A.N. Prompt for February 22nd: Brave.
First publshed on Tumblr in 2016.
If you would ask Anna, what her favourite spot in the castle was, she would say that one of the best places in the whole castle is the painting gallery. For her it was always huge, especially while she herself had been very small, but even as she grew older it still happened to be one of the lightest places in the castle. The small windows under the high celling allowed always so much light to shine in that you almost had the feeling you were outside. Well… almost. But it was not only because of the space it offered that she loved that place so much. The other reason was that so many people were here. Well… technically no real people, but paintings and paintings offering the little princess so many different faces that it became a wonderful change to the absentness of other missing company. She could spend hours and hours wondering about the imaginary lives of the people she saw. Who is this happy couple having a picnic? What about the Spanish woman dancing? There were of course also portraits of the royal family, an extended version if you like. There was a portrait of her father's father, the late king and his wife, her grandfather and grandmother. And there was a portrait of a great-great aunt- Anna could never remember her name- she always had to laugh at because the elderly woman portrayed had so rosy and round cheeks that she looked like a happy pig.
And than again there was one painting in particular that had become very special to Anna through the years of loneliness. On the left side of the room a small painting hang, not that small, but smaller than the others. It was the painting of Joan d Arc who herself also called La Pucelle. Even before Anna had known the sad story of Joan d Arc the picture had kept to drew her attention to it. One day- she must have been around 7 years old- she could not longer take it and asked her mother who it was on the painting.
"This painting here? Well dear, it´s Joan of Arc. She was a remarkable young lady many, many years ago, who fought for the freedom of her home country and her people. She herself said that only faith had kept her alive during the darkest hours."
Since then Anna often thought about this story, how young Joan fought for those she loved and cared for, until her very last breath. Many times Anna came to the gallery with her cockhorse and her wooden sword and played and acted like she herself was Joan fighting against thousands of enemies. Other times she would just come and talk to her "friend" Joan.
"I admire your courage, Joan. You went from home, all-alone, and managed to do what nobody else did. You stood up and fought for those who could not, and no matter what everybody said you never gave up. I wish… I wish I could be as brave as you were." The little princess lied under the painting, looking at the celling, wondering what her own simple life could bring.
Years later -while the air and the time seemed to be frozen, and silence lied heavy upon the world- a sword could be seen flashing bright in the cold light, and a delicate little hand reaching out to stop the sword barehanded. The sword shattered, the tears finally appeared. The heart thawed, the bond was finally healed.