John first met the Mushroom Princess in the library. The Chief Minister had arranged for them to meet one afternoon while everyone else in the royal household was busy.
The Mushroom Princess stood looking shy, but she wasn’t looking at the floor. She was making an effort to look John in the eye, and smiled at him shyly.
The Chief Minister introduced her. “John, this is Princess Kolet, who I’ve told you about.”
John bowed respectfully. “It is an honor to meet you, Princess,” he said.
The smile lit up her face once again, in a shy kind of way, and she returned the bow.
“I must confess,” said John, “that when I was first informed of your desire to meet, I was quite confused. I had never seen you before, and I had no idea that you would ever be interested in meeting me.”
“I’ve often seen you studying here in the library,” said Kolet. “And from my window, I could see you walking in the palace courtyard. And I thought that you had a kind face, and a studious disposition, and I desired to get to know you better.”
“I am studious,” John said. “That much is true. I’ve never had anyone take a liking to my face before though.”
She smiled yet again. “I find that hard to believe.”
The Chief Minister said softly, “You two must excuse me. I have some urgent business that needs attending to.” And then he quietly left the room.
John became nervous as he watched the Chief Minister leave. He had been hoping someone else would stay in the room to keep the conversation going if needed. He didn’t trust his own skill at conversation, but now it was just him and the princess.
But on the other hand, he had just met this princess, and knew nothing about her. So there were plenty of questions to be asked. And that, at least, should be good conversation for some while.
“Princess,” he said, “I know nothing about you, and I’m greatly curious to learn more. I imagine you feel the same about me.”
“Indeed,” she said. “There is so much I want to find out about you.”
“It seems we have a long conversation ahead of us,” he said.
“Hopefully we have many long conversations ahead of us,” she said. “But at the moment, we only have 30 minutes before the Chief Minister comes back. I cannot be missing from the main halls of the palace for too long before arousing suspicion.”
“Suspicion? Suspicion of what?”
“My father does not know that we are meeting. I’m not entirely sure what he would think if he knew. He does like you a lot. He’s praised your intellect and your desire to learn about our kingdom and our culture. But, it would be different if he knew I was in love with you.”
John swallowed. He could feel his cheeks getting hot, and he knew he was blushing. He hated the fact that he was blushing, which made him even more flustered. “Love is a strong word, Princess. We’ve not even gotten to know each other.”
“I realize that the meaning of the word ‘love’ is being constantly debated,” said Princess Kolet. “Nobody seems to agree on what it means. But you’ve been in my thoughts constantly since the moment I first saw you. I feel that my affection for you is very strong. I feel that I am in love with you.”
“But you don’t even know me,” said John. “I could be totally different than what you expect.”
“I feel I am in love with you all the same.”
“Why, for all you know, I could be an absolutely terrible person.”
“I doubt that very much,” said the princess, stepping closer to John. “I’ve seen you in the hallways many times, and I know that you have a very kind face.”
“But nevertheless, do you not think it foolish to fall in love with someone you barely know.”
“Oh, very foolish. If I could talk some sense into my heart, I would. But my heart has a mind of its own.” There was a sparkle in Kolet’s eyes as she spoke the words, and John realized that she was being sincere, but at the same time also enjoying the humor in what she was saying. “At the moment, the only thing I wish to assert,” she added, “is that I feel love for you. I do not say it is the smart thing to do. And I do not even say that I am predicting success for that love. It could be that I will be disappointed. But, for better or worse, for smarter or foolisher, I have emotions for you that feel as strong as love.”
“I was taught,” said John, “that one could never be truly in love with someone else until they first understood their character. Everything else was just infatuation. But I’m perfectly happy to acknowledge that your feelings are genuine, and then I suppose everything after that is just arguing semantics.”
“In my experience,” said Kolet, “all arguments about the nature of true love are at their heart semantic arguments.”
“How very true,” said John. “You are wise, as well as beautiful, my princess.”
Now it was the turn of Kolet’s cheeks to redden. Even though she was a mushroom, she had small little cheeks that were on the mushroom stalk where her facial features were. “Do you really think I’m beautiful?” she asked.
John realized he had spoken without thinking. But once Kolet asked him, he realized what he had said. Of course, it was just a form of politeness--the sort of thing you were supposed to say to a princess. And yet, she was beautiful. It sounds absurd to say that about a mushroom, of course, but she had dark eyes, long eye lashes, a small cute nose, pink cheeks--it was a beautiful face that was on the mushroom stalk. The fairies, when they had made the mushrooms come alive centuries ago, must have decided to give them very appealing faces.
“I do this so,” said John. “I know it’s funny to say so. You are a mushroom, and I am a human. But you have what would be considered a very beautiful face anywhere in the world.”
“An attractive face?” she asked.
