Chapter 1: She's gone
Never had there been a bigger celebration in all of Frell. The young twin princesses, Eleanor (or Nora) and Lucille had been born only 5 days ago and now everyone who was anyone was at their first official feast.
Their father, the newly crowned King Charmont sat on the highest table in the hall, with his queen, Ella, beside him. Huge smiles were on their faces. In fact, there was no one in the hall who didn't have a wide smile on his or her face. No one, that is, except Dame Olga and her two daughters Hattie and Olive.
Dame Olga was not happy. She looked with disdain at her daughters' idiotic husbands, Hattie's Max, and Olive's Harry, who were grinning stupidly. They had seemed like a perfect match for daughters 3 years ago, when Dame Olga had been in such a hurry to marry them off. They had both been young and rich. Quickly after the marriage, though, they had both gambled off their fortunes, their slaves and servants, their land, and ultimately, their manors. They were currently residing, with their wives and children, at Dame Olga's manor.
Why should her stepdaughter, that wretched girl, Ella, have all the good fortune? She thought. Not only is she happily married to who should've been Hattie's husband, but now she has two daughters to show for it. Well not for long.
For months, Olga and her daughters had been plotting and after several plans, the perfect one had been decided on. In just a few hours, while they distracted the royal household, Max and Harry will kidnap the girls. Ella would be in such a state. She will have the royal guards out looking for them, day and night. They might even come to their manor. But the girls would not be found, because they will be far away, living with a friend of Olga's, Mirella, deep in the forest. Ella would be miserable. Perfect.
After the feast, Olga, Hattie, and Olive went to visit with Ella and Char in the royal living quarters. While Hattie and Olive talked to the couple, Olga demanded to see the members of the princesses' household to "make sure they were fitting for her step-granddaughters". That was when the sons-in-law took the babies. Hattie, watching out the window, saw her husband and brother-in-law go to Mirella's waiting carriage and leave. When she saw they were safely out the palace grounds, she gave the signal, and Olga dismissed the servants.
Ella went to say goodnight to her daughters and disappeared into their bedroom. Everyone in the entire castle heard a scream, and Ella came to the doorway, holding Nora, and crying, said, "Lucille's gone."
Char and Ella looked high and low. They searched every building in the country. And the neighboring countries. After 5 years, they started losing hope and after 10 years only one band of knights were assigned to searching for the long lost princess. But they had missed one tiny cottage.