Once upon a time in a royal family, a little girl was born. The princess was the king’s and queen’s firstborn. The loving parents named her Camilla. The king adored his daughter. He spent with her all the free time he had away from affairs of state. Every evening he read the princess fairy tales. Sometimes he sat her on his lap and told various amusing stories. Young Camilla loved drawing. She sketched her happy family and showed her parents the images. They always complimented their daughter and admired her ‘masterpieces’, even though they were only a child’s drawings. Following the king’s orders, servants carefully hung them on the palace walls. The princess enjoyed this very much. As a rule, she was a jovial and joyful girl.

But sometime later, Camilla gained a little brother and her life changed. Her parents were now quite preoccupied with the baby and had practically no time left for their daughter. The nannies who cared for the princess could not replace her mother and father – Camilla felt forgotten. In the palace’s vast chambers, her bright laughter ceased to be heard.

The king and queen still greatly loved their daughter. But little Andrew (the younger brother’s name) needed much attention. In addition, the king had to battle enemies to defend his lands. He was constantly away at war – he could not as before tell stories and read to Camilla before bedtime. In the rare moments when the king returned to the palace, he divided his attention between the princess and her little brother.

Camilla loved Andrew. How could one not love the little blue-eyed angel? Andrew also adored his sister – he constantly smiled at her. But as soon as the little prince began to cry, the king and queen abandoned all their occupations and rushed to him. They took the baby in their arms, hugged and kissed him, as they once did with Camilla. Now if the princess cried, she was told:

“But you are an adult! What example are you showing to your junior brother?”

In such moments, Camilla hated Andrew and thought it would be better if he had never existed.

—————

One evening, the king did not read to his daughter because little Andrew had a tummy ache. He and the queen tried to lullaby the infant to sleep. Saddened, Camilla sat near a window. She watched shooting stars fall to the ground one after the other. Then she remembered – if a wish was made at that very moment, it would come true. “I want my younger brother to cease to exist,” murmured the girl. Suddenly, she saw a tiny star detach itself from the sky and fly directly towards her. The princess feared the star would fall and burn everything around it with its intense flame. But for naught – the tiny star was in fact a tiny fairy.

“Hello, Camilla! I am Star Fairy, guardian of the Wish Registry. If someone makes a wish while a star is falling, I enter it in my register. However, you made a terrible wish! Are you certain you want it to come true?” she asked the princess.

“As soon as Andrew appeared, Father and Mother stopped loving me,” complained the girl.

“Why do you believe this?”

“Because they stopped playing with me and no longer read me fairy tales. They spend all their time caring for him,” said the princess sadly.

“I do not think this is the case. Your parents love you both. I can of course take note of your wish, but think it over carefully as you may later regret it.” Star Fairy produced her register. It was a thick ancient book containing pages filled with notes. The fairy hesitated, but Camilla was adamant. Sighing, the enchantress regretfully noted the princess’ wish in her register.

“And when will this come true?” asked the girl.

“Not soon,” snapped the fairy. She slammed her register shut and flew away.

—————

Time passed. The prince and princess grew up. Camilla became a beautiful young lady, and Andrew a cute rascal who never managed to stay in one spot. Over the years, the children became inseparable. As happens between all friends, the sometimes argued. But later they invariably reconciled. The prince was always willing to protect his sister from any hazard. Camilla covered for her brother with their parents when he got into mischief. Neither prince nor princess could imagine life one without the other.

One day, Andrew was climbing through trees in the royal garden, peering into windows and frightening the servant girls. For an instant, he lost his balance, could not hold his position and fell…

Over a few days, the kingdom’s most talented healers did their utmost to save the prince. They administered him every imaginable decoction and potion. However, Andrew’s condition did not improve.

“We did our very best. There is nothing more we can do to help your son,” sadly announced one of the healers to the afflicted king.

Princess Camilla did not take a single step away from her beloved brother’s bed. She overheard everything. Suddenly, she recalled that she made a terrible wish as a little girl, and that Star Fairy had noted it in her register. “Is all of this due to me?” mused a frightened Camilla. “How could I have wished such a thing? It must be remedied immediately!”

