The Legend of Prince Will's Castle

The cold and wet time was coming. Already, water fell from the sky in great amounts. Meadow the field mouse scaled a structure the tailless, furless giants called stairs. A giant's footsteps made the ground shake, so she hid beneath a broken flower pot. The giant emerged from their domain and descended the stairs.

The entrance to Inside was open. Warm air wafted out, and she could smell food. Though the giant’s domain was unknown to her, she knew what awaited her Outside. Powerful winds were coming that threatened to scoop up a tiny rodent. The awful cold, wet, white stuff fell from the sky and piled high was on its way. Predators would become more desperate as prey became scarce.

With no further hesitation, Meadow scurried across the threshold and darted beneath the nearest pile of odds and ends. Behind her, the giant returned, closed the door, and walked out of sight.

Meadow could see the outdoors, but not smell or hear it. When she crossed the floor and reached out, her paw met a transparent, cool, hard substance. The flying feathered ones mentioned invisible walls they flew into-this must have been one of them.

When no further thundering of the giant’s movements were to be heard, and darkness enveloped the space, Meadow sniffed the air.  She was surprised to smell something quite like a mouse! Following the scent to the source, she found a strange tower in the corner. The walls weren’t solid. When she climbed up one of the supports, she discovered they were solid cold metal lines that cross here and there.

"Who goes there?"

         The squeaks startled Meadow so much she nearly fell. The creature before her did look like a mouse in many ways, save that his tail was covered in fur, and he was at least ten times her size!

"I am!" Meadow answered, "Please don't tell the giant!”

"I couldn’t if I wanted to, which I don’t. It's good to speak with someone. The giant who lives here is kind and cares for me. However, she cannot understand me.”

"She’s kind?"

"To me, at least. Are you hungry?"

"Very much.”

"Just a moment."

         He hopped up several platforms in his cage to fetch something.

"If they're kind to you," Meadow asked when he returned, "Why contain you?"

"They're worried I'll hurt myself because I don’t understand giant magic," He explained and pushed a few morsels out through the bars, "Here. That’s all I could carry down. You know, you're much smaller than me. If you can squeeze through the bars, you could follow me up and have your fill!"

         Meadow was delighted to realize the offered food smelled like plants and scarfed it while she considered his offer.

" Is this a trap? I don’t even know your name."

"Oh, I’m sorry! I'm not used to company and forgot to introduce myself. I am Wilson, sometimes called the Good Prince Will. This is my castle,” He gestured at the tower of barred walls.

         A prince! Meadow had heard stories about rat kings, but they had naked tails like mice. He couldn’t be one of them.

“My name is Meadow.”

“Then we are strangers no longer,” Wilson declared, “Please, come inside, eat, drink, and tell me about the Outside! I can tell from your scent that’s where you hail from. You can stay here until my guardian decides she wants to clean. She did that yesterday, so it will be a while.”

         Meadow considered the larger rodent. If he wanted to hurt her, his castle walls might be all that protected her. While he waited, Wilson picked up a stick to gnaw on. He moves like I do. His ears are round as mine. He uses his paws like I do.

"Before I come in there," She spoke carefully, "I'm expecting. If you hurt me, you hurt my young."

"I have no ill intent for you,” He chattered, “I hope I might meet your children after they’re born.”

         Wilson the furry tailed seemed genuine, so Meadow decided to trust him. She popped her tiny body between the bars and landed safely on the fuzzy floor.

"Do you think you can make it up alright?" Wilson asked and gestured to the shelves with one paw.

“I’m not quite sure…”

“Well then, hop on my back, grab onto my fur, and I’ll carry you up.”

They did just that, and she was awed at how soft the prince’s fur was. When they reached an upper level, they were greeted by a bowl filled with more of the crunchy morsels.

A warm feeling spread inside Meadow as she began to eat. She'd found sanctuary, and made a friend who offered shelter, food, and water. The cold white would not hurt her here, and she detected no predators. She was safe, warm, and dry Inside.

The first two nights Meadow stayed in Wilson’s castle and chatted with him. When sleepy, they took to cuddling in his hidey-hole. He was wonderful company, but her babies were coming. The next three nights, she left the castle to explore the Giant’s Domain. When she told Wilson she'd found a promising spot, he'd chuckled.

"Don't be a stranger, Meadow."

"Of course I shan't!”

Many nights passed after Meadow left. Wilson worried about her, and her children. Had she given birth? Was she hurt? Were the babies hurt? Even his guardian scratching behind his ear couldn’t entirely distract him from his distress.

Two castle cleanings after Meadow’s prior departure, Wilson heard a cacophony outside.

"Stick together everyone! The castle is this way!"

"Are we really going to meet a prince, Mummy?"

         Wilson spotted Meadow leading five smaller mice towards his castle, and relief washed over him. His friend sat stood on her hind quarters to wave.

         “Your majesty, I’d like you to meet my sons, Clay and Moss, and my daughters, Petal, Orchard, and Wylla. Children, this is your godfather.”

         Four of the smaller mice looked terrified when they saw Wilson for the first time.

