Once upon a time, in a decade far, far away....
the King and Queen met one another on the coffeehouse circuit. A relationship was built out of mutual attraction and respect for each other's storytelling that led to love, but was always fraught with a certain amount of competition and conflict. They married and thought of building their kingdom together.
The Prince was born and they rejoiced, annointing his brow with the holy waters and laying him to sleep in a guitar case. The little Prince began to grow and the Queen doted upon him. The King was sometimes jealous, but exorcised those feelings in song and story and the Prince was flattered nonetheless, because even negative attention was good attention his books.
And then one day the Princess came into the world. The Prince was simultaneously fascinated and resentful. But there were other things to worry about, as the King was prone to wandering and the Queen had no time to sing her songs because she was tending to the Prince and baby Princess.
The King was eventually banished from the kingdom he had started and the Queen took her place upon the throne of the home and the young Prince and Princess grew up under her steady, albeit occasionally unconventional care.
The Prince was vain and arrogant at the same time he was conflicted and confused and scared -- he took a lot of these issues out on the Princess, who bore these slights as best as she could. The Prince learned to stand taller and taller and he cast a shadow that made him feel important and safe. The Princess learned to do with less sun. Her roots grew strong and deep into the ground around her. She learned to sway with the wind like a supple willow tree. The Prince knew no such rootedness and he was often swept hither and thither with the breeze, following the sun, sometimes almost crashing to the ground, but always, somehow swept away on the next breeze before he made contact.
What he didn't always realize was that it was the Princess who waved a graceful branch and blew a steady breath and kept him from falling. The Princess had grown up observing and slowly honing her skills. She watched the Prince and learned from his successes and failures. It was sometimes a thankless job (okay, very often it was), but she was committed to the kingdom and in the absence of the King, she looked to the Prince to lead the unsteady way.
The Prince loved and resented her for her watchfulness all at the same time. He couldn't decide which way to go. He sought to fly higher, but never wanted to let go of the Princess's hand because he feared a world where he might look back and not see her gazing up at him.
But one day he did fly away, not on a gentle breeze, but in a raging windstorm. The Prince was exhilerated by the flight and he forgot his stories and he forgot his roots and barely even noticed when he was sucked into a swirling hurricane and was almost lost forever.
The Princess was frightened for the Prince, but she could do little else except watch and wait and hope because the time had come for her to take after the Queen. After watching and working for so long, the Princess discovered her own stories and when the Prince finally emerged from the wreckage of the storm, battered and bruised, but clear-eyed and sure-footed, her stories soothed and strengthened him. And he realized that all along she had had faith that he would find his way back. If not, she would have found a way to reach out a branch to snatch him back from the void. Because the Princess had the wisdom of the Queen, while the Prince had inherited the arrogance of the King.
He was a little jealous because, in his own way, he had usurped the King, while the Queen had quietly and lovingly deferred to him. But he remembered the rules of the Kingdom that had grown around him before his birth and around him all of his life and he was grateful for the Princess's stories and had no desire to take them from her. His own stories were coming back, and they were painful, but with each telling he was getting stronger. He let the Princess go, not out of fear, but because it was time for them to walk alone to bring their stories to different parts of the world.
The Princess grew even more strong and beautiful in the sun that she had struggled to find for so many years. The Prince realized that sometimes, just sometimes, it is best to step back and rest in the shade before venturing anew again. The Kingdom flourishes and they seem destined to live happily ever after -- because they know how to weather the storm.
***
Happy Birthday, little sister. Thank you for being an integral part of my legend. Our legend. There would be no happy endings without you.
The Prince was born and they rejoiced, annointing his brow with the holy waters and laying him to sleep in a guitar case. The little Prince began to grow and the Queen doted upon him. The King was sometimes jealous, but exorcised those feelings in song and story and the Prince was flattered nonetheless, because even negative attention was good attention his books.
And then one day the Princess came into the world. The Prince was simultaneously fascinated and resentful. But there were other things to worry about, as the King was prone to wandering and the Queen had no time to sing her songs because she was tending to the Prince and baby Princess.
The King was eventually banished from the kingdom he had started and the Queen took her place upon the throne of the home and the young Prince and Princess grew up under her steady, albeit occasionally unconventional care.
The Prince was vain and arrogant at the same time he was conflicted and confused and scared -- he took a lot of these issues out on the Princess, who bore these slights as best as she could. The Prince learned to stand taller and taller and he cast a shadow that made him feel important and safe. The Princess learned to do with less sun. Her roots grew strong and deep into the ground around her. She learned to sway with the wind like a supple willow tree. The Prince knew no such rootedness and he was often swept hither and thither with the breeze, following the sun, sometimes almost crashing to the ground, but always, somehow swept away on the next breeze before he made contact.
What he didn't always realize was that it was the Princess who waved a graceful branch and blew a steady breath and kept him from falling. The Princess had grown up observing and slowly honing her skills. She watched the Prince and learned from his successes and failures. It was sometimes a thankless job (okay, very often it was), but she was committed to the kingdom and in the absence of the King, she looked to the Prince to lead the unsteady way.
The Prince loved and resented her for her watchfulness all at the same time. He couldn't decide which way to go. He sought to fly higher, but never wanted to let go of the Princess's hand because he feared a world where he might look back and not see her gazing up at him.
But one day he did fly away, not on a gentle breeze, but in a raging windstorm. The Prince was exhilerated by the flight and he forgot his stories and he forgot his roots and barely even noticed when he was sucked into a swirling hurricane and was almost lost forever.
The Princess was frightened for the Prince, but she could do little else except watch and wait and hope because the time had come for her to take after the Queen. After watching and working for so long, the Princess discovered her own stories and when the Prince finally emerged from the wreckage of the storm, battered and bruised, but clear-eyed and sure-footed, her stories soothed and strengthened him. And he realized that all along she had had faith that he would find his way back. If not, she would have found a way to reach out a branch to snatch him back from the void. Because the Princess had the wisdom of the Queen, while the Prince had inherited the arrogance of the King.
He was a little jealous because, in his own way, he had usurped the King, while the Queen had quietly and lovingly deferred to him. But he remembered the rules of the Kingdom that had grown around him before his birth and around him all of his life and he was grateful for the Princess's stories and had no desire to take them from her. His own stories were coming back, and they were painful, but with each telling he was getting stronger. He let the Princess go, not out of fear, but because it was time for them to walk alone to bring their stories to different parts of the world.
The Princess grew even more strong and beautiful in the sun that she had struggled to find for so many years. The Prince realized that sometimes, just sometimes, it is best to step back and rest in the shade before venturing anew again. The Kingdom flourishes and they seem destined to live happily ever after -- because they know how to weather the storm.
***
Happy Birthday, little sister. Thank you for being an integral part of my legend. Our legend. There would be no happy endings without you.