For Elisia.
For the days we share,
the days we wait,
and the love that always finds its way home.
Princess Elisia lived in a castle with warm floors and tall windows.
The floors felt nice on her feet, even when she ran too fast.
The windows were her favorite.
From the windows, she could see the road.
The road was long and winding.
It went past green hills and quiet trees.
It went so far that it disappeared into the bright place where the sun liked to rest.
That road mattered.
Because the road was where the Wandering Knight walked.
The Wandering Knight wore armor that made soft sounds when he moved.
His boots were always dusty.
His cloak was warm red, like the sky before bedtime.
When he was home, the castle felt fuller.
When he laughed, the walls seemed closer together.
When he sat down, Princess Elisia always climbed right beside him.
But sometimes, the Wandering Knight had to walk the road.
One morning, Princess Elisia woke up and felt something different.
Not bad.
Just quiet.
She hugged her doll and walked down the hallway.
At the big door, she saw the Wandering Knight putting on his cloak.
“Are you going on the road?” she asked.
The Wandering Knight turned and smiled.
“Yes,” he said. “Just for a little while.”
Princess Elisia held her doll tighter.
The Wandering Knight knelt down in front of her.
He always knelt.
He looked at her carefully, like she was the most important thing in the world.
Because she was.
“No road is longer than my love,” he said gently,
“and I always find my way back to you.”
Princess Elisia nodded.
She had heard those words before.
They felt safe.
“I’ll watch the road,” she said.
“I know you will,” the Wandering Knight replied.
Then he stood up, waved one last time, and stepped onto the road.
Princess Elisia watched until she couldn’t see him anymore.
While the Wandering Knight was gone, Princess Elisia stayed busy.
She ate breakfast at the big table.
She dropped a piece of bread, and the castle cat stole it.
She played with her doll.
She built towers and knocked them down again.
But every day, she went to the window.
She watched the road.
Some days, the sun was bright.
Some days, clouds floated slowly by.
One day, the wind blew hard and made the banners flap loudly.
Princess Elisia jumped a little.
She hugged her doll.
“He’s on the road,” she whispered.
“He knows how to come home.”
That made her feel better.
On another day, it rained.
The rain came down fast and loud.
Princess Elisia couldn’t see the road at all.
She felt a funny feeling in her chest.
So she sat on the floor and drew the road with chalk.
She made it long.
She made it twist.
She made it turn back toward the castle.
At the end of the road, she drew a small knight.
“There,” she said.
“Now it remembers.”
At night, the castle felt bigger.
Princess Elisia lay in her bed and listened to the quiet.
The quiet wasn’t scary.
It was just very still.
She hugged her doll and looked out the window.
The moon shone softly on the road.
“He’ll come back,” she said to herself.
She believed it.
One morning, the rain stopped.
The sky turned pink and gold.
The road glowed in the sunlight.
Princess Elisia ran to the window.
At first, she saw nothing.
Then she saw a tiny shape.
It moved.
Her heart felt jumpy again.
She waited.
The shape grew bigger.
She smiled.
It was the Wandering Knight.
He walked slowly, like he was tired, but happy.
When he reached the castle gate, he stopped.
He took off his helmet.
Then he knelt.
Princess Elisia ran as fast as she could.
“You came back!” she said.
The Wandering Knight laughed and picked her up.
“I always do,” he said.
That night, they sat together and watched the sun go down.
“Will you go on the road again?” Princess Elisia asked.
“Yes,” he said.
She nodded.
“And will you come back?” she asked.
The Wandering Knight leaned close.
“No road is longer than my love,” he said softly,
“and I always find my way back to you.”
Princess Elisia smiled.
Because she knew.
And the road knew too.
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