Storyline:
Aederre [Ella and Char's youngest daughter] is cursed by Jacinda to be the most beautiful girl in all the world. Many would find this a blessing, but Aederre cannot bear her life, and getting by on only her looks. This story follows her, and is complete with action, adventure, romance, secret rituals, deceit, hatred, elves, andna journey that will change Aederre forever.
Chapter One
"NO, JACINDA!" the scream rang out into the still night air, cutting through the winter chill.
"Such a blessing I have given this child! You should be thankful!" cried out the fairy with a crimson-lipped smile.
Ella fell to her knees, her baby in her arms, and wept, moaning "No," every few seconds. She looked down at the baby in her arms through tear-blurred eyes, and cradled her close to her heaving chest.
"Get out," growled Char from the doorway of the room. Ella had not seen him enter. Jacinda looked up innocently at Char. "Oh, good king, how can you and your fair queen not see the greatness in the blessing I have bestowed upon the little princess?" Char glared at her.
"I SAID GET OUT!" he bellowed. Ella was startled, and the baby began to cry as well. Jacinda shrugged. "You will thank me for this later." she said in her melodious voice. In a tiny poof, she disappeared, and rose petals littered the ground where she had stood.
Char strode over to Ella and helped her to her feet. "What has Jacinda done? What has she cursed our child with?" he whispered huskily to her.
Ella hugged the princess to her even closer, shutting her eyes and letting more tears fall from their corners. "She will be the most beautiful woman in all the world, forever. Her beauty will never be replaced." Char put on a face of anger, but apparently was confused. "What could possibly be so wrong with that, my love?" Ella shook her head. "She will never be able to do anything. She will be sought by every race and every land to be their queen. She won't be able to make any accomplishments without herself, and others, suspecting she got it simply through her looks. She will be stared at and admired all her life, and she will always be watched. She will not live a true life."
Char gazed into the distance, suddenly fully realizing what Jacinda had done. He turned back to Ella after a few moments.
"What shall we name her?" Ella caressed the child's cheek gently with a finger. "Aerderre," she murmured. "The forgotten beauty."
"What do you mean, forgotten?" Ella looked up into Char's eyes. "She must be hidden, safely away from all people until she is old enough... to understand..."
After a moment of silence, Char nodded solemnly. "Yes... you are right, of course..." He turned on his heel and strode out of the room.
~*~
Fifteen Years Later
Aerderre raced down a beaten path, her wind whipping at her face. Reaching the end of it, she took a swift turn and headed down another path and into a large clearing. It was not that she had to run, but Aerderre loved things to be quick and fast. She hated slow things, which was why she never walked long distances, always sped with the quickest of her ability.
It was sunset, and the dark violet sky was all Aerderre could see. The horizon was blocked by trees, trees everywhere and all around her. The clearing had a small pond in it, and a well sat beside it. A well-sized cottage sat only a few yards away from the pond, it's windows glowing yellow from the light inside.
Aerderre's bare feet were met with the wet, dewy grass and her simple brown flax dress and white apron was slightly torn. She carried a wicker basket filled with collected walnuts, which were leaving a trail behind her as some fell. However, Aerderre's simplistic appearance could not hide her beauty. She had lightly sun kissed skin and silvery blue eyes framed by long, thick eyelashes. Her dark auburn hair fell to her mid back, and was the color of ripe raspberries, or perhaps blood. Her delicate, feminine features were relaxed and calm, at ease in the forest.
Aerderre walked the rest of the way to the threshold of the cottage and then brushed the mud off her feet with a small broom. She creaked open the door and slipped inside.
A fire crackled in the hearth and a small white cat curled up in a chair near it, asleep. Aerderre set the basket of berries on the kitchen table and sat up next to her cat, pulling in her legs and hugging her knees to her chest. She closed her eyes tightly. "Happy birthday, Aerderre." She whispered to herself.
Aerderre felt her eyes fill with tears, but blinked repeatedly to hold them back. She promised herself that she'd never cry, never let anything hurt her, never let anyone else faze her, because like slowness, Aerderre hated weakness with a passion. As she took in a deep breath, a scent came in through the musty, woodsy air around her. It smelled like. rose petals.
Aerderre stood and wandered out of her living room and into the kitchen, breathing in slowly and deeply. The smell grew stronger. She followed the scent to her short 4-step stairway, and down the short hallway. She sniffed again, and was led into her bedroom. She slowly turned the handle of her door and cracked it open, peeking inside. From the limited view, she could only see half the room. She paused, listening for some sort of sound, a telltale sign that someone was there.
