The Lovers' Tale

By Allison K. Forbes <blue_eyes2143@hotmail.com>

Rated G

Submitted November 1998

Summary: Chaucer's take on our favorite lovers.

Author's note-

I wrote this for a class assignment when I was a freshman in college. The idea was to write something that resembled Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales". The moment the teacher told us what she wanted I knew exactly what to write, and I pounded this out in about 30 minutes. For anyone curious, I got an A on the assignment!

This is intended to be chronological, though I may have skipped around, and it was written in the Fall of '95, so they hadn't gotten much further than the dating and breakup. It ends with the proposal scene in "Ultra Woman". Enjoy!

***

Prologue

He was not of this world, but from the stars,

Though he didn't come from Jupiter or Mars.

He was from a place much farther away, but when He met her, he decided to stay.

He was like no other man the world had ever seen

Possessing powers almost beyond belief.

Compared to anyone else, he was much stronger,

But a greater force was at work that would last much longer.

She brought out in him feelings he never knew he had.

It was a confusing mixture of fear, happiness, and sad.

It was new to him, this feeling inside his heart,

And even more confusing was the fact that he'd been

Feeling it right from the start!

The more he accepted it, it seemed to fit like a glove; this new

Power he possessed was the power of Love.

***

By all accounts he was an ordinary man

Attention for himself he could not stand,

But devoted himself tirelessly to his wife

Pledging to love and protect her all his life.

Any harm to befall her he would not allow,

"I will always be there" was his solemn vow.

For two years before they said "I do",

She worked with him, though she never knew

He was also someone else, with whom she was infatuated.

When she learned his secret, she was completely infuriated!

But let's go back a little, back to the start, and see

What happened, how he stole her heart

They started out just as friends, just two people,

But he saw in their future a church, with a steeple.

She liked him just fine, but only as a brother,

She felt nothing for him, she was in love with another.

Little did she know that though one left and the other came,

He and the other were one in the same!

Over time his secret love blossomed and his feelings grew,

There was nothing he could say, and nothing he could do.

There were clues all over and explanations unfinished,

Her faith and belief in him almost diminished.

Nevertheless, she told herself to try,

And began to see in him more than met her eye.

He was after all, a good person, and a good friend,

She respected him too much to let the friendship end.

Then one day he did something that set into motion

Circumstances that into their relationship

Threw a lot of commotion.

It was something so surprising and unexpected

She felt as if her body and head had disconnected!

He said to her, "I want you to go out with me," and

Suddenly she learned, what he felt for her was love

And not just concern.

She said yes, they had a great time, and now he was sure

That with her he would have not just a partner, but a future.

He knew that sooner or later he'd have to confess,

And he practiced and rehearsed and tried to digress.

But every time something went wrong,

And he'd lose another chance.

How she found out was an incredible happenstance.

An unscrupulous man discovered his dishonest deed

And threatened to announce it unless he would concede.

Time was running out, and his options were almost nil.

His family's life was on the line, they were held against their will,

If he didn't fold, it was they the man would kill.

She found out, and felt pity when she looked in his eyes.

He was horrified when she said she'd offer herself

As the sacrifice.

But he agreed, and a tear came to her eye (break the line here?)

when she knew she might die.

She closed her eyes, and he touched her face; her eyes

Flew open, and for the first time she knew:

She knew who he was, and that there weren't really two.

She almost died, so he acted fast, he didn't dare tarry.

Without knowing that she knew who he was, he asked her if

It was he she would marry.

Her answer was strange, and left him completely stunned;

She revealed her knowledge of his secret and asked,

"Which one?"

For a while she was angry and the relationship wore thin.

Then something happened which made her see the world he

Lived in.

He eyes opened and she understood, what he was unable to do and what he could.

She found she loved him more, and to his delight,

She proposed to him and they were engaged that very night.

THE END