The Wooden Tiara

There was once a young girl named Rella. She lived in a small village amid the Scattered Wildwoods, and there was nothing more that she wanted in life than to be a princess.

Now, of course, that would never happen. Rella was a human—a mortal—and only a demigoddess born of the royal family can be a princess. But Rella did not care about this fact. No matter how many times her parents told her that such a fantasy was impossible, Rella would claim that they were lying to her. Often, she would plug her ears with her fingertips and make faces at them, too.

It was the end of summer when her eighth birthday came around. For the past four months, multiple times a day, she had asked her parents for a tiara made from Celestial Gold, a magical and expensive metal. So, expecting such a present, the night before her birthday Rella went to bed right after eating supper. She was so excited for tomorrow to come that it ended up taking her hours to finally fall asleep.

When she awoke the next day, she immediately jumped out of the bundle of hay on the packed-dirt floor that was her bed, then ran into her parents’ bedroom. “I want my gift!” she shouted. She shook her father’s shoulder, and then her mother’s arm, with as much strength as she could muster.

“We’ll get it, Rella,” her mother groaned. “Just get off the bed first and give us some time to wake up.”

Rella moved away from the bed, taken aback by her mother’s dispirited mood. It was her birthday! How could anyone be upset on such a day as this?

Rella shrugged, too excited to think of an answer to such a serious question. So she paced around the room, waiting impatiently for her parents to get her gift. It seemed to take an eternity …

Eventually, her mother rolled out of bed and walked to the other end of the room, crouching down to open the chest on the floor. When she stood back up and turned around, she held something behind her back. Her father got out of bed and stood beside her. “Now this was very expensive,” her mother told her.

“Yes, so be careful with it—please. Keep it in a safe spot,” her father said.

Rella nodded. “Yes, yes—now give it to me!”

Her mother handed her the gift …

… and Rella was instantly disappointed. In her mother’s hands was a small tiara, shaped exactly like the ones princesses wear. But there was one big problem with it:

It was made out of wood.

Rella was furious. “This is made out of wood! What is the purpose of a tiara if it is made out of wood?! A tiara is supposed to be made of gold and decorated with gemstones.”

“But, darling,” her father began worriedly, “we could not afford such an expensive gift. You know that we are only lowly peasants, sworn to a Vassal. We saved up money for months to be able to afford this for you, working long, hard days through the winter. We are simple shepherds, Rella—”

“I don’t care!” Rella yelled. “I wanted a golden tiara, not a wooden one! I don’t care how many sigils it costs. I want to be a princess, and princesses wear tiaras!” She squeezed her fists, her face reddening with anger. “I want nothing to do with this family anymore. I hate being shepherds.” Rella stormed off, leaving the house.

Rella ran as fast as she could across the farmlands that separated the village from the woods. She heard her parents yelling her name, but she was young and fast, and her parents old and slow; Rella knew they would never catch up with her, so she paid them no heed.

When she reached the beginning of the nearest wildwood, Rella did not even stop to turn around and give her village one last look. Instead, she ran right into the forest, sprinting until she was completely surrounded by oak trees and could no longer hear her parents’ calls.

“Ugh! Why did they have to give me such a stupid gift?!” Spontaneously (and thoughtlessly), Rella hurled the wooden tiara as far into the forest as she could. She watched it spin in the air, growing smaller and smaller until it disappeared from sight, forever. Satisfied with herself, she smirked. Then she started to walk.

She planned on heading south, to Crucible City, the capital of Pheldara. It was where all of the aristocrats lived, where they all competed to be the best artists and craftsmen they could possibly be. But it was also where the royal family lived, in the tallest building of the Palace of Alanya. She daydreamed of the palace as she walked, imagining the gold-domed roofs, the carved, marble walls, and the famous hedge labyrinth in the gardens. Yes, she would go there and beg the king and queen to make her a princess—and they would let her, because she would not stop begging until they granted her her wish. She was sure of it.

Then night fell.

As the sun sank beneath the horizon, it became very, very dark within the wildwood. Rella’s parents had never allowed her to go this deep into the forest before, especially at night. She found herself shivering, despite it being the middle of summer. And she was so hungry. And thirsty. And sweaty. She groaned.

A little later she heard a noise behind her—her heart frozen mid-beat, she whirled around to see what the source of the noise was. Breathing raggedly, she squinted her eyes and looked into the forest, trying to see if there was anyone there. Trees were all she saw, motionless silhouettes stretching up to the sky. No leaves were rustling; there was no wind, no sound whatsoever. She took a deep breath of relief. Perhaps she had simply stepped on a fallen tree branch—yes, surely that was what the noise had been. Her parents had told her many bedtime stories about children getting lost in the woods, wherein they encountered monstrous cyclopses or hungry lions. But those were only stories. Rella laughed, realizing that she was acting like a girl half her age. She straightened her posture, then started walking again—

Another sound came from her left. This time it was louder; this time she did not turn to see what the source of the noise was: instead, she bolted the opposite way through the forest, running as fast as her little legs would allow. She ran and ran, until she got so exhausted that she accidently tripped over a tree root and fell face-first to the forest floor.

