Fairy Princess
Many years ago, on the outer edge of the great forest, there was a great kingdom. Its borders were strong, its army powerful, yet its neighbors did not fear it, for it was ruled by a wise king, who preferred talk and trade to conquest.
After many decades, his rule was nearing its natural end, yet he had no regrets. His late wife had given him five daughters, three of whom remained among the living – the eldest Felicia, who at 18 summers in age was in line for the throne, the middle daughter Livina, who just entered her 17th year, and dear Juliana, the youngest, who at the tender age of eight charmed all who met her.
There had been two other daughters between Livina and Juliana, but they had died of a strange stomach illness years before, hence the large gap in ages between Juliana and her sister Livina, who truth be told had very little to do with each other.
The king had never fully got over the loss of his beloved wife, nor of his daughters, but the three who still lived brought him much happiness. Felicia, whose compassion and strong sense of practicality made her an ideal heir to the throne, and Juliana… such a sweet child; gentle, caring and so imaginative…
Livina… well… she was an enigma to her father. So quiet and well behaved in his presence, but yet something seems to burn within her, something disquieting.
Still, a father loves all of his children, so the king pushed such thoughts aside. And so time passed and the royal household knew great happiness and cheer.
Then a cloud appeared on the horizon, darkening the throne room and by extension the very kingdom itself.
Princess Felicia died.
The news raced throughout the kingdom. The beloved heir to the throne, the queen-in-waiting, had somehow toppled from the balcony in the early morning hour and was found smashed across the cobblestones of the courtyard.
The king was distraught, and refused to emerge from his bed chamber for days afterwards. Poor Princess Juliana wept for so long, many feared her tears would dry up permanently.
Princess Livina, in contrast, took the news rather emotionlessly, and her manner chilled the household staff to the bone.
Rumors had always swirled around the princess. She may have had her father confused as to her nature, but the servants and the people of the kingdom were quite frightened by what glimpses they had of her soul, of the cold-hearted selfishness she displayed whenever the eyes of the royal household were not watching her.
One time, she had a servant beaten for not pruning her rosebushes properly. Another time, a peasant girl watched in horror as Princess Livina ordered the killing of her beloved dog. She had ordered the girl to hand over the pet for she desired it for herself, and when the girl refused, the princess had one of her bodyguards shoot it with a crossbow.
Word of this never reached the king’s ears, for those in the town never spoke out against the royal family. This didn’t stop the rumors, though, and many worried eyes trained themselves on the person who was now only a single heartbeat away from being their absolute monarch.
Several weeks following the tragic death of Felicia, Livina found herself wondering about her youngest sister. Never before had she taken much of an interest, but now that she was her sole surviving sibling, her whereabouts became very important to her indeed.
One day, she decided to follow Juliana as the youngest princess made her way into the woods. The girl always went in alone, and wouldn’t emerge for hours on end. Strangely, no one ever worried about the safety of the youngster being within the forest, and Livina never cared enough about her sister to ask.
“Serves her right if she was eaten by a wolf…” she had muttered to herself once upon learning of one of Juliana’s adventures.
Now, as the afternoon sun began to wane, Livina finds herself squatting down behind some bushes to watch her sister as she enters a strange clearing in the center of an ancient tangle of oak trees. Juliana sits down in the grass and closes her eyes.
To Livina’s great surprise, a small cloud of glittering lights rises from the roots and branches of the trees, and swarms around the young girl. Squinting hard, the elder princess gasps. The lights were the reflection of sunlight off of the tiny wings of fairies!
Livina had heard the legends of the special relationship the fairy world had with certain members of the royal family, acting as advisors, friends and protectors, but she never in her wildest imaginings thought it was true.
That cannot be… she stares until her eyes hurt, and yet the proof is there.
The mythical creatures were flying all around Juliana, who giggles with delight at the attention. Some alight onto her shoulders and her lap, others busied themselves playing with her golden hair, weaving it into intricate braids and removing tangles.
