Crystal Pieces of Fantasy Read online

  One day, she stayed there longer than usual and darkness covered the land, so Deria couldn’t see the tunnel to get home. But how could she stay outside in the night when no human being could survive the cold? She sat close to the young frozen man, huddled up.

  “Oh, handsome prince, you don’t feel the cold, do you?” she said smiling at the statue, as if it could hear her.

  “Be careful not to make the prince feel too proud of himself,” said a very soft voice from somewhere near. Deria looked around but didn’t see anybody.

  “I am here, close to you!” A little white bird had landed on the shoulder of the frozen statue. “Apparently the two of us will keep each other company tonight,” it continued. Daria was surprised to see this peculiar talking bird and was wondering where did it come from.

  “I’ve been seeing you coming here,” began the little white bird and shook its wings. Its feathers were golden and this amazed the girl even more. “I am sure you want to know the story of the frozen prince,” said the bird and came closer to her. “Yes, I would very much want to know his story,” said Deria and looked at the prince with eyes full of affection.

  "It all began with a king and a queen, who loved each other very much, and dreamed of having a child. Many years they were hoping to be blessed with a beautiful prince who will make their life full and complete, but as the years went by, they lost hope. The queen dreamed to see what her grown up son would look like and the king ordered the best craftsman in the kingdom to make a statue, which would resemble him and his queen. The craftsman was honoured to be given such an important task. He worked day and night to complete it with the greatest craftsmanship he could.

  When the statue was ready, he went to the palace and placed it before the king and his queen. He took away the veil to reveal the face of the young man made out of ice. Cold wind burst into the great hall and fluttered the young man’s cloak. The queen was stunned, seeing the handsome face of the young man. She felt love in her heart, seeing the beautiful statue of her son. How she longed for him to be alive.

  Not long after, spring came and the weather gradually became warmer. The king and the queen were worried what will happen to the prince. The last thing they wanted was he to melt, so they decided to take him to a cold land. They became aware of the Ice kingdom and ordered a secret garden to be built far away from people’s eyes where their ice son will be hidden, away and safe. In the garden, they planted a small tree as a memory from his loving parents.

  The king and his queen returned to their kingdom and didn’t go back to the secret garden.

  As years passed, the tree grew and became the only companion of the frozen prince."

  “This is the story of the statue Deria!” said the bird.

  “How come you know my name?” she asked, astonished.

  “I know a lot of things about this cold world, how hard it is to discover a warm place here. But in your heart there is so much warmth, enough to melt even a frozen heart!”

  Deria did not know what to say. The story the little bird told her was so wonderful and left her speechless. Deep inside, she felt the frozen prince wasn’t just a piece of ice and that thought carried her to a dream which she didn’t want to end.

  Morning came and Deria rubbed her eyes sleepily. She had fallen asleep at some point and felt good and peaceful. She caressed the face of the prince tenderly and headed to the house of her parents. She didn’t feel home there, as she felt she belonged to the secret garden and her prince.

  A group of children saw her leaving the garden, and without hesitation, they stormed into the tunnel, discovering the tree and the frozen prince. They screamed and called even more people to come to the place. A crowd of people gathered and they wondered what this frozen figure might be.

  “Perhaps it has been thrown out by a sculptor who didn’t like it anymore,” said someone. “Or it is the unsuccessful product of art students who waste their time doing useless things like that,” thought others. But nobody could appreciate the distinguished look of the frozen prince. People saw it only as a piece of ice, worked out by human hands.

  Deria didn´t stay home long before she returned to her prince. From a distance, she saw a crowd of people at the tunnel, and was afraid what they could have done? She rushed into the garden, making way through the crowd and saw a few children pulling on the hand of the statue. She was scared they might damage it and ran to protect it. She stood in front of the frozen prince, exposed to the public gaze.

  “What do you think you are doing, girl?” asked someone with an impudent tone.

  “This is my prince, and I am not going to allow anybody to damage him!” she said in a determined tone.

  “Why don’t you move this useless work or should I say waste of art out of here?” said a man with a vile facial expression. There began a hustle and bustle among the people, and they knocked the statue to the ground. Somebody threw a stone at the prince and a chip of ice cracked off the prince’s chest.

  Deria was petrified and threw herself onto the frozen price to stop them from destroying him completely.

  Her sad look and her pathetic devotion to this frozen statue made the crowd lose interest and gradually they began to leave the garden, until only Deria alone remained. A cold winter night covered the earth with a black curtain. Deria lost sense of time. She felt every beat of her heart and felt she could not continue to live if the icy prince would be destroyed. He was her special companion who brought warmth in her life. Deria felt helpless and weak. She couldn’t even raise the icy figure to put it back to its place. A tear, hot like fire, rolled down her face and dropped into the little hole in the prince’s chest and went straight into his heart.

  The tear turned into a blue flame, and all of a sudden, the whole statue changed in colour. Deria saw how warm ivory skin was covering the face of the frozen prince and then his arms and legs, until the frozen statue became a real human being. She looked into the face of the young man, her tears stopped out of surprise.

