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Part 1
Once Upon A Time… that's how all fairy tales begin, isn't it? And thus does this one as well…. Once Upon A Time, there lived a King and Queen, and they were kind and thoughtful, and everyone loved them. But they were unhappy, for they had no children. One day, the Queen, whose name was Amy, was baking an Apple pie and cut her finger while slicing the apples. She stared at the blood coloring the tip of her finger and remembered a legend her mother had taught her… that a wish made in blood was sure to come true.
"Oh, how I wish that my husband Ira and I had a child. A lovely daughter with eyes like emeralds, the grace and strength of a tree and hair like this blood which now flows from mine own hand." As she spoke, a single drop of the precious liquid fell to the pile of apple cores and landed on a single seed. The cores were discarded into the garden, where this very seed sprouted and grew. On the day that the first bit of green pushed its way through the ground, the queen discovered that her wish was coming true. She was with child. As the being within her grew, so grew the apple tree at such an amazing rate that when the queen gave birth, the first flowers bloomed.
Tragically, the good Queen Amy was not allowed to see the fruits of her labor. As the newborn princess took her first breath, she took her last. King Ira wept tears of both joy and sorrow as he celebrated the birth of his daughter and mourned the loss of his wife. He named the girl Willow after his beloved's favorite tree, beneath which she was buried.
The princess Willow grew into a beautiful and happy child. Her father loved her and gave her all that her heart desired. Surprisingly, she was not spoiled and spent most of her time tending the small garden near the kitchen. This had once been her mother's, and she took great delight in helping the small flowers and large trees grow. King Ira spent much of his time watching her plant seeds and marveling at her talent to make them grow. It seemed that she could plant a stick and it would grow, if she wished it. Despite Willow's obvious contentment, the king was unhappy. He felt that his daughter needed a mother's care. The Princess' nursemaids had done a wonderful job in raising her, but it wasn't the same. And so he took a second wife, the Lady Sheila.
The new Queen was beautiful and kind when she chose to be, but she was also jealous of the attention that King Ira gave to his daughter. She was also a powerful sorceress, and she used her powers to turn Ira's devotion to her. Thus, Willow was left to take care of herself most of the time. Even through this, she was as kind and cheerful as Queen Amy had been. She spent more and more time each day in the garden, which had grown and flourished under her tender care.
One day, while she was weeding between the roots of the magnificent apple tree, which bore fruit only one day each year, on the anniversary of her birth, Willow heard the sound of someone singing from the other side of the castle wall. Curious, she climbed the tree and peered over the stone structure. There she saw a young boy singing to himself as he whittled in the shade of a nearby tree. What caught her eye, however, was his hair. Most of the subjects of the kingdom were dark haired, and even the princess' own scarlet tresses were unusual, but this boy's hair was white beyond description. It fairly seemed to glow even in the shade.
"Hello, boy," she called out, and the boy looked up at the noise. Seeing the Princess, but taking her to be a simple servant, he climbed the tree opposing Willow's perch.
"Hello yourself, girl."
"What's your name?"
"William. But everyone calls me Spike."
"Why?"
"I don't know. What's your name?"
"Willow. What were you doing down there?"
"Whittling."
"No, you weren't. You were singing."
"Not whistling, silly. Whittling. It means carving in wood. See?" Spike held up a small figurine. It was a Faerie carved from a willow branch.
"Oh, it's pretty. Or, I think it is. I can't see it from here."
"Do you want it?"
"Oh, may I?"
"Sure. I just made it 'cause I was bored." Spike tossed the carving across the wall where Willow caught it.
"Oh, it's beautiful! Better than I imagined. Can you teach me how to do it?"
"Sure. I can't today, though. I have to go. Can you meet me here tomorrow morning?"
"I'll try. Bye Spike."
"Bye, Willow." The two children climbed down their trees and parted company.
As time passed, the two spent many afternoons
in one another's company. Spike taught Willow how to create figurines
out of twigs and sticks, and in turn, she taught him to coax a stubborn
plant into growing. Even so, they always met outside the palace walls.
Willow never saw Spike's home, nor did he ever speak of it. They
grew fonder of each other with every passing day.
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