Once upon a time, there was a princess, whose name was Faith. Faith was the
youngest member of her royal family. She lived with her parents and sisters
in an elegant castle in an enchanted forest.
Her father, the king, had created a law that stated no one was allowed to
be out of the castle late at night. There were a few guards that were
exempt from this law, because they made sure that everyone else follow the
law.
The King began to worry about his youngest daughter. Faith was sleeping in
very late. Also there were rips in her clothing that had not been there the
day before.
Princess Faith loved to dance. She also loved starry nights and the
gardens. She loved to sneak out of the castle to dance in the gardens, when
the stars shown the brightest and no one was around.
This was like her own palace that no one knew about. The flowers were her
subjects that danced in the wind. The stars were onlookers, who loved to
watch the princess dance. Some birds would sing sweet songs for her. There
was someone else who played music but Faith did not know whom.
Princess Faith felt loved in her garden. This was a secret no one
could know about. If someone knew then it would be the end of the princess's
palace.
The King would ask the guards every morning, if anyone was out that night.
"No one dared to break your law, my king," the guards would say every
morning. The King was pleased with this.
One night, Faith went to her garden. This night was special, for Faith
had came earlier then usual. She took the risk of being caught. Faith
laughed and danced.
One of the guards on duty had heard the laughter and looked for the source.
As he looked, he saw a child dancing. "Could this be the youngest princess?"
he thought to himself. As he sneaked forward, he saw it really was the
princess.
"Princess, you must come with me," the guard commanded.
"Why must I go with you?" asked the princess.
"Because, princess, you have broken the law and we must see what your father
wants to do with you," the guard answered.
The guard forced Princess Faith into the castle. On their way to the King's
chambers, Faith freed herself from the guard's hold. She ran out of the
castle and into the gardens, not knowing what to do next.
The guard told the King what had happened. The King called for
more guards to search for his daughter. They were warned that the
princess carried a dagger with her.
Princess Faith wandered though the gardens, wondering what she should to.
She thought about the dagger that she carried with her. "Maybe death will be
better then this," she thought to herself.
Faith reached for the dagger in her pocket. She cried as she pulled it out
of its rightful place. She knew what she was going to do would hurt people
who loved her.
"It's not worth it, princess!" a voice whispered.
"Who's there? How do you know that it is not worth it?" Faith asked.
"Princess, there are so many people who care about you," the voice answered.
"Do not be scared of your father. He only wants to protect you. I will be
with you always. I have always been with you, especially in the gardens,"
the voice whispered. "Good bye, fair Princess."
There were guards lurking around when Faith was talking. As they stepped
forward, Faith placed the dagger over her throat.
"Who goes there?" Faith asked when they stepped forward.
"Princess, please give me the dagger," a guard demanded, as he extended his
hand to receive the dagger.
"No! Why can't you leave me alone to die?" Faith answered. Faith stepped
backwards and into another guard's arms. The guards forced Faith
to the ground. The guard then took the dagger away from the princess, so
she could not hurt herself or anyone else. Meanwhile, the rest
put chains on Faith's wrists and ankles, so she could not get
away, this time.
The guards had to drag the princess into her father's chambers. Upon their
entrance, the king woke up. He was not pleased with being woken up at
midnight.
The King listened, again, carefully to his guard tell him what happened. He
did not care to have his daughter tell her side of the story. With that, he
ordered his guards to lock the princess in her chambers and no one was allowed
to visit her. He also ordered that all objects that might be used as weapons be
put far out of Princess Faith's reach.
"Father!" Faith begged. "Don't do this to me. I will die without my garden,
like a flower without water. Or worse I will kill myself!"
"I am sorry my daughter, but you disobeyed me. And now you have to pay the
price," said the King to his youngest daughter. "Also I should not allow any
talk of you killing yourself."
"Guards!" the King yelled. "Please take her away. I can not stand to look
at her for another moment."
And with that the guards dragged the princess away. Faith would not go
without trying to fight. She kicked and screamed but it did no good. When
the guards reached Faith's chamber, they tied her to the bed. As she lay
there, trying to free herself, the guards locked up the room to make sure
she could not escape.
The next morning the guards came into Faith's chambers and untied her while
she still slept. They also placed some food on the table, so that she may
have something to eat during the day. One of the guards felt sorry for the
princess, so he had placed a few flowers in her chambers.
When Faith awoke that morning, she screamed to be freed. No one answered
she. She started weeping. "Why didn't I just kill myself when I had the
chance?" she thought to herself.
As Faith said those words, a fairy arose from inside the flower on the
table. Faith was shocked by what was happening. She did not know if she
should be scared or happy. She did neither one. She fainted.
As Faith regained consciousness, she was flooded with flowers from the skies
above. She was filled with peace and happiness. She didn't know why but her
feet danced with the drift of the wind.
Faith didn't know where she was but it seemed familiar. It was like she had
been there all her life. She also felt someone else's presence, as if someone
was following her.
"Who is there?" Faith asked the air.
"It is me, the flower fairy," said the fairy.
"Why are you following me?"
"I am your protector. I am the one who played the music in the garden."
"Where am I? Why am I here?"
"You are in the garden. I took you here because I want you to be happy."
Faith was happy. She returned to her bedroom, the same way she left. But now
she felt at peace. Just like she did in the garden. Now the garden is inside
of her.