  Deria couldn’t believe her eyes. There he stood, a wonderful young man, her precious prince. She couldn’t comprehend how that was possible, when she recalled the words of the little bird with golden wings who said, “In your heart there is so much warmth to melt even a frozen heart.”

  “I greet you,” said the prince in a velvety voice, “how I longed for this moment to come,” and he embraced the girl tenderly, keeping her close to him. In this moment, the ice tree began to come to life, the ice flowers turned into beautiful blossoms and the whole garden transferred into beautiful spring.

  “I thank you for melting my frozen heart with your love. Allow me to give you my love in return, I want to share my life with you and to grow old together,” said the prince and took Deria’s hand.

  In the Ice kingdom happened a real wonder. One human heart filled with love gave the gift of life to a frozen heart. The handsome prince brought Deria home to his parents, the king and his queen. Seeing her son come back to her alive made the queen feel overwhelmed with joy, and she cried and laughed at the same time.

  The king and the queen accepted Deria with great joy and loved her very much.

  She was no longer just a girl with a warm heart in the fiercely cold world, she was greatly cherished and loved and gave love in return with all her heart and soul. The prince and Deria lived a life full of joy and happiness and brought hope and warmth to everyone who heard their story.

  The Elixir

  In a faraway kingdom, a story was told about The Black Prince who had the most enchanting eyes and who all girls dreamed of marrying. But once they looked into his eyes closely, fear enveloped their hearts.

  The Black Prince was very powerful, and he could choose for his wife any maiden he wanted from the kingdom.

  But so it happened that one day while the prince was hunting for deer, he was badly injured by the horns of a large stag. His servants could not help him, and they were afraid that the prince wouldn’t live for long after being so badly woun
ded.

  Not far from the forest where the hunt was, there was a small village where the servants brought the wounded prince to seek help. A young maiden saw the royal retinue carrying him and called her brothers for help. They took the Black Prince to their little house, and the girl who had brought up her younger brothers as her own children started taking care of the Prince's wounds. While she was bandaging his wounds she noticed that the blood dripping from them was black in colour. The girl was very surprised to see that, but gently took care of the injured prince.

  The royal servant waited outside, and when the girl came out, he asked her:

  “Is the prince still alive,” he said with an anxious voice.

  “He is badly injured I’m afraid, but in a few days we will know if he'll survive,” she said.

  In the evening, she watched over the Black Prince and prepared a special herbal infusion so he would regain his strength. But since he lay motionless, the girl dripped a few drops of potion on his lips.

  A few days passed during which the girl was taking care of the Black Prince's wounds. One day, as she sprinkled again a few drops from the potion on his lips, the prince suddenly opened his eyes and caught her wrist. The girl got startled and froze. When she looked into his eyes, they were like a mirror to some unknown world. The Prince spoke:

  “Who are you?” He said, and started to stand up, but sharp ache cut him off, and he let go of the girl's wrist and frowned in pain.

  “My name is Anastasia, and I've been looking after you for the last few days since they brought you wounded by a deer,” she said, and sat down in the chair beside him, “I put herbal potion on your lips that helps you recover.”

  The prince closed his eyes with pain, and soon fell into a restless sleep. Anastasia prepared soup for the prince and served it to him when he woke up.

  The next day, one of the girl's younger brothers looked curiously through the door at the prince, but got scared when he returned his gaze and ran away. The prince turned to Anastasia:

  “Who are you and what is your story?” He asked.

  “You already know my name. I have been living here since my parents abandoned me in the woods. I've been found when I was two or three years old, and I have no memories from my birth parents. I was raised by the people who found me and grew up with their seven sons who were like real brothers to me. Unfortunately, we were orphaned six years ago, and I had to take care of the younger ones. The boy who peeked through the door was the youngest, Jonas.”

  The Prince listened to her carefully, but showed no emotion. And every time she looked into his eyes, Anastasia seemed to get lost in this unfamiliar world that was peering through them.

  The Black Prince stayed for a few days in the small house, but once he felt better, his servants prepared a carriage to take him to the palace. Anastasia’s seven brothers were standing in a row, the smallest Jonas did not dare to look into the eyes of this mysterious prince. They all bowed to him and wished him quick recovery.

  Anastasia held in her hands a small bottle in which she had prepared the herbal potion. Now she handed it to the prince:

  “This will help you get better soon,” she whispered.

  The Black Prince did not show any emotion, but he looked into Anastasia’s eyes for a long moment until she felt uneasy and her cheeks flushed.

  “We'll see each other again, Anastasia,” he said, and motioned to the servants to carry him away.

  After the Black Prince left, Anastasia could not stop thinking about him and the words he said to her. What did he mean saying that they would see each other again? Did he plan to go hunting in the nearby woods once he got better and would he come to the village again?

  She was fascinated by his eyes and felt the thrill of blooming love, a new and unfamiliar feeling for the young lass.

  Few months passed and then one day, returning from the forest where she had been gathering wild fruit, Anastasia saw little Jonas running towards her very excitedly.

  “What happened?” Anastasia asked with astonishment, and Jonas, barely breathing, announced that a royal messenger was waiting for her at home with confidential news.

  Anastasia felt a warm wave pass through her and hurriedly went to the house.

