The Mirror Princess
A long time ago, when sunsets were golden and there were unicorns in the land, there lived a young princess. She lived in a beautiful palace with her mother the Queen, her father the King, and her younger brother and sister. She no longer considered herself to be a real child, as she felt herself growing up; but the adults around her saw her still as a child and she was expected to play with her brother and sister. Her name was Evyline Grace, but for some reason most people called her Lina, which is what we will call her.
Most of the time Lina was happy and she loved playing. But there were times when she felt sad and lonely. At those times she would sit in her room and pine, for she felt that there was something missing in her life — something missing inside her. When she had these moods, she would talk to her mother and father about it, but they could not tell her what she should do. Finally, the King called on one of the wise people of the kingdom to give them advice on the matter. After listening to Lina’s story, even the wise person was unable to come up with a solution. Lina felt that she was beyond help.
Near the palace stood a forest and Lina would sometimes go there for a walk. She loved the trees, and the flowers that grew among them, and the birds and little animals she saw there. But most of all, she loved to see the unicorn which she could sometimes just catch a glimpse of in the shadows of the farthest trees. She could only just make him out and if she walked towards him, he would back away so that he stayed almost completely hidden in the shadows.
One warm autumn day, Lina was in the forest again. Some of the trees were dressed in beautiful golds and browns and yellows and reds, as their leaves prepared to fall. Many of them already carpeted the ground Lina walked on, making a rustling sound as she playfully ploughed her shoes through them. Some of the trees, however, were still green, and would remain so throughout the winter, even when the snow lay heavy on their branches. Squirrels darted around or sat and sifted through the fallen leaves, looking for nuts and seeds to store for the winter. Underneath some of the pine trees, Lina also looked for nuts — small pyramid-shaped brown pine nuts. When she found any, she cracked the thin outer shell to reveal the pale nut inside. She loved their taste and their crunchiness.
As Lina stood up from gathering nuts, she saw the unicorn again. She really wanted to get closer and see him properly, so as usual she walked towards him. As usual, the unicorn kept his distance, half hidden in the trees. But this day, Lina was determined to see more of him, so she moved closer again and again the unicorn backed away. This went on for some time, with the unicorn moving off and Lina following him.
Lina didn’t notice that she was getting deeper into the woods. In fact, she had no sense of where she was or of the time passing. The only thing she was aware of was the unicorn.
Then the unicorn disappeared from view completely. Lina stopped and looked intensely at the last place she had seen him and then looked all around her. She walked slowly in the direction she thought the unicorn had gone but she could see him nowhere. She became a little frightened, especially when she realised how far into the woods she must have walked. She hesitated, not knowing whether to go on or to turn back. But, she didn’t quite know which way was back. She timidly walked on, with each step hoping that she would catch at least another glimpse of the unicorn.
She was just about to stop and turn around when she came around the trunk of a huge tree and saw a clearing through the few trees beyond it. Another few steps and she was standing at the edge of a wonderful, sunny scene. There was the most beautiful palace she had ever seen (and she had seen quite a few in her short life); it was shimmering. It was as if the palace was covered in fragments of coloured glass, which caught the sunlight in all the colours imaginable. There were seven towers with pointed roofs and each had a flag flying from the top. Many of the upper windows of the palace had bedding hanging out of them, to air in the sunshine — this added a festive air to the place.
The gardens were planted with all sorts of trees, giving shade for the people working there and for the many playing children. Between the trees were dazzling flowers of blues and pinks and orange and yellows, and many other colours. Butterflies danced over them and Lina could hear the buzzing of bees. There were people singing and working and children laughing and playing everywhere. And… on the lawns there were unicorns, prancing and running or quietly eating the lush, green grass.
Lina felt a warm tingle move up her spine and an excitement through her whole body. She had never before looked upon such a wonderfully beautiful scene. Her own parents’ palace was beautiful and the parks and gardens around it were beautiful. But what she saw now was especially beautiful — magically beautiful. It was like something she would only expect to see in a dream, where everything is possible.