Silence.
Aerderre swung the door open the rest of the way. Suddenly, she gasped and stumbled backward as she felt a sharp jab in her neck. She fell to her knees and then teetered back, reaching out her hands to support her. Her vision grew blurry, and all she could see was some figure in front of her. It was obviously a woman, followed closely by a man. The woman's ensemble blinded Aerderre, it was neon pink and making her head hurt. Everything around her began to swirl, and her eyes shut. She didn't know why, she didn't feel tired or anything, but they just shut, and she couldn't open them. She felt her arms bend beneath her and felt her head hit the hard wooden floor, and then she felt nothing at all. She couldn't feel a single limb in her body.
Then, she let go of consciousness.
"I told you NOT to harm her!"
"Majesty, I didn't want to have to explain anything until you saw her."
"I don't care; using a blow dart is not a good alternative!"
"Majesty, we are sorry, we should have waited to think of another idea-"
"Damn right, you should have!"
"Look, I think she's awake."
The bickering ended and Aerderre could sense that they were all looking at her. She opened her eyes.
Aerderre was in a room made of white marble. The floor was white marble and the ceiling was white marble. A crackling fire roared in a huge all-white marble hearth, but besides that, Aerderre was startled to see that there were no walls in the room. They were simply made of glass, separated every few feet with a white pillar. Outside the window, Aerderre could see that she was high above the treetops and it was the middle of the night. The sky was velvet black, speckled with sparkling diamonds.
Next to Aerderre's bed, there were two people. The first was obviously a queen, with an intricate silver tiara resting on her straight brown hair, which was covered partially in a sheer blue veil. She had bluish-green eyes and lovely features, kindly looking and feminine. She wore a flowing, sheer cerulean dress with detailed silver embroidery. Beside the woman was a burly, overweight man with curly black hair and warm brown eyes who needed a shave and wore an all-green ensemble.
Aerderre's eyes fell upon another woman in the corner she had not noticed, but she wondered at how she could've missed her. She was obviously a fairy, with perfect golden hair and clear blue eyes, framed with long eyelashes and complimented with rosy cheeks and full scarlet lips. She wore a toga-style dress made of light pink silk and a gold brooch on her shoulder to top it all off. The distinct smell of roses came from her, and with that all Aerderre's memories came flooding back to her.
She bolted up in the bed and gasped. "You!" she shrieked. She threw the white covers off her body and scrambled to her feet. "YOU knocked me unconscious!" she pointed accusingly at the fairy, and then swiveled around to point at the man as well.
"Please calm down, Aerderre," the queen purred, resting a delicate hand on Aerderre's arm.
"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Aerderre cried, jerking away from the queen. The queen sat down on the edge of the bed and folded her hands in her lap, contrasting amazingly with the bright white room.
"I am Ella, Queen of Kyrria. This is Laertes and Jacinda." She gestured towards the man and the fairy. "I know you, because you are my daughter."
Aerderre paused, and the room went completely silent. Everyone was looking at her. "I. I." she stuttered, looking for the right words. "I. I'm your daughter?" she whispered. Ella nodded.
Aerderre sat down clumsily on the bed, her knees giving way. Her eyes darted from person to person, and they were all staring at her. Aerderre quickly sucked in her breath and sat up straight on the bed, regaining her composure.
Never let them see you panic.
That was one of the most important lessons that she had learned over her short lifetime. Appear strong, even if you do not feel it, for they do not see your thoughts, only your appearance, and if you appear together, they will think you are together.
"Please explain." She murmured to Ella. Ella smiled. Just as a queen would do, she thought.
"Where to start, where to start." Ella gazed off into the star-spangled midnight, searching for what to say.
"Maybe at the beginning, majesty?" a voice rang out in the quiet room, and everyone looked to Jacinda. Again, Aerderre was rocked by her beauty.
"Thank you Jacinda, I believe you're right." Ella nodded gratefully at the gleeful fairy. Ella then looked at Aerderre. "Aerderre, fifteen years ago, on the day you were born, you were cursed. Or, maybe, blessed, it's controversial. Anyway, you had a spell put on you." Aerderre raised an eyebrow.
"A spell?"
"Yes, a spell. You were charmed to be the most beautiful woman in the entire world, now and forever." Aerderre showed no great shock, and nodded.
