Glenn Ringtved pens a modern fairytale in this exclusive story for Vogue Scandinavia

Once upon a time there was a young woman who got lost in a maze. It's a terrible story in a way, but maybe you shouldn’t think like that. Maybe it’s a story full of wonder. I say “Once upon a time,” even though it happened last summer. That's because this is a fairy tale. And because the young woman is no longer the same young woman. But first, a small bit of history: At the beginning of the last century, Sir Neville Wilkinson decided to build a dollhouse for his little daughter Guendolen, who thought it was a pity that the fairies had to live in underground caves.

But his ambitions for the house grew, and fifteen years would pass before Sir Neville, with the help of dozens and dozens of skilled craftsmen, had erected the most wonderful little castle. Twenty rooms it had, including a small Knight's Hall with chandeliers of the finest crystal. Yes, it was a real fairytale castle. Here the fairy queen Titania moved in with her consort Oberon, and their seven children. What life and festivity there was at the fine castle, for those who could see it.

Now the dollhouse, Titania's Palace, stands at Egeskov Castle. A castle in a castle. In the middle of the fairytale poet Hans Christian Andersen's birth island, Fyn. Could it be more magical? But before Titania's Palace came to Egeskov, it was exhibited at Legoland. It was here our young woman saw it for the first time on a visit with her family when she was quite a little girl.

She walked reverently around the tiny palace, looking in through the small windows. She saw the delicate porcelain cups, which were so small you could not even hold them between your fingers; she saw the beds, each no bigger than a matchbox; she saw the chandeliers and Ming vases in the Knight’s Hall; and she imagined the candlelight and roses gracing sumptuous dances and feasts. I would like to live here, the little girl thought. And she dared to say so to her parents, but they just laughed and said she was being silly.

Many years passed, and the young woman happened to visit Egeskov Castle with her boyfriend. They were on their way home from a summer vacation where late one night, while they were drinking wine, he had proposed to her. At first, she had said yes, but she was young and thought he might be teasing her, so after she said yes, she laughed and said "Let's see". As they were driving she spotted a sign showing the way to Egeskov Castle; she persuaded him, with some difficulty, to take the small detour.

In the warm afternoon, they walked through the castle garden and then sat on a bench to watch the children play. And they talked once more about the life that awaited them. About moving in together, perhaps even buying a house, so there would be room for the children that were to come. “Seven children. We should have seven children," she said, hugging him, for seven was such a wonderful number, she thought. "We could never afford a big house like that," he said in a very serious voice. "And we will have to have a car that fits. Two children will be better.”

“Don’t be such a bore,” she laughed and kissed him on the cheek. Suddenly she jumped up and grabbed his hand. "Let's not talk about it anymore," she said, trying to pull him up from the bench. "Come on, let’s try the maze!" But the boyfriend had allergies and was afraid of having a reaction while they wandered among the maze’s tall hedges. “We should go into the castle right away,” he said. “After all, that was what we came for. It’s what we paid for.” So they went into the castle, and there to her great surprise she saw Titania’s Palace.

She immediately remembered how she had felt as a little girl. And the feeling was exactly the same now. She took his hand and led him around the tiny palace. With shining eyes, she showed him the many small details she remembered so well: the tiny cups, the teeny beds, the Knight’s Hall chandeliers. "I've always dreamed of living in there," she said. "And going to a ball in the Knight’s Hall with the other fairies." "It's a sweet thought," he said. "No,” she said, “I really want to live in there. For real.”

He laughed and shook his head, and she freed herself from his arm that had been resting around her shoulders. "No," she said again, now almost angry. "I mean it! I really, really want to live in there, and go to the balls, and..." "You’re crazy, you know that?” he said, tapping a finger against his forehead. “Stop being so childish."

"I don’t mean it that way," she tried, because she could see he was hurt, "... but I don’t think you understand ..." He was suddenly too upset to listen and just wanted to get home. "You live in a fairytale world," he said and walked away. "Why don’t you just grow up." He was striding ahead of her as they left the castle. She tried to take his hand, but he pulled it away. She followed him through the flower garden, and past the bench where they had been talking just moments before. And when he still didn’t speak to her, she thought she would tease him a little. She turned and ran into the maze.

She took first one way; then another. To the right, to the left, then to the right again, without thinking how she might get out. She heard him call her name, but she continued to run between the high, wide hedges until she couldn’t hear him anymore. Suddenly the maze seemed gigantic, it seemed to continue indefinitely. Every time she turned a corner, there were new paths, new choices. Far too many choices. She could feel a sense of panic begin to spread through her body. She heard him call again somewhere to the left.

Now she really wanted to get out, wanting desperately to throw herself into his arms and ask for forgiveness, for she truly loved him. And yet she turned away from his voice and stepped directly into a dead end. And there, her back against the green hedge, she sat on the ground, squeezed her eyes shut, and asked her heart to show her the right way. The boyfriend waited impatiently outside the maze. But just as he was about to go in and look for her, he heard a loud buzz.

He looked up and saw what he first thought was a dragonfly. But it shone in the sun like the purest gold, and moved with a speed like no other creature he had ever seen. He turned around and watched it fly over the moat and disappear into a crack in the castle wall. As fast as his legs could carry him, he ran across the bridge and back into the castle, up the stairs and into the room that held Titania's Palace. And as he stopped, panting, he saw that all the tiny rooms in the Palace were lit up and full of life.

He took a step closer and walked around the small castle and found himself standing before the Knight's Hall. He watched her dancing among the other fairies, with her small transparent wings and fluttering skirt, and saw her glow as he’d never seen her glow before. She looked up and their eyes met for a brief moment, before she disappeared into the dance again. He left Egeskov Castle and drove home alone in the midsummer night. Heavy at heart, but light at heart, too. As I said, it took Sir Neville 15 years to build the dollhouse, but by then Guendolen was no longer a little girl, but a young woman.