“It is,” John said. But at the same time, he felt slightly uncomfortable with where this conversation was going. She had a beautiful face, yes, that must be admitted, but the rest of her was still a mushroom. When it came down to pure attractiveness, how could she compete with a real human woman? “But why are we talking about what we can both see,” John added. “Let’s talk about what we cannot see--our ideas, and our personalities.”
“What would you like to know about me?” asked Kolet.
“Let’s start with what you do every day,” said John. “What are your pastimes?”
“I read. I paint. I draw. I tend to the garden. Everything here is very boring,” the Princess said. “Tell me about yourself. You’ve been studying all about my land, but I know nothing of yours. Are you one of the forest people?”
“I guess I am now,” said John. “But that’s not where I come from originally. It’s a very long story, my princess.”
“You can tell me some of it now,” said Kolet.
*********************************************
John met Benjamin the Mouse later that afternoon and reported to him what had happened.
“It sounds like it went rather well,” said Benjamin the Mouse.
“I suppose it did,” said John. “But the whole thing is rather strange. I liked her--I did actually find myself liking her, but…”
“She’s a mushroom, and you’re a human,” said Benjamin the Mouse.
“Exactly,” said John. “What kind of a future is that?”
“Not a very solid one,” admitted Benjamin. “And if you ever get restored to your full size, it will be even more awkward.”
“I don’t know what to do,” said John.
“Well, whatever you do,” said Benjamin, “Don’t commit yourself to anything. Give her no promises of everlasting love, or future relationships.”
“Good idea,” said John. “I wonder if I should keep meeting her?”
“Does her father approve?” Benjamin asked.
“She’s afraid to tell him,” said John. “Which I think must mean that he probably wouldn’t approve.”
“A classic dilemma,” said Benjamin. “As long as we’re guests in this kingdom, we can’t offend the father. But we’d also be in a precarious situation if you offended the daughter. Who knows what she might do if she was spurned?”
“She doesn’t seem the vindictive type,” said John.
“No, of course not. All girls seem nice and sweet the first time you meet them,” said Benjamin. “But just wait until she thinks you’ve crossed her.”
“I don’t think she would,” said John. “I know I only know her a little bit, but she is very sweet and kind.”
“Regardless,” said Benjamin the Mouse, “I think the best thing for us to do now is to get out of here. We’ve delayed here for more than enough already. I know it’s been interesting for you to learn about this place--a small hidden kingdom, rich in its own history and culture. But this has been a delay from our intended journey. Your family is waiting for you back at the castle. And however this thing with the Princess ends up, nothing good can come of it. You know there’s no long lasting romantic relationship that can result from this.”
“I know,” said John.
“So the only possible results,” said Benjamin the Mouse, “Is that you end up breaking her heart sooner, or you end up breaking her heart later. Or the King finds out and kicks us out of his kingdom. Honestly, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to get kicked out, but if we’re going to get kicked out anyway, then we might as well start packing our bags now so that we’re prepared.”
“You’re probably right,” said John. “Where are our so-called dragons? Starrof and Klangor? I haven’t seen them for days.”
“They’re still around,” said Benjamin the Mouse. “They’ve been back every couple of days. The Mushrooms won’t let them inside the kingdom, of course, but I’ve been meeting them outside, and talking to them. They keep asking about you, and want to know when you will be ready to take them to the land of the fairies.”
“It wouldn’t be such a bad thing if they were to just hop away on their own,” said John. “They’ve caused much trouble so far and brought us no benefit.”
“Agreed,” said Benjamin the Mouse. “We could try to give them the slip by leaving in the middle of the night.”
“No, that would be dishonorable,” said John. “If they want to leave on their own accord, then so be it. But we cannot abandon our companions.” John shrugged. “I know they're terrible companions, but we’ve been traveling with them in good faith for a long time now. It would be dishonorable to sneak away in the middle of the night. Plus, who knows what revenge they might wreak on the mushroom kingdom once they realize I’ve left them.”
“All good points,” said Benjamin the Mouse. “I’ve actually been beginning to miss them the past few days, if you will believe it. I know the only thing they did was complain, but they did have a unique perspective on everything. They could always be counted on to find the negative in any situation. At least they were interesting for that.”
“Agreed,” said John.
“So, what is your plan?” asked Benjamin. “Can we leave tomorrow? Shall you say your goodbyes now?”
John shook his head. “No, it’s too soon. I’ve only met the Princess once. The Chief Minister is going to arrange another meeting with us tomorrow.”
“John, what are you doing?” said Benjamin. “Were you listening to anything I just told you?”
“Yes, I know,” said John. “I understand, but I can’t leave just yet. I’m too intrigued by her.”
“John, you know this relationship can’t go anywhere. You’ve said it yourself.”
“I know. But let me at least talk to her a bit more before we leave, so I know what I’m leaving behind.”
“It’s a bad idea,” said Benjamin. “I don’t like it.”
“One more day,” said John. “And then we can leave. I promise.”
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