Elizabeth Enchanted
Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended. I also do not own Ella Enchanted the film or book and no infringement is intended.
Summary: Elizabeth never asked for the gift of obedience. Can she break the spell and find true love?
This is based on Ella Enchanted the book/film. In parts it may follow the book or the film but I will add bits of my own too.
Author's note: Lot's of thank yous!
Thanks to--rachel-- for being my beta. Thanks for putting up with my many mistakes
I'd like to thank my friend Chrissy, who although is not a Roswell fan, reads my works, gives advice and helped me write the poetry. Thanks Chrissy! Couldn't have done it without you!
Prologue
Fairy tales are wondrous stories to share,
With magical creatures that soar through the air.
With monstrous giants and strangely shaped things,
And fantastical creatures with wands and wings.
There's a heart of the story, a moral that runs deep
A love that begins when you take the first leap
A fairy tale reveals some things that are true,
The choices in life which depend upon you.
But the story I tell is different to this
For our hero had no choice, something to miss
It starts with a fairy bestowing a spell,
This ones' for Elizabeth of Roswell
From the instant Elizabeth was born, she cried. She wanted to be back, safe and warm inside her mother's womb. Her mother tried her best to comfort her, but Elizabeth would not stop. Even her Elizabeth's nursemaid Maria could not stop her crying. Maria tried all sorts of things to get her to stop. She tried the usual methods, pulled funny faces, burped her, fed her…she even tried to bewitch a doll to dance.
You see, Maria was a house fairy. But unfortunately, she was not a very good one. When she tried to bewitch the doll, it turned into a cockroach that roared like a lion. For a second, it made Elizabeth stop crying, fascinated. But with in moments Elizabeth was crying again, scared of the terrifying creature.
Elizabeth's mother gave a sigh as Maria grabbed the scary cockroach/doll mutant and carried it downstairs where she disposed of it. Maria looked out of the kitchen window and sighed. She looked out at the perfectly mowed lawn, and the tidy bushes. She saw the colourful flowers and the far away cottages on the edge of the skyline.
That's when she saw the trail of green sparks far away. And they were moving swiftly towards her. Maria's eyes widened. The green sparks were drifting all across the path. This could only mean one thing. Maria ran up the stairs two at a time.
"Hide Elizabeth! Quick!" Maria screeched.
She dashed into Elizabeth's room where her mother was holding her.
"Jim's coming!" Maria gasped out.
Elizabeth's mother yelped.
"Oh God! We have to hide her! Jim gives the worst gifts!" She moaned as she searched for somewhere to hide the crying Elizabeth.
"Quick! In here!" Maria said taking Elizabeth off her mother and bundling her into the closet.
Maria closed the door just in time as Jim flew through the wall and collapsed on the floor. He coughed as he got himself up.
"I'm alright, I'm alright," Jim wheezed.
Jim surveyed the room with the utmost care. He saw the mother looking somewhat nervous and a house fairy standing, somewhat awkwardly, by a closet. He beamed when he saw the cradle in the corner of the room.
"And here is the wonderful child?" he said walking to the cradle.
He looked inside to find blankets and a rattle but nothing else.
"Where is the babe? I must give her my gift!" Jim exclaimed looking at the two women.
The two women blurted out at the same time "She's with her father" "She's at the park"
The women look at each other whilst Jim raised an eyebrow.
"She's in the park with her father." Maria explained moving towards Jim, "And I'm sure they won't want to be disturbed so…"
The closet door creaked open and Elizabeth appeared hanging off a peg on the back of the door, still howling.
"Oh look, she's back" Maria muttered.
Jim rushed forward and took the baby in his arms.
"Aw, there there," Jim cooed as he cradled, "What to give you. Hmm Well…what's her name again?" Jim asked.
"Elizabeth" her mother told Jim sadly.
"Well Elizabeth, let me see." Jim smiled.
Elizabeth looked him directly in the eyes, then wailed some more.
"Not a very well behaved child, is she?" Jim said as the baby continued to cry. "Quiet please, I'm trying to think!"
Elizabeth continued to cry, completely ignoring everything around her.
"Well…I can fix this"
The two women looked at each other in alarm.
"Elizabeth of Roswell, I give you the gift of obedience," Jim said as he used his magic to cast a spell on the poor defenceless Elizabeth.
The two women looked, confused.
"Now, go to sleep" Jim said.
Elizabeth immediately stopped crying, shut her eyes and fell asleep.
"Now wake up" Jim told her.
Elizabeth's eyes shot open.
Jim laughed in delight. He turned to the women.
"There! Isn't it wonderful!" Jim said smiling.
"No!" Maria blurted out. "It's a terrible gift! It's terrible to have to do what you're told! Take it back!"
Jim looked insulted.
"I don't take back gifts," Jim stated, "And if you're going to be ungrateful, I can always turn her into a skunk..."
"A skunk!" Elizabeth's mother repeated horrified.
"It's a lovely gift" Maria quickly amended, plastering a smile on her face.
"Besides, you should thank me! I have given you the perfect child!" Jim said happily.
At that moment, Elizabeth decided to give a present back to Jim, by throwing up over his green shirt. Jim screwed his face up with disdain as Elizabeth's lunch seeped through to his vest.
"You go girl!" Maria thought, smirking.
Even with the spell, Elizabeth stayed refined
Obedient, yet loving, and pure of mind.
In class, whilst awaiting the teacher's arrival, the popular guys of grade three decided to spend there spare minutes on there favourite past time.
They saw Kyle Valenti head up to the teacher's desk on the way to borrow pen and paper. As he walked back, as quick as a flash, the most popular, Malamood, decided to jerk his leg out in front of him, causing Kyle to trip.