One fairy hovers apart from the others, seeming to have a regal air about her. Juliana spends much of her time speaking to her, but in a voice so low Livina couldn’t make out the words. The fairy flies in closer, so she is nearly nose to nose with the princess. Then, the creature makes her way to the girl’s cheek, and makes a gesture with her arms, as if she was brushing away the princess’ tears.
Throughout the next hour, Livina feels a great anger rising within her. I’m the heir to the throne! I’m going to be queen! Why isn’t the fairy world paying homage to its true lord and master, instead of wasting time with a brat…
When Juliana bids her friends and hosts good night and turns to leave, Livina toys with the idea of ambushing her sister and throttling her. It would be so easy… easier than pushing someone from a balcony… or slipping some powder into the royal oatmeal…
The mental picture of Juliana’s final struggles underneath her strangling hands nearly makes her laugh out loud, but then the moment passes as the princess makes her way out of the woods.
Livina watches her go with a sigh. No matter. There will be plenty of time to dispose of her once I’m queen…
Instead, she turns to the forest clearing and boldly strolls into the center of it. The fairies were scattering, returning to the nooks and crannies of the trees, but the regal fairy remains behind.
“Excuse me!” Livina addresses the fairy rudely. The creature does a slow, deliberate turn before locking eyes with the elder princess. For a moment, Livina feels a deep chill. The fairy looks cute from a distance, but her facial expression…
In a moment, the look softened on the fairy, but her mild countenance is not matched by her cold eyes, which regard her intensely.
Livina shakes off the feeling and glares back. No mere pixie is going to intimidate her!
“Look here, you…” she says, frowning. “You know who I am…”
The fairy nods.
“And you know what your obligations are to the royal family, correct?”
Once again, the fairy nods.
“Good…” Livina says smugly. “Now, we can begin to straighten things out around here… For instance, you will only consort with me from now on… the heir to the throne… and not bother with lesser members of the family… ever again. Is that clear?”
The fairy crosses her arms and glares at Livina, who in turn feels her anger flare up again.
“Don’t you get insolent with me, fairy!” she snarls. “My father won’t live forever, and any pact or tradition you and your ilk may have had with his side of the family will die with him… and it would be a pity if I was forced to issue a decree opening the forest up for settlement…”
The fairy’s face changes to one of disbelief, then anger. Livina smirks. I can’t believe I was afraid - intimidated, she corrects herself – of this little firefly…
“It would be even more of a shame if Juliana had some… accident… I understand so many children have drowned in their bathtubs… it is a real tragedy… and so preventable…”
The fairy’s face is one of pure fury. Livina merely laughs. So funny…
“You are amusing…” Livina says. “I would love to have you and your sisters in a cage, just to watch you batter yourselves to a pulp trying to escape…”
The fairy swoops over to Livina and hovers nose to nose with the elder princess. She can see clearly the clenched teeth of the creature, which matches her fists.
“Oh, calm down…” Livina snorts, “you are going to give yourself an injury… I mean, what could you possibly do to…”
The fairy rushes forward, and pokes Livina square in the left eye with her right fist.
The pain is unbelievable, and Livina lets out a howl of agony. Tears blind her, and the princess lashes out wildly, using very unladylike language .
Her vision clears, and Livina’s aching eye focuses on the fairy, who is looking pretty pleased with herself.
The princess finds herself choking with rage. How dare she? HOW DARE SHE?
‘Why you miserable…” she growls, and rushes towards the fairy. Her long dress trips her up, so Livina grabs a handful of fabric with her left fist while lashing out with her right. The fairy manages to keep just out of reach, and backs her way deeper into the forest.
“You get back here! I command it!”
A sharp pain in the back of her neck stops Livina in her footsteps. Whirling, she sees another fairy flitting around, this one carrying a small spear. Another pain, this time to her right ear. Then to her forehead. The back of her arms. Even through her dress to jab at her knee.
Glancing about, Livina finds herself in the middle of a swarm of angry fairies, who dart about to thrust pointed weapons into her flesh. Screaming in pain and anger, she swats desperately at them, but most are too agile to be caught.
