Last week, I told you about a story I told at the general meeting of my church women’s group. I mentioned that the story I told was the extremely abridged version of a longer narrative I wrot a couple of years ago. I asked you if you would be interested in reading a serialized version of the original story. One person responded with a resounding “Yes, please.” To show you that I do not need to be asked twice, here we go…
Part One: Introducing Princess Picclopena
There is no dark in the kingdom of Nieveaux. The sun and the moon and the stars all shine simultaneously around the clock. It snows there frequently, although most of the silver white fluttery powder melts before it leaves the sky. Only a thin layer of snow blankets the ground, but that blanket never goes away. It does not matter how warm the sun gets, that layer of snow never quite recedes. The people in Nieveaux live with sparkle in their eyes.
Nieveaux’s government is virtually nonexistent. There is no need for one. People keep to themselves, meticulously following the laws of civilized society wrought over centuries of Nieveaux culture. No one ever comes from outside the kingdom to cause trouble. In fact, no one ever comes from outside the kingdom, period. Nominally, King Noble and his wife Queen Theodora rule the kingdom as benevolent, if somewhat indifferent, monarchs. Their daughter, Princess Picclapena, is the culmination of their lives’ work. The only real job for the monarchs of Nieveaux is to produce and preserve more monarchs.
When Noble and Theodora married, there was a collective sigh of relief in Nieveaux. Noble was the first in line to the throne but had shown no interest in marrying throughout his twenties. Right after his 30th birthday, he met a beautiful, kind, accomplished young lady named Mariette. Mariette had a pure, open heart that generated love effortlessly. Noble began to pay court to Mariette. This scandalized his parents. His actions also scandalized the small fraction of the Nieveaux population who paid any attention to anything beyond their own front doors. Mariette was not of royal blood. Also, Mariette and her family lived at the Edge of the Curve, the official boundary of Nieveaux. No one in Nieveaux knew what lay beyond the Edge of the Curve, but the people of Nieveaux believed that citizens who lived too close to the boundary were tainted by the kingdoms of the Outside.
Noble defied his parents and the community by continuing his courtship. He finally proposed a union between his royal house and Mariette’s humble family. While such a marriage of unequals was the closest thing to trouble that Nieveaux had seen in generations, the families eventually agreed. The work of a monarch is to produce monarchs and, at 30, it was long past time that Noble got to work.
Noble and Mariette floated along on the amazement of their love for some months. There were elaborate preparations for a wedding worthy of a prince of the realm. Mariette’s family was not able to match the opulence of a royal wedding, but they gathered flowers and ribbons and lace to make gorgeous bouquets for every pre-wedding event. The day of the wedding rehearsal, Mariette went out to gather fresh flowers to grace the altar. A severe snowstorm arose. That day, the snow did not melt quickly. The storm raged and flurried all around her for hours. She never returned. Mariette’s family and Noble went looking for Mariette, but it was useless. All they found was a bouquet of white roses, trimmed with icicles and evergreen. The bouquet appeared to have been dropped next to the largest tree in Nieveaux, thrown from Mariette’s hands as the wind and snow threw her against the tree. Her people had to assume that Mariette was blinded by the snow and disoriented. They believed she sustained a blow to her head that caused her to lose consciousness and freeze to death. They decided that they must wait until the snow in the area melted to a reasonable level so they could excavate to find her body.
The snow in that area of Nieveaux never melted from that day forward. Elsewhere in Nieveaux, the topography returned to its pre-storm state. There was a thin layer of snow all over the ground all the time, but it would have been easy to unearth anything covered beneath it. In the Curve of the Edge area, however, the snow stayed mounded. Another strange coincidence was that the bouquet of white flowers stayed as fresh as the day Mariette picked them. The evergreen never wilted. The icicles never melted. Her family kept the bouquet in a protective case to always remind them of Mariette’s beauty and pure goodness.
Noble locked himself away in his castle for a month after Mariette’s death. When his family and his people told him he must marry, he refused. It was as if all the vibrancy and power he had within him died with Mariette. As time went on, though, he did tire of living within his own head. He came out of his locked room and began to go about the normal daily routine of a dashing young monarch. He was rich, popular, and quite the catch. He knew that he was born to marry. He also knew he would never love again the way he had loved Mariette. He decided that he might as well marry to please his family and his kingdom.
Noble decide to propose to Theodora. It was a highly satisfactory match in the eyes of the people of Nieveaux. Theodora was Noble’s third cousin and was fifth in line to the throne in her own right. She lived in the third castle on the right from Noble’s palace. She was beautiful and accomplished. She was poised and intelligent. She was born to be a queen. Noble found her to be an attractive and pleasant companion.
Once again, a royal wedding was in the works in Nieveaux. This time, everything went according to plan. The bride was stunning. The groom beamed. The decorations of gold and silver and precious gems gleamed… but the flowers were not quite as special as they had been for Mariette’s wedding. That night, when Noble and Mariette arrived at the Palace in the Pines, where they were to honeymoon, Noble found a fresh white rose bouquet, trimmed with icicles and evergreens, on the doorstep.
