A Fairy Tale

I went to see Harry Potter yesterday. It was amazing. As I was walking back to my car, a little seed of a fairy tale planted in my head. I couldn't wait to write it down. I put it in my WIP, but decided I wanted to share it here as well. I hope you enjoy it.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess and a handsome prince. The princess was not only beautiful, but brave and smart. The prince was not only handsome but clever and kind. One day, while the prince and princess were playing in the castle gardens, a dark cloud crept across the sky. It covered the sun, casting the whole kingdom into shadow.

Every day, the people woke in the morning and expected to see the sun. But every day, all they saw was the cloud covering the sky. Soon, the people began to get sad.

Most sad of all were the king and queen. They loved their kingdom and would do anything to make the people happy again. The king called all the wizards and wise men to the castle. The queen consulted her books. But no matter how hard they searched, they could not find a way to bring the sun back to their kingdom.

It was the princess who first noticed that the king had begun to turn as gray as the cloud. Soon, the queen's golden hair had dulled to silver and she too began to turn gray. The prince and princess watched their parents and worried.

One day, the prince found his sister in the garden. It had changed since the cloud's arrival. Instead of butterflies and flowers, weeds and wasps filled the space. "We have to discover a way to make the cloud go away," the prince said to his sister.

The princess looked at the dark sky overhead and sighed. "If all the wise men and all the books have not been able to discover the source of the cloud, how can we?"

The prince thought for a moment. "I have an idea!" he said. "What if we climbed the highest mountain in the kingdom and got close enough to see what makes the cloud?"

The princess looked at the prince and shook her head. "Don't you think the adults would have tried that by now if it could work?"

Frowning, the prince said, "I don't think they have the imagination."

The princess nodded in agreement. The next morning, before anyone else was awake, the prince and princess crept from the castle and started the long journey to the highest mountain in the kingdom.

The journey took all day and all night. They traveled across a crooked bridge and over a stone wall. They traveled across fields choked with weeds and forests dark and scary. All along their journey, they did not a see another person, animal or even a butterfly. Finally, they reached the bottom of the mountain.

The mountain rose high before them, cutting into the dark cloud that hung in the sky. The princess was worried. "What do you think is up there?" she asked her brother.

The prince swallowed and reached down to find a sturdy stick. "I don't know, but we should probably find out." They walked up the mountain, the rocky ground crumbling beneath their feet. Soon they were so high up, they could see their castle, gray in the shade of the cloud.

The air around them began to weave and cling. The princess brushed the sticky cloud from her clothes and looked at the prince, "This is not an ordinary cloud."

"How are we going to keep it off us? Every time it touches me, I feel it sucking me into sadness."
The princess thought for a moment. Using her clever brain, she said, "Let me have your stick."

Taking it in her hand, she began to twist and wind the cloud around and around, as if it were spaghetti. A path opened before them, clear of the dark cloud. They continued walking, pausing every now and then to make a path. Finally, they reached the top of the mountain.

Where the mountain poked out of the cloud, the sun beamed down on the rock. Flowers bloomed and birds chirped. Sitting in the middle of the mountain top was a giant dragon. Laying on his back, he sunned his belly. His tail twitched and a happy smile showed razor sharp teeth. His great nostrils sniffed the air. Opening one golden eye, he looked at the prince and princess. With a roar, he leapt to his feet breathing fire in their direction.

The magical fire didn't burn the grass or the flowers or even the birds, but the heat burned the stick the princess was holding. Dropping it with a cry, she turned to the dragon. "Why have you stolen our sunshine?"

The dragon paused, a confused look on his face. "I didn't steal it, it was given to me."

The prince thought hard. "How do we get it back?"

The dragon sat back on its scaly purple haunches and studied the prince and princess. "I think you know how." And with a flap of his large wings, he soared off the mountain top.

Watching him fly away, the princess said, "Well that wasn't very helpful, was it?"
But the prince didn't answer. He stared at the dragon flying away, then he stared at the cloud surrounding the mountain. "The cloud is stuck on this mountain. It can't get past."

"How do we unstuck a cloud? We can't cut away the mountain."

The prince nodded, "Then we cut away the cloud. But with what?"

The princess walked to the edge of the mountain and bent down to touch the cloud. A shiver went through her. "With a sword," she said.

The prince shook his head. "We don't have a sword."

The princess touched her brother's heart and said, "Yes. We do."

With that she reached her hand into her heart and pulled out a magic sword filled with love and joy. Her brother, understanding, did the same. The two of them walked to the edge of the mountain and started to cut.

The cloud melted into steam as their happiness and joy sliced through the thick grayness. Soon, they'd cut enough that the cloud started to move. Running down the mountain, cutting the whole way, the prince and princess found fields of flowers and squirrels in the trees. They heard the croak of frogs and the quack of ducks. Hurrying home, they discovered the castle once again gleaming white in the sunlight.

The king and queen met them on the steps and hugged them tight. The people of the kingdom celebrated with food and dancing. The two swords that had cut through the clouds were hung up on the wall for all to see that happiness will always destroy despair.