Author's Note: I will be mixing characters and situations from many different stories from many different cultures. As stories often go, I've taken my own spin on some and added names, personalities and the like. If you're confused by one, ask in a review, and I'll explain. Happy reading!
Prologue: Stories
I want you to think back for a moment.
It's cold outside, but you're warm by the fire. You look to your mother, your caregiver, and you make a simple request. "Tell me a story."
She'll take a seat beside you and run a loving hand through your hair, before she whispers the fateful words, "Once upon a time..."
Your imagination is sparked and ignites, creating vast lands of princesses and witches, godmothers and demons, the dragon and the dragon-slayer.
I am about to tell you a story. A story of wishes, a story of magic, a story of betrayal, a story of love, and a story of stories.
This is the story to end all stories, and the story to begin all stories.
Once upon a time, deep in a thickly wooded nation, tucked away in the folds of time, there were four kingdoms.
The northernmost kingdom of Tanuri is the largest, most prosperous of the four. The strict King Cedric is effective, and the mysterious, but gentle, Queen Rapunzel knows what is best for the people.
On the other side, the southern kingdom of Seregon is finally experiencing a period of peace and prosperity under Queen Snow the Gentle and King Ferdinand the Strong. The people are experiencing a golden age, of art and music.
The eastern kingdom of Saralone is struggling. The King, the appropriately-titled Adam the Foolish, has made more than one mistake, and his wife, Queen Isleen the Tender, is only effective at hosting balls. However, the people under these monarchs have little to complain of (though they always find something).
The final, western kingdom, the kingdom of Linia, under the widowed "Servant Queen" Cinderella, is the smallest. The Queen is not seen much since the loss of her husband, but like the others, the citizens are quite content nonetheless.
Despite occasional war and conflicts, these four kingdoms lived together in harmony. They were connected by a thick wood, in which witches and wishes resided.
Of course, there can never be one without the other. Let me start at the beginning...