Time passed. Noble ascended to the throne. The kingdom celebrated a magnificent coronation for King Noble and Queen Theodora. They were the “it” couple, lauded at every turn. It seemed that the king’s sad romantic history had retreated into nostalgia. King Noble and Queen Theodora seemed very happy together. The kingdom ran just as it always had, to everyone’s satisfaction.
Everyone became even happier one day when the royal herald announced that Queen Theodora had given birth to a healthy baby girl. Her father named her Princess Picclapena. Princess Picclapena went to live in her own household, meticulously cared for by servants appointed by her parents to keep her safe. Her governess, Lady Agnes, guarded her fiercely from all things ferocious. Because Princess Picclapena was so precious to the royal house and no one wanted to risk her getting hurt or sick or endangered in any way, she only left her personal palace on rare state occasions. Even in the gardens of her palace, servants watched her play to make sure she stayed happy, healthy, and safe. King Noble and Queen Theodora visited her each day in the early evening hours. Picclapena loved that time of day. She always put on her coziest nightgown and wrapped herself in her quilted satin robe. Her queen would bundle the princess onto her lap in a rocking chair and quietly rock her to the sound of silence. The atmosphere was silent because King Noble and Queen Theodora did not speak to their daughter for fear of scaring her or hurting her. Since her parents did not speak, Picclapena did not either. She just snuggled close to her mother while her father looked on with an incredulous smile on his face. When Princess Picclapena went to bed, her parents went back to their castle until the next evening.
Princess Picclapena’s world was not always silent. Every day, her tutors came to teach her the great history and culture of Nieveaux. Picclapena learned the story of the royal succession, the importance of safeguarding the monarchy, and the need for caution in all things. She learned not to open the door to strangers. She learned not to question the great truths of the Nieveaux philosophers. She learned not to play too hard or jump too high or laugh too loudly. She learned to never leave her palace grounds without her parents. She especially learned that she must never, ever go beyond the Edge of the Curve. Picclapena would often watch the world of Nieveaux pass by outside the palace gates and wonder what it would be like to wander the kingdom on her own. Sometimes, she even thought she heard the far-off sound of music playing.
Whenever she mentioned her dream of life beyond the gates to her tutors, they explained that such a thing was not possible, nor even desirable. Clever, well-brought-up princesses understood that they could have everything their hearts desired inside the palace grounds and there was nothing to be gained from the risk entailed with leaving her sanctuary. Picclapena was not sure this was true, but she liked to believe she was clever, and she knew she was well-brought up. After a while, she stopped asking about the world outside the palace gates.
Finally, an exciting day came. Princess Picclapena was going to join her parents for her very first official public appearance since her christening. She was to cut the ribbon at the opening of a new ice-skating rink at the center of the kingdom. The ceremony would take place in the evening when the second star twinkled. All day long, people came to the princess’s palace to prepare for her outing. Her tutors came to instruct her on her royal duties at the event. The seamstress came to fit her new dress. The hairdresser came to freshen her curls and change the color of the ribbons in her hair. The cobbler came with brand new slippers to match her new dress. A florist came, delivering a corsage of beautiful flowers to wear on her wrist. Princess Picclapena saw more people on skating rink day than she had seen in the entire year combined. She watched excitedly by the palace gates, as they swung open and closed multiple times. Once, she even jumped on the gate and began to swing on it. Her governess, Lady Agnes, quickly and gently removed her from the hazard.
Not to be deterred, Picclapena kept watching the hubbub at the gate. As she watched, she noticed a small white puppy just outside the gate. Delighted, she rushed to pet him, but he ran away before she could reach him. At first, she did not even notice that she was outside the gate completely on her own. Then, she noticed a man standing a few feet from her gate.
“Hello,” he said. “I am Ezra. How are you?”
“I think I am okay,” replied the princess. “How are you?”
“I’m very well,” Ezra responded. “Who are you and how did you get here?”
“What do you mean? I am Princess Picclapena, and I am standing right outside my palace,” responded the princess a little irritably.
“Are you sure?” Ezra asked politely, “I don’t see any palace.”
Picclapena looked around and was surprised to see that, in fact, the palace was not in sight.
“Oh no,” she cried, “I must have followed that little white puppy further than I intended. I have no idea where I am. And I am supposed to cut the ribbon at the ice-skating rink opening this evening!”
“Well, I might be able to help you,” Ezra said. “I can tell you that you are just next to the Edge of the Curve. It is quite a pleasant place to be. It may not seem like it to some people, but I think you will like it if you give it a chance.”
“But I am a royal princess! And I am not supposed to leave the palace grounds by myself. I am certainly not supposed to get this close to the Edge of the Curve!” Princess Picclapena retorted.
“Why not?” asked Ezra, quite reasonably.
“I’m just not. It isn’t safe. I have to be extra careful because I will one day be the monarch of Nieveaux. In the palace, there is no danger. Everyone is kind to me. Everyone makes sure I am comfortable. I know exactly what to do.”
