A Modern Day Fairy Tale

A Modern Day Fairy Tale
by Greta([email protected])

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle and Callie climbed into their beds and waited for their mom to come in for their nightly bedtime story. Every night, they would lay in their warm beds, listening to their mom tell of far off places and princes fighting for their princesses.
They always looked forward to bedtime.
"Kids, are you all ready for bed?" their mother called.
"Yes!" they replied in unison.
Their mom came in and settled in the chair in between their beds. The kids saw that tonight she had no book in her hand.
"Mommy, are you going to tell a story?" Callie asked.
"Oh, yes, don't I always?" their mom replied.
"Well, where's the book?" Kyle asked.
"Right here." their mom said, pointing to her head.
The kids laughed and settled under their quilts.
"Alright, here we go." the mom said as she cleared her throat.
****************************************************************
Once upon a time, in a land of mystery and wonder, lived a beautiful maiden in a modest home in the middle of the kingdom. She lived with her two brothers and mother and was always happy. She dreamed of one day meeting her prince and living happily together.
Not far from the home of the maiden was a extraordinary castle in which there lived a prince with his mother and father. His father had arranged that the young prince marry a princess from a neighboring kingdom so that the two kingdoms could merge to become the most powerful in the country. The prince was happy, but felt like something was missing. One day, the maiden was walking along the main road when she turned and saw the prince riding up on his beautiful white horse. She was so flustered that she ran and hid behind an tree. She had moved so quickly that she disturbed the branches of a nearby apple tree and a apple fell off a higher branch and hit the prince on the head! The prince rubbed his head and kept on riding down the road. The maiden watched as he rode away. She vowed to one day have him fall in love with her and they could be together. She knew that the next time they met things would go better. The maiden, happy with her new goal, headed towards home. When she arrived home, she found that her older brother was in a foul mood. He had went to work as a castle guard and the king had found out about his secret affair with the king's sister. The king had demoted him and threaten his life next time it happened. Her brother forbid her to be anywhere near the castle or any of its occupants. The maiden was so distraught that she decided to go to the creek that ran along the edge of the kingdom. Once she arrived, she was disappointed to find her prince with his princess. As he was telling his fiancee of his undying love, the maiden accidentally tripped and screamed. The couple was so startled from her outburst; they fell into the cold creek. The prince and princess got out of the water and the prince searched the woods for the person who'd caused their troubles. He was furious. But, he found no one. The maiden had already started back home, crying. The next day, the maiden was sitting in her mother's tailor shop when the queen came in to order a new dress. The queen was so impressed with the maiden's sewing ability that she offered her a position as seamstress at the castle. The maiden agreed, against her mother's wishes. The maiden could only think of how close she would be to the prince.
The maiden was on her way home when she saw the prince talking with a pair of noblemen in the court square. This was her moment. The maiden made her way over to the prince to talk to him. She moved so quickly that she didn't notice the man carried two buckets of water on his shoulders. Just as she had stepped in front of the prince, the man couldn't get around her. When the maiden stepped back to bow to the prince, the man tripped and the prince was drenched.
The maiden began to apologize profusely. She apologized for the creek incident and the apple incident. The prince was shocked at how much trouble this one maiden had done! Immediately, the prince called for the guards. The maiden dashed through the court and ran all the way home where she spent the night weeping in her room. The next morning, the maiden had to go to the castle to begin her work as seamstress. She knew if she ran into the prince; he'd put her in jail. The maiden snuck into her mother's room and found a winter headscarf that covered her whole face. This would prevent him from seeing her! Thrilled with her excellent thinking, the maiden went to the castle and worked all day with the queen, sewing new dresses and veils. As the maiden set for home, she ran into the queen and prince. The queen introduced the maiden and the prince. The prince was gracious and polite, but he felt as if he knew her. The maiden quickly retreated to her home, hoping he didn't recognize her. The maiden's disguise worked for a couple of weeks, but one day decided to take the headscarf off since it was so hot. While the maiden was working, the prince walked in and saw her without her scarf! He started calling the guards as she frantically tried to explain. After explanations were made, the prince and the maiden became friends. The maiden had been working for the queen for a month when a grand ball was announced for the following night. The maiden loved the idea of attending such a wonderful affair, but knew it wouldn't be possible. The prince came into the sewing room for his daily visit with the maiden and overheard her talking to another seamstress about her wishes to attend the ball. The prince walked back to the main chamber where his princess told him she couldn't attend the ball. Since the princess and the maiden had been working together on the princess' wedding dress, they had become 'friends'. The princess suggested the prince take the maiden. The prince, although hesitant, invited the elated maiden. She readily accepted. The night of the ball arrived and the maiden had created a beautiful gown worthy of a queen. The prince sent a beautiful carriage to pick up the maiden. She arrived and the prince escorted her into the ballroom. The maiden felt as if she were floating. The prince danced every dance with her. The maiden and the prince talked and laughed until finally the night came to an end. The maiden climbed back into the carriage and turned back to face her prince. They said good-night and exchanged small kisses. The maiden sat back as she rode home. She never wanted this night to end. The weeks before the prince's marriage to the princess turned to days. The maiden knew she must reveal her feelings to the prince soon. Finally, she decided to get him to meet her at the creek. After slipping him a note, she waited for him.
