Once upon a time, there was a young maiden named Annabelle. Annabelle was no ordinary young maiden, Annabelle was a princess. Not only was Annabelle a princess, she was a beautiful princess, with long black hair and big blue eyes. She was petit, graceful and kind. Unfortunately, Princess Annabelle did not know that she was pretty, graceful and kind as no one ever acknowledged it.
The story starts when Princess Annabelle was born. The King and Queen of Utopia were looking forward to having a baby of their very own. The King and Queen were very beautiful people and they expected their first child to be just as beautiful. They picked out a very beautiful name and bought lots of beautiful baby things. When Annabelle was born, the King and Queen of Utopia were both very upset. Annabelle was not beautiful. Her eyes were not in proportion to her body, her hair was non-existent and her face was all squashed. The King could barely look at her, and the Queen did not want to be in the same room as her daughter.
The King and Queen of Utopia tried to overcome their revulsion to their daughter, but it was to no avail. Instead of overcoming their revulsion, they became angry with their daughter. The Queen of Utopia would sigh to her husband that the child could not possibly be theirs, after all - it was ugly, and they were not. The King agreed, yet as they had no other heir, they decided to keep the child, even if they did not treat it kindly.
Thus, Princess Annabelle grew up. She grew up with practically no guidance from her parents, the King and Queen. At every opportunity the King or the Queen would ridicule Annabelle. They would call her names and ask her why she was so ugly. At times, during balls, when her parents were drunk, they would ask Annabelle if she was really their daughter.
This caused Princess Annabelle to grow up into a very insecure young lady. Most her years growing up were painful, if not physically, emotionally. Most of the trying years were when she was younger, but they helped to instill a low sense of self esteem within Princess Annabelle. Her parents eventually stopped mentally abusing her, once she was around the age of fifteen. Unfortunately, the scars were still there, preventing Princess Annabelle from viewing herself in a positive manner. The residual effects of her parent's abuse left Princess Annabelle very soft spoken. She never wished to do anyone harm, as she knew what it was like to feel bad. Therefore, Annabelle was a kind princess, who never wanted to harm anyone. In addition, Annabelle was a great lover of books. She adored immersing herself into another time, with dragons, knights and damsels in distress. Annabelle was very intelligent, as she turned to books to comfort herself when her parents began their verbal abuse.
A few more years passed, and Princess Annabelle was about to turn eighteen. A month before her birthday, there was a feast. During the feast, Annabelle was seated next to a Duke. The Duke was not an interesting man, and not a good conversationalist. Princess Annabelle was focussed on him, not intending to look bored because she did not want to harm the Duke, even if he was boring. Therefore, Annabelle did not notice that her father had stood up and was preparing to make a speech, until he began to speak.
The King of Utopia cleared his throat, and began to speak. He told the people gathered that it was time for Princess Annabelle to be married. Annabelle was quite surprised at this, as noone had mentioned marriage recently. The King continued, stating that he had sent envoys to all the kingdoms, far and wide, telling of Princess Annabelle's great beauty. He said that Annabelle would be married by the time she was eighteen, so she could govern her own country.
Annabelle was horrified. She could not believe that her father would lie to the other countries in such a way. Great beauty? Certainly not! Her father had told her countless times that she was ugly, clumsy and dumb. He had told her so many times that she believed it herself. Therefore, upon hearing her father's news, Princess Annabelle ran out of the room, in search of a place to cry.
Princess Annabelle had fled to her favourite spot: a secluded spot in the gardens. Her spot was perfect, as noone could see her, but she could see whoever approached her hideout. In addition, Annabelle's spot in the garden was one of the most beautiful. It was a secluded area, close to a waterfall so the soothing sound of water was ever present in the back of her mind. There were flowers growing by the waterfall, and the mist was a cool sensation on any hot summer night. Annabelle loved her spot in the garden, a spot that had seen her crying numerous times throughout her childhood and adolescence.
This time, Annabelle was crying over her father's lies. She was also crying as she dreaded what her suitors would think once they started to arrive. As her parents had told her many times, she was ugly. Princess Annabelle dreaded what her suitors would do once they too discovered her 'great beauty.' She continued to sob, as the sun set, and night began to fall.
Inside the castle, the King and Queen of Utopia were getting ready for bed. They had grown accustomed to their daughter running out of rooms whenever they spoke and had not found it necessary to send someone to find her. Eventually she would come back and would listen to reason again. As they got ready they discussed their only child. It was no longer any doubt that she was their child. After all, she was just as beautiful as either of her blue-blooded parents. She had big blue eyes, which were very similar to her father's eyes. And she certainly had her mother's jet black hair. Annabelle was small boned, and moved with grace that was very suited to her noble class. The King and Queen of Utopia were quite glad that Annabelle had grew into a beauty, it made marrying her off much easier. Soon, they would be connected to another powerful kingdom. And they would have grand children, hopefully ones that were born cute, unlike their mother. Saying goodnight to each other, the King and Queen of Utopia turned in for the night, anticipating the next few weeks of suitors.
