The Star Watcher
a Tiny Kingdom story about coming home, playful adventures and a brother you can only feel
After a long journey, the royal family returned to the Tiny Kingdom. It felt as if the castle had been waiting for them. The air was clear, the gardens bloomed with color, and everything was as it should be.
Princess Guusje wasted no time. She darted through the halls, stole the king’s large slippers, sprang effortlessly out of her puppy pen, and dug little holes in the gardens as though she might find treasure there. The queen watched her and smiled warmly, her heart full of love and pride.
Prince Dingus, the black prince, stayed close. He kept a watchful eye on his little sister. When she slept, he lay nearby, steady and alert. Now and then he gave a soft growl, a reminder that she still had much to learn, and then settled again, calm and sure in his quiet guardianship.
Then came the day of the first puppy class. The king said confidently, “I will take her, I know how this is done.” The queen smiled, that amused little smile women sometimes have when men believe they are the ones in charge and know everything there is to know.
Soon after, he stood beside his little princess with a pouch of treats in his hand, exactly as the queen (and perhaps Guusje too) had known it would be, patiently trying to make Princess Guusje do his bidding. Of course she did, but only after glancing up at her queen, whose quiet guidance and steady patience shaped her every day, as if to be sure she was doing it right.
Then Guusje turned her gaze back to her king, her eyes full of playful satisfaction, as if the world was unfolding exactly the way she liked it.
Later that day, when the sun was low and the gardens had grown quiet, the queen felt him again. Prince Donder. He was there, unseen but present, like a soft warmth that brushed the heart more than the skin. He watched over them all, as he always had, from the realm that could only be reached in silence.
As evening came, Guusje curled up against Dingus and drifted into sleep. The Tiny Kingdom felt whole again. Everyone was exactly where they belonged, loved and safe, even the one who now lived only among the stars.