Kaylie headed back to her room as fast as she could while also checking texts on her phone. Her cell signal had started going in and out again and she wanted to call Rachel as soon as she could. Rachel rarely used their 911 text code, but when she did, Kaylie knew something important was going on.
When she got to her room she burst through the door, only to find a surprised princess and Ms. Meyers staring back at her. “Whoa,” Kaylie exclaimed, equally surprised to see them. She looked around and quickly realized she wasn’t in her room at all. The room she was in was filled with art supplies.
“I am so sorry,” Kaylie said. “I thought this was my room.”
“That’s no problem,” Ms. Meyers said kindly. “Your room is at the end of the other hall, down that way,” she said and pointed. “Don’t worry, it happens all the time.”
“No, it doesn’t,” the princess corrected Ms. Meyers.
Kaylie couldn’t help but laugh. She loved the princess’s honesty. “I’m sure it doesn’t. I’m just terrible with directions and I was looking at my phone and…” She stopped talking when she saw some wonderful paintings on the wall of the castle, the lake, and Blixen. She walked over to get a closer look. “These are great,” she said, drawn in by the vibrant colors.
“The princess is very talented,” Ms. Meyers said.
Kaylie’s jaw dropped when she stared at the princess. “You did all these? No way!”
“I did,” the princess said with a hint of a smile.
“Seriously?” Kaylie asked, glancing back at the paintings. “Because these are really good.” She would have never guessed a ten-year-old had done them. She pointed at the Blixen painting.
“So, Blixen, this is you?” Kaylie asked. “You look very handsome.”
Blixen barked and wagged his tail.
Kaylie walked over to where the princess and Ms. Meyers were sitting at a table together. “What are you guys working on now?” When she got closer, she was impressed when she saw the princess was painting a row of Christmas trees with bright red round ornaments.
“The trees down by the lake,” the princess answered.
Kaylie pointed to a large star at the top of one of the trees. “I like your star.”
“Thank you,” the princess said and rewarded her with a smile. “I wanted the star to be big enough so people in heaven could see it, like my mother and grandfather.”
Kaylie’s heart went out to her. “I love that, and I’m sure they can see it. It’s perfect.”
The princess smiled back at her and then went back to painting.
Ms. Meyers walked over to where two easels were set up and motioned for Kaylie to join her.
As Kaylie walked over, she noticed right away that there was a regular-sized easel and a miniature easel set up next to it. On the regular-sized easel, Kaylie was charmed when she saw a beautiful painting of a snow-covered village. “Is this Tolvania?” Kaylie asked.
Ms. Meyers nodded proudly. “It is, and this was painted by Anna’s mother, Princess Sophia.”
“It’s fantastic,” Kaylie said. “So, this is where the princess inherited her talent. It makes me want to go to the village immediately.”
“I think that was the plan, to draw people in,” Ms. Meyers said. “And you will see when you go that Tolvania is even more magical in person. I think it’s wonderful that you’re here and what you are doing for Princess Anna and the family. It’s going to mean so much to everyone. I know Sophia would have loved the idea of the princess having a special fairy tale. Sophia was so creative. The princess definitely takes after her. Where most children start off coloring, Anna skipped that and went straight to painting when she was two. Her mother said she had the gift and the two of them would spend hours painting together. It was really something special to see.”
“I bet it was,” Kaylie said and then pointed at a painting of Blixen that was on the smaller easel. He was standing at the end of the dock wearing a big red Christmas bow, looking adorable. “And this one?”
“The princess painted that. He’s her favorite thing to paint,” Ms. Meyers said.
Kaylie nodded, looking over at the princess and how Blixen was sleeping at her feet. “Those two make quite the pair.”
Ms. Meyers nodded. “They are inseparable.”
Kaylie watched the princess concentrate on her painting. “She’s so focused on what she’s doing. It’s really something to see.”
“Painting is her favorite thing to do,” Ms. Meyers said. “Right after her mother passed away, she didn’t want to paint anymore. It was heartbreaking to see, but then the prince got the idea to put a different picture her mother had done every day on the easel. He told the princess her mother was always with her and encouraged her to try and use the painting as inspiration to see what she could paint as a way of still painting together. It only took a few days before we found her in here painting on her little easel next to her mother’s.”
“So, it worked,” Kaylie said, in awe.
“It did, and thankfully she has been painting ever since. But now it’s hard for me to get her to do any other arts and crafts.” Ms. Meyers chuckled. “Now she only wants to paint.” Ms. Meyers glanced over at the princess. “Would you mind keeping a quick eye on her while I run and get a sweater for both of us? This room is a little chilly today.”
“Of course,” Kaylie said.
“I’ll be right back,” Ms. Meyers said as she hurried out the door.
Kaylie wandered back over to the princess who was still painting like she was in her own private world.
The princess gave her a curious look. “Do you paint?”
Kaylie pointed at herself. “Me? Oh, no. I can’t even draw a stick figure, and you do not want to see me around any paint,” Kaylie said with conviction. “That could be a disaster.”
The princess got some paints and paint brushes off the counter and picked up two pieces of paper and sat back down.
“Sit,” the princess commanded.
Kaylie instantly sat. She felt like an obedient pet when she saw Blixen wag his tail.