When night fell, the princess began to gaze at the star-filled sky through a window. Maybe luck would smile upon her – she would once again see a shooting star and meet with the fairy… But Camilla hoped in vain. So she snuck out of the palace to search for the enchantress.

—————

…The girl wandered wherever her eyes guided her, occasionally asking passers-by if they knew where Star Fairy lives. Alas, not a soul had heard of her. Following a long although unfruitful search, the princess had become totally discouraged and decided to return home. While crossing a wood, Camilla saw a moth trapped in a spider’s web. The kind girl could not ignore this and helped it escape from the web. The moth thanked the princess and flew off.

Darkness approached. Camilla wondered where she could spend the night. Suddenly, she saw… a small house near a pond with an old woman on its porch.

“Hello, Camilla,” she greeted the princess.

“How do you know my name?” asked the girl, surprised.

The old woman knew everything since she was an ancient witch. Her name was Elixstilence.

“How could I not know you? You are a princess – the entire kingdom knows you. Come into my home – I shall feed you and brew you some tea! You can continue your voyage in the morning,” kindly invited the old woman, pretending to be nice.

“Thank you for this attention, grandam. Do you know where I may find Star Fairy?” asked Camilla while taking a seat at the table.

“She is the one who notes shooting star wishes in her register? Of course I know. Drink your tea. I shall tell you all about it in the meantime. Star Fairy inhabits an abode far beyond the clouds. It is possible to reach this place by treading the clouds in the sky, although not those we can observe during the day. Rather, on those born at the extremity of moonbeams – where the moon is lost in watery reflections. But in order to travel on moonbeams, one must know how to walk on water.”

“Is this possible?” asked an incredulous Camilla.

“Oh yes! I recently walked on the pond myself. I have a special amulet for this,” bragged Elixstilence.

The girl had barely finished her tea that she plunged into a deep sleep. For the witch had not brewed her ordinary tea, but one containing a sleeping potion! Elixstilence had her own plans for the princess…

The witch was heavily indebted unto the master of the underground kingdom. And the latter was at that very moment searching for a fiancée. He could hope for none better than the princess to fill this position. After all, the king of the underworld could not marry a common girl! Therefore the witch decided to placate the lord of the underworld, so that he would free her of all her debts. Elixstilence locked the sleeping girl in the house and set off for the underground kingdom.

Camilla awoke – the door was locked and not a soul in sight to ask for help! So she remained imprisoned until nightfall. Suddenly, she heard someone tapping gently at the window. The girl rushed to the window, but nobody was there. Once again, a barely audible tap… Camilla could still not see anyone, other than a tiny moth which flew towards the light and collided with the glass. The girl opened the window. The moth immediately flew inside.

“Oh! I thought I would fail!” it squeaked. It was the moth which Camilla had rescued from the spider’s web. “You have to escape, Princess,” it said, telling the girl what ruse Elixstilence had imagined.

“I cannot escape, the door is locked! Also, I truly need the witch’s amulet to save my brother.”

“Maybe I can help you with something?” asked the moth.

“What could you possibly do? You are so tiny!”

“And so? My family is vast! If you decide to escape, let me know. We shall help you,” promised the courageous moth.

Soon afterwards, the princess heard Elixstilence returning and the tinkling of keys while the latter began opening the door. Camilla lay down and pretended to sleep.

“There she is! But look! I bring her a fiancé, yet she still sleeps.” The witch was followed by the lord of the underground kingdom, who stumbled into the room – a plump bald dwarf with an ugly wart decorating an enormous nose. In his ears, spiders had spun webs, hanging by them like earrings. He began to contemplate Camilla.

“Yes, my fiancée is quite beautiful! Elixstilence, I liberate you of all your debts,” said he with conceit.

“Get up, beauty, lest you sleep your happiness away.” The witch set about rousing the princess.

“But I no longer sleep… and I’ll marry if the suitor meets my prerequisites!”

“But what prerequisites? Gaze upon your suitor – not a man, but a dream!” Elixstilence was annoyed. The princess glanced at the dwarf and was startled, so ugly and hideous was he.

“Well, I shall make your wishes come true. This shall be my wedding gift. Request whatever your heart desires,” he said in a sudden fit of generosity. Camilla pleased him – he wanted her as wife at any cost.