The first suitor arrived the next morning. He was from the closest kingdom to Utopia, and was named Prince Nicolas. Prince Nicolas was twenty, but behaved similar to a ten year old. Annabelle did not want to upset him, so endeavoured to spend time with him, even though he was not very bright. When he first met Annabelle, he had called her Anne, and did not look directly at her once. Annabelle did not want to marry the prince, and was scared that she might have to hurt his feelings by rejecting his proposal. However, Prince Nicolas was called home before the end of the week, and thus saved Annabelle from having to spend time with the prince.
After Prince Nicolas, there came a constant stream of princes, from all the kingdoms surrounding Utopia. Some princes were very old, others were very young. Some seemed to like Annabelle a lot, although none stayed. Princess Annabelle had assumed that no prince would stay for very long, so departures did not hurt her too much.
After the first ten princes had come and gone, another arrived. Prince Clarence was nineteen, one year older than Annabelle. He seemed amiable enough, until you spent more than five minutes with him. Prince Clarence would refer to himself in the third person and mock others around him, belittling and degrading the servants. He was constantly at her side asking silly questions about her feet, her mother or her nasal passage. Even Annabelle, with her kind nature, could not stand the prince. Unfortunately, Prince Clarence was the prince that refused to leave. He continued to stay in the castle, taking advantage of the King and Queen of Utopia's hospitality. Princess Annabelle did not like Prince Clarence, although she never said so to anyone, believing that even words behind someone's back had the power to cause hurt feelings.
At one feast in particular, Princess Annabelle was seated next to the rude, and rather uncouth Prince Clarence. Prince Clarence kept a constant flow of words into Annabelle's ear, most of which was negative comments about other people. Annabelle tried to be civil, and change the subject, but Prince Clarence would turn any subject into a negative one. After two hours of sitting next to Prince Clarence, Princess Annabelle fled to her secret spot in the gardens, so she could be alone.
Still more suitors came. Some princes were large and some were very skinny. Annabelle met all suitors from all the surrounding kingdoms. She even met one who was only two years old. She had to admit, though, he was her favourite. But no matter what, every prince would eventually leave, except Prince Clarence. Annabelle was sad, as each prince probably left due to her clumsiness or ugliness. Each time one would leave, Annabelle went to her secret spot, by the waterfall, to sit and think, or to cry.
Unbeknownst to Annabelle, her parents, the King and Queen of Utopia, were a big reason that the suitors kept leaving. Most of the suitors had wanted to marry Annabelle, and had offered for her hand in marriage. The King and Queen of Utopia did not want to accept any of these suitors, as most of the suitors were old, ugly or fat. Any suitor that had semi-decent looks was too young for Annabelle, and would not provide the King and Queen of Utopia with pretty grandchildren anytime soon. Therefore, the King and Queen had sent almost all of the suitors packing. There had not been a single one who merited their beautiful Princess.
However, the King and Queen of Utopia had not been able to get rid of one suitor. That was, of course, Prince Clarence. The prince had declared that he was going to marry Princess Annabelle, in third person, and had wandered out of the throne room before either the King or Queen could respond. Since that day, they had been telling Prince Clarence that he could not marry their daughter, but he did not listen. The King and Queen were quite happy with the dedication Prince Clarence showed, but not happy with his greasy hair and bad complexion. They did not want greasy, pimply grandchildren, thus they could not give their consent. This did not deter the prince, as he continued to live off of Utopia's hospitality.
The next day, Princess Annabelle realized that every kingdom had sent a prince to meet her. Every kingdom save one. The kingdom in question was one that was very far away from Utopia. Annabelle realized that once the final prince had come and gone, she would have to marry Prince Clarence. As he was the only one willing to marry her, Annabelle would be forced to marry him, even if he was such a horrible person.
On the day that Annabelle realized this horrifying fact, the final prince arrived. Annabelle prayed that this prince was kind. She also hoped that he would be an intellectual, who was also a good conversationalist. With those things, she might be happy in marriage. She also prayed that he was blind, so he might not notice her lack of beauty.