  When she arrived, the royal messenger stood up and bowed slightly. Anastasia was surprised because royal messengers did not usually bow to ordinary people. She left the basket of wild fruit on the floor and approached the messenger.

  “Milady,” he began with an official tone, “I have been sent to you to relay a message from the Black Prince.”

  Anastasia felt her heart beating fast. The royal messenger took out a scroll tied with a black ribbon, untied it and started reading:

  “The throne that belongs to my future betrothed was vacant for a long time. I will welcome the moment you will take this place, beside me.”

  Anastasia felt weakness in her knees and thought she had to sit down because it seemed so unbelievable. She, who was abandoned in the woods when she was a little girl, to become the one the mighty prince chose? In her mind, his eyes appeared, eyes so deep that seemed to draw her to him with an invisible thread.

  Anastasia accepted the Prince's invitation with excitement, mingled with fear. She was ready to go the next day. It made her sad that she had to leave her beloved brothers behind but she promised to send them invitations to visit her in the palace. The thought of being the chosen one by the Black Prince made her feel flattered, but the unfamiliar direction in which she would go from here filled her soul with unceasing excitement and anxiousness. Anastasia could not sleep well, dreaming of his hypnotic, deep eyes.

  In the morning, a carriage was waiting for her, all draped in black satin. How beautiful and elegant this carriage was, and inside there was a black velvet dress left for her, embroidered with precious stones. There was also a hair accessory – a small elegant tiara. Anastasia changed into her new clothes and bid farewell to her brothers.

  The trip to the palace lasted only a day and so Anastasia, the royal messenger and the coachmen arrived at sunset. She was stunned by the beauty of the castle - the last rays of sunlight lit up the tops of the towers and made the view really impressive. She felt so tiny in comparison to this huge palace and its spacious gardens with hedge mazes. Anastasia climbed the steps of the castle and the huge gates opened in front of her. She was led to a spacious hall where she had to wait for the Black Prince. The walls of the hall were beautifully painted with colourful drawings depicting scenes of folk legends, and seven hallways branched out of the hall, decorated with chandeliers of different colours. Anastasia studied the pictures with interest, and they seemed to come to life in front of her. She was fascinated by the stories they were telling.

  “Remarkable,” Anastasia heard the Prince's voice and turned to see if he was behind her, but he wasn’t there. She heard his footsteps and looked around to see where they came from, but she didn’t know which corridor he would use.

  “You look remarkable, Anastasia.”Said the prince while walking toward her.

  Anastasia felt chills of excitement run through her body.

  “Thank you,” she said in a low voice and blushed.

  The prince came close to her and took her hand in his, gazing into her eyes.

  “It is interesting how a moment of life can be immortalized through art,” noted Anastasia, " I wonder when they were painted?"

  "These paintings tell the stories of my predecessors and they were painted in the course of centuries. One day, my portrait will be among them, and I will be depicted on it with my chosen one - the prince brought Anastasia's hand to his lips and gently kissed it, then led her to the dining room.

  The dinner was so exquisite, the table full of sophisticated dishes and fruits that Anastasia had never tasted. It was very pleasant to her to be close to the prince, but she could not eat much because of excitement.

  She felt beautiful, wearing the dress the Black Prince had given her, and she noticed that he was looking at
her with passion.

  After dinner, she was taken to her chambers, where the walls were clothed in black velvet. The room was very spacious and had a large window she could see the starry sky through. Anastasia lay down on the large bed and thought of the handsome prince. She was absorbed by a sweet feeling which quickly brought sleep to her eyes.

  In the morning, Anastasia was awakened by the song of birds. She got up and looked out of the window. The branches of a big tree touched the castle wall and she saw many birds that lived amongst them.

  Under the door of the room, she found a letter with black seal and opened it. It read:

  “Now that you are with me, there is no need to waste time on preparations. In seven days, our wedding will take place here in the palace, and you will be forever mine. This evening there will be a ball in your honour. You will find your dress for the event in the wardrobe.”

  Anastasia opened the closet and saw that there were many pretty dresses in it, all in black. Some were elegant but casual, others glittering with precious stones and stunningly beautiful. She saw a note on one of them saying it was specially prepared for the evening. Its neckline was richly embroidered with sparkling emeralds that glowed beautifully.

  Anastasia chose one of the elegant casual dresses and went for a walk through the palace. It was very interesting to explore everything. The corridors were spacious, the ceiling was very high, and chandeliers embellished with precious stones hung from it. There were paintings on the walls, and in the corners - tall vases of flowers. It seemed as if the castle was uninhabited, she didn’t see a single servant in the corridors. She had been walking for quite some time, when she noticed that one of the corridors was completely dark. She stopped for a moment and looked in that direction. Somewhere in the distance she saw a faint blue light. She looked around and, seeing no one, entered the corridor. A sense of fear enveloped her, but also some kind of curiosity. She reached the end of the corridor and stopped in front of an open door. A fireplace was blazing with a blue flame that lit the room, which wasn’t very large. In the room there was a bookcase, a writing table with an ink-pot and feathers on it, and an open book. Anastasia approached the table and peered into the book.