"Once upon a time, there lived three beautiful princesses. Fate led them in different ways, to different paths. One fell and failed and another lost yet lived. But the last and truest princess- she stood and stayed.
The princess married a hero, a hero just like her, and they lived happily ever after."
…
"Mother, how did we get our names?" Seven-year old Andromeda looked up at her mother as she and her sisters were tucked into bed by her nanny house-elf.
Druella Black smiled a rare smile. "Well, Bellatrix was named after a very bright star called the Amazon Star. It's a name for any beautiful and bright female warrior."
Bellatrix smirked as her mother patted her knee. Of course she was named after a star. She was a proper Black, after all.
Andromeda thought that suited Bella well. She opened her mouth to speak, but Narcissa beat her to it.
"How about me, Mother? Where did my name come from?" Narcissa's voice spoke out brightly, her blue eyes wide.
"You were named after a flower called "Narcissus" because my family used to always name their daughters after flowers and plants. It's a very beautiful flower, a daffodil, really. And you are the first Black since Phineas Nigellus not to be named after a star."
Narcissa beamed. She loved flowers.
Druella turned to leave. Just before she left, Andromeda called out to her.
"How about me, Mother? Where did you and Father get my name?"
Druella paused and turned around. "Oh, you? Let's see, now. Ah, yes, you were named after a Greek princess who was left to suffer by being chained to a rock to be sacrificed to a sea monster. She was saved by a man called Perseus."
Her mother left swiftly. Andromeda blinked after her.
"Oh."
"Oh?" Bellatrix asked from her bed beside Andromeda's.
Andromeda shrugged, a trifle sarcastically for a seven-year old. "I mean, ...oh, cool! Suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this!" She rolled her eyes. "Bella, why on earth would Mother and Father name me after a princess doomed to die?"
Bellatrix turned away from her. "Oh, cheer up. At least you get to marry a hero. As long as you marry a pure-blood of your class, Andi, you'll be fine."
…
"You betrayed us all, Andromeda, you married- you MARRIED that FOUL MUDBLOOD!"
Bellatrix was enraged. The night sky shone with stars and the daffodils by their feet swayed in the wind.
Andromeda looked at her sister coolly.
"No, Bella. I married my hero."
…
"Once upon a time, there lived three beautiful princesses. Fate led them in different ways, to different paths. One fell and failed, and another lost yet lived. But the last and truest princess- she stood and stayed."
Bellatrix's star fell and failed, Narcissa's flower lost but lived, and Andromeda's sacrifice – the last and truest - stood and stayed the test of time.
"The princess married a hero, a hero just like her, and they lived happily ever after."
The End.
A/N: This was written for two challenges/competitions on HPFC. The first is The Random Prompt Challenge, where a participant is given a character and a prompt. My character was Andromeda and my prompt was the line "I mean, ...oh, cool! Suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this!"
The second challenge was The "No Using The" Competition. Each participant must begin his/her story with "once upon a time" and end with "the end." They can use the word "the" no more than 10 times, not including the "the" in "the end." Also, the story must be more than 100 words. (This has 504 words, by the way.) A quote given must also be used. My quote was "You betrayed us all, Andromeda, you married- you MARRIED that FOUL MUDBLOOD!"
Reviews will be greatly appreciated. :) I'm a bit nervous because I've never written the Blacks before. Or any character outside of Trio Era or Next Gen, for that matter.
Thought of the Day: How close do you think the Black sisters were growing up? :) I'd love to know what you think!