(I took this down ages ago to rework it, but the best laid plans etc.

I'd like to apologize for the unsympathetic way

I portray Buffy in this - I needed... well, a cruel sister)

1.

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, in a place where all fairy tales come true, lived a king and his queen and his three children. They were like royal families in fairy tale countries mostly are; good, gentle and well-loved by the people. King Giles was a wise man, whose counsel was sought from many a man, king, wizard or hero. Queen Joyce was a beautiful woman, and many were the songs sung of gentle Joyce.

The queen had given her husband three children; the eldest daughter had been christened Elizabeth Anne but was known to all as Buffy, although no one could anymore remember why. She was a strong-willed and strong-tempered golden blonde. The middle child was also the only son, Alexander. He had the kind of eyes you wanted to tell all your secrets, and a curious shade of brown they were. The poets called them hazel, his hair they claimed to be black as night. Then there was the youngest sister, Dawn. Dawn was a bonny child, always smiling and singing some merry little tune or other. She had as dark a complexion as her brother, but her eyes were her mother's pale blue. They were a merry family, in a merry little kingdom, but as with all fairy tales this would not last. There was trouble brewing in the kingdom, aye in the royal family itself, and it was only a matter of time before something horrible would happen. For although Alexander's and Dawn's hair were black as night, the heart of their golden sister was darker, still.

In this little kingdom there of course were knights and heroes a-plenty, and one of these knights was Sir Spike. Spike wasn't his real name, of course, but nobody who knew him well enough to know what was, was suicidal enough to ever mention that they knew. But dear readers, if you swear not to pass it on, I shall tell you that his name was really William, and he liked to write poetry about roses and sunsets and moonbeams, although that was a very well-kept secret.

Anyway, Sir Spike was a dashingly handsome man, which is the third rule for all good knights (although they tend not to speak of that where non-knights can hear them). He was blonde, his hair was so pale it almost blended into his skin and his eyes were and intense pale blue, the shade that seems to look straight through you and deem you inferior. He had an arrogant stance and a foul temper, and sharp was his tongue. He was one of the best sword-fighters in King Giles' lands, and he was at twenty-nine still unwed.

That he was still unwed wasn't really a problem to him, but most dashing knights have annoying mothers that tend to stick their noses where they do not belong and try to ruin their children's lives. Sir Spike had one of these mothers, Lady Drusilla. Lady Drusilla wasn't mad, as such, for no rich and well-known person can be mad (most of the people in the kingdom were in complete agreement that Lady Drusilla was completely barmy, though, but they kept it to themselves).

Drusilla had been hassling her son to marry for almost a year to no avail, when she had the wonderful idea to send him to King Giles' castle to try his luck there, the place was always swarming with young ladies seeking to catch the eye of gentle Alexander, and young men seeking the heart and hand of one of the princesses. Spike wasn't at all into the idea, but no man who likes his head where it is and all his parts in working order ever protests when an enchantress tells him to do something, so off he went to the castle.

Cursing all the way.

Sir Spike arrived at King Giles' castle in a foul mood, which wasn't unusual for him. It had rained most of the day, so he was drenched to the bone; his horse had slipped in the mud and injured its hind leg, forcing him to lead the animal for three hours through the rain, making a four-hour journey take a whole day. Then there was the fact that he'd accidentally forgotten to take his best sword with him – which of course didn't mean that he was unarmed – and it was so annoying everything.

Of course Queen Joyce greeted her guest with open arms, a big glass of brandy and a hot bath. In that order, since Queen Joyce was a firm believer in Being Comfortable. Never let it be said that a guest of hers ran out of fluffy pillows, warm blankets, beverages of choice and company (she had made a very good deal with the local brothel, although the king wasn't aware of it). Of course, she also made sure that there were hunts, mock-battles, banquets, parties, chess games, poetry readings, and everything else she could think of to keep her guest happy.

On the fourth day after Sir Spike had arrived at the castle he met the royal children.

As everybody knows, in fairy tale kingdoms Love At First Sight happens all the time, and it's the True and Honest kind that lasts a life time (if only the rest of us were that lucky) so that Sir Spike fell desperately in love five seconds after being introduced to Queen Joyce's beloved children, was no surprise to anyone. It was right after "And this is-" that Sir Spike found himself hook line and sinker, head over heels in love with the beautiful prince. And, judging by the adoration in the hazel eyes gazing back at him, his feelings were very much returned.

Sir Spike leered at the lovely prince, for he was a Man Of The World and had a few ideas of what he liked to do with that mouth, and Prince Alexander was blushing in a very comely way as all gentle virgins do. He felt a bit like Little Red Riding Hood when meeting The Big Bad Wolf in that story he found in the book his father didn't want him or his sisters to read… urges he never knew existed were rearing their heads inside of him and butterflies swarmed in his stomach.

So wrapped up in each other were they, prince and knight, that neither of them paid any attention to the eldest princess. They would both come to deeply regret it, later…