To her delight, the prince showed. The maiden poured her heart out. She asked the prince to tell her of his feelings. The prince told her that what she was feeling was just a crush; it wasn't real. He was going to marry his princess.
The maiden was crushed. The prince didn't have feelings for her. She couldn't believe her foolishness. One day, the maiden was at home, by herself, when their was a knock upon her door. She opened it to find: the prince!
The prince revealed that he had feelings for her and the two shared a passionate kiss.
The maiden was overjoyed; the prince had picked her!
The maiden's happiness was suddenly over when the prince told her that, although he loved her, he still loved his princess. His royal family depended upon his marriage to the princess. He was still undecided, but was going to call off the wedding. The maiden bid her prince farewell, sure that his decision would be in her favor.
The maiden was still ecstatic over the prince's visit when there was another knock upon her door. It was the princess! She came inside the maiden's house.
Much to the maiden's surprise, the princess raised her hands and bright lightning came out of the princess' fingertips. The maiden ran around the house, trying to avoid the bolts. Suddenly, the prince busted through the door with his guards.
The maiden ran to the prince as the guards carried the princess out the door.
The prince kissed the maiden and went to check on the princess. The princess, crying, told the prince she had gained her powers from her mother, who was a witch, and they only worked when she was upset. Since the prince had broken their engagement, he felt bad for her. To the maiden's chagrin, the prince left with the princess. The maiden was sure that the prince had chosen to go back to the princess. She fled to the castle to find the prince. Once the prince, the princess, and the maiden were together, they began to discuss the future. The prince decided to spend time with each one of them to help him decide on his future bride. Both women agreed to this. The princess was to have the first shot at winning the prince's affections.
She carried him to their favorite spot along the river for a picnic and they danced on the balcony of the castle to their favorite melody. The maiden peeked in as they were having dinner on the terrace. With an aura of defeat, she knew she had lost.
The next day, the maiden awaited the prince's arrival for their day together.
The minutes became hours and 3 hours after he was due to arrive, the prince walked in. After his apologies and explanations were made, the prince took the maiden for a romantic carriage ride through the hills. They returned to the castle where the prince took the maiden to the same balcony and danced to THEIR song...the one in their hearts.
The maiden awoke the next morning with the hope that it wasn't a dream; it wasn't. The maiden drifted in the kitchen to find her mother consoling her older brother. After asking what happened, she was distraught to find that the king's sister had been killed in a terrible carriage accident. Her brother loved her so much; he was ripped to pieces. After comforting her brother, she tried to get to the prince, but was refused at the door by the princess' mother and the king.
The maiden was desperate.
The whole kingdom attended the funeral of the beloved princess. The maiden found it a perfect time to find the prince and give him her sympathy.
The prince found HER and they talked about how they should tell her older brother.
The maiden knew that he despised the royal family and wouldn't accept their growing love. The prince started to turn away from the maiden, but found that, in his heart, he couldn't.
The maiden separated from the prince so that her brother wouldn't see her, but was saddened, not by the dead princess, but by the sight of the princess comforting the prince. The prince seemed to be comfortable with the princess.
The maiden couldn't do anything.
The next week, it was discovered that the beloved princess wasn't dead.
The kingdom rejoiced. The princess was kept in the East Wing of the castle to recuperate. The whole kingdom made plans to attend the evening church services to pray for the speedy recovery of the princess. The prince, however, told the two women of his heart that he planned to ask the woman he loved to marry him. That night, the maiden was incredibly nervous. She entered the church and sat with her mother. When the clock showed it was almost time for the service to start, she began scanning the room for the prince. He finally entered with the queen and princess. As he ascended the aisle behind the princess, he looked over at the maiden. As she had just began to have hope, he sat beside the princess.
The maiden's heart broke. The prince had chosen the princess. Her heart would never love another so deeply, so purely, again. The prince walked over to the maiden. The maiden gave him her best wishes for a happy life with the princess, who she now thought was purely evil. The prince laughed at this notion and got down on one knee. He proposed to the princess, who accepted. They kissed right in the middle of the church with the whole kingdom watching.

THE END
****************************************************************
"That was the best story ever, Mommy." Callie said.
The kids reached up and hugged their mom. She reached over and switched off the light.
"Good-night, my angels." she said.
She shut the door and turned to go to her own bedroom when a pair of strong arms slipped around her waist and picked her up.
"That was a fascinating bedtime story." her husband said.
"How much did you hear?" she asked.
"Every last word." he replied.
"Well, what did you think?" she asked him.
He carried her to their bed.
"I thought it was VERY entertaining....Maiden Theresa..." he said, laughing.
"Thank you very much, Prince Ethan!" she joked.
"But, you forgot one thing...." he said.
He leaned down to meet her lips and kissed her and said: "They lived.....happily....ever....after...."

THE END

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Back to A

~*~

Back to Fanfics

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws