The Forest Princess

The Black Elder Fairy

While Peregrin was out in the village, and Tilia lay asleep in her cot, Larimar went into the forest garden to get vegetables. As she stood under the black elder bush and picked some parsley, she suddenly heard a little voice.

"You have to go home, sugarplum," said the voice.

'Sugarplum?' Larimar was startled. Only her mother called her by that name. She took a closer look in the direction of the voice and saw a fairy sitting on a branch of the black elder. Her hair had the same dark purplish brown colour as the leaves. She was wearing a pale pink and white fairy dress, the colours of black elder blossoms. Fortunately it was not the flowering season, otherwise, Larimar wouldn't have been able to see her at all.

"Who are you?" asked the princess.

"Aurea, the Black Elder Fairy" the little creature introduced herself, "I'm here to let you know that your mum and dad are worried sick about you."

During the past weeks the palace, her parents, the royal garden parties and ladies in waiting had become a distant memory. Now the Black Elder fairy had woken her up, like from a dream. But it wasn't a dream. Larimar was still in the log cabin in the forest with Peregrin and Tilia. There were no ladies in waiting, no royal chefs, no important meetings she had to dress up for. She could wear her hair whichever way she wanted, and nobody cared about it.

"You have to go home," Aurea repeated.

"But I like it here," Larimar replied. "I don't want to go home. I want to marry Peregrin and play with Tilia."

"I know, sugarplum," said the Black Elder Fairy. "But you are too young to make such a decision. You are the Crown Princess of Jasper, and you have responsibilities."

"I don't care about being Crown Princess," Larimar replied. "I don't want to become Queen of Jasper anyway."

"I know, sugarplum," the Black Elder Fairy repeated, and she was beginning to sound a lot like Larimar's mother. "You don't have to become queen. But you still have responsibilities. Your decisions will affect the whole Kingdom of Jasper. They will change the lives of your people. Your decisions will change the future of your country. Like it or not, sugarplum, that's the way it is."

Larimar had never thought about that before. The words of the Black Elder Fairy hit her like a fist between the eyes.

"You said I don't have to become queen?" the princess asked the fairy.

"That's right," Aurea confirmed.

"You mean, I can go home to my mum and dad and don't have to play this stupid 'future-queen' game anymore?" Larimar asked again.

"That's totally up to you," said the fairy. "Just remember, your decisions affect the lives of your people and the future of the Kingdom of Jasper, and it doesn't matter whether you become queen or not."