The Night Owl Princess

Some hundred years ago, there was a princess, skin black as the night sky and thick, charcoal hair braided and wound down her back. Quick on her feet and sharp in the mind, she had just come of age to be married. She had her own ideas of marriage independent of her parents. But the King and Queen must consider political partnerships as the highest priority over their daughter’s happiness. The King had thus chosen a suitable husband twice her age, the prince of Telum. Telum was adjacent to their state, Nox. The prince held a solid mind and had a good hand for the sword, but most importantly, his state manufactured and distributed most of the weapons in the country.

Eve, poised in an armchair in her reading room, read about economic inequality while stroking her pet owl. The door suddenly burst open and the Queen ushered the ladies-in-waiting to dress Eve for the Prince Sid’s arrival. Under the Queen’s supervision, the ladies in waiting squeezed her into a formal night gown, and pushed her out to meet her intended. They sat next to each other at the dinner table, opposite from the King and Queen, Eve’s resentment growing by the second.

“What a lovely princess, you are. I am honoured to be your future husband.”

“I have no interest in being your bride,” Eve replied, her voice cold as ice. She focused on chewing her food with intention.

“Is that so? Well, I for one have every intention to marry you. Let’s talk politics shall we? With your state providing a direct distribution chain to my state, I have every confidence that both our kingdoms will thrive. I hear you have the most talented merchants here, is that right?”

“If you are here only for political gain, I’m afraid you will be disappointed.” Eve seethed in silence, but her father, the King glowed with excitement to continue the conversation.

“Don’t mind her! You are most correct, Prince Sid! We are prepared to select the best merchants in our states to travel to every part of the country to advertise and sell your products. I am so glad you take a liking to my daughter. You must excuse her, she is young and has not spoken to many men. She will warm up to you in no time!”

The conversation drew on the entire night and Eve resorted to counting the number of tiles on the ceiling to pass time. She had in fact spoken to many men and was known to be quite pleasant among the folks of the castle.

When the dinner finally concluded, Eve attempted to confront her father.

“His ideas for free trade are not wise for us. Our domestic sales will drop and many will lose their jobs. Not to mention, there is peace among states and no one will want to buy his weapons.”

“You don’t understand dear. Is not that we are waiting for war, we want to be powerful and in control when war comes. You are young and lack foresight. Now you must go prepare for your wedding and worry about things women should worry about.” Her father did not want to hear more.

She shut herself in her bedroom and cried. No amount of begging and clawing did her any good and her father threatened to tie her up until sunset if necessary. Her father had barred all the windows and doors lest she escapes and took away all sharp and rope-like objects from her room. No one was to speak to her until her departure, or they would face the guillotine.

The next day, as soon as the sun rose, she was once again dragged from her bedroom to the altar; both families wanted to seal the deal in a timely manner. They exchanged vows and before she could say more than a goodbye to her parents, she found herself sitting on the carriage to return to Telum with Prince Sid.

“You’re mine now.” Prince Sid said matter-of-factly.

“That may be so, but you will never gain my heart.”

“I find that I can be quite persuasive.” Prince Sid insisted, but made no further attempt at conversation.

As traveling to Telum was a three day journey, Eve started plotting her escape. On the fortnight of their trip, she waited until the men all passed out and snored. She stuffed some dried straw under her blanket to make it seem like there was a human under it, changed into men’s clothes and made a run for the woods. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, but she didn’t get very far before she heard the voices of angry men behind her. Out of haste, her foot snagged on some bramble and a sharp pain blossomed from her ankle. Prince Sid quickly discovered her and captured her back to camp.

“You can’t get away from me.”

Eve glared at the roaring flames of their night camp, not betraying a sound. Her knees scraped, and parts of her hair stuck out from her braids like barb wire.

“I think I will have to motivate you to come back to me. Some say my method might be unorthodox, but it really is for the best.”

“What do you mean?” A slight tremor overlays her voice.

“Well, what I didn’t tell your parents is that I possess a bit of dark magic...hmm what animal do you like?”

“Magic? You’re out of your mind!”

“Come on dear, how did you think I found you so quickly. Just answer the question, what’s your favorite animal.”

“Right now I wish I was an owl to get away from the likes of you.”

“Splendid choice!”

