Happy Valentine's Day!
To celebrate this special day of romance let's talk about another SFF couple - Ketlan & Melantha, played by the wonderfully talented Chris Hutchens and Annamarie MacLeod!
They are not the most popular romantic couple in the SFFverse (according to a highly unscientific facebook poll), coming in 3rd place after Cat & De Carlo from Pandora's Box (1st) and Maria & Mordecai from the Curse/Eidolon (2nd). However, we get to see much more of their married live and how they grow and change together, have children, etc. then any other couple.
Since Destiny is the very first movie I made and since it was meant to be a fantasy story it makes sense that the hero falls in love with the heroine in a classic fairytale romance sort of way. They are a classic couple who fall in love at first sight, are forced to separate, then reunite and get married. I have written a novel that expands big time on the events in the movie, but since I haven't published it yet I'll just stick to the movie events for now. Ketlan was born as the only prince and heir of Traldon, but when an assassin, who killed both his parents, came to murder him as well, his tutor Esteban (played by Tanino Minneci) saved him and hid him away in the nearby kingdom of Liliya. Esteban raised him as a peasant and pretended to be his father. Ketlan was so traumatized by what happened (having seen the assassin "killing" his fake body double) that he forgets all about his previous life and family, basically brainwashing himself. When he turns eighteen Esteban tells him that he is really a prince and the heir to the throne of Traldon and that he has to take the throne back from his evil usurping uncle. In order to do that he will need support so Esteban has arranged a marriage with Princess Elaina of Liliya. Naturally Ketlan hates this idea, but grudgingly goes along with it thinking he doesn't have any other choice.
During a banquet/picnic to welcome the prince he meets Melantha, Princess Elaina's friend and official companion. Melantha is the daughter of Gypsies and loves to dance so she provides the entertainment. Ketlan is mesmerized by her dancing and when everyone joins in the dance he ends up staying after they all leave to dance with just her.
A solo becomes a duet and by the end of the dance they have fallen in love with each other. Obviously that's total BS. In real life no one falls in love through a dance and I change that in the book. I was sixteen when I wrote it and even then I knew it was cheesy, but whatever.
Their love is not to be, however, because Ketlan is engaged to Princess Elaina and although Elaina is more than happy to let Ketlan and Melantha be together, her mother, Queen Catherine (played by Michelle MacLeod), is embarrassed and enraged. She tries to kick Ketlan out, but Esteban calms her down and (in the jerkiest move ever) insists that the problem is the girl, not the prince. He is determined to make Ketlan the King of Traldon and won't let a little thing like love get in the way. He convinces the Queen to send them away and Melantha and her sister Telana are banished from Liliya.
After the dance, while everyone else is dealing with the fallout, Ketlan and Melantha meet up by a fountain and confess that, even though it's strange and sudden, they have fallen in love with each other. They are about to kiss when they are interrupted by Esteban who takes Ketlan away to meet the Queen. Telana tells Melantha they have been banished and are forced to leave. The sisters are given some money and are sent on their way.
Ketlan meets with Queen Catherine and tells her that he's sorry but he can't marry Princess Elaina (played by Jill Hutchison) because he is in love with Melantha. The Queen tells him that Melantha was not in love with him but was actually scared of his sudden advances and has run away. Ketlan doesn't believe it at first (because...true love?), but when he can't find Melantha anywhere he gives up thinking it must be true.
Meanwhile, Melantha is subjected to some extreme character development when she and her sister Telana are attacked by bandits (that seems to be a problem in Liliya), Telana is murdered, Melantha is captured and sold into slavery. A slave trader sells her to Lawrence of Arabia a mysterious sheik and she leaves for an uncertain future with her new owner.
The sheik, Ali-Jinjil (played by Edward Stasheff), turns out to be a good guy who sets her free for backstory and plot reasons, and her lucks turns around. She has been kidnapped into Illishar but wants to reunite with Ketlan, knowing that he will come and find her (because...true love, I guess). So she decides to go to Traldon, his home kingdom, figuring he will eventually go there. Ali-Jinjil offers to take her there and leads the way.
During all of this Ketlan is in Liliya, pining over Melantha depressed and heart broken. Princess Elaina can't take it anymore, doesn't want to marry him anyway, and finally tells him the truth. Not sure why she waited so long but...reasons...I guess. Everyone must sacrifice for Melantha's character development! Wait, when is Ketlan going to get his character development? Oh right, a week from never.
It turns out that Elaina was listening in on the conversation between Queen Catherine and Esteban where Esteban convinces the queen to banish Melantha. Fun fact: in the movie she is actually listening in on the wrong scene. This was a mistake I didn't catch for twenty years! I think I may have even written it into the script for her to be spying on the wrong scene. WTF, yibble?!?
