Elle Vampa

One day the Princess was right.

It was an early Monday morning. The weather had been lovely, the air filled with a mixture of the beginning of Spring and the last pinch of Winter, and the Princess had decided to take a walk.

She often did this to clear her mind and heart, but not often enough to not be worn out by the ascend back to her castle, which graced the top of a luscious mountain.

Tired from the climb yet eager for a refreshment, the Princess made her way to the kitchen.

There, two of her Maids carried the topic of love on their lips.

The Princess had unenviably spent the majority of her life in solitude. The fact that her castle had arisen on top of a mountain was not coincidental; a simple way of shielding her heart from possible harm.

The Princess was, by far, not an expert in love. And she would never even have been a rookie, if it hadn’t been for The Wizard. For he had not only worked his magic on her castle, but also on conquering her heart – and he had been successful at both.

Therefore, hearing her Maids talk about this vulnerable topic, the Princess chose to not speak. She did not want to meddle in matters she had barely any knowledge of.

Instead, she cupped her hands around her warm mug of tea and merely listened.

“How did your date go?” one Maid asked the other.

“It was fine. He was a lovely lad, we had fun.”

“Will you meet him again?”

“I am not sure,” Maid 2 shrugged.

“Wasn’t he nice?”

“He was.”

“Wasn’t he gentle?”

“He was.”

“Wasn’t he funny?”

“He was.”

“Then what is holding you back?”

Maid 2 heaved a deep sigh and it took a short while before she found the correct words to express herself:

“I am not sure if I am ready for love. I’ve only recently moved here, starting a new job. I’m still figuring out what I want to do with my life. The more I think about this, the more it seems like bad timing. The more I think about him, the more reasons I find to not see him again.”

The Princess’ mouth worked faster than her resolution to remain quiet:

“I think you need to stop thinking.”

Both Maids looked up.

The Princess, still cupping her tea and drawing strength from its warmth, continued:

“Maybe that’s the problem: you think too much. Perhaps you should do what feels right. If you like him, then see him again. If you don’t, don’t. But stop thinking about it, because your mind will never let you see beyond all the potential problems. Your heart will.”

The Princess concluded: “I may not know much about love, but let me tell you how I feel about it: don’t miss out on something that feels good because you think it might end bad.”

The Maids smiled.

For they knew their Princess was right.