Princess Annabelle had been in the gardens, close to the waterfall, hiding from Prince Clarence when she heard the signs of the last prince arriving. She sat up, and turned toward the sound. Perhaps if she did not go to him right away, he would settle in, and want to stay for a while. If she went now, she might scare him off before he had a chance to unpack. Making that decision, Princess Annabelle layed down once again, to listen to the soothing sounds of the water crashing down.
Meanwhile, the final prince was looking up at the castle of Utopia. This prince was Prince Christopher. Prince Christopher was nineteen, and was first in line to the throne of Zion. Christopher had not wanted to come the long distance, as envoys from foreign kingdoms never told the truth. This envoy had come, proclaiming of the great beauty of the Princess of Utopia. The envoy had not been able to answer any of his questions. The prince had wanted to know if this 'great beauty' also had great brains. He asked the envoy if the princess liked to read, if she had a head on her shoulders, if she was a kind person. Unfortunately, the envoy was not able to tell the prince. Therefore, Christopher had an argument with his father, who wanted Christopher to go and see the princess. Of course, the King had won the argument, and Christopher had been forced to undergo the long voyage to the kingdom of Utopia.
Upon arrival at the castle, Prince Christopher had been greeted by the King and Queen of Utopia. The prince was glad that they were so hospitable, but wanted to see the princess, so he could tell if the trip had been in vain or not.
The King and Queen of Utopia were in a very good mood when they greeted Prince Christopher. Finally there was a prince who deserved their beautiful daughter. Prince Christopher was tall, with hair as black as a raven. Christopher had dark blue eyes that seemed to look into the King and Queen's very soul. They welcomed the prince to the castle, and told him when supper would be. They then left the prince to settle in, as they began to plan the wedding.
Prince Christopher decided to take a walk around the grounds, to clear his mind. When Christopher was walking, he found the gardens. Christopher continued to walk, breathing deeply and concentrating on clearing his mind. Soon, a sound that he loved entered his mind. He turned toward the sound and was surprised. Next to the beautiful sounding waterfall, there was a young maiden, laying there, as if asleep. Christopher could barely breathe. This maiden was the most beautiful maiden that he had ever seen. She had long dark hair, that curled gracefully around her torso. Her features were delicate, and her skin was flawless. Christopher took another step forward, which woke the sleeping maiden. She turned to him in surprise, showing him a pair of big blue eyes. Christopher was even more taken with the maiden. He approached her, until he was sitting right by her.
He attempted to convey his regret for waking her, and she responded in kindness. As Christopher listened to her voice, he fell in love with the beautiful young maiden. They sat and talked for a lengthy amount of time. They talked about religion, books and poetry. The more they talked, the more Christopher fell head over heels in love with the maiden. As Christopher was about to ask her name, the bells announcing the time started to ring from the castle. The maiden jumped to her feet, looking alarmed. Christopher jumped to his feet as well, continuing to talk to the maiden. She tucked her long dark hair behind her ears and gave him a smile that melted his heart. She told him that she would speak to him later, she could not be late for supper. Christopher agreed and before she ran away, he kissed her hand.
Princess Annabelle ran away from the young man, grinning from ear to ear. She had spent the best afternoon of her life with the handsome young man. Annabelle ran to her rooms, so she could quickly change for dinner, thinking of the kind man the entire way. The man had startled her at first, but had quickly won her over with his kind nature and his intelligent words. Annabelle was happy that she had met him, but was not happy with herself for not getting his name. Perhaps, once this final prince left, she could run away with the handsome young man.
Smiling to herself, she walked gracefully down to the dining hall and sat in her usual place. Her parents were on the dias, and she saw that her mother's sister had come for a visit, as her aunt was seated to the right of the queen. Princess Annabelle lowered her eyes, and hoped that the young man would join her for supper. There was a scraping on the stone floor, and Annabelle held her breath, hoping that it was the young man. Unfortunately, it was Prince Clarence. The prince sat down and began to tell Annabelle of his day, in his nasal voice. Annabelle tuned out, for once not caring if she appeared to be slightly rude and thought instead about the musical quality of her kind stranger's voice. She was rather surprised when the same stranger she was thinking about appeared in the dining hall. He looked very handsome, having changed into a deep blue shirt, that brought out his deep blue eyes. Annabelle watched, as he sat with more strangers at the table across from her. He did not seem to notice her, as he was looking up at the main dias, where her parents and aunt sat. Princess Annabelle realized that the stranger must be part of the foreign prince's entourage. She wondered which of the strangers was the prince. Not that it mattered, one look at her would send him packing, in fear of her ugliness. Annabelle sighed and turned back to Prince Clarence, who had not noticed her inattention and had continued to talk.