Ella continued. "Well, we thought we'd wait. Let you grow up somewhere where your beauty would have no impact upon your mind, how you would develop, and you would become like an average person, never thinking you could get by simply on your looks, and your mind would grow as much as possible. So we sent you away."
Aerderre's face contorted in fury and confusion. "So you sent me to live in a forest? Alone?" she cried, leaping to her feet. Ella shook her head.
"It was not meant to be that way. You were meant to be cared for, and you were, by a man named Bonython, for three years. Then, for some reason, he abandoned you in the forest. We had an agreement not to contact Bonython until your 15th birthday, so we did not know. I'm sorry."
Aerderre shook her head unbelievingly, but Ella began again. "We decided you would be able to be a princess when you were a woman. You are a woman now."
Aerderre's eyes by now had filled with tears, from a mixture of shock, anger, and confusion. She smiled, trying to cover it up. "P-Please leave me now, I need to think, and be alone." Aerderre had learned by now she did things best on her own. Or maybe that was just a result of growing up relying on herself?
Jacinda strode up to Aerderre's side and put an elegant, manicured hand on her shaking shoulder. "You should know. I'm the one that blessed you." She emphasized the word `blessed', shooting a defiant glance at Ella, then turning her cerulean eyes back to Aerderre. Aerderre made no response, her head in her hands. Jacinda then knelt next to her. "Aerderre," she whispered. "I know what it's like to be a great beauty. I will never be as great of one as you, but please know, I do understand." Aerderre glared at her from between her fingers. "Leave me alone," she hissed. "ALL OF YOU!" she turned abruptly and shrieked at everyone in the room.
Ella nodded. "We will leave, Aerderre, please control yourself." Aerderre crawled back under the white covers, burrowing into its cool silkiness. Ella stood and gestured for Jacinda and Laertes to follow her. With a sympathetic last glance at Aerderre, Jacinda exited the room after Ella and Laertes and shut the door behind her, leaving her alone.
Aerderre peeked out from underneath the sheets to make sure they were gone, and then burrowed further into them, hugging her knees to her body.
My perfect body, she thought bitterly.
But instead of dwelling upon the thought of her looks, Aerderre decided to think about something more important.
I'm a princess.
Aederre [Ella and Char's youngest daughter] is cursed by Jacinda to be the most beautiful girl in all the world. Many would find this a blessing, but Aederre cannot bear her life, and getting by on only her looks. This story follows her, and is complete with action, adventure, romance, secret rituals, deceit, hatred, elves, andna journey that will change Aederre forever.
Chapter One
"NO, JACINDA!" the scream rang out into the still night air, cutting through the winter chill.
"Such a blessing I have given this child! You should be thankful!" cried out the fairy with a crimson-lipped smile.
Ella fell to her knees, her baby in her arms, and wept, moaning "No," every few seconds. She looked down at the baby in her arms through tear-blurred eyes, and cradled her close to her heaving chest.
"Get out," growled Char from the doorway of the room. Ella had not seen him enter. Jacinda looked up innocently at Char. "Oh, good king, how can you and your fair queen not see the greatness in the blessing I have bestowed upon the little princess?" Char glared at her.
"I SAID GET OUT!" he bellowed. Ella was startled, and the baby began to cry as well. Jacinda shrugged. "You will thank me for this later." she said in her melodious voice. In a tiny poof, she disappeared, and rose petals littered the ground where she had stood.
Char strode over to Ella and helped her to her feet. "What has Jacinda done? What has she cursed our child with?" he whispered huskily to her.
Ella hugged the princess to her even closer, shutting her eyes and letting more tears fall from their corners. "She will be the most beautiful woman in all the world, forever. Her beauty will never be replaced." Char put on a face of anger, but apparently was confused. "What could possibly be so wrong with that, my love?" Ella shook her head. "She will never be able to do anything. She will be sought by every race and every land to be their queen. She won't be able to make any accomplishments without herself, and others, suspecting she got it simply through her looks. She will be stared at and admired all her life, and she will always be watched. She will not live a true life."
Char gazed into the distance, suddenly fully realizing what Jacinda had done. He turned back to Ella after a few moments.
"What shall we name her?" Ella caressed the child's cheek gently with a finger. "Aerderre," she murmured. "The forgotten beauty."
"What do you mean, forgotten?" Ella looked up into Char's eyes. "She must be hidden, safely away from all people until she is old enough... to understand..."
