A Blue Dove For The Princess

Chapter I, "The Beginning"

Once upon a time...

There lived a dove in a castle in a country where green and warmth prevailed. The dove had been taken care of by a princess since she found the young dove injured in the castle’s garden. The dove was injured so badly that he felt like his wings were about to be torn off. The pain was all over his body and he could do nothing, but lay himself on a leaf bed. It was the princess who saved him. She carried him into a small cage, which was hanging in a window in the corner on the house. Despite living inside the cage, he was far from frustration. The princess always gave him close attention and the scenery through the window was wonderful. More importantly, he could enjoy watching every move she made. Having recovered from the injury, he became healthy enough to jump around inside the cage. 

Chapter II, "Disease of the Princess"

The dove was so happy with the days there and hoped that it would continue for good; but at some point everything began to change. The princess, who was always in good shape and made it a habit to come visit him many times a day; did not show up even once on that day, She did not come up and feed him until the end of day.

On the following day, early in the morning, the dove saw many noblemen gather around the princess. They all had an anxious look on their faces. It seemed that the princess had a disease. She may not be able to get well. She may possibly pass away. How can this happen when the neighboring country just ceased warfare? How can this be when peace of the world is close at hand? The men were talking about all of this.

"The Demon of Razgriz!" One of them suddenly spoke up in a loud voice. "When history witnesses a great change, Razgriz reveals itself, first at a dark demon. As a demon, it uses its power to rain death upon the land and then it dies". "However after a period of great slumber, Razgriz returns, this time as a great hero."

"Only the Demon of Razgriz can do this to her!"

Thinking about how healthy she looked on the previous day and how seriously these men cared about her, the dove felt uneasy more than ever. She may disappear. She may not wake up to come see me. These sad feelings lingered on in his mind.

Chapter III, "Thoughts of a Dove"

While caring about the princess and looking back upon the days spent with her, an old memory flashed across the dove’s mind. It was the story that his mother told him before she died. “Somewhere in the world is a big tree, known as the Orion Poplar and its magical fruits can cure every injury and every disease. It is far, far away; deep down in the rocky mountains that no man can ever set foot in”.

“That magic fruit can cure the disease and save her life”, the dove thought. “She will be well if I can get one.” Though the more he thought of it, the less confident he felt. “Can I escape the hawk and peregrine if they come after me? Can I fly to the mountains so far away and then fly over them? Can I simply fly for such a long time? Can I really carry the fruit with this small beak of mine, even if I am lucky enough to get there? Can I manage to make it back in one piece?”

He could not help having these bad feelings deep inside of himself. There was no blaming him for this. Having been protected all the time by the princess, since his injury, all he did was reside in his tiny little bird cage. In the mean time, the princess became worse, day by day.

The next morning, an old nursemaid came to feed the dove on behalf of the princess. She opened the cage just a little to feed the dove. He was watching her do it with a determined look on his face, waiting for his chance. Then, he took the chance and got out of the cage. Flying through the room’s door and flying across the castle’s walls, the dove was heading for the sky high above. He heard the nursemaid shout “O' dear!” from behind.

Was he finally free from the fear of the hawk and the peregrine? Definitely not. Had he the idea of what course to take? Absolutely not. Nevertheless, he took desperate flight in pursuit of the magic fruit.

Chapter IV, "Lark"

The dove first reached a forest to the north of the castle. “Looks like you are in such a hurry, but your flying is not smooth,” said a lark which had just flew quickly from behind him. “No wonder. I’ve lived in a cage for a long time. I’m proud that I can somehow manage to fly”, the dove answered back. “Cage is no good”, the lark said abruptly, “We’ve got wings, right? They can take you anywhere you want at anytime you want. That’s how it should be. Look at the world. It’s so big.” He asked the lark, “Don’t you think the sky is dangerous? There are hawks and peregrines up here. What if they come after you? And on the ground are foxes, raccoons, dogs and cats.”

