ready to stand [part one]
- I -
Once upon a time, in a white castle awash with sunlight and wind off the sea, there lived a shining prince, clever and intrepid, much beloved by all who sailed to the little kingdom. Blessed by Fortune with clear blue eyes, rosy cheeks, and a halo of golden curls, the prince lived in comfort, doted upon by five loving sisters.
Playing on the shore one day, the young prince spied a shadow floating on the waves, and skipped out across the rocks to talk to it. “Who are you?” said the prince to the shadow.
“I don’t know,” the shadow replied. “I am lost.”
“You could be my friend,” suggested the prince. “My sisters have all married, and I am lonely.”
The shadow, which took the shape of a child, did not answer at first, for the prince did not seem to notice his fins and scaly green tail. “You are not afraid of me?” he asked.
“I am not afraid of anything,” said the prince. “Why should you frighten me?”
Flicking his tail through the water, the shadow answered, “Because I am not a boy like you.”
“There are no boys like me,” the prince declared, chin held high, for the young prince was, in truth, born a girl.
So the little merman became fast friends with the lady prince, who came every day to play with him on the shore, and neither wanted for companionship any more.
[continue reading on ao3]
