The Forest Princess

A Difficult Decision

"Are you sure you want to give all this up for us?" Peregrin asked Larimar. "I'm not going to ask you to do this for me! I just want you to know that."

"I know that," the princess replied. "But that's the least of my worries. I don't need to live in a palace, and I'm not going to miss it. What I'm worried about is that the Kingdom of Jasper would fall into the hands of the Ice King. I can't allow that to happen."

"Oh," said Peregrin sheepishly, "I completely missed that bit."

Larimar repeated to him what her father had said. Everybody in the Kingdom of Jasper knew the Ice King. Dozens of children were taken by him every year and disappeared into the Kingdom of Eternal Ice. Nobody knew what happened to them. If the Ice King became ruler over Jasper, their country and everything in it would freeze to death.

"This is what I'm worried about, Peregrin," the princess said. "I don't want to put my own happiness, or even our personal happiness, before the needs of our people."

The woodcutter nodded. He understood that it was a terribly difficult decision for Larimar.

Tilia saw them and came running towards them. The little girl was bubbly and happy. She told them how much she loved the palace gardens, and all the animals, especially the horses. "Can I have a horse?" she asked and continued talking without waiting for an answer.

Larimar excused herself and went into her chambers. She asked the chambermaid to leave and took the smart box out of her secret drawer. The princess rubbed her eyes and thought long and hard about the decision she had to make.

Eventually, she took a deep breath and looked into the polished black square. What she saw moved her deeply, and she started to cry.

Suddenly she heard Aurea's voice. "It will be alright, Sugarplum." The black elder fairy was sitting on the window sill and smiled. "You're doing great so far. Just keep making decisions and stick to your promise, and don't forget to use the smart box."

"What about the Ice King," Larimar asked. "That's what I'm most worried about."

"I know, Sugarplum," said the fairy. "No need to worry about that now. One step at a time. It'll all be alright."

The princess had no idea what 'it'll be alright' meant in the fairy world. But she was feeling a lot better. She had made the most difficult decision in her life so far.