The Princess and the Wind

Once upon a time, in a kingdom by the sea, there lived a princess.

The princess was silly and a little vain, as princesses tend to be. They can't help it; they're raised in the midst of beauty, knowing they are lovely, knowing they are adored. In spite of her silliness and her vanity, the princess was nonetheless gentle and sweet, and everyone loved her dearly.

Even the wind that blew in from the sea was in love with the princess. It tried to show her its love, playing in her auburn curls and plucking at the embroidered sleeves of her gowns. It brought the smell of spices from distant lands to the castle. It filled the sails of the princess's royal schooner and teased the water into waves which the dolphins couldn't resist. It lifted the princess's bright paper kites high into the sky. It waved the kingdom's banners as she rode by during the royal processions.

But for all the wind's effort, the princess didn't notice. She was too busy falling in love with a handsome prince from the neighboring kingdom. The prince was also silly and vain, but he liked the way the princess looked at him, so he treated her pleasantly enough. It was not long before they were betrothed.

The kingdoms set about planning for the wedding. As buntings and streamers began to appear on buildings, the prince and princess could be seen wandering together.

One day, the princess walked hand in hand with the prince through the royal gardens. Her hair tumbled and twirled around her, tickling her nose until she sneezed and giggled. The prince frowned and pulled her back inside. He told her lady-in-waiting to start braiding the princess's hair into a tighter, more demure style, as was fitting for a noblewoman.

One day, the princess opened the windows to the palace banquet hall, savoring the exotic spices on the ocean air, but the prince complained that it was putting him off his roast boar. The princess shut the windows, and they finished their meal in silence.

One day, the princess took the prince sailing, but he turned green and hid in the galley until they reached shore. After that, they no longer went sailing. The royal schooner listed sideways in the harbor, the colorful banners trailing into the sea, slack and heavy with salt.

One day, the princess took the prince to the highest tower of the castle to fly kites. The little colorful scraps leapt into the sky, dancing like birds. The prince's eyes took on a steely glint. He let his kite climb higher and higher, daring the princess to beat his height. Her smile slipped a little, but being silly and vain, she let out a bit more string until her kite was higher than his. The game continued until the kites were nothing but specks against the blue of the sky. Suddenly, the last bit of string escaped from the princess's fingers and dashed away. The prince grinned triumphantly, laughing at the look of shock on the princess's face. He let go of his string and walked away, leaving the princess to watch her beloved kite drift away and vanish forever.

One day, the day of the royal wedding, the princess went to the stables to saddle her horse for the procession, but the prince said it was unbecoming for a princess to ride through the streets. He bought her a gilt carriage. She sat inside, hidden from her people and from the wind.

The wind helplessly rattled the closed shutters of the carriage. It rushed along the thoroughfare, making the banners and buntings twist and snap. It brought clouds rolling in from the sea. It whispered unhappily through the trees and whistled through the castle, looking for a way to save the princess. But all it found was empty rooms.

Sloughing sadly along the ground, kicking up little swirls of leaves and dirt, the wind trailed after the carriage. What else could it do? It was in love with the princess, and always would be.

The carriage swayed to a halt in front of the harbor terrace where the wedding would take place. The princess stepped out, clad in a gown as blue as the sea, her face hidden behind a golden veil. The wind hung back, stirring the colorful dresses and tunics of the wedding guests.

The prince stood looking dapper and bored. The princess walked slowly up the steps of the dais, finally coming to a halt next to the prince. She did not take his disinterestedly proffered hand. She looked so lost and alone that the wind couldn't help itself; it raced up to the princess and brushed tenderly at the tears falling softly down her cheeks.

In that moment, the princess felt the wind's love and knew its kindness. The wind blew the sorrow like dust from her sweet and gentle heart, and she turned to the prince.

"I will not marry you," she told him, pulling away her veil and letting the wind whirl it away. "I thought I loved you because I am sometimes silly, and I thought you loved me because I am sometimes vain." The princess reached up and shook her hair free of its tight, elaborate braids. "But now I know that you are only vain and silly, and that I can be something better." The wind rose joyfully and twined in her tresses.

The princess turned away from the dumbstruck prince, whose mouth was hanging foolishly open. She unhitched her horse from the carriage and mounted up to the cheers of her people. Their dear princess was back.

She rode off to the harbor, where the wind she loved was waiting to fill the sails of the royal ship, ready to take the princess wherever she wanted to go.