She slowly moved into the clearing, which was so large that it seemed almost too big to actually fit within the forest. She walked on the soft grass towards the palace. As she did so, one of the unicorns left the others and came towards her. She recognised him as the unicorn she had been following earlier. He came right up to Lina and nuzzled her hand and made a soft neighing sound. She stroked his nose and reached out tentatively to touch his horn, but at this the unicorn moved his head out of the way so that she couldn’t reach it. His coat shone as if it consisted of fine strands of silk — almost like the finest strands of pure silver. She stroked the unicorns side carefully and it felt softer than anything she had ever touched. He turned his head towards her and she looked into his eyes. These were like two deep pools of water, still and dark blue. The breath he blew from his nostrils smelt sweet, like perfume from a flower.
The unicorn turned around and walked towards the palace, occasionally looking behind him as if to say to her, “Follow me”, which she did. As she approached the children and adults, they nodded to her or said hullo or just smiled at her. They seemed to know her, and none of them seemed to find it strange that she was there. And they looked strangely familiar to her, too — as if she should have known them. Lina nodded and smiled back, but she was feeling a little uneasy.
Although she knew that she was there, part of her felt that perhaps she wasn’t, that perhaps she was imagining it. She closed her eyes for a moment, willing herself to wake up if she really was in a dream. And then with a shock she bumped into something. She opened her eyes quickly: she had bumped into the unicorns flank. “Were you testing if you were in a dream?” he asked her. “Yes,” she said. The unicorn nodded his head. “Most people who come here find it so beautiful that they think they’re dreaming.” And with that, the unicorn moved on again.
A bell sounded from within the palace. The workers put down their tools and baskets and the children stopped playing. They all moved towards the large, arched doorway set in the wall of the palace and Lina followed them. When they entered the palace, they made their way into a huge, magnificent hall. The walls were hung with colourful banners and tapestries, depicting scenes of celebration and work, outdoor scenes and indoor ones. Light came in through the many high windows. Rows of tables were covered with bright green and yellow cloths, although Lina could barely see these because of the many large dishes piled with meats and vegetables and fruits laid out for a banquet.
At one end of the hall stood a long table on a raised platform and at this sat the King and Queen with their two children and a number of noble ladies and gentlemen. This table had a crimson cloth on it and was also spread for a feast. There was an empty place next to the Queen, and she beckoned Lina to come and sit there. Lina felt shy as he made her way towards the high table, but the Queen’s warm smile and friendly, glinting eyes soon had her feeling more comfortable, and she sat down next to the Queen.
No-one in the hall seemed to find it strange that Lina was there, although she herself still felt that it wasn’t quite normal. It also seemed strange to her that there had been an empty chair waiting for her at the royal table. However, as she started eating, she actually started feeling at home. She talked with the Queen between bites. The Queen asked why she often felt so unhappy. “I don’t know,” Lina answered, a bit surprised at the question. The King and Queen talked to her about her periods of loneliness and sadness. Lina told them more about her sense of not belonging at home — that she felt too old to be playing with her young brother and sister and too young to take part in the adult activities. She explained that she felt left out. It had grown quiet in the hall, and although people were still eating, they were listening to Lina as well.
The King spoke quietly to the man sitting to his left and then he changed seats with the Queen, so that he was now sitting next to Lina. The man the King had spoken to returned quickly with a small box; a little, blue jewelled box. He gave it to the King, who then held it out towards Lina. He said to her, “Next time you feel one of your sad moods or your loneliness, take this little box and open it. But do not open it until then.” He handed her the box and she held it on the palm of her hand and examined it. The blue jewels sparkled. Each small jewel had many faces, each of which reflected part of the hall; and there seemed to be something more in each reflection, but Lina could not quite make out what it was. She turned to the King and smiled at him. “Thank you,” she said, and the way she said it showed she understood that here was the answer to her problem.
The banquet continued for another hour, and when all had eaten their fill, the King picked up a small crystal bell and shook it. A clear ringing filled the hall. There was a brief commotion as tables were cleared and then moved closer to the walls, leaving a clear space in the centre of the hall.
All went quiet as a troupe of musicians and dancers came in. They played and danced beautifully and with much energy. Despite the vigour of the performance, Lina felt herself in danger of dozing off and she struggled to stay awake.