Anyway, so Elaina tells Ketlan the truth and he flips out. She secretly helps him plot to run away from Liliya and find Melantha, even if that means giving up on the throne of Traldon. In a touching farewell scene it becomes clear that Princess Elaina actually has some feelings for Ketlan, but would rather see him and Melantha reunite then keep him for herself.
So Ketlan (with Elaina's help) tricks Esteban into going with him and after they've left the palace he reveals they're going after Melantha and Esteban can deal with it or leave. Esteban deals with it, probably feeling guilty. If he doesn't feel guilty yet he will soon! They are attacked by bandits who talk about having kidnapped a pretty Gypsy girl (are they idiots or just an idiotic plot device?). Ketlan beats up the leader, forcing him to reveal everything and finds out that Telana was murdered and Melantha was sold into slavery.
In one of many music montages, Ketlan searches for Melantha while she makes her way to Traldon. Ketlan follows the clues left behind, confronts the slave trader, meets the merchant who sold her a coat, etc. He follows her across Illishar and to the border.
It's a short road for Ketlan and a long road for Melantha - literally. We filmed Melantha's montage bits on a very long road. Strangely enough we never actually see Ketlan walking down that same road even though he ends up where she was eventually, but...whatever. Plot holes...and true love? Ketlan's "walking" was filmed on a small volleyball court mostly against the sky.
The real villain of the movie, Balthazar (played by Jacob MacLeod), finds out about Melantha being Ketlan's weakness and decides to use her to lure Ketlan into a trap. By now he has murdered Ketlan's evil uncle and taken the throne for himself. He orders for Melantha to be kidnapped and brought to him. Poor Melantha gets thrown in a dungeon and is tortured. Has she not had enough character development yet? Seriously, it's time for Ketlan to get some too!
Anyway, she is suddenly kidnapped away from Ali-Jinjil when they cross the border into Traldon. Ali chases after and runs into Ketlan and Esteban. He explains the situation and they all go after Melantha, heading for the capital of Traldon.
Queen Catherine is furious with Elaina after she helps Ketlan run away and sends her to Traldon to get married to King Gergio instead. When Elaina arrives she finds her future groom is no longer Gergio but is now Balthazar and he intends to marry her ASAP to secure his throne. 
Ketlan and co. charge into the wedding (literally) and stop it. Elaina finds out that Melantha has been kidnapped and she offers to go find her while Ketlan and Esteban go after Balthazar. Sword fights ensue, Balthazar is defeated up by the OOPS, Melantha is rescued and runs into Ketlan's arms. The movie ends with them getting married and living happily ever after.
Until I decided to turn Destiny into a trilogy that is. Can't be happily ever after if there's more after. Destiny II is a prequel, with a frame plot of Ketlan wanting to know more about his parents after he and Melantha have a child. Originally we were supposed to see him and Melantha playing with their new born baby but Annamarie MacLeod couldn't make it to that film shoot so there's a nanny instead. Ketlan loves being a father and we can tell that their marriage is still going strong.
Destiny III takes place twelve years after the first movie and this is where their relationship gets real. This is what elevates them from a classic cheesy fairytale couple into a dynamic couple with a complex relationship that has evolved after two kids and more than a decade of marriage.
The first time we see Melantha and Ketlan together they have the worst love scene I have ever written and quite possibly the worst romantic dialogue ever in the entire world. It's god awful. Seriously, just thinking about it makes me cringe. Clearly no relationship or character development in this scene. However the very next scene does show how they've evolved as a couple when their romantic kiss is interrupted by the sound of their kids fighting.
By now they have two children, Rowan and Telana (played by Brian and Megan Atchley). We get to see how they handle being parents and resolve their children's squabbles. We also see how they sneak in romantic moments once someone else (Ali-Jinjil) arrives to take care of the kids. It's quite an amusing scene which involves Melantha giving him a playful slap when he starts making sexual innuendos in front of the kids.
When they get a little romantic the kids are grossed out. He also dips her then accidentally drops her in the bushes, so lots of nice little moments to show their relationship is still going strong. They even ad-libbed going in a different direction instead of following Ali and the kids out at the end of the scene. I literally just realized there really was no need for the awful love scene before this.
All seems great and wonderful and Ketlan and Melantha even try to play matchmaker with Princess Elaina who is still single, well okay Melantha plays matchmaker, Ketlan just does whatever he's asked. He dances with his wife and they flirt, completely unaware of the villainous plots around them that will soon tear their family apart.
In the middle of the night Balthazar, who has returned with a magic amulet, kidnaps both of their children. Once they find out, Ketlan, Melantha, and others chase after him. Using the amulet he turns the kids into jewels that he can slip into his pocket and eventually he manages to out run the heroes and disappears with the kids. Melantha freaks out, screaming for him to give her children back.