The guys laughed as he hit the floor.
"Hey, leave him alone!" the now young child Elizabeth said getting up from her seat and walking over to them.
"Bite me" Malamood said laughing.
Elizabeth grabbed Malamood's arm, pulled it towards and sunk her teeth into him.
"Ow!" Malamood exclaimed whilst everyone laughed at him.
Kyle smiled at Elizabeth, thankful for her kindness. Elizabeth grinned back…but yet was thinking, "Why did I just do that?"
A year later, Elizabeth's mother and Maria took Liz and Kyle to the carnival in town. Elizabeth and Kyle had become great friends…some people even teased them about it, claiming they were going out. But Elizabeth didn't feel that way about Kyle. Kyle was her best friend…well…apart from Maria.
Maria and Elizabeth always got on well. Maria never ordered her to do anything that she didn't want to, and in return Elizabeth tended to do what Maria asked her nicely to do anyway. They played and talked together. They were the best of friends.
It had been Maria's idea to have an outing to the carnival. Elizabeth loved the cotton candy and the games, but she hated the rides. Just looking at them made her feel nauseous.
Kyle's eyes lit up as he saw the dancing lights on the tea cups.
"I have to go on that!" He exclaimed.
"Ergh. No way!" Elizabeth replied disgusted.
"Now, now, Elizabeth, take Kyle on the tea cups" Elizabeth's mother said as she looked at the stalls.
Elizabeth immediately took Kyle's hand and led him over to the tea cups. She paid the man for both of them and they clambered inside the nearest cup. Within moments the ride was in motion. Elizabeth looked around startled. She was going to throw up, she could feel it.
"Weeeeeeeee!" Kyle shouted, having a wail of a time.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Elizabeth screamed, desperate to get off, now!
Maria looked on in horror as she watched Elizabeth turn a lovely shade of jade. She raced towards the man operating the ride.
"That girl's about to be sick all over your ride, so if I were you I'd turn off the ride, or you'll be the one cleaning it up!" Maria said to the man.
The guy looked at the green Elizabeth and immediately slowed the ride. When the ride had come to a stop, Kyle raced off towards Maria.
"Yay! That was great!" Kyle beamed.
"Here, go and buy some cotton candy" Maria said giving Kyle some money.
Kyle quickly raced off into the crowd. Elizabeth slowly allowed herself to get out of the cup and weaved her way almost drunkenly towards Maria.
"Oh sweetie!" Maria said taking her hand and leading her to the girls' bathroom where Elizabeth promptly threw up down a toilet.
That evening Maria and Elizabeth's mother sat Elizabeth down and explained about Jim's "gift".
"I always knew there was something wrong with me!" Elizabeth said sadly. "Can't you take the spell back, Maria? You're a fairy" she asked.
"I'm sorry sweetie, I can't. I'm only a household fairy. And it's part of the fairy guidelines. Only the fairy that cast the spell can take a gift away." Maria told her.
"And we've begged Jim to take it away, but he told us that if we asked again he'll take Maria's eternal youth away and turn me into a badger!" Elizabeth's mother said.
Elizabeth sighed.
"It's not fair!" She exclaimed.
Maria pulled her into a hug.
"I know sweetie. I know."
So Elizabeth now knew why she followed commands
But she didn't give up on her own demands
"Elizabeth, go and tidy your room!" Elizabeth's mother called to her daughter, who was happily playing in the garden.
Elizabeth immediately stood up, and started walking slowly towards her room. Elizabeth was now completely used to her "gift", if you could call it that, but that didn't mean she didn't like to try and rebel, at least occasionally.
"Fine," she muttered "but I'll take my own time to do it!"
"Hurry up!" Elizabeth's mother called out.
Elizabeth's feet immediately became a blur as she sped through the house up to her room.
"Aahh!" She yelped as she was catapulted through her bedroom door, tumbled over her bed and smashed into the wardrobe, causing it to wobble dangerously and spew half of its contents over the floor. As she began to do the tedious chore, she thought to herself "Great, that mess is just more to tidy up!"
As she looked for a way out of her curse,
She wasn't to know there would be something worse.
Elizabeth held her mothers hand as she surveyed her pitifully. She was in her bed, and was not looking well. The room was dark, and the solitary candle in the room causing ominous shadows to flicker across the walls.
"Please get better, mother" Elizabeth whispered to her.
Elizabeth's mother gave Elizabeth a small smile.
"Sweetheart, I want you to remember this - only Maria and I know about your gift. Not even your father knows," she revealed.
Elizabeth looked at her mother, amazed at this revelation.
"And you are not to tell anyone else," Elizabeth's mother continued, "ever."
Elizabeth sat up straight at her mother's command. Now Elizabeth could never tell anyone, even if she wanted too.
"I don't want anyone using it against you" her mother explained.
"Mother….please" Elizabeth said tears in her eyes. Her mother was not well, and she was scared.
"Listen, no matter what anyone tells you to do, look to yourself Elizabeth. What's inside you is stronger than any spell" her mother told her quietly.
Maria and her father opened the door and rushed in. Elizabeth was crying quietly now. There was something trying to take her mother away from her, and she didn't know what to do.
Her mother carefully took off her necklace. Elizabeth had always admired it. It was a red heart necklace with silver edging and intricate swirls.
"Here," her mother said holding it out to her, "take this, and I will always be with you" her mother murmured as she gently pressed it into her young daughters hands.
Later that night, Elizabeth sat on her bed holding the necklace. She would always remember her mother, by wearing this necklace. She remembered all the happy moments she shared with her, and she smiled. Elizabeth cried tears that night for her mother, but she did not think of what she should have done or what might have been, as many would have; she only thought of the amazing things her mother had done, and how she would always cherish her memory.