The Princess and the Pegasus

Reasonably short fairy tale about a princess escaping from a life she's unsatisfied with.

   Once upon a time, there was an island nation by the name of Ordalia. In land mass, it was roughly the size of modern-day Mexico, except that the terrain was lush and full of life. Much of the landscape consisted of deep forests, in the centers of which the trees grew so close that sunlight never reached the ground, but what was not woodland was vast plains, so blanketed in flowers that in a breeze colors seemed to flow over the ground like a river. Aside from it’s beauteous mystery, however, there was a very key element that separated Ordalia from the other isles of the world. It was not surrounded by an ocean of water, but a sea or air. The kingdom floated miles above the surface of the Earth, behind a blanket of clouds so think and everlasting that the people beneath had never glimpsed it’s wonder, and the citizens of the floating land had no idea what lay beneath the endless mist.

 

    Ordalia, like most kingdoms, had a princess, but much like the land she would inherit was unique from others, so was she unique from all other women. Long dark blonde hair flowed over her shoulders, reminiscent of a waterfall from heaven, and dark eyes would entrance any man that gazed into them, losing himself forever in their depth. Her masterfully sculpted porcelain form was marked with assets that would make even the goddess jealous, and she was widely accepted to be the most divine creature to grace the earth. Her name was Lorelei.

 

    Every morning without fail, Lorelei would awaken before the rising of the sun, and begin her daily regiment of preparation to one day fill the title of Ordalia’s Queen. In the morning there was etiquette class, which consisted of droll things such  as always smiling before her subjects, how to curtsy properly, and which fork she was to use for salad and which was for desert. Then she would move to the castle chapel, where she ate breakfast with the nuns and priests, before joining them for lessons on the Mother and Father, and how a Queen must conduct herself when she hosted the annual mass, which the entire kingdom would attend. After that were dancing, cosmetology, and sewing lessons with the royal seamstress, before lunch with the king and queen, which consisted mainly of awkward silences and occasional small talk about the weather or the welfare of the subjects. Then Lorelei would go back to her chambers. She would typically fashion herself new clothing using the methods she had learned in class, or make music on the piano she had taught herself to play while singing songs she had written, but as the years wore on with little or no variance in her routine, Lorelei grew restless. She had been content as a child, but was becoming bored in her adolescence. 

 

    One day after her lessons, the Princess sat in her quarters, as she always did, sitting in her window seat and gazing below at the stables while she sang to herself. In the distance she could see the King returning from a speech at one of the outer cities. He rode atop his majestic stallion, Apollo, who was the first of the mythical winged horses, an immortal gifted from the Mother to the royal family, and was in legend so mighty that he could pull the very sun across the sky. Lorelei gazed longingly as his flawless umbral coat and plumage as he drew closer, his wild mane blowing in the wind. As Apollo landed and the King dismounted to walk inside, she made a daring decision. She was going to visit her four-legged friend.

 

    In the past, she would go out often to see the steed. She would brush his fur, gently pick any debris from his long powerful wings, and wrap her arms about his neck, hugging him tight as she cried and spilled her soul to him. In a world where everything was politics and training, for a life that did not even seem to sate her desires, he was her constant, closest, and only friend. She loved him. These days however, she was forbidden to visit him. One afternoon, a few months prior, she had been with him, weeping bitterly at the prospect of her future. She cared no more for etiquette, or religious practice. She did not want to be the queen. So on that day, she had gone to Apollo, and as she cried she confessed to the creature her deepest desire; escape. She spoke of how she hated her life in the castle, and her longing to explore to the deepest forests, and cross the farthest planes. She told him she wanted to run away, and that perhaps he might be her chance at salvation.

 

    Unfortunately for Lorelei, at the precise moment, the King, who had been listening around the corner, burst out angrily, scolding her harshly, yelling and screaming his fury until she collapsed in tears and hatred for the man. He forbade her to return to Apollo, and ordered that she return to her room, but she would not move. Indeed, when he reached down to grab her arm and drag her forcefully from the animal’s presence, she lashed out in anger and her leg moved of it’s own accord, hitting it’s mark directly between the King’s legs. He cursed in anger, and commanded that the servants take her to her room. It took three people to pull her, kicking and screaming, back into her chambers, and she had not seen her friend nor spoken to the King since. 

 

    But today was a different day. She felt bold, and defiant. She called a maid into her room, and told her to find the King. She was to deliver a message that Lorelei wished to speak with him in the throne room in an hour and apologize, after she had bathed and redone her hair. The woman having departed, however, Lorelei made not for the baths, but her window. She opened it and clambered a few feet down the cobblestone wall, far enough to make the drop to the ground safely. Then, avoiding the eyes of the stablehands, she crept to where Apollo was kept.

 

    After that day, no one at the castle ever saw Lorelei, or Apollo, again. There were many sightings of them, incredibly high in the sky, even to the people who lived on the island above the clouds. They were spotted soaring over the tops of the tallest trees, and galloping through the fields, always laughing and whinnying their excitement that they were together, and finally free. The King searched far and wide for the pair of them, but his efforts were in vain, for even though they were seen often by the people of Ordalia, and were even frequent visitors at a handful of inns, they had rapidly earned the love of the citizens, and they understood her plight, so no matter how many people the King asked about their location, he was always told she had never been there, that she must be across the kingdom. 

 

    Lorelei was always smiling, from that day onward. There was never another day that she was apart from her constant companion in the entirety of her life, and there was never a moment that she regretted what she had done. She lived happily ever after, to the end of her days.

Author's Note

Please alert me to any spelling or grammatical mistakes, and please let me know what you think. Much love,
-Thor