The princess slid a piece of paper over to Kaylie and handed her a paint brush.
Kaylie refused to take it. “Oh, no. I told you. I don’t paint. I’d much rather just watch you. You’re the real artist.”
The princess waved the paint brush at her. “Don’t be afraid. I’m going to show you how.”
Kaylie sat up straight. “Who said anything about feeling afraid?”
The princess gave her a knowing smile. “You did.”
Kaylie gave the princess a look. “How old are you again?”
“Ten,” the princess said proudly. “Almost eleven.”
“Going on forty,” Kaylie said under her breath.
The princess heard her and giggled. She then waved the paint brush at Kaylie again.
Kaylie gave up and finally took the brush. Clearly, the princess had inherited her grandmother’s tenacious personality, and she knew the sooner she got this embarrassment over with, the better. She’d always admired anyone who could draw or paint and tell a story that way. As far as her artistic talents were concerned, she knew she was lacking. She was more than happy to keep her storytelling to the words she wrote and spoke.
“I’ll try on one condition,” Kaylie said, seeing some scissors and picking them up. “That you do one of my family traditions with me. It’s the only crafty thing I could ever do. It’s really easy.” She picked up a piece of white paper and started folding it and then quickly cut out a fantastic snowflake and held it up. “Voilà!” She was pretty impressed with herself. She hadn’t made a snowflake since she was about the princess’s age. She handed a piece of paper to the princess and the scissors. “Here, your turn.”
“I haven’t made a snowflake before,” the princess said. Within seconds, copying what Kaylie had done, the princess cut out a perfect snowflake and held it up, proudly.
“Show-off,” Kaylie said with a laugh.
The princess giggled. “That was easy.”
“But we’re not done yet,” Kaylie said, picking up a red felt pen. “In my family, our tradition was to make snowflakes for our tree and write on each one a word that reminds us of what matters most at Christmas.” Kaylie wrote the word joy on her snowflake and handed the princess the pen.
The princess quickly wrote the word family on her snowflake. “Can we make more and put them on our tree?”
“I don’t see why not,” Kaylie said, grabbing some more paper and handing the princess a sheet. They both started cutting out new snowflakes.
In no time they had a little pile of snowflakes that were ready to hang on the tree. Kaylie enjoyed every minute of it, until the princess picked up a paintbrush and handed it to Kaylie.
“A deal is a deal,” the princess said. “Now it’s my turn to teach you how to paint.”
Kaylie frowned. “I thought you were going to forget about that.”
The princess merrily shook her head as she dipped her paint brush into the green paint. “We will start with something really easy. You just do what I do, okay?”
“Easy for you to say.” Kaylie eyed the paint. “You’re a little Van Gogh. You know, the famous artist…”
“I have both my ears,” the princess quickly replied.
When Kaylie looked surprised, the princess grinned back at her. “Ms. Meyers just told me about him yesterday in our art lesson, and about Monet and Renoir and…”
Kaylie waved her paint brush at the princess. “Yeah, yeah, okay. I get it. You’re a genius, but are you a teacher? We shall see, because I’m not going to be an easy student.”
“I can teach you. My mother taught me,” the princess said with a confident smile. “And I taught Blixen to fetch. I’m a good teacher. Just don’t be afraid. You can’t be afraid when you do art. Just have fun; that’s what matters most.”
Kaylie took a deep breath. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She dunked her paintbrush into the green paint and twirled it around.
“Be careful, you don’t want too much paint,” the princess warned.
Kaylie frowned. “So, I’m messing up already?”
“No, you can’t mess up with art, that’s what Ms. Meyers always says. Everything we create is beautiful because we created it,” the princess said, sounding all-knowing.
Kaylie was impressed. She wondered, if she’d had an inspiring art teacher who had encouraged her, instead of telling her all the things she was doing wrong, maybe she would have liked art more.
“You just have to believe it and then you can do it,” the princess said.
As the green paint dripped off Kaylie’s paint brush onto her blank piece of paper, she couldn’t help but laugh. Now, not only was she getting a painting lesson from a ten-year-old princess, she was apparently getting a life lesson as well.
When Kaylie’s phone lit up with a text from Rachel, the princess’s smile faded.
“Do you have to go and work?” the princess asked in a matter-of-fact tone that sounded like she already knew Kaylie’s answer.
Kaylie’s heart went out to the princess as she imagined this happened to her all the time with her busy father.
“Hold on,” Kaylie said, quickly checking her phone. It was another text from Rachel—another 911. She quickly texted Rachel back. I’m okay. I made it here. Are you okay? Can I call you later?
As Kaylie waited for Rachel to text back, she saw the princess watching her. She admired how the princess wasn’t pouting or looking disappointed.
She sighed with relief when Rachel’s text came in.
I was just worried! Yes, call me later.
When Kaylie put away her phone, the princess looked surprised.
“You don’t have to work?” the princess asked, confused.
Kaylie picked up her paint brush. “Oh, I’m planning to work, with you, because you said you were going to teach me to paint, and trust me, that’s going to be work.”
When the princess grinned, it lit up her entire sweet little face.
Kaylie smiled back at her. “Okay, teacher, show me what you got.”