A few she does manage to grab struggle violently before she crushes the life out of them, leaving her hand a bloody mass of welts. Yet the fairies press on the attack, with a number going for her eyes…
Livina, covering her face as best she can with her right arm, retreats under the onslaught. So turned around by the battle, still half blind from the first attack, she no longer knows where she is going, except away from the endless cloud of vengeful fairies…
The ground suddenly became wet, then gives way underneath her, and Livia lets out a shout of surprise as she feels herself plunge hip deep into a thick slurry of sand and clay.
Gasping, she looks around and her heart skips a beat. Somehow, she has fallen into a sand bog, which gurgles softly with delight at its catch.
Glancing around, bracing herself for another attack, she is surprised to see the fairies were nowhere to be seen. Except one.
“What are you looking so smug about?” Livina snorts, but secretly unnerved by the very satisfied look on the fairy’s face. Her chief tormentor hovers just out of reach of the princess’ hands.
“You think this is funny?” she snarls. “Just wait… I’ll burn this whole damn forest down, and you with it! If I can only… um… get out of this… ugh… bog…”
Livina struggles to free herself, rocking her hips in an effort to loosen the sand’s grip. Instead, her motions seem to encourage the bog to gulp down more of her, and she finds herself beginning to panic as the wet sand slides slowly upwards to engulf her pelvis, and tightly surrounds her waist.
“You!” she says, trying to get control over the situation. “I command you to get me out of here! Your future queen demands…”
The fairy raises an eyebrow, and looks bemused.
“How dare you mock me?” Livina shouts. “How dare…”
A thick bubbling sound interrupts the tirade. Livina feels herself suddenly settle deeper into the quaking sand, which has now reached her chest. She tries to push herself out with her arms, but only succeeds in burying them.
“Um… okay… okay… you made your point…” she says. “I’ll… I’ll leave your forest alone, okay? Just… just get me out of here…”
The fairy smiles coldly, folds her arms and slowly shakes her head. Only now does the seriousness of the situation strike Livina, who shudders.
“You… you can’t just let me sink in this muck…” she says, a slight quaver in her voice. The sandy mire slides up over her chest to lap at her shoulders. “Oh, please… you can’t…”
The fairy watches quietly as Livina slowly sinks… her shoulders slip under the wet sand, which forms a thick collar around her neck. She shivers as the muck oozes down the neck of her dress, and rises to cup her chin.
“Oh… no… no… please… no…” Livina gasps, the weight of the bog making it hard to draw breath. Forced to tip her head back to keep the sand out of her nose and mouth, she feels it creep into her ears, muffling all sound.
“Why?” she says quietly. The fairy has flown down to float a few inches above her upturned face. “You…. You are supposed to be our protectors… protectors of the royal…”
The fairy looks her right in the eye. Her face is no longer smug, or even triumphant. It is stern, full of sacred purpose, with perhaps a hint of sadness.
Realization comes to Livina, who manages to sigh “Oh…” before the sand rolls over her face.
The fairy watches as the sand’s surface heaves and bubbles for a time, then slowly stills. Sighing, she flies off to join her sisters, to help the wounded and mourn the dead.
The strange disappearance of Princess Livina puzzled the kingdom, and while both her father and sole surviving sister worried for a long time, for the remainder of the people, it was as if a great weight had been lifted off their shoulders. While outwardly they shared the king’s concerns, privately, they thanked whatever natural forces may have been responsible.
Unknown to all, Princess Juliana had brought up the subject with her friends. It was two weeks after Livina had vanished.
“Do you know what happened to my sister?” she asked, as the fairies groomed her hair and played around her.
The elder fairy looked Juliana in the eye and did something her people never done before to a member of the royal household. She slowly shook her head.
This satisfied Juliana, who never broached the subject again. The other fairies exchanged quick glances, but carried on as if nothing had happened.
The elder continues to smile warmly at the princess. For now, she and her sisters were determined to protect her innocence for as long as possible.
Time enough later for her to lose that to the cold ways of the world, when sometimes the hardest decisions had to be made to protect the kingdom.
Time enough when Juliana becomes queen.