“Let me ask you something. Can you eat something you want to eat, if you are confined in a cage?" the lark asked. “One day you feel like eating worms and the other day you want to have some rosehips. Suppose you no longer have someone to feed you. There is not point in talking about, 'safe' and, 'dangerous' then. It is if, 'you' or, 'someone else' when you go through with something, that counts.”

“Is it good to know that the world is so big?” The dove asked in response.

“The world is what your eyes can see. It then becomes your world. So, knowing more will make you better. You can count on it”, the lark said all of this neatly, but seriously. The dove said to the lark, “I am searching for a magic fruit. “Ain’t got no clue. Why don’t you ask that green worm down there? O’ what a pity! I never want to be something like that. It can move but, all it can get a hand on is a single tree. That tree is the entire world to that thing,” the lark said, gliding freely.

The dove looked down and found something green crawling on a tree down below him.

Chapter V, "Green Worm"

“I myself can fly. I know I don’t fly as high as you do, but I can fly,” the green worm suddenly said to the dove.

“You have no wings, so you can’t just fly”, the dove said to the worm. “You are wrong” the worm said, “I can. I can become a pupa and I will have my wings. That’s why I can fly.” “But, not for now” said the dove.

“There is no difference between flying today and flying tomorrow. You couldn’t fly either when you were an egg, could you? When I become a pupa, I will have wings myself. The size of my wings is the same as that of my memory I obtain before I turn into a pupa. Once I have wings, my legs become small and weak. Then I will not be able to walk around like this. That’s why I keep watching everything about this tree”, the green worm finished.

“I am searching for a tree that bears magic fruit,” the dove said to the worm.

“I met a tortoise here. He looked wise. He told me that he would usually hang about at the lakeside beyond this forest. He probably knows something about it. He may be wise, but he has to be locked up in his carapace until he dies. He will not have wings. His memory is as old as his age. It remains forever.”

Far, far away, just over the forest; there was a lake shining under the light of the sunset.

Chapter VI, "Tortoise"

On arriving at the lake, the dove met the tortoise. “It is good to have a carapace. This has enabled me to survive a lot of dangers. There are some birds that wear a carapace, aren’t there?”

“You mean a cage? Its not like yours. It bans us from going outside. Many of us want out of the cages. I was once in one too,” the dove explained to the tortoise. “Why on earth did you get out of it and jeopardize yourself?” the tortoise asked, confused. “The best was to live long is to stay away from anything dangerous. Hazards can hit you, even if there is nothing to be blamed on, on your end. When you are in trouble, you need… to be… like this. Wait until everything subsides. Don’t even think about moving around, “ the tortoise said, folding his limbs into his carapace.

“It is no solution!” the dove protested. “Well!” said the tortoise with a loud voice,” Can every problem be solved? Are you sure of it so much? Everything has its end, good or bad. When the sun is shining, you better enjoy as much sunlight as you can. In the ice cold winter that freezes your tear drops, you must endure with everything you’ve got. The sun will rise again. We are mortals and that is all mortals can do. “ The tortoise paused.

“Hmm? A strange wind has begun to blow. I have a feeling that something wicked is coming,” he said as he pulled his head into his carapace. “There are rocky mountains far beyond the other end of this lake. Can you see them? The fourth peak from the top of the highest mountain in the middle. Go there.”

The dove took a look towards the mountains off in the distance. It was so far away, its image was blurred. “Believe!” the tortoise said, “Believe, whatever it may be. I believe in this impregnable carapace of mine, more than a magic fruit.”

Chapter VII, "Old Tree"

When the dove struggled and made his way, at last, to the mountain an old tree began to speak up to him. "An ominous wind is blowing. Is it finally here? Has time come for an old tree like me to fall down? The Demon of Razgriz … hmmm … a great hero this time?" 

“What is it?” The dove asked with a calm voice. “When history witnesses a great change, Razgriz reveals itself. First as a dark demon”. The tree began to tell the same story that the dove heard at the castle. “As a demon, it uses its power to rain death upon the land, the it dies. However, after a period of great slumber, Razgriz reveals itself, this time as a great hero.”

