Hello everyone! After noticing the lack of Nausicaä fanfiction on the website, I felt I had no choice but to give my favorite movie some love. This fic takes place after the events of the movie, not the manga.

About the title-

Whistle against the wind: If you whistle against the wind, the sound will be lost and no one can hear you. Sometimes we whistle, that is, we try to voice our own opinions, but they are drowned out by the wind, the voices and opinions of others, and no one can hear us. As a princess, Nausicaä's own opinion of how her life should be run is often drowned out by the opinion of others and the customs and traditions of her people.

Disclaimer: I do not own Nauiscaä of the Valley of the Wind. It belongs to the wonderful Hayao Miyazaki and to Studio Ghibli.

Whistle Against the Wind

Chapter 1 – A Royal Dilemma

"Princess Nausicaä…" A young woman, clad in a simple brown dress with a large cream-colored apron, knocked cautiously on the door. Inside, the young princess tossed restlessly onto her side, knowing all too well what the young woman wanted.

"Yes, Zela?" Nausicaä tried her best to keep the exhaustion she felt out of her voice. But Zela knew her too well.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Princess, but if you don't get up soon, you'll miss your meeting with the Council of Pejite."

Nausicaä sighed deeply. "I'm missing extra sleep for that nonsense again?" She slowly made her way out of bed, wiping the sleep out of her eyes as she walked over to her bedroom window. "The valley looks so peaceful this early in the morning… I just wish that I could have some of that peacefulness for once…" Nausicaä quickly brushed her auburn hair, now well past her shoulders, and threw on her blue dress and matching headdress.

It had been a year since the Tolmekians had left the valley and the Pejites came. With their city destroyed, Nausicaä had no choice but to let them live in the valley. Her compassionate heart usually got the best of her, but she knew that she made the right decision in letting them stay in the valley. But ever since their prince left with the famous swordsman on an unknown quest, the people of Pejite began to get restless with the young princess.

"Asbel…" Since he left, Nausicaä had nothing but concern and worry for him and Lord Yupa. She had received no word from either of them since their departure. "I hope you two are okay…"

"But Princess, we need a new windmill! There just are not enough for the population of the kingdom!"

Nausicaä looked around at the council before her, sipping their drinks and staring at her, eagerly awaiting her reply, as if it would be different from any other time. "Mayor, I have already told you. The windmill you want cannot go in the forest! After it was burned down a year ago it is trying to come back. Building a new windmill would only hurt the forest even more!"

For months, the Council of Pejite had proposed several plans to build a new windmill to support the now-larger population of the valley with the addition of the people of Pejite. The leader of the council, the former mayor of Pejite who insisted on still being called "Mayor," called meeting after meeting with the Princess in hopes that she would change her mind. While Nausicaä knew that the valley would be in need of a new windmill soon, all the locations she proposed would not do for the council. For some reason, they insisted that one in the forest was the only option, perhaps it was because their settlement in the area ran along it. But Nausicaä simply would not change her mind. Too much damage had already come to that forest. Why should they build another windmill there when it was finally starting to come back to life again?

The Mayor of Pejite sighed in annoyance. "Princess, you must do something! While the people of Pejite are eternally grateful to you for letting us live in the valley, we cannot help but feel that you are somehow neglecting us!"

His words struck Nausicaä like a spear to the heart. "Mayor, how could you, how could your people even think such an absurd thing!" She was now on her feet, standing at the end of the long banquet table in the Great Hall. Her eyes were wide with disbelief as she looked across her group of guests.

"With all do respect, Princess, the Council and I have been fearing the decision you made. We know you have made this decision before, but we believed that perhaps after some persistence you would come to your senses and agree with us. But now…" the Mayor hesitated a bit, almost a bit fearful of what he was about to say, "we understand what must be done."

"Oh my god, they're going to kill me!" Nausicaä looked around frantically for a weapon to defend herself with in case they attacked. But to her surprise, her ears met with a sound she wasn't quite expecting: laughter. "Excuse me, but what is going on, Mayor…"

"Princess, we are terribly sorry. You just looked as if we were about to kill you!" The Mayor let out the last of his snickering laughs and resumed to a more serious tone. "But as we were saying before, we feel that perhaps you are not quite fit to lead."

