Once in a land far away, but yet not so far away, was an academy of young girls. They were princesses in training. They were not princesses yet because they had not presented themselves to the king. There was one little girl who lived in the academy. Her name was Elliana. One day a messenger came to her.
"My lady, I have brought to you a message from the king!" The servant said as he bowed to the ten year old. Elliana's heart skipped a beat. True, messages from the king were not a rare thing, but it was always an awe-inspiring event when one was delivered.
"Thank you sir," Elliana replied as she clutched the letter to her chest. She sat down at her little desk and stared at the blindingly white envelope. This letter was much different than the others, Elliana could tell. Reverently she broke the royal seal. The red ink jumped out at her. As she scanned the letter she realized what it was. It was an invitation to come and live with the king and prince. Elliana took a deep breath, "so the rumors are true." She had heard that the King invited princesses to come and live with him in his beautiful palace. But sometimes they didn't accept the invitation at all, or didn't accept until they were old women.
Suddenly the shrill supper bell rang, interrupting Elliana's contemplation. She put the beautiful letter in the pocket of her long dark-green dress and went down to the dining room. After she got her meal she found her friends and sat down. The chattering and conversation of the other teenage girls swirled around Elliana as she picked at her food. Alyssa one of Elliana's close friends noticed that Elliana was not eating.
"Ell, what is the matter?" Alyssa asked as the rest of the girls stopped their noise and listened for Elliana's reply.
"Well just before supper I received a messenger. He left me with a message… from the King," Elliana answered.
"Elliana that can't be all, you've received letters from the King before and they never affected you like this!" Alyssa declared.
"No this letter was different. It was an invitation to come and live with the king and the prince," Elliana sighed. "But I don't know what to do! We've all heard the stories of the King, how kind he is. But I don't want to leave you all and go on such a long journey by myself! I guess I will have to think about this some more. I think I am going to go to bed now. Good night, everyone!" Elliana said as she got up from the table and went upstairs to her chamber. In her wake she left her very anguished friends.
That night was a very long one for Elliana. She wrestled the pros and cons all night and kept coming up with the same answer: If she went all she would be missing would be little things, but if she didn't go she would miss a lifetime of happiness. With that resolve still intact in the morning, she got up and started packing for her long, arduous journey. She packed food, water, and a cloak. Then she came to a bundle of papers in her chest of drawers. The king's letters! Elliana lovingly caressed the bundle, reliving the memories of the loving words of the king. Gently she placed them on the top of her bag. She grabbed the bag, and silently opened the door. When she reached the vestibule she placed a letter on the table.
To all the girls who I have come to love,
As some of you know I have been summoned by the king and I have accepted. I will be making my journey to find out if this letter is real. If it is real I will gain so much, if not I will have lost nothing.
I love you all,
Elliana
With one last glance around, she opened the big oak door and stepped through into the gathering dawn.
For a while Elliana walked in the sunshine in peace. Then from out of the forest stepped a man. He was a nice looking man but something about him was wrong.
"Well hello child," The man said as he sidled up to Elliana, "Where are you going on such a beautiful day?"
"Well sir, I am going to see the king," Elliana said.
"Oh dear child! You don't want to go to the king," The man said with a sad little chuckle.
"And why ever not?" Elliana demanded stubbornly.
"Child, I see from your bearings and clothing that you are better off than most, but the king could never love you. You see he is perfect and you have done so many terrible things that you would be impossible for the king to love." The man said in a sneeringly sympathetic voice.
Elliana's head was clouded with doubt. It was true what this man said, she had done things in her life she was not proud of, and she had heard that the king was perfect. So how could he ever love her? Maybe this whole invitation was a mistake; maybe it was supposed to have gone to one of the other girls, maybe… Suddenly Elliana felt something digging into her back. The letters of course! Renewed, she turned to the man.
"Sir you were trying to discourage me and deceive me, but I fear you are the one deceived. You see I have here letters from the king's personal hand," Elliana said as she pulled out the bundle of letters. "'To my dearest daughter, I love you so much that I sent my son into a great battle, so that you and I could become family. I love you so much, never forget that.'" Elliana finished reading just in time to see the man turn three shades of red and dash off into the forest. Elliana bowed her head, realizing that through the king's powerful words, she had conquered doubt. She knew however that in her quest to find the king, she would have more fears to surmount. Grabbing the bundle of letters and holding them close to her heart, she gathered her courage and her small, but growing faith and journeyed on.
