Princess Niya was not like the typical princess from fairy tales. She was short and skinny with long dark hair and dark eyes. She was also lazy, spoiled, selfish, and didn’t like to smile much. She didn’t get along with anyone, and no one wanted to be around her. She was always yelling, screaming and throwing things all over the castle. When she ate something she didn’t like, she would spit it on the floor. Her parents – The King and Queen they were furious about her behavior but they didn’t know what to do.
The day before Princess Niya’s 12th birthday, The King and Queen called her into their chamber.
“Niya, tomorrow is your birthday. “ Said The King. “Your mother and I have decided to give you a big gift.”
“Of course you should give me a big gift.” Niya responded without any hint of gratitude.
“We want you to leave the castle for a year.”
“What!? OH… I see, you want me to go live better castle? That’s great! I have always hated this one; it’s so old and ugly… I would like my new castle to be…”
“NO.” The Queen stopped her abruptly. “You will not be going to another castle with maids. We are sending you out into the world by yourself."
“I don’t understand what you mean!” Princess Niya shouted. “Where am I going to sleep? Who is going to make my bed? Who is going to cook for me? And who is going to make new dresses for me?”
“Listen to yourself, Niya.” The King said. “All you talk about is who is going do what for you. Have you ever thought about doing something for other people? If you are going to be the queen of our kingdom one day, you have to learn how to be a good ruler. You have to get along with your people, be kind and generous, and learn to work with them. Most important of all, you have to earn their respect and love."
No matter how much Princess Niya begged and promised she would change, it was no use. The King and Queen had already made up their minds. They gave Princess Niya a bag with three items inside to take with her on her adventure, a bow and arrow, a feather quill pen, and a small vanity hand mirror.
The next day, they woke up Princess Niya very early, took her deep into the forest and left her there. Niya stood alone in the forest; she was angry and confused.
“I can’t believe they did this to me on my birthday!” She said while grinding her teeth.
“Huh, maybe they just want to give me a surprise party! I’m sure they will come back in an hour! I’m their only daughter; they will not want anything bad to happen to me. But this is unacceptable! Once I go back to the castle, I’m going to punish everyone!!!!” She sat down by a tree and fell asleep.
When she woke up, the sun was just about to set. It became dark and cold in the forest. Princess Niya started to panic and became scared, because she finally realized that there was no surprise party, and no one was coming to take her back to the castle.
Princess Niya walked aimlessly in the forest until she was startled by the sounds footsteps getting closer and closer. Frightened, she hid behind a tree and watched. She saw dark figure in a big black poncho approach a towering tree. He stood in front of it for a moment. He then proceeded to forcefully punch the tree five times and gently stroked it five times, and then suddenly a door appeared on the tree trunk. All Princess Niya could do was cover her mouth with both hands to muffle her scream as she watched the figure open the door and enter the tree. As soon as the door closed it disappeared.
Niya waited until she was certain no one was around. She then carefully approached the tree and as she looked up, she was mesmerized by how tall and grand it was. She had never seen anything like it before. Niya pressed her ear against to the trunk and listened, she didn’t hear anything; she knocked it few times, no answer. Then she did what that dark figure did by punching and stroking the tree five times. Just as expected, a door appeared and with slight hesitation Princess Niya slowly opened the door. She walked in and found a spiral stairs that went upward seemingly forever. She looked up but couldn’t see anything because it was so high. Curious and with nowhere else to go she began to climb the stairs. Finally, she reached the top and there she found a small wooden door. She promptly opened it and stepped in.
As soon as Princess Niya stepped through the wooden door, three little strange creatures appeared and grabbed on to her legs.
“We have been waiting for you for a long time!” A little flower-like creature yelled.
“Hurry up! And why are you wearing such strange things?” Another little flower-like creature and leaf-like creature pointed to Princess Niya’s silk pajama.
“Who are you ugly little people? Where am I? And this is a beautiful silk pajama, OK!?"
“Pajama… what’s that? Is that your name?"
“NO! My name is Princess Niya!” She angrily puffed her cheeks.
“You don’t look like a princess at all! No, you can’t be a princess! You are here to help us!"
“NO! I…"
“My name is DODO.” One of the little flowerman interrupted before Princess Niya could finish her sentence.
“My name is BOBO."
“And my name is POPO."
“All your names sound alike! Such stupid names!” Niya rolled her eyes.
Dodo, Bobo, and Popo looked at each other with a bewildered expression on their faces.
They dragged Princess Niya into a castle made out of flowers and began changing her clothes and fixing her hair. As soon as they were finished, she looked into the mirror and started to howl with displeasure.