"WHAT!" Luckily, Nausicaä was already on her feet. Otherwise, she might have flipped the table over with the force of her shock and surprise at the comment.

"Well, that's not quite what we mean. What we mean is, perhaps it is time you married and became a queen. With a king at your side, we feel that perhaps two opinions on subjects such as these could result in better things for this kingdom, instead of just the opinion of a young princess. And since our own prince has yet to return, we have been under your leadership for quite some time and…"

But Nausicaä had stopped listening after "perhaps it is time you married," as she began to feel a searing-hot blush spread over her cheeks. "Get married? Do they really think that I have time to be courted while running a kingdom?"

As much as Nausicaä wished to deny it, her real reason for reacting the way she did was because she never really gave much thought to marriage before. Sure, it crept into her mind now and again, but she never thought it would cause so much of a problem with her people if she didn't get married… Had no other kingdom been ruled by a princess? But then there was the issue of providing an heir…

"Oh, stop it! You're finally letting that stupid council get to you!" Nausicaä exclaimed to no one, but caused a certain restless fox-squirrel to shuffle about on her windowsill.

A knock on her bedroom door brought Nausicaä out of her frustrating thoughts.

"Come in." Mito and Obaba entered, which worried Nausicaä immediately. Obaba usually kept to herself these days unless something bad was happening or going to happen. Mito accompanying the blind old woman didn't help either. Obaba was blind but she knew the way around the castle well enough. Only bad things could be said during a visit from these two…

"Princess, we wish to speak with you, if that is alright," Mito added cautiously, aware that the Nausicaä had tensed upon their arrival. She gave a quick, but rather unsure, nod and motioned for them to sit down.

"Mito, I sensed the trouble behind your eyes the moment you walked in this room… and Obaba is with you, nonetheless. Please tell me what troubles you both."

Mito shifted uncomfortably in his chair as the old woman began to speak. "Nausicaä, many years ago your parents confided in me something I believed I would never have to break to you. None of us could have foreseen the unfortunate death of your parents before your eighteenth birthday." Even though she was blind, Obaba could sense the mixture of emotions that instantly swept over the young princess: sadness, regret, guilt.

"Princess," Mito began glumly, "you may not be pleased with what we are about to tell you, but we do feel that this could help with the problem you were facing today with the council, the very problem you have been sitting in your room all morning thinking about."

Nausicaä nervously began pacing around. "Mito, what are you talking about? No issue arose within the council today that could possibly cause me so much strife as to make me sit in my room all morning and worry about it!"

Mito sighed. "Princess, do you honestly believe that after all these years I still do not know you?" Nausicaä gave the man a quizzical look and stopped her nervous pacing. "It is almost noon and the princess that I know is usually tending to the garden or visiting with the townspeople by now."

"Is it really almost noon? How long have I been up here…?" Nausicaä shook off the thought. "Please, just tell me what you want to say."

Mito motioned to Obaba, indicating to Nausicaä that she was the one that needed to speak.

"Around the time that you were born, the valley faced threats of invasion from various kingdoms throughout the land. Many wanted this land because of its ability to keep the toxic jungle at bay and the abundance of plant and wildlife. Being a peaceful kingdom, with no sort of army to speak of, we had little to defend ourselves with. But when the threats were at their worst, the coastal kingdom of Amras offered to help defend our valley, but at a price. Their youngest son, Prince Cáel, had not been betrothed and the royal family greatly feared disgrace if they could not find a kingdom for their youngest prince. Your parents were very reluctant to simply hand their kingdom over and risk your future happiness, but as the threats grew far worse, they had no choice."

By now, Nausicaä was sitting on her bed, her eyes wide in shock and disbelief. "Why…Why hadn't my parents told me?"

Mito got up from his chair and approached the princess, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "With your parents so ill in their last days, how could they? Your father especially. I'm sure he felt he had more time…"

Nausicaä was a mess of emotions. All this talk of her parents brought out the deep sadness of their loss within her, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel… angry? "Why am I feeling like this?"