“Oh, so what do you do?” Ezra asked.
“I, I, I, uh, I can’t explain it very well. Mostly, I am attended by my tutors to learn things so that I can be a good queen of Nieveaux… you know, history, culture, how to behave properly. I am particularly good at behaving properly,” Picclapena replied doubtfully.
“Hmm… it doesn’t sound very interesting.”
“It might not always be interesting. My governess tells me that it isn’t important that life be interesting or fun or exciting. It is important that I remain safe, learn how to do my duty, and be a good queen one day.”
“And what does a good queen do?” asked Ezra.
“There are Things.” Picclapena proclaimed importantly.
“Like what? Your father is king, right? What does he do?”
“He mostly just proclaims things. He is a very smart man and knows the answers.”
“The answers to what?”
“What is Right. He never talks to me, so I do not know exactly.”
“He never talks to you? At all?”
“No, my mother and father want to make sure I am not hurt or scared. If they talk, they might tell me something that will harm me. I did hear them talking once, though, as they left my palace to go back home.”
“What did you hear them say?”
“Hmm… let me think. I don’t remember exactly. My father was talking rather loudly. He sounded angry. My mother was crying. It had something to do with me, but it was not exactly about me.”
“That sounds confusing.”
“Yes, it was. After that day, I always waited next to the door when my parents left to see if I could hear anything else. I could not hear the words clearly, but I often heard snippets of tones. It was like faraway music. Sometimes, their voices tinkled like bells, and I could hear laughter. Most of the time, though, my father’s voice was like timpani and cymbals, crashing percussively against the halls of the palace. My mother’s sound was an oboe- mournful and piercing.”
“Did you ever ask anyone about what you heard?”
“Oh no, I couldn’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“It just isn’t done in Nieveaux.”
“Well, that’s true enough. Don’t you think it would be nice to know, though?”
“Yes, but I am sure I never will.”
“Hmmm… maybe not. What do you want to do now?”
“I don’t really know. I should go back to the palace. I would like to find that puppy, though, before I go back. Could you help me do that?”
“Sure. I know exactly where that puppy would be. It wasn’t a puppy, though.”
“It looked like a puppy!”
“Yes, but things are not always what they look like.”
Picclapena thought things were always what they looked like, but she did not want to be impolite and contradict.
“So, if it wasn’t a puppy, what was it?”
“Oh, those creatures are called churlas. They live right outside the curve.”
“OUTSIDE the curve?! Oh no, am I outside the curve? I thought you said we were at the Edge of the Curve.”
“Yes, yes… you are still inside. The churlas often creep into Nieveaux from the outside to check us out and then scuttle back outside the curve.”
“They must be very dangerous.”
“Do they look dangerous? What makes you think they must be dangerous?”
“No, they don’t look dangerous at all. They look cute and fluffy and sweet, and I want to pet one. I am sorry, Ezra, but they could not actually live outside the curve. Nothing but dangerous things live out there.”
“Well, you know best, of course,” replied Ezra, looking quite bemused. “Perhaps we could go over to see the Curve and you can show me how I am wrong. I am fairly certain we will see some churlas right beyond the Edge.”
“Is that safe?” asked Picclapena doubtfully. “I mustn’t go outside the Edge.”
“You should still be able to see those churlas, even at the Edge. However, if you don’t want to go, I quite understand.”
Ezra began to walk away towards the Edge of the Curve. Picclapena hesitated and then followed.
“After all,” she said, “there can’t be anything too dangerous as long as I stay inside Nieveaux.”
“You can stay as far from the Edge as you wish,” Ezra reassured her.
They walked in silence until Ezra exclaimed, “There it is!”
“What?” asked Picclapena. “I don’t see anything.”
“The Curve! Look, it is right over there.”
Picclapena looked quite carefully but did not see anything. Slowly, she moved forward until she finally noticed a small shimmer in the sky above her, creating a prism of multi-colored melted sunlight all around her.
“Is this it? Is this the Curve?”
“Yes, it is. Be careful, though; you do not want to get too close.”
Picclapena stood with her head bent upwards and squinted at the beautiful designs the prism of the Curve made. At first, they seemed to dance and morph and tease her senses. Then, as if by magic, her eyes cleared, and she could see outside the Edge of the Curve. Sure enough, there were churlas playing in the field right outside the Edge.
“Oh, there they are! You were right. They do live out there. Oh, how cute! I want one! I want to pet one!”
“Well, you can if you really want to.”
“How?”
“You could try calling them and see if one will breech the Curve and come inside. It probably will not work, though. Churlas only go where they want to go when they want to go. If you really want to pet one, you’ll have to venture outside the Curve. I do it all the time. It isn’t so bad. You can do it if you want to. Oh look! There is one of the churlas right outside the Curve over there.”
Stay tuned for the next exciting installment- Part Two: Princess Picclopena Breaches The Curve!
Have a royal day!
Terri/Dorry 😊