I had a dream last night...
I was in a luxurious room of a castle, a bedroom, with a canopy bed of purple silk, when I noticed a girl with long golden hair staring out a window just to the right.
A door opened behind me, and in came a maid-servant, carrying a pitcher of water. She curtsied to the other girl’s back, saying “I have you fresh water, ma’ lady.”
The golden haired girl turned around, holding a golden apple in her hand. “Oh, thank you.” she replied, watching as the servant poured the water into a washing bowl. “Has there been any news from the scouts? About my brother’s killer, I mean.”
“No, ma’ lady. I’m afraid not.” Then, seeing the apple in her mistress’ hand, she asked “What about the Golden Bird, have you seen it?”
The Princess (for she was certainly the Golden Princess herself) looked at the golden apple. “Not directly, but I believe he must’ve been the one who brought this to my windowsill the other night.”
The servant girl looked up at the Princess, “And isn’t that... part of the prophecy?”
Sitting the apple down, the Princess nodded, “Yes. It is.” as she picked up a brush and began to stroke it through her golden locks. “Which means that the next thing that is to happen, is for my betrothed to meet me at my most vulnerable, only to give me a kiss on the cheek, take me by the hand, and lead me away to a new kingdom.”
The maid servant thought for a moment, then told her mistress “The boy who rides the Golden Horse came by the castle yesterday, perhaps he is your betrothed!”
But the Princess shook her head in disgust, setting her brush down, and stepping over to the washing bowl. “I cannot deny that the horse is the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen, but he deserves far better than that selfish pig of a man! Who cares for nothing more than his own gain!”
The maid servant shrunk back, sorry she had suggested the thought.
The Princess dried off her face with a cloth, and turned back to her attendant. “Why, he once tried to sell the gardener a sack of ‘magic beans’!” But then started to smile the more she thought about it. “Magic beans? What land did he think we were from?!” she asked, getting a smile from the servant girl, and lightening the mood.
Picking back up the golden apple, the Princess looked back out the window. “Somehow... I can’t help but think... that the Golden Bird’s prophecy, and my brother’s death, are somehow connected.”
Suddenly the Princess spotted a fox down in the courtyard, staring back up at her. They looked at each other for a moment, but once the animal realized he had been spotted, he scurried along the outer wall, and dove through a hole between the stones, running out along the road, heading south.
–Charles M Warren
