Faerietale (working title)

A creative writing assignment that I loved. It's, obviously, a faerietale. With the evil step-mother, handsome prince, beautiful princess, and all the other needed elements. :)

Once upon a time, in a distant land, there existed an enchanted castle. Within these walls was a single family with an unusually beautifully daughter. Every eligible prince, from every corner of the globe, had come to have a look at her and court her, but none of them were ever able to. Her parents, the glorified king and queen, made every prince that wanted a glance at their beautiful daughter pass a rigorous test so that he could prove his love to her.

             One day, five princes had arrived to the castle, all seeking the girl’s hand in marriage. One by one they were put to the test that the queen had developed. The first prince, from the neighboring kingdom, had failed the test after the first question. Discouraged, he left the throne room. The next prince, who hailed from a distant kingdom, made it through only a few questions. With a deflated ego, he exited the castle and rode his horse home slowly. The same fate became the next two, who were twins from a kingdom just beyond the mountains. The whole way home they bickered about who was prettier, and who screwed up first; they, too, had their egos crushed. Finally, the last prince of this month entered the throne room. He marveled the marble pillars and floors, seeing his light face in the shiny stone. He cleared his throat the closer he got to the queen, whose beauty was often talked about; when he got home, he could prove to his town she is as beautiful as the rumors tell.

            Her piercing brown eyes looked down at him from her throne. When their eyes met, she smiled at him, showing her kindness that was also often spoken of. The half-nervous prince returned the gesture.

            “Please start by stating your name,” she said, her strong but gentle voice echoed in the hall.

            “My name is Dulcan Stronghold, Prince of Eterater. I have traveled many miles in hopes of courting your daughter and marrying her,” he answered, confidence brewing in him.

            “It is nice to meet you Prince Dulcan.” She bowed her head lightly. “I would like to ask you something; what would your course of action be if your bride was being stolen by an enemy prince?”

            “Is the answer not obvious? I would fight to save her, even if it would kill me, I would know my lovely bride is safe at home.”

            “One more. One day your bride-to-be tells you she no longer desires you. What would you do?”

            “I could do nothing to change her, but I would break our engagement so she could marry someone she loves.” The queen nodded her head.

            “Last question, Prince Dulcan. If it was needed, or it was ordered by your parents or hers, or she asked you with love in her eyes, would you kill her?” Their eyes met as he opened his mouth to speak.

            “Your highness! Your daughter requests a word with you!” a round servant came bustling into the room, escorting the princess. For the first time, a prince was able to see her; she seemed to glow with beauty. Pale skin with brushed with bold, fire-coloured hair and soft emerald eyes lit up her defined face. Dulcan was taken aback by her beauty; this was the woman he was hoping to marry? He suddenly became the luckiest man in the world.

            “Winston, please show our guest to his room and leave us girls to our own. Thank you for bringing her to me.” The queen turned to her daughter and began a conversation with her. When the two young teenagers met eyes, they knew they would be together; it was an unexplainable love at first sight.

            The queen grew to love the prince while he lived in her castle. He began to court Mary, as he hoped, and often wrote home telling of his good fortune. In one such letter, he mentioned how nice the queen was treating him, better then her own daughter. It seemed she truly considered him a son, not just some prince who was after her daughter. One day, while the Dulcan and Mary were walking around the courtyard, the queen’s right hand, the round servant, came flying out of the castle calling their names. He told the young couple that the queen wanted them to marry soon, within the next month. The prince was excited, but not as excited as his beautiful princess; they readily agreed.

            Weeks began to fly by, making the kingdom flourish with happiness. About a week before the wedding, the queen summoned the prince to her chambers, stating that she needed to speak to him about the wedding plans. The next day, the same thing happened. Each and every time he went into her room, which became once a day, he would be smiling and elated, but every time he left, he would seem sad and depressed. No one understood what was going on; he was a prince to be married in a few days, why was he so unhappy?

            The wedding day came with a glowing sunrise. Dulcan awoke with a feeling of glee burning inside of him, imagining the reception. He heard the dragon outside his window in the courtyard roar it’s wake-up call to other the others still asleep in the castle. Quickly, he was up and dressed to walk around the castle before his noon wedding.

            His wedding was something magical. Flowers were everywhere, people had come for miles to see the marriage of Dulcan and Mary, the sun warmed everything, despite the autumn weather. The newlywed’s reception was just as amazing; singing and dancing until all hours of the evening. That night, when the couple had returned to their new room built to accompany them both, the queen entered to speak to Dulcan. She retold him everything that she had said in the past few weeks with urgency, letting him know he had to do it tonight, their wedding night. His face going pale, he agreed.

            It was nearing sunrise and the prince was still awake. He did not want to listen to the queen, what she was suggesting, no demanding, was absurd. Dulcan could not imagine committing such a strange act, but he did answer that question with a yes; if he needed to, he would kill her. He just did not say which “her”.

            In tip toed the queen, a scowl on her face. The façade of her beauty also being in her personality fell away; Dulcan now saw her for what she was. The terrifying new mother-in-law made him hop out of his bed in order to protect his new bride. The dagger she gave him earlier in the day was now in his hand; this calmed the raging queen. In a swift movement, the dagger ripped through the royal cloth and flesh of the pretty queen and with a shriek she was on the ground. This awoke Mary, making her look around. She saw her mother on the ground bleeding to death.

            “She told me to kill you; I just could not bring myself to. I love you too much,” Dulcan explained, hugging his love. “She wanted you dead for your beauty. She was going to take your dead body and steal your blood to take it to the alchemist. He would have been able to put your beauty into her, allowing your mother to be the fairest of them all.” Mary quivered in his arms as the sun rose. The light that poured into the large, Gothic-style windows shone unto the dying queen, burning her evil body. Her soul poofed away from her in a dim cloud of grey-silver smoke; Dulcan was free of the dark burden on his shoulders. The couple lived happily ever after for all of eternity.

 

Fin

 

Author's Note

I amuse myself with the large "o" in the beginning. :)