“What kind of ugly dress and hairstyle it is! Make me new one!” She shouted.
“How about let’s go see the queen first? Please?” Dodo begged.
“NO!” Princess Niya jumped onto the bed. “I’m tired and hungry! Prepare me some food! I’m going to sleep now, and when I get up, I better see some good food here!” She rolled over and closed the eyes.
“She is so mean… How she is going to help us?” Bobo lowered its head and walked away followed by Dodo and Popo.
Niya was awaken in the middle of the night from huger pains, so she got up and walked outside her room. It was very quiet and she wandered around until she saw a kitchen. However, all she could find was a few bottles of water and a few jars of honey. She proceeded to drink all the water and wolf down the honey without a second thought. While searching for more food she heard someone coughing from another room. Curious, she pushed open the door and walked in unannounced.
“You must be Niya they have been talking about.” An old flowerlady was lying on the bed smiling at her.
“Who are you, old lady?” Princess Niya lifted up her chin.
“I am the queen of the Kingdom of Flowerataraa."
“Oh, so you are the queen.” Princess Niya sniffed.
“Niya, I know you don’t want to be here and I don’t know why you are here. Regardless, this is Kazaataraa - a world above the great tree. It’s a very special place, not anyone can come here. There are three kingdoms in Kazaataraa, we are one of them, and the other two are Kingdom of Bugizaata and Kingdom of Wormikazaa. The three kingdoms have been fighting for a long time and we have always been on the losing end. The King, my husband passed away few weeks ago, and our son, as you can see…” The Queen pointed to the corner of the room, where a little flowerboy was sleeping in a large leaf.
“He is not old enough to be a king yet. I have been very ill and I don’t know how much longer I have. The King and I always believed that someone would show up and help us. You see, we saw it in our dreams. That’s why Dodo, Bobo, and Popo have been waiting at the gate for such a long time. They were hoping that someo
ne will walk through that door and help us. But you don’t seem like the one we have been waiting for. So, if you don't think you can help, please kindly leave."
Princess Niya went back to her room and sat next the window looking at the moon, she was upset.
“No one wants me around. Why? What did I do wrong?”
The next morning, as Princess Niya was getting ready to leave, she saw Dodo, Popo, Bobo and the other flowermen and leafmen using bottles to collect water droplets from leaves.
“What are you doing, Dodo?"
“Good morning, Niya.” Dodo wiped away the sweat on its face.
“We have to collect as much water as possible because we flowers and leaves need water to survive. You see, summer is coming and there won’t be any rain for few months. Also, we never win the battle between the kingdoms, so we better collect as much as we can now. And all of our water was stolen last night….” Dodo started to cry. “We will all die if there is not enough water for summer….”
Princess Niya suddenly felt very bad, because she knew exactly what happened to the water.
“What’s that battle thing you guys are talking about?” She asked curiously.
“You see that tall tree over there?” Dodo pointed to a giant tree in the distance, it was located in the center of Kazaataraa, between the three kingdoms. “We call it Gutasu, it’s the oldest tree in Kazaataraa and it has magical spirits within it. Every year, just before summer, a giant leaf will grow out from the top and when summer comes around it will fall.”
Niya looked at the Gutasu and saw an enormous leaf growing from the top.
“We all want it.” Dodo continued. “Because it’s magical and it can be used to collect a huge amount of water, enough water to survive the hottest months in summer. We call the leaf Summerheart.”
“Yes!” Popo interrupted. “A long time ago, no matter where Summerheart fell, everyone shared it. But after our Old King passed away, his three sons split Kazaataraa into three separate kingdoms. After that they didn’t want to share Summerheart anymore, so every year there is a battle to see who gets it. And whoever gets it will have enough water for summer. It’s the War for Summerheart.”
“But it’s so unfair!” Bobo jumped in the conversation. “We flowers and leaves need the most water! But you see, Niya, in Bugizaata they all have wings, and in Wormikaza, they have these magical propeller hats that allow them to fly; we have no idea where the worms got those hats.”
“Yeah… So…” Dodo sighed. “As soon as Summerheart falls, they will both fly up into the air and fight with each other for it and all we can do is stay here and watch…”
Princess Niya looked at the sad expression on their faces. She felt guilty and wished she could help them get the Summerheart, but she couldn't fly either. She also knew that she could not bully the other kingdoms and demand it. It was not her kingdom and she could not just say “GIVE ME THAT RIGHT NOW, OR I WILL SEND YOU TO THE PRISON!"
