The Young Maiden

A short story about a girl would marries a prince, but falls prey to her vanity

There once was a young girl who lived in a small village with her mother and father. They were sad to only have one daughter, but loved her dearly. As she grew, she became the most beautiful girl in the land. Her hair was silky and black as the night sky. She had skin like butter, smooth and pale. When she became the age to marry, her father began to search for a suitable husband. Alas, while she was beautiful, no man could take the weight of her poor parents.
One day however, a handsome man came riding through the village on a golden mare. He was on his way through the country to see his people. He was the prince. He saw the girl, planting in the fields, dirty and with warn hands.
He called to her saying, "Why does such a beautiful maiden work the fields?"
"To feed my old father and mother," she replied.
And at once her got off his horse and strode over to her.
"Well then," he said, "Be my wife and neither you or your parents shall need of anything ever again."
So he took her and her parents back to the palace and the prince and the maiden were to be married in the spring.
When spring came the maiden wept, crying "How can I be a princess with field warn hands and with scars from the grasses on my legs?"
A small woman crept from the corner of the room and said, "Child, I will give you your fine skin again, but you must give me your first born son."
The maiden was shocked, how could anyone ask for the heir to the throne? She bid the woman away.
But on the eve of her wedding, she looked at her hands and began to cry again. The old woman appeared again, and the maiden sobbed, "Please, anything, give me my beautiful skin."
The old woman nodded and when the girls fresh tears hit her hands, they smoothed the skin and removed the scars.
Two years later, the maiden gave birth to a healthy baby boy. The old woman, came from the corner, hands outreached for the child.
The maiden began to weep and cling to the child. When her tears hit the child's skin, it began to scar like her hands from the flied.
She screamed and yelled at the old woman, but the child's face continued to scar. The old woman only walked closer and reached out her arms. The princess, afraid of hurting the child further, handed him to the old woman. The old woman left with the boy in a shadow.
Years later, the prince and princess had aged, and now had seven beautiful daughters but no sons.This was a great distress to the prince, as he had no heir to his throne. The princess had all but forgotten about the son she had so many years ago, having never told her husband.
When a young man approached the princess, asking for her audience.
She obliged, and he removed his hood.
"If it were not for your vanity mother, I would be in line to be prince." he spat at her.
"My son!" She cried and leapt towards him.
The prince, upon realizing what this meant, turned to the princess and banned her and the rest of her children from the kingdom.
"I plucked you from the fields and placed you in my palace! Now you have betrayed me." He yelled at her.
Her daughters ran to her as the guards pulled them away, banishing them to a small section of land in the mountains.
The prince took in the boy, and when he died the boy became prince. And the woman lived the rest of her days on the mountain, her hands once again scarred from the fields.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading!