Bird Cage

Stars

Once upon a time, there was a little princess. Her family was very wicked, but she was good and kind.  One day, there was a little crow that flew to her as she was playing in the palace with her dolls.

It flew from the sky and landed on the branch of the tree above her head.

"Do you wish to remain within these walls," the crow asked, resting its wings.

"They are all I know," the little princess answered.

The crow flew away, and she continued to play with her dolls, unconcerned.

The next day the crow returned, staying by the fountain and drinking some water.

"Do you wish to remain within these walls?" the little crow asked again.

Again, the princess replied, "They are all I know."

The crow flew away once more, but the little princess stopped her game to think about the world beyond the walls.

On the third day, the crow returned, and the princess was waiting.

"What is outside the walls?" The little princess asked timidly, before the crow could ask his question.

"Everything that is not inside," the crow replied, "Do you wish to remain within these walls?"

The little princess nodded uncertainly.

That night, the little princess woke up upon hearing a great clamour. That little crow didn't come alone.

"Do you wish to remain within these walls," the crows asked, cawing all around her.

"N-no?" The little princess looked up in fear, her statement sounding more like a question.

"You will not regret the decision you chose." A monotonous voice answered among the chaos.

The little princess closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she was placed in a whole new environment. There were ancient trees stretching away from the crinkly floor, and coils of vaporous mist enwrapped the forest. Nothing stirred, nothing shined, nothing sang. Echoing so different, that it spread into the haunting and hollow forest.

The little princess was so overwhelmed by this, she almost cried. But wait, this is what she wanted. The little princess never liked being ignored by her family, as if she never existed. She always considered leaving the castle, but was too afraid to go. This is her chance of removing that fear of the unknown.

Be more daring. 

Always seeing the same scenery all the time gets old, no matter how beautiful it is.   

"Do you wish to remain within these walls," the crows asked her, flying above and darkening the forest even more with their black wings.

"No." With a determined look in her eyes, she ventured deeply into the forest.

The little princess made her own decision, and it was never to feel the constricting bars of a cage ever again.

A slightly bigger crow stopped its flying momentarily, the other crows followed obediently. Presumably the leader, it flew to a tree branch. It landed gracefully, abruptly raising its left wing. The crows behind it disappeared like an illusion, leaving a trail of black dust in its wake. Its vast blanket of black hung heavy over the forest. It suffocated every tree at their base, swallowing every distant object and vanishing around every corner.

It left an unnerving silence.

But as if something commanded the darkness, it stopped, bringing back the normal vexatious sounds and peaceful lighting.

The little princess looked around her suspiciously and left with haste. The distressing feeling of not knowing what happened lingered in her mind. Not wanting to experience that again, she quickened her pace.

The remaining crow cocked its head, and watched with black beady eyes.

Unbeknownst to the little princess, hidden by the thick trees of the forest a figure watched her curiously. He watched the princess cross rickety bridges, climb rocky hills and walk through beast infested roads. The forest was a home to a lot of problematic situations.

The lingering light was obliterated by the rapidly falling night. The once salmon and purple sky transformed into a vast expanse of jet black that engulfed the forest. A canopy of luminous stars materialized amongst the ocean of blackness. Some were dull, merely flickering into existence every now and then, but there was an adequate amount of shimmering stars to illuminate the dark night.

"I feel bad for you, winding up in this kind of mess. Let's just hope sister will be merciful and not be that harsh." The figure whistled a tune on the tree branch above the little princess. "Doesn't sister get tired of doing this? Well, I guess I'll never be able to know what's going on in that mid of hers."

The little princess looked up, confused. She saw nothing but a myriad stars, which dotted the inky canopy. A low, waning gibbous moon hovered tenuously in the twilight firmament, bestowing a very dim light upon the land. It was a cool, windy night; the swaying of trees and rustling of leaves could be heard but not seen, as the encompassing darkness had blotted out all but the faintest light. Briefly, a dark, wispy cloud eclipsed the crescent moon. For a few shadowy moments, it looked like there was a halo around the cloud, a dull aura of lunar luminescence.

Orion's Belt could be seen to the north. It had taken its place for the night amongst a thousand other celestial constellations known and unknown, real and imagined. It, too, succumbed to the veil of cloud cover. Patiently, it waited for the nebulous cirrus clouds to pass, waited for the moment it would shine bright once more.

The little princess was struck with a thought as she silently looked at the stars above her.

Her real mother always told her about stories of primeval tales, tales of great angels and dragons, of times of war and times of peace, of death and life; which stretched across the endless sea of sorrows, a million spangled glimmers of hope pierced through the veil, like the eyes of angels in the distant darkness. How much death, and how many a battle won or lost there, as the stars in their courses had fought?

If only, if only. All of this wouldn't have happened if she didn't choose royalty over family. Regret pierced her chest as she thought of the betrayed looks of her parents as she told them her choice. She had been so selfish. The little princess will do anything just to change the past. Anything.

With a saddened sigh, she continued walking through the bumpy road.

"Maybe I should have a little fun while this lasts. I gotta admit, if what sister told me was true, you'll be pretty interesting. Just to give you some advice, beware of the people you may face. Sometimes, it is worth to stay in ignorant bliss then destroy it. But I guess you don't regret choosing the latter." The figure followed the princess, with a Cheshire grin glinting in the moonlight.

Those who wish to break free from their bonds will encounter hardships, but the only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.

the end.