chains again, his eyes steady. “I loved not your crown, my queen, but your soul,” he said. “If love is a crime, then let the rope finish what fate once denied.”

Queen Ciliopetra rose from her throne, her voice trembling yet resolute. “His love is no stain—it is the mirror of my own heart. You fear love because it cannot be commanded. But it is love that keeps this kingdom alive.”

The council erupted in protest, but as they shouted, her radiance grew brighter, spilling across the chamber. The chains around Arion shimmered, as if melting in her light. The advisors shielded their eyes, unable to bear the brilliance.

She stepped down and placed her hand upon Arion’s shoulder. “You were condemned to hang, yet you endured. That endurance is the truest glow of love. I will not let death claim what love has already redeemed.”

In that moment, the glow was no longer hers alone. It radiated from Arion too, a shared flame that filled the hall. The mirrors reflected their light outward, and the people of the kingdom saw the palace blaze like dawn. They whispered that the queen’s glow had returned, stronger than ever—not born of duty, but of love that defied death.

From that day forward, Arion was no longer a slave. He was the Ark—the vessel who carried forbidden love through the storm of judgment and preserved it for the queen and her people. His survival became legend, his love a covenant.

Epilogue ~

The glow of love is not the light we inherit—it is the fire we dare to protect, even when the world calls it a crime.



Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places, kingdoms, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, real institutions, historical figures, or actual events is purely coincidental.
The themes explored in this story — including power, love, rebellion, justice, and redemption — are presented in a symbolic and literary context. They are not intended to reference or represent any specific culture, religion, political system, or historical narrative.
The author does not intend to offend, defame, or misrepresent any individual or group. The story is created solely for artistic and literary expression.

© Kalpesh Patel. All rights reserved.