mrs617 | Story time!

A Fairy Tale
by Holly Tucker

For my Bryan

Once upon a time, there was a princess. Because of the times she lived in, though her father was a king among men, he did not rule over a country, or a city, or even a small town. But her king father and queen mother had many children to make up for the lack of a kingdom, prospered and were very happy.

Ever since she was small, the princess dreamed of the prince who would someday come. She knew it wouldn't be long, because her king father had found her queen mother when they were pretty young. As she reached and then passed the magic age (because everyone knows that the age their parents got married is a magic age), she began to get discouraged and grumpy about it. She met many nice boys and men, but no one seemed to notice her.

One day, she realized that having a prince would make her no happier than she was. That the High King had always provided everything for her happiness, and that if she wasn't happy with what He had given her, she wouldn't be happy with a prince either. So, she determined, with the help of the High King (who, even though He was very busy [because while her king father only had the small kingdom of his family, the High King ruled not only over one country, but all], He took time to talk to the princess, and give her wisdom when she asked) that she would be happy, and contented while she waited (because of course, she didn't give up the dream of the prince). She was amazed and delighted with this gift from the High King, and tried as best as she could to share her happiness with everyone she found, if it was in a few words of encouragement, a happy smile, a blessing, or just a listening ear. She began to discover that though she still wanted a prince of her own, she was finding greater happiness in belonging to the High King than she had ever known.

She had many princes in her acquaintances, but though they were all great and godly men, she knew that none of them could make her as happy as she had seen her king father make her queen mother. She sometimes wondered too, how in the world she would know when it was the right one, and if one did become interested in her, if she would sometimes wonder if there were someone better out there.

One day she happened upon the writings of a prince, and was delighted at his mixture of thoughtful godliness, and crazy silliness. She had always liked that mixture, and found herself reading his writings more and more. She didn't really think about the possibility of him being 'her' prince because even though he was such a nice prince, his country was far away. She finally got the courage to introduce herself to him, and as she got to know him better, sparring back and forth with silliness, she liked him better, but still thought of him only as a friend.

This prince had many friends in the princess' country, and decided to visit her country. The princess thought it would be great fun to meet him, and invited him to visit her home while he was there. As the time grew nearer, and the letters got more frequent, she suddenly was stricken with an illness that she had not had for at least five years. It was a crushing feeling, and she fought it bravely, not only asking the High King to take it from her, but even going so far as to ask friends to petition the same. But the High King did not see fit to answer her petition. In fact, He seemed to be ignoring it altogether, and as the time came for the prince's visit, her dismay grew. She did not think it possible that this great and marvelous prince would possibly be interested in her as more than a friend, and she did not want to hurt their friendship by this crush.

The time came for his visit, and to her relief, she discovered the prince to be just as easy to get along with as he seemed in his letters. She also discovered, to her great delight, that the prince had been struck with the same feeling she had. She was amazed that such a prince would feel that way, but by no means would she discourage it. Because he was traveling, after he left, his letters were less frequent for a couple months, and though she wondered sometimes if it was just a passing fancy, deep down she knew that it wasn't, and no matter how long it took, she knew that he was the prince for her, and well worth waiting for. After a couple months, the prince came once again before going home to his own country, and he spoke to her king father about the possibility of making the princess his queen (because in that time, when a prince and princess married, they became a king and queen). Her king father and queen mother disliked the distance between his country and hers, but because they loved and trusted their princess, they got to know the prince and some of his family and friends and soon discovered that he was indeed all that the princess said he was. The prince and the princess meanwhile had come to the surprising and wonderful discovery that there was no doubt in either of their minds, no question of if there might be someone better. They both had a certainty, born in their trust of the High King, that this amazing thing between them, called love, was right, good and theirs.

This story obviously doesn't end here, but I'll let the princess' youngest sister, Princess Hailie finish it how she finishes all her fairy stories:

"And the prince married the princess and carried her off to his castle in the clouds and they lived happily ever after and had lots of babies."