Once upon a time there was a little princess called Mai. She had wavy, black hair that cascaded down her back, and eyes that were a dark blue like the nighttime sky that sparkled with thousands of stars. Mai was a quiet girl who spent her free time in the palace gardens tending to her roses. Mai loved roses because when you look at them they seem so gentle and beautiful, but if you get too close their vicious thorns will attack you. One day when Mai was in the garden she saw a boy near the roses.
“Who are you?” she asked the boy as she walked to the roses.
“I’m Will, did you plant these roses?” he asked her. Mai didn’t reply, she was trying to figure out if Will was an intruder. He seemed harmless; he looked to be about ten years old. Will had dirty blond hair, chocolate colored eyes, and he was wearing brown pants, grey shoes, a green shirt, and a black cloak. Mai was about to say something to Will when she heard footsteps behind her.

“There you are Time Traveler,” standing behind Mai was her mother, Queen Terra. The queen had shoulder length brown hair and clear grey eyes, Mai looked nothing like her mother.
“Hello your Highness,” said Will with a bow.
“Mother, who is this?” Mai asked.
“He is the Time Traveler, surely you know what that means,” the Queen told her daughter. Mai nodded, the Time Traveler was someone who traveled to the past and future by order of the royal family. Mai had expected the Time Traveler to be someone older than Will.
“Come with me Time Traveler, I need to talk to you about what I sent you to get,” the Queen said and Will nodded.
“It was nice meeting you Princess,” Will said to Mai before he left the garden with the Queen.
*
*
*

It wasn’t until three years later that Mai saw the Time Traveler again. Mai was at the ball for her twelfth birthday and was watching people dance around her. She was wearing an off-white dress that had a skirt of pinks and purple. On her head was a silver circlet with a ruby in the center.

“Happy birthday Princess,” someone said from behind her. Mai spun around to see a boy standing there. The boy was a good for inches taller than Mai and he was wearing a black and blue tuxedo. He had dirty blond hair and brown eyes that seemed vaguely familiar.
“Time Traveler,” Mai gasped and he smiled.
“So you remember me, well may I had this dance?” he asked and Mai nodded.

Time Traveler and Mai waltzed, and Mai was surprised to find out that Time Traveler was an excellent dancer. When the song ended Time Traveler led Mai out onto the balcony. It was a warm summer night and there was a slight breeze.
“So, what exactly is the job of the Time Traveler?” Mai asked him.
“Well, how can I explain this,” Time Traveler paused and thought about the question. “I travel to the future and into the past to fulfill tasks the Queen assigns me,” he told Mai.
“What does she have you searching for now?” she asked him.
“I can’t tell you until I find it, but I can tell you that I’ve been searching for it since about four years ago Princess,” Time Traveler told Mai.
“Well then why are you here if you haven’t found it?” Mai was full of questions.
“It’s your birthday, and I have a gift for you,” he said as he reached into his pocket. “Close your eyes,” he told Mai and she did so. Mai felt something cold around her neck. “Okay, you can open your eyes now,” Time Traveler said.

When Mai opened her eyes she found herself wearing a necklace that had a perfect silver circle with a horizontal and vertical line going through the middle. It was a simple necklace, but that made it even more stunning.
“It’s beautiful,” Mai whispered.
“That is the planet symbol for Earth, I got it from the future,” Time Traveler told Mai.
“Thank you,” Mai said and she hugged the Time Traveler.
“You’re welcome Princess, well it’s about time I left to look for what your mother wants,” he said and Time Traveler started to walk away.
“Is whatever this thing is really that important, can’t you stay for a few more days?” Mai asked and Time Traveler turned around, he had a serious expression on his face.
“Yes, it is,” and with that he left.
*
*
*

Almost five years had passed and Mai had heard nothing from the Time Traveler, but she wore the silver necklace every day. Mai was about to turn fifteen when she fell terribly ill. She had a constant fever and had to stay in bed. The doctor said that there was no known medicine for the illness and all they could do was wait for the fever to go down. On Mai’s fifteenth birthday the fever was at its worst and Mai knew the truth, she was dying. Mai was thinking about how she wanted to see Time Traveler one last time when the door opened and in walked Time Traveler. He still had his chocolate brown eyes, and dirty blonde hair but he had grown even taller.
“Time Traveler,” Mai coughed.
“Hello Princess, it’s been a while,” he said to her.
“Why are you here?” Mai asked.
“I found what I was looking for,” Time Traveler said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of purple liquid. “See, this is it Princess.”
“That’s good,” every word sounded like it was a struggle to say.
“Drink this,” he said. Mai took the bottle and drank the contents.
“What was that?” she asked.
“A medicine from the future to cure your illness,” Time Traveler said with a smile.
“You mean, all these years my mother has had you looking for a medicine for this time? Just for when I got sick?” she asked.
“Yes Princess and you will be okay now. You’re not going to die,” he said with a smile. “Oh, and I’m here to stay now,” Time Traveler added.
“So now we can get to know each other,” Mai was now smiling.

That was twenty years ago and now Mai and Will are King and Queen with kids of their own. Their children love to hear the story of the Time Traveler and the Princess.