Before Eve knew what was happening, Prince Sid produced a pouch from his belt and blew powder onto her face. She felt the sickening crack of her bones as they morphed. Letting out a high pitched scream, her voice was immediately silenced into a soft hoot. Eve looked down at herself and panic raised into her throat. Black feathers sprouted all over her body and her arms had been replaced by a set of silky wings and her legs a small set of claws. Her long braids were no more. Furious at her transformation, she dove straight towards Prince Sid wanting to peck his eyes out. But, he knew better, he had a tranquilizer ready and shot her in the shoulder. Before she passed out he heard him whisper in her ear.

“Now, now if you want to return to being a human again, you’d better sleep quietly for the rest of the journey...”

Eve woke up in the morning of their arrival and was dressed in a gown that she did not bring with her. She rubbed her tired eyes, thinking she had a bad dream. She squinted outside the carriage as the sun shone through the curtain slits.

Prince Sid’s hands found Eve’s and she pulled away with disgust. He reached for her again and this time leaned towards her ear, so only she could hear.

“Last night wasn’t a dream…This is how it’s going to work from now. Every night when the moon rises, you will turn into an owl. And from the kindness of my heart I will allow you to roam the nights as you please, but when morning comes you will turn back into a human and follow me and fulfill your duties as my princess. You will not be able to go too far lest you will remain an owl forever and you will only have three days to live as an owl. Do I make myself clear?”

Eve, horrified at his threat, pulled back from him, escaping his morning breath. She looked straight into his eyes and saw no trace of amusement, but only a stern glance, the type her father used to give her when she used to be mischievous around the castle. Eve nodded and did not resist as they emerged from the carriage holding hands.

For three months, she lived like this, turning into an owl at night and fulfilling her duties by day. Everyday was more mundane than the last. Eve filed papers with no interest, kept track of their weapon sales, made liaisons with her home kingdom and made appearances next to the Prince when necessary. She was often under strict supervision and was not allowed to read books or play sports for leisure, or make personal correspondences. By night, she tasted only the opportunity of freedom, but couldn’t fly past the state’s border to return to her parent’s home. At least the cool night air calmed her and she found refuge in those nights. Her days were stifling at the most, often unable to find company to talk to. Most people kept their distance because not only she is a Princess, but also because of her darker skin. Then the rumours about her curse spread, which ignited even more whispers about her.

Rumours that she was a witch circulated the castle and people glanced at her as if she was an alien that had descended on earth. No one talked ill of Prince Sid or seemed to be aware of his dark magic. Her hatred for Prince Sid grew stronger every day, but she couldn’t do anything else to survive.

Despite her father’s promises, the trade for weapons had seen a steady decline and the people began to blame her appearance as a bad sign. Eve saw the inevitable end and her attempts to convince against Prince Sid of his growth strategies were futile. Even Prince Sid seemed to believe the rumours and has put more and more distance between them.

Three years passed, and their economy was at the lowest it has ever been in Telum history. Finally, on the third anniversary of the Prince’s union with Eve, as the sun was about to set, the people had gathered with pitchforks at their castle’s door ready to riot. Prince Sid, out of desperation, responded to the crowds.

“Citizens! I have failed you and you have every right to be angry. There is only one person to blame. Princess Eve has brought us misfortune from her state and ever since she has arrived, our sales have steeply declined. I propose we burn her at the stake and make an invasion on Nox! We must declare war on them for sending us spoiled merchandise.”

Eve had nowhere to escape and the guards immediately dragged her out of her bedroom to tie her up at the burning stakes. Her arms and legs were covered with a kaleidoscope of bruises from being dragged and kicked. She looked up at the sky, willing the moon to rise so she could fly into the night.

The crowd grew more and more rambunctious and she couldn’t hear herself crying.

“Burn! Burn! Burn!” The crowd chanted. Tear streaked and helpless, she prayed for someone to help her, but no one came. Prince Sid came up beside her with a flaming torch ready to light. He took one look of disgust at her.

“Pity, you were once beautiful.” With that, he brought down the torch and the flames caught the wood and consumed her. She let out one last scream as the moon rose above the clouds. Nothing was left of her but a burned black feather. A child claimed that she saw a black owl rise from the ashes and flew into the night sky, so that she finally was free.