The Girl and the Flower.
By Holly Wakefield
Copyright Holly Wakefield 2010.
Published at Smashwords
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner, except for brief quotations included in a review of the book.
Once, there was a castle surrounded by flowers, high on a cliff in a quiet land. There was a prince who lived in this castle with his bride. She was not a princess, but it did not matter to him. She was a beautiful gentle girl, and they were happy. Until one day, he fell ill.
She watched as he became weaker, his once strong frame becoming frail and tired. She knew what was wrong. They all knew what was wrong. Every soul has a flower, which grows old, and, as it withers, so do we. Sometimes the flower is damaged, and people leave too soon. She sat for hours that day, staring through the window at the flowers in the garden, protected by the shade and untouched by the glaring sun.
“Do not search for the pool.” He begged her, judging her thoughts well despite his weakened state. “Our time is judged by the flowers. Nothing good will come from interfering with what is already decided upon.” No one was willing to try and find the flower. They were all too frightened of what would happen to them. So, steeling herself against the dangerous task, she took a lingering look at her prince, who could no longer open his eyes, and stole away into the night.
For countless days the girl walked, over field, sand and stone until her eyes were dull, her mind was numb and her feet were little more than bloodied muscle. She had no map, but trusted her feet to guide her, knowing that if she truly loved him enough, she would find the flower. She walked until she came to a dark wood, the trees old and bent, the air chilling her. She crept through the maze of rotten trunks and contorted branches until she came across a filthy, stagnant pool.
A single blue flower stood alone in the centre of the bubbling water, the size of her fist but damaged and tired. Nonetheless, it’s beauty made everything around it seem doubly grotesque. A large, black insect sat perched in the centre of the flower, and the girl could see it eating slowly through the stem, most of the petals already dead. She shouted at the insect, but it would not move. It continued to eat, its black shell shining in the light. She contemplated throwing a stone, but dared not, fearing the flower may become more badly damaged. She could not swim, and there was nothing to help her reach such a great distance. In her exhaustion, she sat by the pool and began to cry.
A snake sitting in a tree beside the pool heard and took pity on her, “I can reach down and pluck the insect from the flower.” It hissed. It moved across the branch and reached down, ready to snap the insect away from the flower, when the branch supporting it broke. The snake cried out, but the girl could only watch, helpless, as it fell and disappeared beneath the dark water. A bird heard her cry and flew over to her, its heart heavy as she cried. “I can fly over and eat the insect.” It chirped, fluttering around her head. It bobbed towards the flower, and fluttered down to grab the insect when a great creature jumped from the pool, snatching the tiny bird in it’s jaws before diving back below the water.
As she cried for her own troubles and the creatures who had been lost, a monstrous troll appeared, stopping by the waterside to drink from the pool. It watched her weep, and moved by her beauty began to speak. “I will crush the insect.” He promised her, rising up to his full height. He easily waded over to the flower and gently prised the insect from the fragile stem. “Remain with me.” It said, the insect still in its hand. “Until your dying day, and I will protect the flower from further harm.” “I cannot.” She trembled. “I must-” The Troll placed the insect back on the flower, and the girl lowered her head, defeated. “You will remain here?” It asked. She nodded and it made it’s way back through the filthy water, the insect in its hand once more. The girl watched the flower in silence for a few moments, she saw the flower begin to grow, the petals healing, and she smiled.
“Your promise?” The monster asked. “I will keep my promise.” She cried, and, rather than spend the rest of her days with the creature, she threw herself into the mire after those who had sought to help her.
The insect struggled a few seconds in vain before it died.
Somewhere a Prince opened his eyes.