Since I haven't been on here a while, I thought I'd upload this. It's a Gothic version of Princess and the Pea that I had to do for an English presentation. To be honest, it's not identical to the classic fairytale, so you may be surprised at the ending ;D By the way, I don't own Princess and the Pea. Enjoy :)
In old times, there was once a Danish King who was in search of a wife. His search took many years and so far proved unsuccessful. Over the years the old King had grown extremely superstitious, due to the many superstitions he had overheard. In the beginning he took no notice, but the more he heard, the more he believed. The superstitious beliefs he held for so long eventually caused him to become deranged and the Danish King would often show erratic behaviour.
This erratic behaviour was the main reason as to why the Danish King was unsuccessful in his search of a wife. Every time he held a ball in his palace, the Danish King would be introduced to a potential partner. However, his superstitious mind would grow suspicious of them. Soon enough, the King would cause uproar by screaming 'witch', 'vampire' etc at the potential partners and order his guards to kill them. At first the guards obeyed their King, but realised the King was not behaving appropriately and ignored his orders.
Hope seemed to be lost for the Old Danish King. He was not taken seriously by his guards. The public believed him to be an embarrassment. Even his advisers doubted his sanity. Plus, he still had not found a wife.
However, his luck appeared to have changed during one stormy night. Two female travellers approached the palace, both feeling weary from their journey. They pounded the castle's entrance with their fists, pleading for help. The guards assumed they were just simple beggars and ignored them. Frustrated, one of the women kicked and pounded the door, shouting,
"Let us in, we have royal blood in us. We are princesses, so LET US IN!" The guards started to pay attention and began to wonder whether they should let the women in. Would the King allow the women to enter the palace?
One of the guards ran to the King's chambers and recounted the events happening outside the castle. The King was not convinced and replied,
"They could be lying. They may say they are princesses, but could be in fact vampires planning to take over my throne." The guard than asked,
"Should we ignore them then?" Immediately after the guard asked this, both the men could a piercing scream, coming from the women. The King sighed,
"Let them in. They'll only give me a headache if we leave them." The guard nodded and ran back outside where after repeating the King's decision, the guards allowed the women to enter.
The women looked completely different from each other. One, the tallest, wore a simple red gown with a travelling cloak over it. Her brown hair was tied up in a loose bun and she held an angry expression on her face. She refused to let any of the guards help her and walked with a confident stride. The other, the shortest, wore a cream gown that had brown flicks of mud covering it. Her raven black hair was done in a plait, lying on her left shoulder. The women kept her gaze to the ground, giving the impression she was scared to look at any of the guards. Both the women were led to the hall, where the King would meet them.
The Danish King was sitting on his throne when the guards and women entered the hall. When he saw the scared woman, his mood changed from angry to surprise. He was surprised that such a woman would be travelling on a stormy night with no protection. She looked too young, too innocent to be able to protect herself and her friend. The Danish King's mind was set. This woman had to be a princess. She held no traits or characteristics that would suspect otherwise.
The other woman however was a different story. She still held the angry expression on her face. Every so often she glared at the Danish King; still fuming that it had took so long to be allowed in. Even though this woman said she was a princess too, the King grew suspicious of her. Her posture, appearance and behaviour suggest to the King that she something much more sinister than a princess.
"She must be a witch. Maybe a vampire even?" the King thought.
"She must be muttering some evil spell over us. Dooming us all. Dooming my throne!"
The Danish King sneered and rose from his throne. The guards and the women looked instantly at the King, confused at his actions. He pointed his finger at the woman and ordered,
"Guards, drown this woman. She is clearly a witch; her expression tells me she is silently cursing us." The guards seized the woman and dragged her away from the hall. The woman, shocked at the Danish King's outburst, struggled to get free and shouted to the King,
"You're wrong you fool! YOU'RE WRONG! I am a PRINCESS! Not a WITCH!" The Danish King ignored her and soon she could no longer be heard. The other woman remained motionless throughout the whole scene. The Danish King assumed she was still in fear.
One of the King's advisors was standing just by the entrance of the hall and saw the whole scene. As the guards dragged the woman away, he rushed towards the King and whispered to him,
"Sir, what do you intend to do with the other?" The King replied,
"Marry her. She is obviously a princess."
