THE PRINCESS AND THE PEACOCK
From the Birds of Fae series, volume 1
by C.S. Johnson
In Johnson’s fantasy novella, a man hopes to win the heart of a princess who once gave him hope after a tragedy.
On the isle of Maluhia, Kaipo climbs the Forbidden Mountain. A fall from such a great height could easily kill him, but he makes the climbs due to his love for Princess Mele, whose father, King Ahanu, wants her to marry. Kaipo has terrible burns on his left side and back, which he received after he tried to save his mother from intentional self-immolation. He failed, but while he was convalescing, he received a visit from the princess, whose kindness gave him a reason “to move forward” in life. Climbing with him is his adoptive brother, Rahj, whom Kaipo’s father rescued from slavery. At the top of the mountain, they hope to meet the Fae Queen, Jaya, who grants wishes to those who survive the trek. Kaipo plans to ask for beauty—and specifically, the erasure of his scars—because he believes that Mele “deserves to have a husband as beautiful as she is.” In her garden paradise, Jaya warns the pair that “there is a great difference between beauty that comes from magic and the beauty that is shaped inside the heart”—and she then turns Kaipo into a peacock. At the bottom of the mountain, he and Rahj awake to face Pravin the Great Protector, who might feed Kaipo to his soldiers if the peacock isn’t careful. Johnson’s brief fantasy offers readers a fine lesson in narrative economy, as she brings nothing onstage that doesn't serve the novella’s romance plot. It turns out, for example, that Pravin also wants to wed Mele, and he assumes that their wedding will be swift and uncontested. Fans of satirical fantasy classics, such as William Goldman’s The Princess Bride (1973), will enjoy watching the loutish Pravin lose ground to Kaipo despite the fact that the latter is unable to speak a word. Johnson gracefully intertwines Rahj’s tale with his brother’s, as well. The joyous finale is satisfying, but readers will likely crave more of Johnson’s world.
A lush, poetic tale that will charm readers.