She suddenly realised that the Queen was talking to her. She faced the Queen, sitting on the far side of the King, and gave her an apologetic smile. The Queen smiled back. “I was saying that I often feel sleepy after a big meal. If you look around the hall you will see many people have given up the struggle.” Lina looked around and saw a number of people resting their heads on their hands with their eyes shut, or even with their arms folded on the table in front of them and their heads down on these makeshift pillows.
Lina also realised that she had been away from home for a long time and that her parents might be missing her — even worrying about her absence. She told the King and Queen that she thought her parents might be concerned and that she aught to be making her way home. The King nodded and rang his crystal bell again. A few minutes later the musicians and dancers finished their last piece and left the hall. The banqueters then also started leaving. The King beckoned the unicorn to come forward (he had been standing at the rear of the hall). The King spoke quietly to the beautiful creature and then turned to Lina. “Kimlan will take you back to your world when you are ready, Lina.”
“I am ready, thank you.” She looked at both her hosts as she said this. “I have had a most wonderful experience here and I shall never forget it. And I wish to thank you with all my heart for your gift; I shall treasure it.” With this, Lina stood up and gave the King and Queen each a kiss on the cheek. Then she followed Kimlan the unicorn out of the hall, out of the palace and into the gardens. Kimlan headed for the forest at the edge of the clearing, with Lina still following. They made their way into the forest and had gone only a short way, when Lina stopped and turned around to face the direction of the clearing and the magical palace. All she could see, however, were trees and dappled sunlight on the ground between. There was nothing to show that the clearing even existed and there was no identifiable path. Lina felt a wave of sadness pass through her and she heaved a sigh.
She felt a gentle push against her shoulder and turned again. “We must keep going,” Kimlan said gently, and they set off again.
It did not seem to take much time before the trees again became sparser and the forest become lighter. They were near the edge of the woods, near Lina’s parents’ palace.
Kimlan stopped and turned around. “This is where I must leave you, Lina. I do not know whether we will meet again.” He laid his head against her shoulder and she stroked his nose. Then he was off. Lina turned to look at him and almost immediately lost sight of him. She felt tears in her eyes and knew that they were both tears of joy and of sadness — joy for what she had experienced and sadness that it was over.
Lina left the woods and headed for the palace. As she approached, no-one acted as if she had been missing for a long time. This seemed strange to her. She found her brother and sister with other children and happily joined in with their play, until it was time to go in for the evening meal. It seemed from what was happening around her that she had only been away for a short time. After the meal, Lina went to her room and was tempted to open the beautiful little box; but she resisted. She put the box in a special hiding place, where it would remain safe.
In the days and weeks that followed her adventure in the woods, Lina was happier than she had been for a long time, and she spent many wonderful hours with her brother and sister and other children who lived in and around the palace. Several times a day she would have fleeting memories of that other palace, which gave her a warm, comfortable feeling.
One day, however, she again woke up feeling sad and lonely. She moped around until she remembered the box given to her by the other King in the woods. She went to her room and out of its special hiding place took the jewelled box. Sitting on her favourite blue rug on the floor, she held the little blue box for a while, turning it over and admiring the wonderful work that had gone into making it. Then, with slightly trembling hands, she slowly opened the lid of the box just a little. Nothing happened, so she opened it all the way.
Inside the box was a small oval mirror with a silver frame around it. The mirror was mounted on a hinge at the bottom and it slowly stood up, so that it was mostly out of the little box. Looking at it, Lina thought that the mirror now seemed too large to have fitted inside the tiny box. And even though it was surrounded by the silver frame, the edges were indistinct and it seemed as if the mirror was floating in a mist.
Lina looked into the mirror and saw herself smiling back. But the face in the mirror did not look exactly like her: the mirror princess was older. Lina saw her moving around, in the mirror, in a large room, which looked like Lina’s bedroom here in the palace, but not exactly the same. She could tell that there was someone else in the room in the mirror, because the mirror princess was obviously talking to someone. Lina closed her eyes to better listen to the conversation in the mirror.
In the mirror, a young man was asking the mirror princess to tell him something of her childhood. The mirror princess told him that she would often feel sad and lonely and that no-one in the kingdom had known what to do to help her. “But you’re never sad now,” said the young man.
