Princess Nina

A Story by Natasha Ashway

A Little Girl's Bedtime Story.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful little princess called Nina.

She lived in a beautiful castle in a beautiful land and there she lived a charmed, beautiful life.

Princess Nina had hundreds and hundreds of beautiful things.

She had a large beautiful bedroom filled with lovely objects. It was her favourite place in the whole world, filled with all her beautiful favourite things.

She had beautiful bed in her lovely boudoir. An endlessly wonderful mural was painted on the ceiling over her little head. It was huge. Depicted there were a host of cherubs, angels and unicorns flying across glorious parting clouds that revealed a sky filled with thousands of sparkling stars.

She had tall curtains laced with gold, silver and sparkling threads hanging from her windows, and a beautiful view of the magnificent city beyond them.

Princess Nina's wardrobes were filled with enchanting gowns to wear, her tiny dresser drawers with shinny golden handles brimmed with exquisite jewels.

She had gold and silver, rare diamonds, colourful rubies, sparkling sapphires, and mother of pearls. She had bracelets and necklaces from all over the world. Most of all, Princess Nina had a sparkling little crown that always sat daintily at the crest of ring her shinny curls.

Princess Nina's bedroom was an enchantment. There were beautiful vases in doorways, tall ceiling to floor mirrors all around her, and rich rugs under her pretty slippers as she walked.

When she opened her eyes every morning she was at once surrounded by this wonderfully magnificent beauty.

Her bedroom had a wide balcony overlooking a beautiful little garden.

When the sun rose in the morning and her curtains were pulled back it was a glorious sight. Her elegant bedroom was filled with golden rays of light that sparkled on every glittering surface.

Beyond, past Princess Nina's ivory posted vine twirled balcony, and down into the garden outside, beautiful flowers and plants grew in the fresh air and brilliant sunlight.

The little pools of clear water in the garden sparkled. The pretty butterflies blossomed in the little trees surrounding the water, the lovely birds chirped happily as they hopped from branch to branch.

Princess Nina's garden was beautiful at sunrise and sunset, and then completely enchanting in glowing moonlight.

For on warm summer nights when the moon was round and full, the fairies came out to play.

They darted around in the silver glow, flying with glittering featherlight wings, heads dizzy with magic.

Little Princess Nina often watched the fairies play in the moonlight from her balcony.

She knew that every time one of the fairies crossed over the water seven times she would get the magic to make her purest and most blissful wish come true.

She often watched the evanescent figures dance from behind her curtain, peeping through her large window, careful not to startle them as they played.

Some days they were visible, some days they were not. All of the time they fluttered about so quickly that she could not track their flight from where she hid. And most nights she fell asleep as the water splashed beneath her.

Princess Nina knew that when she eventually got to make her wish at a fairy's seventh crossing the fairy's magic would be worth the wait.

A bird in her garden had whispered the wonderful secret of the fairies dance to her.

'What will you wish for, beautiful Princess Nina?' the bird had asked, hopping along the balcony where she had sprinkled some birdseed, 'You have hundreds and hundreds of beautiful things already.'

Princess Nina had smiled and replied, 'It is my purest and most blissful wish to never ever forget what a lucky little girl I am.'

The Beginning.