“Mama, he’s so big!” Orchard exclaimed.

“Mommy, he’s not going to eat us, is he?” Petal worried.

“She’s been fattening us up for sacrifice!” Clay shouted.

“Don’t be dumb,” Moss chided his siblings, though he also remained behind their mother.

Only Wylla, the bravest of them, stepped forward to gaze up at Wilson. She stood up on her hind legs and tilted her head, whiskers twitching.

"Are you Prince Will? And is this your castle?”

“It is,” Wilson answered, “And I am. Who are you?”

“I’m Wylla! Mama says she named me after you!”

Wilson turned to look at Meadow, who confirmed it with a squeak.

“Then your mother honors us both, young mouse,” He chuckled, “Since you are the first to approach, you will be the first to receive a green crunchie.”

This ended the younger mice’s fear of him. Apparently, Meadow had told them about the crunchy morsels too, and they began climbing over each other in a hurry.

Wilson would never forget that night, filled with squeaks and joy. At one point, he tried to figure out how many of the mice he could fit on his back. In moment of complete foolhardiness, he tried to carry them all on his back and run in his wheel. They tumbled out harmlessly but they squeaked so loud his guardian awoke. Meadow hurried the children into the hidey hole while Wilson distracted the groggy giant by bouncing off the sides of the castle much like a rubber ball.

After the first group visit, the mother mouse would her children as Wilson’s Wards while she scavenged for food. When they were big enough to fend for themselves, the group visits became uncommon, though he received regular visits from individual or duos.

Petal usually came with Orchard or Clay. Moss might appear with orchard, Wylla, or his brother. Meadow stopped in most nights if just to say hello. Second to her mother, Wylla visited him the most often to tell him about her travels “across his kingdom”.

Two winters passed after Meadow’s arrival. One night, when Wilson was running on his wheel when he heard a peculiar sound. He stopped running and his ears twitched as he listened. Someone was scratching frantically just beyond his castle’s confines.

"Is someone there?" He squeaked.

“It’s me! I’m stuck!”

Wilson couldn’t see Wylla, or but her squeak and scent were unmistakable.

“I can’t see you! What happened?”

“I smelled something sweet on my way to visit! When I finished eating, I was trapped by invisible walls!”

Neither panicked rodent realized how loud Wylla’s frantic squeaks had become until the light turned on.

"I thought I found a rodent’s handiwork..." Wilson’s guardian remarked as she collected the live trap. Neither rodent understood what she was saying, and Wilson had never felt so powerless.

Wylla appeared as if suspended in the air, the clear plastic tunnel invisible to rodent eyes. She had her back to one wall and stared silently back at the giant who held her aloft.

"Chillax, Will. The interloper is leaving the kingdom."

"Don’t take Wylla away!” It was futile to try to reason with a giant who didn’t understand rodent, but he tried anyway. Wilson’s heart began to race when he saw his guardian was walking towards the door.

“Wylla, trust your wits and your nose! Your mother and I will figure something out! I love you, Wylla! Wylla!”

"I will, your majesty!” Wylla squeaked so frantically the giant startled, “I love you, your majesty! Tell my family I love them too!”

The glass door opened, closed, and Wilson could hear Wylla no longer. He stared at the door as his guardian’s shape disappeared from view. When she returned, the invisible tunnel was empty.

Wilson cried out plaintively as his ears flattened. The reality of his world had come back to him. He wasn’t a prince; he was just a chinchilla. This wasn’t a castle, it was a cage, and his guardian was a cruel giant.

Wilson didn’t know how to find any of the mice. He was stuck in a cage, and they were loose, unaware of the danger. He was so miserable that when his guardian offered him his dust bath, he bit her and hid.

When Meadow’s panicked squeaks reached him, Wilson feared he knew what had happened before she gave life to his dread.

“Wilson, wake up! I can't find Wylla, and Clay and Petal are trapped!"

“It’s the giant,” Wilson began to explain, and Meadow froze. In all their time in the giant’s domain, Wilson had always called the giant his guardian. She listened as he struggled to share what happened without becoming loud or shrill.

When he was done, Meadow felt numb.

“Your guardian whisked Wylla away outside. Far enough her nose couldn’t lead her back. And now she’s going to do it to two more of my children.”

"I'm so sorry, Meadow. I begged her not to!”

"You said she was kind.”

"She is! I don’t know why she did this!"

Meadow did. Mice Outside had discussed their adventures into a giant’s domain. Some had described arriving in an invisible box, only able to escape when a wall was removed. Wilson lived in a cage. She’d always known that. He was a pet-wanted and welcome.

"You were invited. We weren’t."

"I invited you!”

Of course he couldn’t understand, and Meadow didn’t have time to explain. Her children needed her.

“I have to find Moss and Orchard.” Before another word could be squeaked, she scurried out of sight. Wilson squeaked miserably and ascended to the highest shelf to keep watch.

To Wilson’s shame, he fell asleep. His uneasy rest was broken by Clay and Petal’s shrieking squeaks for him.

“Prince Will! Help!”

