Once upon a time, there was a small country called Fiore. And in the capital city, Ferryport, was a castle with a king, queen, baby prince, and two lovely princesses. This is the tale of the older princess Sabrina Grimm and her first love.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.
My eyes opened slowly. I sat up and rubbed my sleepy eyes. I looked up and saw Layla, my favorite maid, cleaning my room. Layla smiled.
"Good morning, princess!" She said cheerfully. "Sleep well?"
"I did, thank you." I got up and walked to my dressing table and picked up my hair brush.
"I can ask Lanette or Maria to brush you hair," Layla suggested.
"I'm fine. I'll do it myself."
When I left the room, I found my little twelve year old sister Daphne. She looked worried. "Sister," I said with concern. "What is the matter?" I had a feeling I already knew.
"It's them again." Daphne replied. "Mother and Father are really upset."
I sighed. Lately, a prankster-or pranksters-was messing with Fiore. Polluting, vandalism. It was frustrating my parents. Thankfully, the castle remained untouched. Together, we went down stairs and into the breakfast room.
My parents, King Henry and Queen Veronica, were eating. They seemed to be annoyed. My four year old brother, Basil (the second) was also there, unaware of what was going on. Sometimes I envy his obliviousness a bit. I quietly ate my breakfast.
Afterwards I decided to take a walk in the palace garden. I strolled through the garden, beautiful as ever, and the sight eased my mind a little, but I still felt worried.. Usually, the beauty and serenity of the garden made me forget my troubles. Not today. How could anyone slowly destroy my precious city? Or cause grief to Mother and Father and their beloved kingdom? And why? That's when I decided that I was going to put her foot down. "I am going to catch this crook." I said aloud. "And make him pay for his crimes."
Later that evening, I "borrowed" some commoner clothes from the servant's laundry. (Yes, that's not very princess-like, but I'm going to protect my city and we can't have a princess randomly going around openly unprotected right?)
So I snuck out and headed towards the scene of the crime-the town square. It was ruined. The fountains were cracked and the water was dirty. The lamp posts were bent and an awkward mustache and pair of glasses were drawn on a statue of Fiore's first king, King Wilhem Grimm. I clenched my fists. She turned and noticed a message written in spray paint: THE TRICKSTER KING WAS HERE.
"The Trickster King?" I wondered out loud.
"In the flesh!" Said a voice behind her.
I whipped around and saw the speaker. No doubt this was the person she was looking for. He seemed to be sixteen, my age, yet there was something childish about him.
"Who are you?" I demanded.
"I'm Puck, the Trickster King." He said proudly.
I glared at him. "Why are you messing with my subjects?"
He sighed. "The Trickster King needs his playground doesn't he?" The nerve!
Puck then grinned mischievously. "Or maybe," He said, leaning in way too closely. "I was just trying to get the beautiful princess's attention." I pushed him away. He cocked his head. "Oh?" He said, sounding disappointed. "You don't find me attractive? Well, princess. I think we can change that." Then he did something very unexpected-he kissed me. On the cheek, but a kiss nontheless. I was too surprised to react.
I was unsure of what to say. I wanted to rip that stupid smirk right off his face. The worst part is, the feeling may have been kinda sorta a little bit nice…maybe.
"Did you enjoy that princess? I think you did." I snapped out of it and slapped him right across the face.
"You-" I stopped "How do you know that I'm a princess?"
He laughed. "You see, princess, I-"
"ROBIN‼!" Shouted a booming voice.
"Shit," Puck muttered. I looked up. A man, no, he had wings. Insect-like wings. He was a fairy. He landed between us.
"Hey, Father…" Puck said quietly and bowed down. The fairy man glared at Puck, then turned to me. His face softened. "My dear," He started. "I apologize for my son's foolish behavior. I assure you it will not happen again." He turned back to Puck. "Come, Puck. We're leaving." Then pink wings sprouted from Puck's back, and the two flew off. Never happen again?
'Yeah, right.' I thought.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.
"So….his dad was King of Faerie. Right?"
"Right." I was telling Daphne about what happened. I can trust my sister to keep a secret.
"So, wouldn't that make him a prince?" Daphne asked.
"I guess, but there is nothing princely about him."
Daphne giggled, but then her face turned serious again. "Shouldn't we tell Father and Mother?"
"I honestly don't know. You know how rash Father can be. I don't want him to do anything reckless."
Daphne nodded in agreement. "That's pretty hypocritical, but I think so too. But what should we do about the boy?"
"I can tell his dad is pretty angry with him. He'll probably keep an eye on him so I doubt he'll do anything for a while." I looked out the window, at the beautiful night sky. "But he'll be back. I know it."