The three year old made his way off the docks into town; glancing back every so often to check whether or not his father had noticed his absence. Luckily for Eric, he was far too preoccupied in being King to notice his son's disappearance. The guard had been with them kept his eyes on the King, hardly paying attention to the young Prince. At first Eric thought he ought to go back, goodness knows his his father would punish him after this! But his worries were interrupted when he walked straight into one of the shopkeepers. The plump woman looked down, and was surprised to find the Prince sitting on the floor in front of her. She was shocked to say the least, and briefly looked around for a guard or even the King himself. How does one address a Prince?
"Hello there" she said. Eric stood up quickly and looked up at the woman with a rather startled expression.
"Sorry" he said, upset with himself that he'd already managed to cause an interruption. The woman smiled and realised that this was one royal she didn't have to be wary of.
"Oh don't you worry dear, it'll take more than that to knock me over" said the woman with a friendly laugh. Eric smiled brightly at her and then remembered what Grimsby had taught him.
"I'm Eric" he said, holding his hand out to the woman. She chuckled lightly and bent down, taking the Prince's small hand in her larger one and shaking it.
"My name's Helen; and we all know who you are. Shouldn't you be with your father?" Eric looked back the way he'd come, and saw no sign of his father at all. He turned back to Helen, and stared into her friendly brown eyes.
"I'm on an adventure" he said proudly. Helen was about to talk again when she realised something. It was a known fact around the kingdom that Eric was confined to the palace unless the King himself allowed him outside. But Eric should never be alone in the kingdom; he was only ever seen with his father, and on very rare occasions. She began to worry, everyone knew of the King's temper. But seeing the happiness on this young boy's face seemed enough to brighten even the darkest of hearts. Helen decided that there was no way anyone could possibly harm Eric, and soon found herself smiling too.
"Really," she asked?! "And just what are you hoping to find in your adventure?" Eric thought for a moment. He wasn't really trying to find anything, just wanting to see knew things and meet people.
"Friends" he said, smiling (if possible) even brighter than before. Then he gasped and looked hopefully the middle-aged woman who knelt in front of him.
"Will you be my friend Helen" he asked, a little shyly?
"Oh, Eric I would absolutely love to be your friend" replied Helen, smiling kindly upon the young Prince. Eric couldn't believe his luck; he'd already made a friend! He looked over Helen's shoulder into the small shop adorned with ornaments, wind chimes, dream-catchers and other such things. Helen soon noticed that Eric was no longer looking at her, but staring in wonder at the contents of her shop. She laughed lightly and stood up.
"Do you want to have a look" she asked? Eric nodded excitedly and followed Helen inside.
He didn't know where to look first. There were ornaments of all shapes and sizes lining the tables; fairies, animals, castles, lighthouses, flowers, people, all made of wood, plastic, glass or china. Wind-chimes and dream-catchers hung from the ceiling, providing a soft melody for the room. There was a rack of postcards in the corner of the room, with only the best views from the kingdom, some even including the palace itself. Helen kept a close eye on Eric, for she knew from experience how children could be. They ran around knocking things over, grabbing things of the tables and sometimes breaking them. But, yet again, she was surprised by Eric's behaviour. He walked the length of the table, only just tall enough to view the ornaments if his stood on his tip-toes. He would stop every so often if he saw something that he particularly liked, and touch it with such care like it was the most precious thing in the world, running his fingers over the object so carefully as if he were afraid that only the slightly touch would break it. She wondered how a child so young could be so thoughtful, what was it that made Eric so similar yet so unlike other children his age?
It wasn't that Eric had been taught how to behave in shops, or even that he wanted to please is father. It was simply because this was the first shop that he'd ever been in, and everything in it fascinated him. He wanted to know the stories behind the paintings; he wanted to know about all the different animals. But there was one object that captured his attention more than anything else.
It was a small wooden ship; so intricately designed Eric thought it must have taken a life-time to make. Everything was where it should be, the sails, the wheel, the mast, the crows-nest. Tiny lengths if string had been tied to the side and the mast to make the rigging, and blue waves had even been painted on the side to make the ship look as if it were at sea. Upon closer inspection Eric could see that a mermaid had been carved at the front of the ship, sea-shells covering her breasts, her hair flowing freely behind her and a friendly smile carved into her face. Eric turned to Helen, who stood smiling at him, watching as he traced the lines of the ship with his small fingers.
"Why do they have mermaids at the front" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him again?
"Well, some sailors believe that the mermaid will take them safely over the ocean" replied Helen.
"Do you believe in mermaids" asked Eric? Helen thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Have you ever seen one" gasped Eric, his blue eyes now completely focused in the woman before him?
"I haven't, no, but I know a lot of people of say they have" said Helen, completely won-over by the young boy's curiosity.
"When I'm older I'm going to go sailing and find one" said Eric! Helen chuckled and picked up the wooden boat before kneeling down in front of Eric.
"I'm sure you will, but remember, you won't see one if you're looking, you have to be patient at let it find you." Eric looked perplexed for a moment.
"How can you find one if you're not looking" he asked? Helen gave an easy smile.
"I just mean, don't look too hard," she said, handing the boat to Eric. "Do you want to keep it?" Eric gasped and nodded, a smile stretching across his face as he threw his arms around Helen.
"Thank you" he whispered.
"You're very welcome Eric, it was lovely to meet you," replied Helen, tapping Eric lightly on the nose. "Go and enjoy your adventure." Eric nodded and set of out the shop, turning around only briefly to wave goodbye before his legs, driven by sheer excitement, carried him on.