Annabelle turned away from Prince Clarence to look at the wonderful stranger again. This time, he met her eyes. They smiled at each other, Princess Annabelle almost blushing. They continued to stare at one another, until Annabelle's father began to speak. He welcomed the foreign prince to the castle, indicating that he was most welcome. The King of Utopia then asked for the foreign prince, Prince Christopher to join him on the dias. Annabelle was shocked when the handsome stranger grinned at her, and got up to join her father. The man that had been talking to her for the entire afternoon was none other than the foreign prince! Annabelle was more than shocked. This prince, Prince Christopher, was a kind prince, who had been so nice to her. It would devastate her when he left, due to her ugliness.
Annabelle ran out of the room, running to her favourite spot in the world, where she might sit and think. Once there, she collapsed. As she sat listening to the rushing water, Annabelle thought about Christopher. He was kind, handsome and intelligent. He had spent the entire afternoon with her, and had not left due to her ugliness. Perhaps he could overlook her lack of beauty. She knew that he would make her happy. Perhaps he would marry her. Princess Annabelle sat next to the waterfall, thinking about the handsome Prince Christopher.
Meanwhile, Prince Christopher was in a state of confusion. The girl that he was in love with had run out of the room, and he was itching to see what had upset her. However the King and Queen of Utopia kept talking to him, trying to get him to talk to the other woman on the dias. Christopher supposed that this other woman was Princess Annabelle, but she was not half as beautiful as the fair maiden he had met this afternoon. Besides, the woman on the dias looked to be the age of Christopher's parents.
Christopher quickly excused himself from the company of the king and queen, so he could go look for the beautiful, intelligent maiden. Following instinct, Christopher went to the place that he had met the maiden. He was in luck. She was exactly where she was when they first met, this time sitting by the waterfall. Christopher entered the clearing, and heard the maiden gasp when she recognized who it was. She jumped to her feet and swept him a curtsy, using the grace that Christopher already knew she possessed. She addressed him by his real name, Prince Christopher, and began to apologize for not knowing who he was earlier in the day.
Christopher stopped her, and requested that she not use his title when talking to him. The fair maiden blushed, which Christopher thought looked most becoming on her. Suddenly, all his feelings gushed forward. He told her that her beauty, kindness, gracefulness and intelligence had made him fall in love with her. He confessed that he came to the kingdom to marry Princess Annabelle, but would much rather marry her. He continued to display his feelings, telling her that he would not return to his kingdom until she married him. Christopher was puzzled to find that the maiden was crying. He was surprised and immediately tried to comfort her.
Annabelle could not believe her ears. The man that she had fallen in love with, Prince Christopher, was now confessing his love for her. She was so happy, but also so confused, as he had told her that she was the most beautiful girl that he had ever met. She shook her head and tried to explain that she was not beautiful, that her parents had told her that she was not beautiful since she was a little girl.
Christopher could not believe his ears. Not only was this beautiful girl crying, she actually believed what she was saying. Taking her hands, Christopher tried to convince her that she was truly the most beautiful girl in the world.
Annabelle hiccuped. She was used to crying for long periods of time, but not used to smiling and laughing while crying. She believed that Christopher thought she was beautiful, even if no one else did. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth.
Christopher was taken aback, but quickly responded to the maiden's kisses. After one long, lip lock, Christopher pulled away, intent on finally asking the maiden's name. When he did, the maiden laughed and kissed him once more.
Annabelle had never been more happy. Christopher truly loved her, she believed that wholeheartedly. She told him that she was, in fact, Princess Annabelle. She disliked eating upon the dias with her parents. The woman that he had thought was Princess Annabelle upon the dias was none other than her aunt. Christopher laughed at the news and picked Annabelle up, twirling her around in a circle.
Epilogue
Prince Christopher and Princess Annabelle were married less than a week later. Princess Annabelle was radiant, and everyone watching swore that she was the most beautiful bride they had ever seen. Her long black hair was stylishly arranged around her head, and her dress was long, white and very beautiful. Most of the women in the audience were sighing over Prince Christopher, who looked very dashing in his black wedding outfit. Prince Clarence was at the wedding, looking very upset that he had not managed to marry the lovely Princess Annabelle. The King and Queen of Utopia were both very happy to see their only child married. They were sad that she was moving so far away, as they would not be able to see their grandchildren without a lengthy trip. However, this suited the prince and princess very well, as Princess Annabelle had told her love about her parent's abuse. Prince Christopher was very glad to be taking his bride away from her horrid parents, and intended to show her that she was, in fact, the most beautiful maiden in all of the kingdoms. As soon as they left the kingdom of Utopia, Princess Annabelle felt a great amount of happiness. She was on her way to her new home, with her love, Prince Christopher. She knew that they would live happily ever after.