After a moment of silence, Char nodded solemnly. "Yes... you are right, of course..." He turned on his heel and strode out of the room.
~*~
Fifteen Years Later
Aerderre raced down a beaten path, her wind whipping at her face. Reaching the end of it, she took a swift turn and headed down another path and into a large clearing. It was not that she had to run, but Aerderre loved things to be quick and fast. She hated slow things, which was why she never walked long distances, always sped with the quickest of her ability.
It was sunset, and the dark violet sky was all Aerderre could see. The horizon was blocked by trees, trees everywhere and all around her. The clearing had a small pond in it, and a well sat beside it. A well-sized cottage sat only a few yards away from the pond, it's windows glowing yellow from the light inside.
Aerderre's bare feet were met with the wet, dewy grass and her simple brown flax dress and white apron was slightly torn. She carried a wicker basket filled with collected walnuts, which were leaving a trail behind her as some fell. However, Aerderre's simplistic appearance could not hide her beauty. She had lightly sun kissed skin and silvery blue eyes framed by long, thick eyelashes. Her dark auburn hair fell to her mid back, and was the color of ripe raspberries, or perhaps blood. Her delicate, feminine features were relaxed and calm, at ease in the forest.
Aerderre walked the rest of the way to the threshold of the cottage and then brushed the mud off her feet with a small broom. She creaked open the door and slipped inside.
A fire crackled in the hearth and a small white cat curled up in a chair near it, asleep. Aerderre set the basket of berries on the kitchen table and sat up next to her cat, pulling in her legs and hugging her knees to her chest. She closed her eyes tightly. "Happy birthday, Aerderre." She whispered to herself.
Aerderre felt her eyes fill with tears, but blinked repeatedly to hold them back. She promised herself that she'd never cry, never let anything hurt her, never let anyone else faze her, because like slowness, Aerderre hated weakness with a passion. As she took in a deep breath, a scent came in through the musty, woodsy air around her. It smelled like. rose petals.
Aerderre stood and wandered out of her living room and into the kitchen, breathing in slowly and deeply. The smell grew stronger. She followed the scent to her short 4-step stairway, and down the short hallway. She sniffed again, and was led into her bedroom. She slowly turned the handle of her door and cracked it open, peeking inside. From the limited view, she could only see half the room. She paused, listening for some sort of sound, a telltale sign that someone was there.
Silence.
Aerderre swung the door open the rest of the way. Suddenly, she gasped and stumbled backward as she felt a sharp jab in her neck. She fell to her knees and then teetered back, reaching out her hands to support her. Her vision grew blurry, and all she could see was some figure in front of her. It was obviously a woman, followed closely by a man. The woman's ensemble blinded Aerderre, it was neon pink and making her head hurt. Everything around her began to swirl, and her eyes shut. She didn't know why, she didn't feel tired or anything, but they just shut, and she couldn't open them. She felt her arms bend beneath her and felt her head hit the hard wooden floor, and then she felt nothing at all. She couldn't feel a single limb in her body.
Then, she let go of consciousness.
"I told you NOT to harm her!"
"Majesty, I didn't want to have to explain anything until you saw her."
"I don't care; using a blow dart is not a good alternative!"
"Majesty, we are sorry, we should have waited to think of another idea-"
"Damn right, you should have!"
"Look, I think she's awake."
The bickering ended and Aerderre could sense that they were all looking at her. She opened her eyes.
Aerderre was in a room made of white marble. The floor was white marble and the ceiling was white marble. A crackling fire roared in a huge all-white marble hearth, but besides that, Aerderre was startled to see that there were no walls in the room. They were simply made of glass, separated every few feet with a white pillar. Outside the window, Aerderre could see that she was high above the treetops and it was the middle of the night. The sky was velvet black, speckled with sparkling diamonds.
Next to Aerderre's bed, there were two people. The first was obviously a queen, with an intricate silver tiara resting on her straight brown hair, which was covered partially in a sheer blue veil. She had bluish-green eyes and lovely features, kindly looking and feminine. She wore a flowing, sheer cerulean dress with detailed silver embroidery. Beside the woman was a burly, overweight man with curly black hair and warm brown eyes who needed a shave and wore an all-green ensemble.
