The Tangle natsukashii

They raked at her like knives. 

Painfully, the princess nosed her way through the tangle towards what appeared to be a small clearing. Blackbirds twittered a warning call up above, no doubt protecting their nests. It was tempting to locate their eggs for a quick snack, but her annoyance at the cloying brambles spurred her onwards.

Until she emerged at an overgrown pond. Tiny waterfalls met the surface in a gentle roar, their ripples disturbing the white-flowering waterlilies that glowed in the afternoon sun. "Subarashii," she marvelled, coming to sit at the water's edge. A frog croaked nearby.

She took the time to nurse her scrapes and bent her head to the pool as she whispered a quiet prayer.