In the next scene Ketlan and the others discuss what to do while Melantha sits on the couch, staring at her daughter's doll in a seemingly catatonic state. Once the heroes figure out where Balthazar has most likely taken them to, they make a plan to travel there and take the kids back. Melantha, silent until now, declares that she is going with them.
Here's where s**t gets real. Ketlan, already worried about his children, doesn't want his wife to get hurt and refuses to let her go with him. She insists that she has to go because she wants to take back her kids herself. She wants them to be a team to rescue their kids together. He wants to protect her from harm and rescue them by himself. He thinks he's in the right. He's looking out for her but he's also denying her the right to fight for her own children that she loves just as much as he does.
They have what is probably the biggest fight of their relationship about it and in the end Ketlan uses his power and position as King to overrule her. He orders the guards to lock her in her room and not to let her out until he returns. She slaps him. HARD. When he refuses to back down she takes off her wedding ring, holds it up in front of him, then throws it away making it clear they are done!
Now if he had said something along the lines of "well, one of us needs to stay here to run the kingdom," that might have been an okay excuse. However Melantha would have insisted that he be the one to stay behind because he's the king. I understand where Ketlan is coming from and why he did what he did, but I also think he was a total jerk and deserved Melantha's reaction. That's just my opinion.
Ketlan, Esteban, and co. head out to hunt down Balthazar and save the kids, while Melantha stalks around her room after being locked in and tries to think of what to do. Luckily her magical deceased mother-in-law, Queen Lavinia, could see the future and has left a little surprise in a previously walled up closet. In it is a letter from Lavinia expressing her sympathy for her situation and disdaining Ketlan's course of action. Along with the letter is a map to Valdrondez where Balthazar has taken the kids and a set of men's clothes so they can cross dress and escape.
Melantha is not a fragile flower that needs to be protected, she's had some pretty extreme character development - much more then Ketlan has honestly - and is perfectly capable of protecting herself. She enlists the help of Elaina and the OOPS (Maggie played by Morgan Dietkus, Molly played by Kate Weber, and May played by Rachel Anderson). Together they escape from Traldon and go rescue the kids.
This did make me wonder who the hell is running Traldon while both the king and queen and chancellor (Esteban) are away. Then I remembered that Esteban quit being the chancellor once the kids were old enough to start schooling and he became the royal tutor like he was to Ketlan. So I guess the chancellor is still there at least. Considering the whole royal family suddenly went MIA who is running the kingdom? Dan. Dan is running the kingdom. Who is Dan? I got no fricking clue. He's the chancellor I guess.
After a lot of adventuring, the two groups board rival ships (one pirate, one naval). The pirates attack the naval ship that Melantha and her co. are on. The ships crash, sink/run aground, and everyone is forced to confront each other as the whole group reunites on land.
Unfortunately this was part of a group of scenes that takes place on a beach by the "ocean" that were never filmed. We were all supposed to take a trip up to Indiana Dunes to film on the shores of Lake Michigan but I was never able to get everyone together for a long enough time make it happen. There are only four scenes not filmed, but they are very important scenes. I was able to film half of one of the scenes by turning my backyard into a tent where they make base camp, but not the big scene where everyone reunites. We never see what happens when Melantha and Ketlan see each other again, but here's their dialogue for that scene:
KETLAN: Where's Melantha (he turns and sees her) Melantha!
MELANTHA: Ketlan!
(they run to each other in slow motion)
KETLAN: Melantha!
MELANTHA: Ketlan!
(they continue running. Just as they are about to embrace Melantha snaps out of slow motion and slaps him. He falls down (not in slow motion).)
KETLAN: What was that for?
MELANTHA: For all the grief you've caused me! For not letting me come with you in the first place!
KETLAN: Don't ever slap me again!
MELANTHA: You're right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have slapped you.
KETLAN: (gets up) That's better.
(Melantha punches him and he falls to the ground again)
MELANTHA: That was much more appropriate!
There's more arguing between them but it's mixed in with other people arguing in a chaotic reunion. Since it's late they decide to make camp on the beach and try to figure out where they are and what to do. They soon realize they landed in Valdrondez and spend the next couple of days planning and preparing. Melantha gets tired of waiting and convinces Elaina to sneak into the palace with her to rescue the children together.
This is whether Melantha makes the wrong move in my opinion. I know you want to rescue your kids but maybe wait one more day and all go together? I don't know. I totally get why she decides to do this. If I was a mother then I would probably do that too. I mean who knows if the kids are okay? Rowan is, but technically Telana is in trouble since she is going to be a human sacrifice soon, but they don't know that yet. Anyway, she and Elaina sneak into the palace, disguise themselves as servants and search for the children.
