"Tell me a story!" the small blond child, jumped up and down in her bed, tossing the sheets about until they had become a tangled mess. Her father chuckled, gazing down at her,
"Alright, Joy," he leaned over and straightened the sheets before settling himself down on the corner of her mattress, "What kind of story do you want to 'ear?"
"One with monsters and dragons!" her brother yelped, running in from the hall where his mother had been walking him to his own room. He jumped up and landed with a soft thump next to his father on his sister's bed. A warm smile crossed their father's face as he gazed lovingly at their mother who was leaning against the door jamb.
"Ok then, Will, monsters it is."
"No!" interrupted his sister, shifting again in her bed, "I want one with a princess and castles!" Her request soon had the siblings bickering and their father quickly intervened,
"I'm sure I can tell a story with a princess and monsters."
"And a castle?" his daughter prodded. He smiled tenderly at her, "And a castle." Satisfied, both children leaned back, the little girl against her pillows, and her brother against his dad.
"Once upon a time...there lived a princess in a big castle," he looked to his daughter, who nodded in approval, "She 'ad everythin' she could possibly want. She 'ad plenty of servants, knights, and all the jesters that she would ever need."
"What's a gesture?"
"What's a jester? Well, you know your Uncle Xander?"
"Yeah..."
"Will," his wife warned him in a menacing tone.
"Well, it's somethin' like that, son," he rushed ahead with the story, "Anyway, she 'ad everythin' she could possibly want, but the princess wasn't 'appy."
"Why not, daddy?"
"Well, pumpkin, the princess knew that there was somethin' better for 'er out there and she always felt that she could be doing more for the people who lived in 'er kingdom. You see, there were lots of monsters that lived in 'er kingdom, and they were always eating the people," he paused and smiled at his son who was bobbing his head in approval, " And the princess wanted to do somethin' to 'elp with the problem. So, one day she decided to take a ride through the woods, but, since a princess is never allowed to go anywhere without an escort, she took a knight with 'er. But not just any knight, the bravest, most fierce knight in all the land," their mother snickered from her place in the doorway and their father glared at her before resuming his story, "In fact, this knight was said to be beyond human. It was also said that this knight loved 'er very much, but the sla- ...princess, didn't believe the knight, because she thought it was just part of 'is duty to protect 'er."
"But where are all the monsters, dad?"
"I'm gettin' to that part. Anyway, she and the knight rode for a little while without any trouble, until they came upon a great cave. The knight thought it wasn't a good idea to venture into a cave without letting someone back at the castle know where they would be ahead of time, but the stubborn princess-"
The children's mother cleared her throat from her place at the door.
"Err...the, umm...curious princess, decided that they should go into the cave and see if there was anythin' inside it worth slayin'...or...umm...seein'. Right. Anyway, the knight and the princess carefully made their way inside, only to see a huge dem- ...uhh...dragon...loungin' about."
"What's longing, dad?"
"Loungin'? Well, you know your Uncle Xa-," he thought the better of it, "I'll explain some other time, Will. Anyway, when the knight saw this dragon, 'e wanted to take the princess out and get 'er to safety right away, but before they could leave the dragon realized they were in it's cave and it cornered them. Knowin' that the only way to get the princess out and to safety was to kill this dragon, the knight bravely attacked it. They battled for quite sometime until the knight had vanquished the dragon-" The children's mother cleared her throat again, causing their father to sigh,
"I mean, they fought until the knight vanquished the dragon, with some 'elp from the princess. Unfortunately, the knight was badly wounded durin' the fight."
"Oh no, daddy! We wanted a happy story!" his small daughter complained.
"I'm not finished yet, luv. So, the knight was badly wounded durin' the fight and the princess ran to 'is side to try to 'elp. While she was kneelin' near 'im, though, a bright light appeared in the cave and from it, a....umm...a...fairy god-mother-" Another snort of amusement from his wife made him pause before continuing, "As I was sayin', b'fore your mother interrupted, a fairy god-mother appeared and offered them a gift. She told the knight that she would grant 'im life, and make 'im completely 'uman, as long as 'e promised to guard and watch over the princess for the rest of 'is life. The knight told this fairy god-mother that 'uman or not 'e would 'ave protected 'er until the end of the world...and so the fairy god-mother granted 'im this gift."
"How'd she do that, dad?"
"Yeah! Did she have a wand? I want a wand. Auntie Willow has a wand...so does Auntie Tara..."
"Yeah, she 'ad a wand, ducks. And we'll get you one after I finish with the story, ok?" he waited for his daughter to nod before continuing, "Right. So, after they 'ad returned to the castle, the princess realized just how much the knight loved 'er to offer to protect 'er for the rest of 'is life, and then she realized that she loved 'im as well. So, she went to 'im and told 'im, and they were married and then they lived happily ever after and all that rot."
"So, he became a prince?"
"Well, yeah, but, that's not why 'e married 'er. Anyway, I told you your story, and now it's time for little ones like yourselves to be gettin' to bed," he leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his daughter's forehead, "G'night Joyce Ann."
"Good night, daddy," she glanced up at him, "Can I really have a wand?" He smiled down at her and nodded, lightly running a hand down her back to reassure her. She smiled and then snuggled deeper into her blankets while her father picked up her brother and carried him to his room. Tucking him in, he gave him a quick kiss as well, "'Night William Rupert," he whispered gruffly into his son's hair.
"'Night, dad." He watched his son roll over and drift off into sleep before turning and leaving his room, closing the door behind him. He slipped over to where his wife stood in the hallway.
"Hmm...a 'fairy god-mother'?" she questioned softly, "Wonder how the Powers That Be would feel about that description." He smiled in return and pulled her close to him,
"So I took a little dramatic license with the story...sue me," he leaned down and placed a light kiss on her lips.
END
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