“Demon? Hero? What does it do?” The dove asked. “When I saw it for the first time, I was young and thin. I had fewer branches then. In those days, humans often battled against each other. Razgriz not only brought about a tempest which kept raging for seventy days but also kept scattering hailstones from above. Trees and grass perished and nothing was left for the humans and animals to live on. Consequently, the soil was in ruins. All living things died, one after another. My friends, four legged beasts, humans and birds like you. Everything in this land was deprived of breath. In the end, Razgriz murdered none other than itself. Shortly after, this piece turned into nothingness.”

“It was an evil being, wasn’t it?” the dove asked the tree. “Nay,” the old tree answered, as if he was uncertain himself. He exhaled and took a deep breath.

“This story still continues. After a long, long time passed since the land had died, there was a traveler. The traveler cured those who suffered from disease, resurrected the soil, gathered all those people who sheltered themselves away from here and founded a village and a town. The rivers were full of water. The soil became a wheat field. This land was once again at peace. There upon, the traveler decided to leave the village. The villagers were far from happy about this. At the moment of departure, they heard the traveler say, “I am… Razgriz”. This marks the end of this story."

“I am here in need of a magic fruit”, the dove finally told the tree. “…Alright. There are few fruits left for me to give. You can take one though. By the way, have you any idea why this is called magic fruit?” the tree asked the dove. The dove remained silent, gazing at the old tree. “This can become not only a medicine, but also a poison. Or rather, this may be no more than a fruit and this may even change to stone.”

“What do you mean?” The dove said, puzzled. The old tree simply replied, “This fruit will become what you believe it to be”. The dove turned around to look at the castle, holding the fruit in its mouth. Even beyond the furthest hill, it was still unseen.

“The ominous wind is blowing”, the old tree said staring at the sky. “Fly carefully home”.

Chapter VIII, "Demon From Above"

The dove gave gratitude and said farewell to the old tree.

Dragging his numb body upwards, the dove flapped his wings and flew towards the castle where the princess lived. It flew up and up, weaving through the forest, breaking through the clouds, up to where it could catch the wind.

Although the tail wind it was hoping for did not come, the dove drummed up all of its power and kept flapping, holding the, “miracle that can cure any illness” tightly in its beak.

He left the rocky mountains with the magic fruit tightly in his beak. The wind began to blow even stronger. The Dove then found himself flying through a storm and hailstones. In spite of the terrible weather, he needed to return home as quickly as possible. He spread out his wings.

Chapter IX, "Magic Fruit"

Although the wind turned the tides against him time and time again, he had to try to get back home, to the castle where the princess was waiting. Flying up and flying high, weaving throughout the forests and breaking through the clouds, in order to catch the wind which would carry him home.

Down below ran the river towards the horizon. Far beyond the horizon were a forest and a castle which looked familiar to him. Just a little bit more! thought the dove. Just a little bit more and I will see the princess! Our happy days are about to begin again!

Chapter X, "Returning Home"

On arriving at the castle at last, the dove saw people gather and surround the princess in bed. There were more people than last time. All the people were weeping with a grave and sad look on their faces. Above all, the king was crying out in sorrow. His crying was almost a groan.

The Dove did not arrive in time. The princess had been gone and he felt so sad. However, he never felt sorry for what he had done. He repented nothing, because her face was so calm. He could tell from the way she looked that she never lost hope to the end and she loved the world.

The Dove, fully exhausted from the do-or-die journey, fell asleep feeling sorrow but somewhat calm.

Chapter XI, "The Ending"

In the following morning, on entering the room, the nursemaid found the dove’s body resting in peace beside the princess. She twisted her face in surprise and said in a very loud voice, “O’ my! Is this her little dove? How come? He was injured and couldn’t flap since then. These wings were certainly deformed and disabled. How did he set off and even come back? What a surprise!”

The dove was still holding the fruit of orion poplar in his beak, even after he passed away. The nursemaid decided to place it in the middle of the garden right under the window of the princess’ room.

In time, it grew to be a big and thick tree with a lot of branches. It is said that from the top of the tree, the princess’s room and her bird cage can be clearly and closely seen.