Beginning as I do at the beginning and starting, as I must at the start, let me show you fate through the round of this ring….
Once upon a time there was a King and a Queen who ruled over a small, peaceful kingdom, where a large celebration was being held to honor the birth of the new royal baby. Everyone in the kingdom was overjoyed to hear that the Queen had given birth to a beautiful baby girl. Many years later, at the princess's seventh birthday celebration,
the King and Queen announced that they would soon be welcoming another baby to the royal family. A few months after their announcement, the Queen gave birth to a baby boy who was named Tobias. The King and Queen now had two children: Princess Sarephina (who preferred to go by Sarah) and Prince Tobias (who preferred to go by Toby). Two years after the Prince's birth, the Queen fell very ill. The King sent for the best doctors in the kingdom but none could cure her and she died only three months later.
It had been three years since the death of his Queen and the King's only joy had been his children. But with his children were growing up fast, the King began to long for the love of a wife once more. He then unlocked the little box in which the royal wedding band was kept.
This ring had been passed down for many generations in the royal family, from father to son, once it was time for the son to choose a bride as the kingdoms law stated that the woman whose finger fits the ring must marry the King. As the old King held the ring and the memories of his marriage to his lovely Queen began to ebb from it, he made a decision. He would post the banners, he decided. He would issue the edict. The King would find a bride and marry once more.
The next morning, a servant hammered a proclamation onto the wooden doors of the church. Then, raising a trumpet to his lips, he blew the notes of fanfare and called out among the crowd
"She who wishes to wed our King must come forward and try the ring." Over and over again the servant would call this as he walked through the city. Soon faces came to the windows, and then to doors, and soon the people began to flock to read the notice. And from the castle balcony overlooking the church, the royal children looked down upon the crowd with arms crossed, and glowered at them.
"I don't want a new mother." Said Sarah.
"I don't need a new mother." Said Toby.
But alas their complaints fell on deaf ears, as each day many hopeful women, both young and old, beautiful and plain, throughout land would travel to the kingdom to try on the ring. The search for a new queen went on for many months but the ring was a cruel shape that no woman's finger could fit. The King then decided that he had to travel to other lands to find his new queen. Soon the King and company ventured off in search of a bride, leaving his children in the care of the castle servants. The children usually fell under the care of either Louisa the head maid or Mary the head cook, was the one who usually looked after them. Under Mary's, Louisa's and the rest of the servants care, the children were taught how to cook, clean and how to basically take care of themselves. Five years would pass before the King finally returned home, unsuccessful. But even though the King had given up his search, women would travel to the castle from all over to try on the ring in hopes that she would be the one whose finger fit it.
One day, after all the potential queens had left, the children went into the ballroom investigate this magical queen choosing-ring. As the children walked into the ballroom, they saw a stone pedestal standing in the center of the room. They walked over to the pedestal and saw a small gold ring placed neatly in the center on top of a little pillow.
"It's rather plain for something so important. You'd think it'd be larger or at least have some jewels or something." Toby said to his sister. Sarah simply nodded her head in agreement. Although five years had passed since the King had decided to find a new wife, his children's feelings on the subject hadn't really changed. Both had agreed that the other family they needed was each other, their father and the servants who had raised them.
"We could just take it." Toby said, looking up at his sister.
"No Toby, stealing is wrong and you know it. Besides there have been hundreds of girls who have tried on that ring and it didn't fit any of them. The chances of that ring actually fitting someone's finger are pretty slim." Toby pouted and glared at his sister.
"I don't care how slim they are Sarah, there's still a chance! I won't get stuck with an evil stepmother like from your stories! I won't!" The little prince grabbed the ring and tried to run but he stumbled and tripped, dropping the ring onto the floor.
"Oh Toby, now look what you've done! We're going to get in so much trouble for this." Sarah yelled, picking up the ring. Unfortunately for the children, their father had been walking down the corridor and heard the yelling.
"Children? Are you in the ballroom? You know you aren't allowed in there." The children paled at the sound of their father's voice.
"Quick Sarah, help me find the ring! We have to put it back!"
"I don't see it Toby, Where'd you drop it?"
"Sarah? Toby?"
"Sarah, he's going to walk in at any second!"
"Ok, I'll stand in front of the pedestal and distract him while you keep looking." Sarah ran over to the pedestal and had just managed to stop herself from falling when their father burst through the door.
"What's going on?" The King asked, as he rushed into the room.
"Nothing, Father." replied Sarah moving to stand in front of the empty pillow.
"What was all that noise?" their father said as he approached them.