“Pleh.” She spat out dirt, then hurried to brush all the mud and fallen leaves off of her homespun gown. She was absolutely humiliated—princesses were never covered in such filth, so why should she be?!

Rella clambered up off the ground. She considered running farther into the forest, but she was suddenly too afraid to move a muscle. She wrapped her arms around her body to try and stop herself from shaking. She was standing amidst a small glade. She heard an owl hoot overhead and jumped. Perhaps coming into this forest alone had not been the best idea …

That was when she glimpsed the light in the distance. Curious, yet cautious, she peered at it. It was growing brighter, and becoming larger. She was about to run away … then saw that the source of the light was coming from a woman. But she was unlike any woman Rella had ever seen! She stood twice as tall as her mother, and had skin that glowed like the sun, brightening the nearby circle of trees like a bonfire. The gown she wore was white, but the fabric it was woven of made it as iridescent as a pearl. Her ears were long and pointed, too, the size of Rella’s forearms.

Rella was speechless. “Y-you’re … you’re a g-go—”

“Yes, my child, I am a goddess. My name is Sarlessa, and I am the Muse of acting.”

Rella could not believe it. “W-why are you here? I thought the Muses left the planet a few years ago to tend to duties on the other end of the Cosmos. You weren’t s-supposed to come back for hundreds of years still.”

Sarlessa nodded. “That is true. But I asked permission from my sisters to return to Pheldara for a brief time. I had an errand I forgot to attend to before we left the planet. How foolish of me! Which reminds me … I need help with this errand. Can you help me, Rella?”

“You know my name?” Rella asked in awe. Then she swallowed, ashamed she had asked such a stupid question. She was a goddess; of course she knew her name! “W-what do you wish me to help you with, My Eminence?”

The Muse stepped into the glade to stand beside Rella. Smiling, looking down on her, the goddess seemed as tall as a tree. “There is no need for such formalities, child. We are friends now, you and I. Here, follow me and I will tell you of this errand I need your help with.”

Rella followed the goddess into the woods. Friends? she thought. Friends with one of the Muses! She could hardly believe it!

“Before my sisters and I departed this planet, I left a herd of sheep alone, by themselves, in a meadow just south of this forest. So foolish of me! I was so busy with the preparations for my sisters and I’s departure that I forgot to herd the sheep back to their home first.”

“Oh, I can help with that! My parents are shepherds. These sheep—are they your friends?” Rella asked.

Sarlessa nodded. “Yes. Which makes me feel all the more ashamed for having forgotten them!”

Rella opened her mouth to talk, then coughed. Her mouth was so dry. Then she heard her stomach rumble—

“Hungry?” Sarlessa asked. Rella nodded. “I had thought so.” The Muse spoke an incantation, and all of a sudden there was a bronze goblet in one of Rella’s hands and a cluster of silvery grapes in her other.

Rella was amazed. “Are these the silver grapes from the planet of Elarathéa?! From heaven itself?”

Sarlessa nodded. “Yes, yes they are. The very ones my sister, Cephrella, created.”

“The Cephrella, you mean?” Rella asked. “The Queen of the Muses?!”

“Yes, she is the one,” said the goddess with a smile.

“Oh, can you tell me about her, Sarlessa? Please? What is she like?” Rella asked eagerly.

And so the Muse of acting told her of Cephrella as they walked through the forest, of how kind and all-knowing she was. Rella listened attentively to the goddess the entire time as she ate and drank. The water within the goblet tasted like honey, and the silvery grapes were sweeter than any fruit she had ever eaten in her life.

By the time they exited the forest and reached the meadow, Rella was full from the food and drink. “I’m tired,” she said.

“You have done a lot of running today, my child. But you must not sleep yet—remember, I need your help!” the Muse said with a laugh.

“Oh! That’s right. How could I have forgotten?” Rella said, feeling foolish.

“Do not be harsh on yourself, Rella. Even goddesses forget things sometimes!”

And so Rella helped Sarlessa search for her sheep-friends. It took a long time to find them, but eventually they did. They found them grazing behind a large rock. Rella looked at the sheep with amazement. They were magical, their wool a bright copper color, like polished bronze. “Why are they the color of copper?” Rella asked. “None of our sheep are such a color.”

Sarlessa placed a hand on Rella’s shoulder. “I blessed them with impenetrable coats. They were tired of being hunted by the cyclopses nearby, and so I helped them. They never need to sleep either. That is why they are still awake this late at night.”

