I was bored in English class today, and then my friend Z. suggested: "Write me a story!" And so I did! Creativity can be a scary thing sometimes. This doesn't really have anything related to the Princess Bride. A wonderful movie! Only a hint of it at the end. I couldn't resist. I hope you enjoy it as much as I had fun writing it. Please comment on it, tell me what you think of it.
The Blue-Haired Princess
By: S. F.
To Z. R.
Once upon a time there lived a princess. But she was no ordinary princess, no sir. In fact, she had blue hair! And cut short! Princes came from all over the country to ask for her hand in marriage, only to run away upon discovering her atrocious hairstyle. She was lonely, for no one wanted to marry her.
Then finally, one day, she received a letter. It was an odd letter. The parchment it was written on was wrinkled and dirty, very unlike the princes' beautiful stationary sealed with the family crest. It was a love letter, declaring the anonymous man's love.
"Odd that," stated the princess intelligently.
She paid no more heed to the letter after putting it away. However, her servant one day brought her yet another letter. It was written upon the same type of parchment; it was from her admirer once again. She now felt a warm glow heat up within her chest as she read. The author of the letter was requesting a meeting. He told her that he wished for a response before sundown, to be given to her servant who will then deliver it to the local pub, giving it to the barman from where it will be sent to the admirer himself.
The princess was really interested in discovering the identity of her admirer. She found that she loved him, for his words were written so romantically, and she swooned every time she read them. She could not believe that someone would also see past her blue hair, and see the princess for whom she really was.
The princess replied to the letter at once. She gave it to her servant. She then disguised herself, covering her face, before sneaking out after her servant, following him to an old grungy pub. She had never set foot in a pub before.
"Peasant places are beneath you. You must never set foot within one!" her father, the King, once bellowed over the twenty foot long dinner table before ordering a servant to separate his food, for he did not like when it touched; her father was ever the picky eater. Just like his sleeping habits, which were similar to those of her good old friend, the princess who could not sleep with a pea under her mattress.
She was awed at the decoration, or lack thereof. Where was the jewelry? The tapestries? There were not even any cushions on the stools!! How... peasant. And she loved it!
The princess spotted the unknowing servant who had not yet seen her for she was hidden behind a sleeping drunkard sitting at the bar, hand still clinging on his empty mug. The servant handed the letter to the barman and left immediately after. Nothing interesting happened for a while; the letter remained undelivered. Someone ordered a drink; another was yelling at the barman in a drunken incomprehensible slur before falling off his chair.
The letter was held clutched in the barman's hand for hours it seemed. The princess pulled her bored eyes away from him and swept over her surroundings before turning back to fix onto the barman's hand: the letter was no longer there! Did something happen within the seconds her eyes left the barman?
She then spotted a very sober man trot rapidly and swiftly out of the pub door. Though she could not see his face for it was hidden under his hat, she had a suspicious feeling that he was the secret admirer. She raced out the pub and followed him.
"Wait!" she called out to him. When the stranger slowed down, she jogged up to catch him. "Are you my secret admirer? Please tell me!" Her hand reached out to remove his hat, but he jerked violently, and sped up.
"Please mister! I--" she trailed off as the man suddenly stopped his frantic march. The princess, startle by his sudden stop, nearly knocked him over in mid stride.
"Princess," she heard the man say. "What are you doing out in public?"
His voice... It sounds familiar.
"You know full well how dangerous it is for you to leave the castle grounds!" his tone became angrier for a reason unknown to the princess. He pulled off his hat but still did not turn to look at her.
"Who are you?" the princess demanded.
The man turned around. Twinkling familiar green eyes met with her blue ones.
"Anyone can recognize you with your unusual hair colour!" boomed the man in a formal bass tone. "I knew you would do this! How dare you take no head of my words?"
The man was the King. His Royal Majesty. Her father.
"Are you the one who sent me the letters?" she cried. She could not believe it was her father who had been tricking her this entire time. "How dare you?"
"How dare I? How dare you leave the palace grounds to meet a stranger who might murder you? Or worse, torture you for the secret to the family gold! I was only seeing where your faith lies. As a result, you will never be able to leave the palace for as long as I live!"
This angry to-and-fro lasted for a long time. The blue-haired princess never did find Prince Charming for as long as her father lived. Instead, she became very familiar with the tower stone floor and several different ways to style her hair due to the uneventful lonely afternoons she spent up there. Her blue hair grew longer over time, and once her father died, she was able to go outside and feel the warm sunlight upon her face. Her long blue hair was blowing in the wind. She caught the eye of a farm boy who smiled at her. She smiled back. She asked him to bring her a pitcher of water from the well.
"As you wish," he said.