It was now noon and the sun was high overhead. Elliana found a quiet place next to a spring, and had a small lunch. Sitting against a weeping willow tree as she ate, Elliana reflected on her journey. She had come a long way but there were still many miles to go, and as she was warned in the letters, even more dangers ahead. After she finished eating, Elliana filled her little canteen with sparkling clean water and continued down the road.
Soon she came to a part of the forest that was quite overgrown, but the path led straight through. Elliana pulled her cloak around herself and stepped into the thicket. At first the briars that tore at her clothing were annoying but not harmful, but soon the undergrowth deepened. Elliana could hardly go two steps without the briars and thorns, snatching at her skin and dress. Painfully she plucked out the thorns and continued in her way. Soon she became so weary she fell to her knees.
"Oh sire. Help me, send me help; I can't do this on my own. I thought you said in your letters you would never leave me! Then why oh my king, do I feel so alone and forsaken? Help me!" Elliana cried out in her pain and anguish. The woods around her suddenly fell still and a whisper of a lavender scented breeze blew over Elliana's face. And in that breeze was a still, small, voice.
"My daughter you know I would never leave you! Continue on, and I will be with you. Put your trust in me and not in yourself. Come child and I shall lead you. Come. Come…." The voice faded.
Elliana felt heat rush through her body. The weariness dropped from her body and she stood up renewed. Looking at her feet she saw a pearl encrusted dagger on it was emblazed the word LOVE. With reinvigorated energy Elliana hacked at the briars and prickles. The brush fell away with each sweep of the dagger until Elliana had a clear path in front of her. After twenty minutes of hard work, she finally reached a clearing. Elliana took a few minutes to gather her strength and take a gulp of water. Once again the king had strengthened her and helped her to conquer her despair. Struggling slightly she picked herself off the ground, and continued through the woods and out into the sunlight. She climbed a hill and as she crested it, she saw the palace sparkling in the distance. Joyously Elliana quickened her pace, but only slightly because of her wounds. Each step was painful and Elliana bit her lips until they bleed, to keep herself from crying out in agony. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity she reached the palace door. She collected her strength once more and knocked feebly at the colossal timber doors. She had no strength left to stand and collapsed in the dirt. Suddenly she realized her surroundings. She was in front of the castle of the king and didn't even look presentable. Weakly she looked down at her dress, it was torn, dirty and bloodstained. Horrified she began to sob so hard she hardly noticed when the door creaked open.
"Child what is the matter?" Elliana heard in a gentle voice.
"I have come to see the king, but I have no beautiful dress and I am so filthy, that the king would never want to meet me now!" Elliana sobbed.
"Elliana." The man's voice came gently but commanding.
Obeying the silent command Elliana looked up. As soon as she had heard her name Elliana had a feeling that the man who was speaking to her was the prince, but now that she looked into his face, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was. The prince reached out to her, and Elliana stood up and flung herself into his arms. The prince helped Elliana into a sitting room and called for water. The blood and grime mingled in the basin as the prince washed away the memories of her journey. He bathed and bound up the wounds that the briars had inflicted upon her. Then he dressed her in a beautiful light, white gown.
Elliana looked down at her newly dressed body and then looked up and whispered "Thank you."
The prince looked down at Elliana and said, "You are most welcome my child, but your journey is not over just yet. You have one more journey and it will be an even longer and more dangerous one than you just went through. Since you have accepted my invitation you are destined for an even greater place, a place with my father."
"My Lord I do not have the strength to go on such a journey." Elliana said sadly, "I didn't even have the courage to come to you at first, how will I be able to go to the king?"
"Do not be afraid you will never be alone; I will be with you always. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. I will never leave you. You may not see me all the time but I will never forsake you. For I am the Prince and your savior. Come, let us go." And with those words the prince took Elaina's hand in his and led her on the journey of her life.