"Surely it is best that you put her through a trial. You have been wrong about others like her before," the advisor carefully suggested. The King sighed angrily,
"Alright then, if you insist. She is to be put in the dungeons. In there, she is to be placed in the dungeon where the green rocks lay. If she has no bruises or scratches covering her skin, she is proven to be a princess. Now, take her to the dungeon." The guards seized the young woman and took her to the dungeons. Still her head had not lifted up once. The Danish King took no notice of this and went back to his chambers, happy with his discovery of a potential wife.
In the early morning, the King was awoken by his advisors. The Danish King was unsurprisingly annoyed with this, but when told he was to wake up to see the young woman, his mood changed. The Danish King soon was taken down to the dungeons was he met again with the woman. The dungeon guards were also there and their faces were full of surprise at the woman.
She was sitting on top of one the green rocks, staring down at the floor. Her arms and legs were on display and all the guards, advisors and the Danish King could see not one single bruise or scratch lying on her ivory skin. The King was extremely pleased; his search was now over. He had found a princess! He ordered his guards to release the woman. He ordered his advisors to round up all of his servants to prepare the wedding. His advisors were shocked at this sudden proposal, but didn't dare disagree with the Danish King. The advisors swiftly left, while the guards released the woman out of the dungeon. The Danish King led the woman out of the dungeons, still pleased he had found a wife.
However, during their walk, little conversation was made between them. The Danish King only learned from her that she was called Alyssa and she was from a distant foreign country. The Danish King noticed she was still looking down and never looked up. The King put down to her fear of the palace and that she would soon get over it within a few days.
The servants quickly prepared the wedding, and within a few hours' time, it was set for the Danish King and Alyssa to be married. Due to the quick preparations, there were not many guests, but the King did not care. He only cared that he now had a chance to continue his legacy.
After the wedding, there was a celebration amongst the Danish King's people. Some of them were happy for the King, while others sighed with relief that the King may stop humiliating them now that he was married. In the palace, there was a celebration. The King was showing off his new wife to all of the guests. Many of the guests were surprised at his choice of a bride, but if meant no more outbursts then everything was good.
The celebrations lasted until the late evening. By the end of the celebrations, all the guests had left and the servants were now cleaning up the hall. Meanwhile, the King and Alyssa were in his chambers. Alyssa still seemed to be fearful and anxious. The King presumed she must be nervous, since it was the wedding night. He lifted her chin and kissed her. Alyssa didn't look up at him, still gazing at the floor. The Danish King whispered,
"You don't have to be scared. I will be gentle."
The young women laughed quietly,
"You think I'm scared?" The King looked at her with a confused expression. She continued,
"You have me wrong, your Majesty. I think it should be me asking you if you are scared." She slowly lifted her head as she said this. As she fully showed the King her face, he looked at her eyes and immediately back away. Her eyes were of a dark red colour and her pupils were small black circles. Her eyes stared into him, making the King worried.
The King stammered,
"Wh-What are you?" Alyssa smiled evilly.
"Maybe I should let you decide that. You do it all the time I hear. Why, even last night, you declared the other woman I was with to be a witch when she has done nothing."
"She was not a witch?" the Danish King asked. Alyssa answered,
"Of course not! She was a princess, angry that a King had taken so long to allow her in his castle. I think your judgement is clouded, your Majesty. You're making all the wrong choices. You let a princess die and marry her companion, who is clearly not one of your kind."
The Danish King tried to make a run for the door, but Alyssa caught him by the arm and threw him to the bed. He landed on the soft mattress of the bed and started to breathe quickly. The Danish King thought,
"How was she able to throw me so easily?" As though hearing his thoughts, she said
"You must have notice my strength. My kind does have admirable strength. That was why I passed your trial so easily. No measly rock can damage my skin." The King crawled backwards on the bed and replied,
"What are you going to do now?" Alyssa opened her mouth, showing her teeth to the Danish King. The King noticed her canine teeth were very similar to the teeth of a vampire.
"What do you think?" She remarked.
Throughout the castle, a piercing scream was heard. The guards rushed to the source of the scream, which was the King's chamber. The servants and advisors were worried the King had gone back to erratic behaviour again. The guards thought this too, but they were all surprised when they entered the King's chambers. They found the King on his bed, completely pale and his neck bloodied. There was no sign of Alyssa, but the guards did find a window in the chambers open.
The Danish King was given a small funeral in the local cemetery. Alyssa was never seen again.