And the mirror princess told him this story…
‘When I was a young girl, I was happy most of the time, playing with my brother and sister and the other children. But every now and then I would wake up feeling miserable, sad and lonely. I didn’t know what to do when I was like that and no-one in the kingdom, not my father or mother, nor the wise people, could tell me what was wrong with me.
‘One day I was feeling sad again and I went for a walk on my own in the garden. I came to the big pond and sat down on the edge, looking at the fish swimming just below the surface. I saw my reflection staring back at me, with a sad mouth and sad eyes. It made me feel very sorry for myself. Then, as I kept staring, the fish started to look like people — the people from the palace. And they blew little bubbles, which floated up from the surface of the water and then burst. And as each bubble burst, I could hear words escaping; the voices were all different, but the words were all the same. “I love you,” were the words floating out of the broken bubbles. “I love you.”
‘I was amazed and a little frightened. But as I listened to the words, my mood changed. I wasn’t sad or lonely anymore. I was feeling happy and I know it was because of the words in the bubbles. Excitedly I got up and ran back to where my little brother and sister were playing with other children. I hugged my brother and sister and said, “I love you, I love you.” They smiled and said the same to me and laughed with pleasure. I then said the words to all the other children and to the servants I met, and to the workers. Then I ran inside and found my father sitting in his large library. I went up to him, threw my arms around his neck and nearly choked him in my enthusiasm, as I said, “I love you, father.” He pulled me up onto his knee and told me he loved me too. He was smiling. And then my mother came in and I ran to her and hugged her close and told her I loved her so much. And we both cried with joy and my father cried. I was so happy.
‘The next day I went to the forest, where I would often go for walks. There, just inside the trees, stood a unicorn. I had in the past only seen him in the distance, almost out of sight. As I approached him this day, he didn’t back away as I expected him to do; he just stood there, looking at me with a gleam in his eyes. I reached him and stroked his nose. He nickered at me and blew his sweet breath onto my face. Hesitatingly I reached up to touch his gleaming, spiral horn. He didn’t move. I was holding my breath. I had to stretch to touch it and, as I did so, the unicorn disappeared, leaving only a little glittering dust hanging in the air. The next instant there was a boy, my age, standing in front of me. I gasped. He was very hansom, with golden, sparkling hair, clear blue eyes and a beautiful smile. We looked at each other for a long while, and then he moved towards me and we hugged each other. He told me that he had to go back into the forest, but that he would meet me on that spot in exactly five years’ time. Then he kissed me on my forehead, turned around without another word, and with only a few steps he was gone. I looked at the place where I had last seen him, but there was nothing there except the grass and some trampled daisies.
‘I returned to the palace, feeling joyful and light. And I never forgot the unicorn boy, as the years became four, then three, then two…’
Lina opened her eyes and looked at the young pair in the mirror. She watched as they moved towards each other and embraced lovingly. They were obviously happy together and seeing this gave Lina a warm feeling all over. She carefully pushed the mirror down into the box, amazed that it fitted, and then closed the little blue jewelled box and returned it to its special place. She stood for a while in her room, feeling joy and lightness moving through her. Then she went downstairs where she found her mother and father and told them both that she loved them and appreciated all they did for her and all the work they did in running the country. She told everyone she met, especially the servants, how much she loved them and appreciated them. Everyone she spoke to like this smiled back at her and many told her that they loved her too.
Some days later, a young prince from a neighbouring kingdom, roughly Lina’s age, came to visit. She had met him before, of course, but had never taken much notice of him. This time she looked at him with new awareness and felt joy and love in her heart. She greeted him and he smiled warmly at her. Then he kissed her gently on the forehead.
Later that day, Lina felt she should look in the mirror in the little jewelled box again, even though she wasn’t feeling sad. She ran upstairs and into her room. She retrieved the box and sat on her blue rug as she slowly opened it. The mirror slowly stood up. Lina saw her face in the mirror and it was her face exactly as it looked in any other mirror. Well, not quite. She gasped as she saw that the face looking back at her out of the mirror had a unicorn’s horn growing out of the forehead.