I forgot to mention Balthazar has managed to become the King of Valdrondez somehow in the last twelve years. The new "servants" are given food and drink to deliver to the king and end up face to face with Balthazar who quickly figures out who they really are. When Rowan appears and calls Balthazar "father", both Melantha and Elaina are shocked.
Rowan's relationship with his father is a little distant in the beginning of the movie, but clearly some brainwashing has been taking place. Balthazar cheerfully calls him son and sends him out of the room. As soon as he is gone the shock wears off and Melantha FLIPS OUT! She attacks Balthazar, screaming, and throws him to the ground. Before he can fight back she grabs a knife from the cheese tray and tries to stab him. He manages to block it and after a fierce struggle the guards finally manage to pull her off of him.
Up to this point no hero has come so close to actually killing him. The one time Esteban had a chance to kill him he showed mercy at the last minute and regretted it for the rest of his life. This whole scene shows what a freaking bad ass Melantha is. Seriously, if there's one thing we can learn about Melantha from Destiny III it's that if you come between her and her children she will kick your ass!
The tables turn as soon as Melantha is held down by the guards. Balthazar slaps her and orders her sent to the dungeon and tortured (that seems be a theme with them). Eventually Elaina is sent there as well, although she is not tortured.
As soon as someone noticed that Melantha and Elaina were gone, Ketlan and co. immediately set off after them. They get split up after they arrive and Ketlan goes to find Melantha and the children while Esteban goes after Balthazar. Ketlan rescues Melantha from the dungeon, she tells him what's happened to Rowan. They go off to join the fight against Balthazar and get back the kids. Erion, by this time, has gone to save Telana from the evil god she's being sacrificed to and Rowan is still with Balthazar.
When Esteban and Ali-Jinjil confront Balthazar he is practicing sword fighting with Rowan. It becomes clear that Rowan recognized his mother and hasn't actually been brainwashed, he's just been going along with it in order to stay safe. Now that he knows his mother is in danger, Rowan is no longer willing to stay quiet and follow orders. He rebels against Balthazar, Balthazar attacks him, and he is saved by Esteban and Ali-Jinjil. Ali takes him to safety while Esteban fights Balthazar.
At the one year memorial service for Esteban, Ketlan and Melantha are standing together with their newborn baby. It's clear that Melantha is worried about Ketlan, since Esteban was like a father to him and I imagine Ketlan is seriously depressed. It's never revealed just how they reconciled but they obviously did. Being an avid fangirl of my own productions, and having worked on various books and...um...fan fiction I guess...over the years I can tell you what happened after all this.
I originally wanted Melantha to have twins but I knew I could never find twin babies for the production so we just went with one kid. However, in the novels she has a pair of twin girls (with red hair like their grandma) and name them Lavinia and Arial (Arial as a nod to Erion, although I might change Arial to Ariana, I haven't decided yet). Three years later they have their last child, a son they name Esteban.
They have a happy family and manage to work through all the problems that occurred when the oldest two were kidnapped. Ketlan makes sure that Melantha is always included in any big decision, especially regarding their kids, and he respects her input even more now. He does apologize for his behavior, she apologizes for going off without him at the end, and although it takes a while they work on rebuilding their trust. It's really more of Melantha forgiving him though.
The whole incident revealed the weaknesses in their relationship and the imbalance of power, but once revealed they dealt with all their problems and became a stronger couple. Obviously they reconciled enough to have a fifth child! Their children grow up to be strong, healthy, smart, and talented. I think Ketlan will retire from/abdicate the throne when he's like 60 so he and Melantha can have travel the world and have some time together without having to rule a kingdom as well. Not sure how Rowan feels about that.
What I love most about Ketlan and Melantha's relationship is that it starts out as a cheesy love-at-first-sight fairytale but later we get to see how hard it is to sustain that while raising children. When a huge disaster happens in their life they fight, separate, discover each other's strengths and weaknesses and when they reunite they understand their marriage is now built on much more than love-at-first-sight.
They are not perfect, no matter how perfect they appear from the outside, and they go through a very rough patch that almost ends their marriage, but they work through it. I just think it's really great to see that kind of struggle in a fairytale couple. It's certainly more realistic.
I have to say that I really love sequels and prequels that continue the relationship from the original story. I like seeing the lovers grow as a couple and see the changes that happen if/when they have kids. That's one of the best aspects of Christopher Stasheff's Warlock Series - it follows a couple from getting together in the first book through raising children and decades of marriage. It's rare to see that and I really love it. So...um...Happy Valentine's Day? Don't stop your wife from rescuing your children and always wait for backup. Married lessons to live by.
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