“There really are cyclopses nearby?” Rella looked around the hills surrounding them.

Sarlessa patted her shoulder. “I will keep you safe, child. Now, let’s get these sheep back to their home.”

Now that they had finally located the magical sheep, Rella thought that most of the work was done. She was wrong. It took the rest of the night to herd them back into their cave; they had wandered far from home. The sheep were stubborn, and they annoyed Rella greatly. Every single time one of the sheep was about to go into the cave, they got interested in a nearby patch of grass and decided to head the opposite way of the cavern.

By the time they were finally done, Rella was more exhausted than she ever had been before. Rella placed her hands on her knees, catching her breath. She was sweaty, dirty, and tired—like a peasant, not a princess. For some reason, being dirty did not bother her as much as it had when she’d tripped in the forest earlier in the night.

Rella stood up and looked down at the dirt that caked her hands. “My parents do this all the time?” she asked aloud. “I do not understand how they can manage it—it is so much work!” Normally, Rella would have bent down and wiped her hands on the grass, but this time she chose not to. Then: “Sarlessa? Can I sleep now? Please?” she asked the goddess.

Sarlessa shook her head, a broad and knowing smile on her divine face. “Soon. But before you sleep, you cannot forget your reward, of course!”

“My reward?” Rella was surprised to hear of this. Sarlessa had never said anything about a reward!

Sarlessa nodded. “Is it not your birthday still, after all? It is only fair that you are rewarded for spending your birthday helping me!”

Rella looked at the horizon, at the sun starting to ascend into the sky. “But it is not my birthday anymore.”

“But it is close enough.” Reneya reached behind her back and then pulled out a tiara from the folds of her magical gown. The tiara was made out of Celestial Gold and decorated with large gemstones that glittered within the glare of the rising sun—rubies, diamonds, and sapphires all caught the light. Rella gasped. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen! And it was all she wanted in life, right in front of her, sparkling. She reached her hand out to grab it …

Then stopped herself. Suddenly, the sight of the tiara made her very upset. But that made no sense! This was what she had begged her parents for months to get her for her birthday. Why was she not happy to finally have it, but sad instead?

“What is the matter?” Sarlessa asked. “Do you not like it?”

“Oh, no—I love it!” Rella said quickly. “But … But I do not think it should belong to me. I already had my own tiara to wear, but I threw it away; I don’t deserve another one.” Rella wrapped her arms around herself, her heart growing heavy. “My parents are shepherds, and they work as hard as we just have every single day of their lives. Now I understand just how much work they have to do on a daily basis. And they spent all their money they worked so hard to earn on hiring someone to carve a tiara for me.” She sighed, realizing her mistake. “Oh, they must hate me now. I was so ungrateful …”

“I am sure they do not hate you, my child,” the goddess said sincerely. “But why don’t you apologize to them? I am sure, with time, they will forgive you. I can take you back to them, if you would like?”

“Oh, can you, please?” Rella asked.

“Yes,” Sarlessa said. The goddess raised her hand and said something in a language Rella did not recognize, and then suddenly they were transported to the backyard of Rella’s homestead.

“Oh, thank you!” Rella said, jumping with joy. “Thank you for everything you have done for me, O Muse. I will go and apologize to my parents now.”

“Good,” the Muse said. “I am proud of you, Rella.” The Muse placed her glowing hand on Rella’s shoulder and smiled.

Rella smiled back at her, then turned around to go inside—

“Oh, wait!” Sarlessa said. “Before you go, you have almost forgotten something.”

Curious, Rella turned around and saw something even more beautiful than the golden tiara she had seen just a few moments ago: it was the wooden tiara! The one her parents had bought her was within the Muse’s hands. “My wooden tiara!” Rella said, surprised. “You found it!” She took it from Sarlessa’s hands and then hugged the goddess’s tall legs.

“You have earned it,” the Muse said, laughing.

Rella let go of her legs and started skipping to her house, excited to apologize to her parents. However, right at the back door, she turned around to say goodbye to Sarlessa one last time.

But the goddess was gone, nowhere to be seen. Rella waved anyway. “Thank you, Sarlessa.”

Cradling the wooden tiara to her body like a mother holding a newborn baby, Rella admired it. It was a wonderful gift, the best birthday present she could have ever asked for.

Then she got an idea! Rella closed her eyes and stood as straight as she could. She lifted the wooden tiara into the air. Then, slowly and importantly, she lowered it and placed it atop her head. The tiara fit perfectly. She would never be an actual princess, a demigoddess living in the Palace of Alanya. But—because of her parents—at least she could pretend to be.

Smiling, Princess Rella opened the door and went inside.