“I don’t want to go! I don’t want to go!”

“Follow your wits and your nose!” He cried out as he had for Wylla, “I love you both so much! Your mother and I will figure something out.”

When the door closed behind the guardian that time, he didn’t believe what he’d told them.

Meadow didn’t return that night. In the early morning, he heard his giant make a surprised noise. He looked up and saw she held another trap aloft. His heart sank when he saw both Orchard and Moss were trapped inside. They were temporarily transplanted into a smaller cage set beside Wilson’s. The bars had less space between them, with smaller animals then a chinchilla in mind.

“What happened?” He called out to them.

“It’s my fault. I got caught,” Orchard sniffled, “And Moss tried to get me out. He was able to wiggle in, but then he was stuck too!”

“Mother didn’t have time to warn us, but she found us after,” Moss added, “Our siblings?”

“Already outside,” Wilson admitted, seeing no reason to hide reality from them.

“Mother said we should seek them,” Moss squeaked, “That being alone is the hardest.”

Wilson struggled to find his voice. His heart was breaking into more pieces than he believed possible.

“Follow your noses and your wit,” He spoke the advice he had given all three of their siblings, “And you’ll be alright. I love you both so much and being part of your family has been so important to me. Tell them that, when you find them.”

When they were finally carried out, there were no squeaks or shrieks. But the two mice both held one paw on the invisible wall and gazed at Wilson as they were carried to the door. He answered by putting a single paw on his bars. There was nothing else he could say.

Meadow arrived that evening. She made no sound before he heard her land on the fleece lining at the bottom of his cage. Wilson rushed to her, and the mouse buried herself in his fur to squeak the despair only a mother who’s lost her children can. They cuddled close, and mourned the end of the happy days they’d all had together.

“Wilson?”

“Yes, Meadow?”

“This is my last visit. Before the giant wakes up, I’m going to trigger one of the traps. Perhaps she’ll bring me to the same place as my children.”

He was going to be a lone rodent again. Wilson had known it as soon as he’d seen Orchard and Moss trapped together.

“I know,” He answered and wrapped his tail around her.

When the sun rose, Wilson and Meadow said their final farewells. The mother mouse slipped away, found the nearest trap, and sealed herself within. Wilson was able to remain calm until he saw the giant carrying the trap with Meadow inside towards the door.

"Tell them to believe in themselves, Meadow! To trust their wit and their noses! Tell them there’s always room in my castle for my family!”

"I will!" Meadow called back, “Thank you for everything, Wilson! I'll never forget you!"

The door shut, and she was gone for the last time.

When Wilson's guardian came home, she couldn't understand the chinchilla's melancholy. She began to fuss and took him out for cuddles more often. He slowly began to improve as the sharp pain in his heart became dull. He remembered all the reasons he loved his guardian, and knew it was unfair to hate her for something she couldn’t understand.

When the next snow storm arrived months later, what Meadow had called "the cold, wet, white stuff that falls from the sky,” Wilson stopped listening for squeaks in the night.

Seasons became years. A chinchilla is a long-lived rodent, and though the nights were long and lonely, Wilson had a good life. One evening, a strange rustling sound made the chinchilla sniff the air.

‘Me. My guardian. Timothy hay. The outside.’

'The outside!' Wilson dropped to the floor of his cage as a mouse dragging herself through the bars. She leaned back on her hind legs to look up at him, as her nose twitched in a familiar fashion.

"Are you Prince Will? And is this your castle?"

"It is," He answered in disbelief. She smelled and squeaked just like Wylla, “And I am.”

“I am Wylla, descended from Wylla The Brave, daughter of Matron Meadow,” The mouse placed a hand over her heart, I have followed my wits and my nose to find you. It was my ancestress’s final wish that you learn of her family’s fate.”

“Go on,” Wilson answered, dumbstruck.

“Wylla the Brave awaited her family. She believed your guardian would be kind, and not separate them. While she waited, she found a new sanctuary, inside! During the days, giants came and went, but by night, it was entirely empty. When Matron Meadow arrived, all five of her children had found each other and awaited her.”

“Matron Meadow lived the rest of her days in comfort surrounded by her children, and grandchildren. She, Wylla the Brave, Moss the Wise, Orchard the Kind, Petal the Sweet, and Clay the Gentle told all of their descendants for as long as they lived about the great Prince Will, who’d given Matron Meadow sanctuary in her most desperate hour. They spoke of the sorrow in having been parted from you. Matron Meadow’s dearest wish that you learn what happened to them. Thus, Wylla the Brave made a decision. She and her descendants would follow your advice, to follow their noses and wits back to your castle in the Giant’s Domain. It has taken many generations, but I have completed our quest.”

Wilson felt a wave of relief wash over him, and he felt the love Meadow had given her family then. He felt the love they'd shared, despite the little field mouse having returned to the Earth some time ago. She had them quest to find their way back. Even safe and sound, they’d thought of him, too.

"Thank you, Wylla the Messenger," He declared, and held out a paw to shake hers, "I am Prince Will. Welcome to my castle."