“Sorry, I wish I can do something…” She winkled her forehead.
“Sure you can! Help us to gather more water drops now, Please!?” Dodo, Bobo, and Popo begged.
It was the first time in Princess Niya’s life she offered a helping hand. She was taller than them and her hands were bigger, so she could grab several leaves at one time. Within an hour, she already filled five bottles with water.
“Wow, Niya, you are good at this! We have never collected this much water this fast. You must be the Queen of collecting water! “
Everyone was so happy; they thanked Princess Niya over and over again. She blushed and smiled for the first time in a long time. She never smiled because she was never satisfied with anything she had. But today she smiled because she was proud of herself for helping others.
“Queen of collecting water?” Princess Niya giggled. “Kind of silly, but I like it!"
Princess Niya decided to stay and help them collect more water. The next morning, she woke up earlier than usual, but when she walked out of the castle she saw Dodo crying while Popo and Bobo were trying to comfort it.
“What happened?” She asked.
“The weatherman said that summer is coming in a few days, it’s early this year, and it will last longer than usual. We don’t have enough water, and we don't have enough time to collect more water.”
Princess Niya quietly sat next to them as she raised her head and gazed at Summerheart. She really wanted to have that leaf, more than any toy or dress she ever had. But this time was different, because this time she could not just yell and cry until someone brings her what she wanted. This time, if she really wanted it, she had to get it by herself. The amazing part was that she was doing this to help out these little creatures and not for her selfish needs.
Niya went back to her room and opened the bag her parents gave her.
Hand Mirror? She looked into it but there was no reflection.
“It’s broken!? Well even if it’s not, it can’t help anyway."
Feather quill pen? She waved it in the air.
“I don't think it’s big enough to make me fly.”
A bow and arrow? At first she looked at them and wondered what she could use them for, but then she glanced over at her silk pajama and a smile formed across her face.
After a few days ...
“Oh My God! Summer is coming, Summerheart is about to fall!” Dodo shouted.
Everyone rushed outside and stood under Gutasu. Flying bug-like creatures from Bugizaata and worm-like creatures with magical propeller hats from Wormikazaa had already gathered around it waiting for it to fall. Then suddenly, a warm breeze swept over the leaf and it snapped from its branch and began drifting towards the ground. The bugs and worms frantically circled around it. They were hitting and biting each other while trying to hold on to the giant leaf. Meanwhile, the little poor flowermen and leafmen could only look up from the base of the tree and hope the winner would be kind enough to share some water.
“IT’S MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!”
All of a sudden, Princess Niya ran out of the castle with the bow and arrow in hand. The end of the arrow was attached to a long rope made of silk cloth. She had spent two days cutting her long silk pajama into pieces and tying them all together to form a rope.
She pulled back on the bow and aimed the arrow at Summerheart floating gently towards the ground. She released the arrow and it flew through the air striking the giant leaf. Princess Niya then began pulling on the rope, bringing Summerheart closer to her. The bugs and worms were all in shocked. They had no idea where the arrow came from and all they could do was try to pull it back towards them.
“Let’s go help Niya!”
Dodo, Bobo, Popo, and the others they were all so amazed by what Princess Niya was trying to do that they rushed over and began to help her pull.
“1.2.3. PULL!"
“1.2.3. PULL!”
Everyone was using all of their strength to pull Summerheart towards them, and as it got closer and closer, everyone started getting very excited.
“I can’t believe we won the War of Summerheart! ” Everyone was jumping up and down, hugging each other while the bugs and worms bitterly flew away.
“ Queen of Colleting Water!"
“ Queen of Colleting Water!"
They started to sing and dance around Princess Niya. She was smiling and laughing with excitement. Then it started to rain, so they gathered around Summerheart and watched it magically collect all the rain water.
“What a beautiful sight.” Popo giggled.
“Yes, we finally don't have to worry about water this summer.” Bobo sniggered.
“Niya we have to thank you! I can’t believe you ripped your beautiful pama…pajama to pieces to save us!” Dodo hugged Niya. Then everyone came over and tried to give her a hug.
“I’m the one that should thank you all.” Princess Niya lifted her head and let the rain fall on her face. “I just had the best birthday party ever; I’m feeling so happy and satisfied right now!"
>
Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Bugizaata, the king was furious, and he began hatching an evil plan… what could it be?
(To be continue….)
Did you enjoy reading Princess Niya!?
Now let’s see Niya and her friends in real life!!!!
Princess Niya
Text Copyright © 2014
by Kidwoman N.H Lin
Illustrations Copyright © 2014
by Kidwoman N.H Lin
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