Obaba stood up from her chair, hunched over, and turned to the door. "Nausicaä, subside the anger you feel against your parents, for even if you deny it, I can sense the confusion and hurt you are feeling. After you were betrothed, the valley never saw these threats surface again and our two kingdoms have been on peaceful terms. Your marriage to Prince Cáel will not be in vain. We have already arranged for him to come visit you, as it is not long until your eighteenth birthday." Obaba opened the door and began to exit the room, causing Mito to jump from his previous position to help the blind old lady.

"Obaba, slow down! Let me escort you back to your quarters!" As Mito went to close the door, he took one last look at Nausicaä, seeing the pain and confusion that was etched on her delicate, young face. "Princess, do not let this worry you. I promise that everything will work out and you will find happiness once again."

Nausicaä simple nodded her head, eyes fixed on the floor, as Mito closed the door.

"How am I supposed to feel right now? One minute I'm told that I need to marry in order to, well, basically be taken seriously. The next minute I'm being told I've been betrothed to someone my whole life and he's coming to visit any day now! I always imagined falling in love, marrying the prince of my dreams, living happily ever after… Isn't that what every princess wants? But then again, I should know that reality isn't that kind."

Nausicaä wanted to scream at the top of her lungs in frustration; frustration for the trapped feeling that now encompassed every aspect of her life. She knew that being the leader of her people would never be easy. She just thought that perhaps she would have been able to decide who would help her along the way.

It was late in the afternoon and, after a day of neglecting her duties, she took a walk to the valley graveyard, with Teto latched tightly onto her shoulder. She made her way to the back of the cemetery, to where she knew the royal family's graves were. Without hesitation, she wound her way through the maze of tombstones, finally stopping at a rather large one. The royal family's seal was etched into the stone, just above her parents' names.

"Hello mother, father…" Nausicaä slowly knelt down before the gravestone, placing a large handful of flowers in front of the large stone. "Mito and Obaba finally told me about Prince Cáel today. Even though I may have been upset earlier, I just want to let you know that I know that you did what you had to. The people of this valley will always come first. I will do my best to be a great leader of this valley as you both were…" Nausicaä's thoughts suddenly switched to a sillier note, causing a slight laugh to escape her lips. "Oh my, I've been so busy with everything that I've even forgotten that my birthday is soon! I don't think it even registered when Mito and Obaba were talking to me earlier! How silly of me… Well, I should head back to the castle. I'm sure they are expecting me." Nausicaä slowly stood up from where she knelt and brushed off her dress. As she turned to leave, she spotted someone walking up the path to the graveyard, someone she had never seen before. As he came closer, she saw that he realized she was standing there, and he broke into a much faster walking pace.

"Could you perhaps be Princess Nausicaä?" The young man was now only about 15 feet from her and Nausicaä immediately felt a blush burning her cheeks. The young man was clothed in rather elegant attire; his red tunic was lined with gold trim; a white cape was draped over his shoulders, held in place by a large gold clasp. His skin was pale and his light brown hair seemed a bit tousled from his walk.

"Y-yes, I'm Princess Nausicaä, but Nausicaä is just fine."

"Well, you are certainly fairer than I could have ever imagined!" Nausicaä's blush now felt as if her cheeks were on fire. "I received an invitation from your castle and felt that I should waste no time in coming to meet you!"

Nausicaä was a bit confused. She didn't remember sending any invitations to royal diplomats lately…

The young man must have noticed the confused look on her face and laughed slightly. "Oh, my fair princess, I'm afraid I forgot to introduce myself!" That was it. Her cheeks were definitely bursting into flames. "My name is Prince Cáel of the kingdom of Amras. I am so glad to have finally met my future queen." Prince Cáel took one of Nausicaä's hands and gently kissed it.

"So this is the man I'm supposed to marry?" Nausicaä smiled slightly to herself. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all…"

A/N: Let me know what you think! I'd appreciate any kind of review to let me know if you think this story is interesting or worth reading.

Stay tuned, for there is much, much more. Let's just say that Asbel and Lord Yupa's return home makes everything more interesting.

-brigette (aka: Kaza-no-Tenshi89)