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Tears of Adamas
    By Su Williams
                  Diamonds are the most celebrated, most coveted gem in history. It was once believed that gemstones were caused by fermentation in the stars. In ancient Greek, the word for diamond is adamas, (pronounced ad-am-us), which means unbreakable or unalterable. Tears of Adamas is the story of a treasure found in the tears of a beautiful girl.
     
                  Once upon a time in the land of Kalos Province, lived a kind and generous king. This king had but one son, whose heart could not have been more different from his father’s…
     
                  Jagged branches and vines of thorns raked his face as he plunged through the outer forest in search of the doe that fell prey to his arrow. Crashing through slashing vines, the king’s only son, Poneros, discovered a lovely maiden, battered and bruised, seated amongst a mound of glittering diamonds. His eyes widened to take in the splendor of the gems.
                  “How is it that a peasant such as yourself has come to this fortune?” he sneered at her. But she only gazed back up at him, broken and forlorn. His hands groped her arms and shook her like one of his broken toys. “I asked you a question, wench! Answer me not and I shall run you through.”
                  The lovely face beamed up into his, her crystalline gaze, tears refracting in her clear blue eyes. “I have run away from my master. His cane grew too heavy for my back,” she confessed.
                  “And the diamonds?”  Poneros growled.
                  The maid only shrugged and held her tongue, for she was bound by an oath to her murdered father to never reveal the treasure’s source.
                  “In the name of the King I claim this fortune,” said the prince and not knowing they were her tears, he gathered them up and filled his pockets to bulging. “For the King,” he proclaimed with a pat to the pocket on his left. “And for myself,” he murmured to himself as his fingers caressed the pocket on his right.              
                  “And what of me, Your Highness?” the girl sighed when he turned away.
                  Scanning her angelic face and the maidenly curves of her body, the prince glared down at her with deliberation. She may yet reveal the source of this wealth, he thought to himself. His countenance softened in feigned sincerity and he cooed, “Of course, my dear. You must accompany me to my home.” He extended a hard, rough hand to her. She cringed as her fingers skimmed his and she divined the same hardness in his heart.
    *          *          *
                  “Your majesty,” the girl curtsied before the king at that evening’s sup. The prince had charged the scullery maid with the task of giving the child a hot bath and a change of clothes, a coarse cotton dress borrowed from the laundress’ daughter.
                  “Well, well, well! What is this urchin you’ve brought into our walls, my son?” the King asked with a smile as bright and warm as the sun.
                  The prince waved his hand dismissively at the girl. “She is of little consequence, Father. But, she dowsed a treasure for your coffers.” With that, Poneros withdrew a bulging leather purse from within the folds of his cloak, and dumped the gems into a gleaming pile on the King’s plate.
                  “How came you to this treasure?” the King implored her. But again, her tongue remained still, bound by her promise. The King’s brow crunched in consternation. “Are you a thief, then, child?” he asked her.
                  “No, Your Majesty. The gems are my own,” she replied, soft and quiet as a breeze.
                  The King gazed upon her beauty. The girl was fair, more beautiful than freshest Spring