“May the wedding ceremony be carried out at night near the pond. The guests who come shall carry candles,” requested Camilla.

“So romantic… this pleases me. A good wish,” agreed her suitor.

“And one last condition: during the wedding, I shall wear an amulet which makes it possible to walk on water,” added the princess.

“Why an amulet? I possess such riches and jewels in my underground kingdom – select any of them! After the wedding, all of it shall be yours…”

However, Camilla insisted and the dwarf conceded.

“Agreed. Elixstilence, give her your amulet!” ordered the king of the underworld. He then disappeared, leaving his young fiancée in the care of the witch.

“For such a husband, you can thank me later, Camilla.” The old woman retrieved her amulet and handed it to the girl. It was a braided cord, supporting an orb of amber within which a water skipper was encased. “And you shall return the amulet to me immediately after the wedding!”

—————

Night arrived. Freakish guests began gathering near the pond. Nix emerged from the water, accompanied by Nixie. Homely trolls and dwarves came to congratulate the newlyweds. Swamp vampires crawled in, and along with all the other creatures, began lighting candles.

“It is time! You must not keep your fiancé waiting. He might change his mind,” said Elixstilence. She then accompanied the princess to the pond. A moth flew nearby. Camilla glanced furtively at the sky, but the moon disappeared behind some clouds. The wedding ceremony began.

“Do you take Princess Camilla to be your wife?” asked the officiant, an enormous green toad, to the king of the underworld.

“Yes, I do!” he rasped.

“Do you, Princess Camilla, take the lord of the underworld as your husband?”

The guests held their breath awaiting a response from the bride-to-be. The girl gazed hopefully at the sky. She noticed that the wind had suddenly dispersed the clouds. The moon appeared. In the mirror of the pond’s water, moonbeams were reflected.

“Come help me! You are my only hope,” the princess murmured to the moth.

He did not dawdle. Out of nowhere, a horde of mosquitos and other tiny winged beasts swooped in. The lit candles were effective beacons for them. Benefitting from the fact that all the guests were trying to brush off the insects, Camilla rushed along a moonbeam, where the nocturnal body sunk into the waters and celestial clouds are born.

The witch noticed that Camilla was fleeing and took off after her, but nearly drowned. She had given her amulet to the princess and had no other!

“What a wicked girl, she has outwitted Elixstilence herself!” the witch hissed indignantly after her.

Princess Camilla ran to the end of the moonbeam and saw celestial clouds rising from the water. She clambered onto a fluffy cloud and rode it towards the stars where lived the fairy – guardian of the Wish Registry.

“Camilla, what a surprise! Maybe your wish has still not come true?” asked Star Fairy when Camilla found her in her home beyond the clouds.

“No, no, quite the opposite! I do not want it to come true. Dear Fairy, Andrew is the best brother in the world. I am terribly fearful of losing him. I was so wrong…” the princess broke into tears.

“Ah well, it is good that you love Andrew so! I shall cancel your wish. Do not worry, your younger brother shall get well,” the enchantress reassured Camilla. She added as a farewell, “If you want me to enter a new wish in my register, make it while a shooting star is falling. Only be sure it is a good one this time. In that case, you shall not be afraid that it comes true.” With these words, the fairy vanished into the night. Celestial clouds lowered the girl onto a moonbeam in the fountain of her parents’ palace.

—————

The next day, everyone was incredibly happy about Camilla’s return. Andrew was the one who rejoiced most of all. He had recovered and already ran all over the palace. In the evening when Andrew went to bed, he asked his sister where she had disappeared to. Camilla hugged her brother. She began to tell him about the Wish Registry and Star Fairy, about the insidious Elixstilence who had nearly married her to a horrible dwarf, and how the courageous moth had helped her escape. Andrew laughed, not believing a word she said. The king and queen did not believe her either. The parents even wanted to punish the princess, since she had worried them greatly with her sudden disappearance. However, they were so glad their beloved daughter had returned, that they only hugged and squeezed her tight.

Camilla promised her mother and father never to leave home again without their knowledge. As well, she no longer needed to search for the fairy – guardian of the Wish Registry. After all, she still had the magical amulet, with which she could visit Star Fairy during any moonlit night.

© A_Guves, 2012

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