Aerderre's eyes fell upon another woman in the corner she had not noticed, but she wondered at how she could've missed her. She was obviously a fairy, with perfect golden hair and clear blue eyes, framed with long eyelashes and complimented with rosy cheeks and full scarlet lips. She wore a toga-style dress made of light pink silk and a gold brooch on her shoulder to top it all off. The distinct smell of roses came from her, and with that all Aerderre's memories came flooding back to her.
She bolted up in the bed and gasped. "You!" she shrieked. She threw the white covers off her body and scrambled to her feet. "YOU knocked me unconscious!" she pointed accusingly at the fairy, and then swiveled around to point at the man as well.
"Please calm down, Aerderre," the queen purred, resting a delicate hand on Aerderre's arm.
"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Aerderre cried, jerking away from the queen. The queen sat down on the edge of the bed and folded her hands in her lap, contrasting amazingly with the bright white room.
"I am Ella, Queen of Kyrria. This is Laertes and Jacinda." She gestured towards the man and the fairy. "I know you, because you are my daughter."
Aerderre paused, and the room went completely silent. Everyone was looking at her. "I. I." she stuttered, looking for the right words. "I. I'm your daughter?" she whispered. Ella nodded.
Aerderre sat down clumsily on the bed, her knees giving way. Her eyes darted from person to person, and they were all staring at her. Aerderre quickly sucked in her breath and sat up straight on the bed, regaining her composure.
Never let them see you panic.
That was one of the most important lessons that she had learned over her short lifetime. Appear strong, even if you do not feel it, for they do not see your thoughts, only your appearance, and if you appear together, they will think you are together.
"Please explain." She murmured to Ella. Ella smiled. Just as a queen would do, she thought.
"Where to start, where to start." Ella gazed off into the star-spangled midnight, searching for what to say.
"Maybe at the beginning, majesty?" a voice rang out in the quiet room, and everyone looked to Jacinda. Again, Aerderre was rocked by her beauty.
"Thank you Jacinda, I believe you're right." Ella nodded gratefully at the gleeful fairy. Ella then looked at Aerderre. "Aerderre, fifteen years ago, on the day you were born, you were cursed. Or, maybe, blessed, it's controversial. Anyway, you had a spell put on you." Aerderre raised an eyebrow.
"A spell?"
"Yes, a spell. You were charmed to be the most beautiful woman in the entire world, now and forever." Aerderre showed no great shock, and nodded.
Ella continued. "Well, we thought we'd wait. Let you grow up somewhere where your beauty would have no impact upon your mind, how you would develop, and you would become like an average person, never thinking you could get by simply on your looks, and your mind would grow as much as possible. So we sent you away."
Aerderre's face contorted in fury and confusion. "So you sent me to live in a forest? Alone?" she cried, leaping to her feet. Ella shook her head.
"It was not meant to be that way. You were meant to be cared for, and you were, by a man named Bonython, for three years. Then, for some reason, he abandoned you in the forest. We had an agreement not to contact Bonython until your 15th birthday, so we did not know. I'm sorry."
Aerderre shook her head unbelievingly, but Ella began again. "We decided you would be able to be a princess when you were a woman. You are a woman now."
Aerderre's eyes by now had filled with tears, from a mixture of shock, anger, and confusion. She smiled, trying to cover it up. "P-Please leave me now, I need to think, and be alone." Aerderre had learned by now she did things best on her own. Or maybe that was just a result of growing up relying on herself?
Jacinda strode up to Aerderre's side and put an elegant, manicured hand on her shaking shoulder. "You should know. I'm the one that blessed you." She emphasized the word `blessed', shooting a defiant glance at Ella, then turning her cerulean eyes back to Aerderre. Aerderre made no response, her head in her hands. Jacinda then knelt next to her. "Aerderre," she whispered. "I know what it's like to be a great beauty. I will never be as great of one as you, but please know, I do understand." Aerderre glared at her from between her fingers. "Leave me alone," she hissed. "ALL OF YOU!" she turned abruptly and shrieked at everyone in the room.
Ella nodded. "We will leave, Aerderre, please control yourself." Aerderre crawled back under the white covers, burrowing into its cool silkiness. Ella stood and gestured for Jacinda and Laertes to follow her. With a sympathetic last glance at Aerderre, Jacinda exited the room after Ella and Laertes and shut the door behind her, leaving her alone.
Aerderre peeked out from underneath the sheets to make sure they were gone, and then burrowed further into them, hugging her knees to her body.
My perfect body, she thought bitterly.
But instead of dwelling upon the thought of her looks, Aerderre decided to think about something more important.
I'm a princess.