The Forest Princess

The Promise

On the morning of her twenty-first birthday, Larimar took a walk in the palace garden. She went to the black elder hedge as she had done many times before. The elders were covered in clouds of tiny pink and white blossoms. The princess had given up looking for the fairy, and she wouldn't have been able to see her during the flowering season.

Being close to the black elders made her feel connected with Peregrin and Tilia. She hadn't seen them for nearly five years. She hadn't heard from them either. What if the wood-cutter had remarried? What if Tilia had a new mother and siblings...

Suddenly Larimar heard Aurea's voice. "You still want to marry Peregrin, Sugarplum?"

The voice came out of the dark foliage of the black elder and startled the princess, just like the first time.

"Yes," she replied confidently. "I still want to marry him."

"You know it's a big decision and the consequences are even bigger," the fairy continued.

"I know," said Larimar, trying to sound positive, even though she wasn't quite sure what the fairy meant.

"Can you keep a promise for a really long time?" Aurea asked.

"Of course," answered the princess.

"When you marry Peregrin you will not only promise to become his wife, you will also promise to become Tilia's mother," said the fairy.

"That's what I want," Larimar said.

"You will have a child of your own, and you will have to promise to treat both children as your own, always." Aurea continued.

"Sure, I can do that," said the princess.

"This seems easy now, but it will not always be that easy," the fairy warned her. "When you have another baby, Tilia will be reminded of the loss of her mother. She will feel left out. There will be times when you have to give her more attention than your new baby."

The princess listened and nodded. She hadn't thought about that, but it made sense.

"There will be times when you have to make tough decisions," the fairy continued. "Can you promise that you will always give priority to Tilia over your own child?"

Larimar felt a little twinge in her heart. Then she thought of Peregrin and Tilia and how much she loved them. "I promise," she said eventually.

"The future of the kingdom of Jasper will depend on you keeping this promise," the fairy reminded her. "You must never forget that."

"I will never forget!" declared the princess.

"And you must not talk to anyone about it," Aurea added.

"Not even Peregrin?" Larimar asked.

"Not even Peregrin." said the fairy. Then she handed her a small package wrapped in black elder leaves. "But to help you keep your promise, I have this gift for you."

Larimar unwrapped the gift and found a rectangular piece of polished black tourmaline set in a silver casing.

"This is a smart box," Aurea explained. "Whenever you have to make a tough decision, you can look into the stone, and it will show you the outcome."

"Thank you," Larimar said and pressed the fairy's gift to her heart. "Thank you so much!"