"Noise father?" asked Sarah nervously, just as Toby finally spotted the ring on the floor next to his sister's foot.
"Yes, I heard someone yelling." Toby quietly stuck behind his father and motioned at Sarah, mouthing "by your foot". Sarah nodded quickly. Toby then walked around to stand next to his sister.
"Oh that, I thought I saw something moving over there." Toby pointed over to a far corner of the room and as soon as his father's head was turned Sarah did something she would long regret. She bent down, picked up the ring and slipped it on her finger for safekeeping until she could put it back on its pillow. The King turned back around.
"I don't see anything children, now come along. This isn't a place to be playing in." The King walked over to lead his children away from the room when his eyes landed on the empty pillow.
"Where's you mother's ring?" he demanded of his children. Toby quietly looked up at Sarah. The King, following his son's eyes looked to her as well.
"Daughter?" asked the King sternly. Sarah shook her head, looked down and then realized that she had slipped the ring on, she had slipped it on to her wedding finger. The King saw too.
"Oh no!" he cried in horror. Toby looked down to see what his father and sister were staring at and let out a shocked gasp.
"It fits!" Toby managed to gasp out.
"It fits," whispered the shocked King.
Soon the news spread like wildfire and all around people whispered of how ring fits the King's own daughter and as they whispered, arguments raged. Sarah hid in her and her room and cried. "You can't marry father!" Toby had exclaimed when he, Louisa, and Mary had come to check on her. This only made Sarah cry harder and Mary rushed over to hug the weeping girl.
"But she can't ignore the law." Louisa had whispered, placing a hand on Toby's shoulder to settle him before he upset his sister more.
"But…But she can't marry father!" Toby said.
"But she can't shame the King." Mary said gently, stroking Sarah's hair. Toby then started to cry along with his sister. Louisa pulled the boy into a hug as a feeling of hopelessness fell over the room. The same unspoken words repeating in all their minds "You can't marry your father, but the ring is the ring is the ring."
For the next three days and three nights, the King met with his council to try and find a way around the law, while Sarah continued to weep in her room, only allowing Toby, Louisa, and Mary to enter. Finally on the fourth day, Sarah was summoned to the King's chamber where he and his council had all gathered. The King's face looked hollow with grief and pain while the faces of his councilmen looked somber but resolved. Whatever small bit of hope Sarah had left in her heart vanished at the sight of her fathers haunted face. It wasn't long before the Prime minister stood up.
"We, the council, have reached a decision. It is the law of this Kingdom that whichever women whose finger fits the ring must marry the King. The law makes no excepts and neither shall we." He said in a grave voice. "The ring fits your finger Princess, therefore you must marry the King." Sarah clasped her hands together and bit her lip in an effort to fight back the tears.
"Why Sarah? Why did you have to put on that damned ring?" the King whispered sadly. He then turned to the Prime Minister.
"When must the ceremony take place?" The Prime Minister told him that the wedding must happen as soon as the preparations allowed.
As Sarah listened to their plans, her heart began pounding and her mind raced; she knew she had to escape but how? The faces of the court stared sternly at her, waiting for her to interject, to say something. Suddenly, a plan began to form in Sarah's mind.
"Before I marry, you must first find me a dress of the palest silk," she said. "It must be the color of the moon. It must have shoes and a headdress to match. I won't wed until I have it." The council turned to the King, who nodded. "Very well Princess, you will have your dress by the weeks end." the Prime Minister said. The princess nodded, curtsied to the king and left the room. As soon as the door to the King's chamber was shut, Sarah raced back to her room where Toby, Louisa, and Mary were waiting.
"What happened Sarah? What did they say?" Toby asked his sister as she ran through her door and locked it behind her. Mary and Louisa looked anxiously at Sarah. Sarah then sighed and walked over to her bed, sitting down on the edge.
"The council ruled that I am to wed the King as soon as preparations can be made."
"But Sarah you can't!" Sarah held up a hand to stop her brother.
"I have a plan. But I need all of your help." The three gathered around Sarah to hear her plan. Sarah explained her strange request to her friends.
"To find such a gown will take time, and we need all we can get. Will you help me?" The three nodded and the next day, put their plan in motion.
Soon everyone was busy and the castle seemed like a hive with all the worker bees buzzing and flying around. All the King's men were sent out to find the palest moon-colored silk and to gather the kingdoms finest tailors at the castle. Sarah however, stayed in her room, never leaving and only allowing Toby, Louisa, and Mary to enter. They would all arrive at the Princess's door early in the morning and they would be there until the moon was high in the sky. This strange pattern continued all week, until a knock on the door disturbed them and their plans. The dress had arrived.