A Fairy tale
By
Jordyn Slaughter
Long ago, in a land far away lived a little girl named Sydney Willow and her family, they were very poor. So when she was six years old she was helping out with her mother and two older sisters cleaning at the wealthier families houses. She would often end up daydreaming while she was cleaning and her mother or sisters would snap her out of her daydreams and tell her that her dreams were too outrageous. When she was she has promised herself that she will work her best and save up every penny so that she could help her family. In the kingdom which she lived in, the father would determine who to marry his daughters to and if he had any sons they could determine if a man's daughter was the right lady to carry on that family's name.
One day when she was seventeen years old she saw the royal family: the king, queen, and their son, the prince. It was common knowledge that the prince was turning eighteen in a few weeks, so there would be a ball to help him find his wife. You see in the Kingdom the Princes were able to pick their own wife, but the princess were married off to other royal families to help keep the peace between kingdoms. Still, the princes usually chose a higher class lady because they usually don't meet or like the attitude of the lower class ladies.
One day she was in the market shopping for food when she heard the sound of a horse drawn carriage. She looked up and saw the royal carriage going by, through the window she saw the Ginger-red hair of the prince and almost dropped her basket of food she was carrying. Once she got home, she was going to tell her family that she had seen the prince, but when she got home her mother and sisters were running around their house like they had mice up their dresses. When her mother noticed her she said, "Where have you been, young lady?"
"I was in the town getting food for dinner." She replied.
"Well while you were gone you missed getting an invite to the prince's ball this Saturday. So that means that we will just have to go without you." Her mother said. Now her two older sisters were behind their mother with their noses high in the air smirking down at Sydney.
"Yeah. Also, since she didn't get an invite to the ball she has to do all of our work the day of the ball." Her sister, Ashley said with a piggish laugh at the end.
"Totally, she would just ruin the family image if she even got and invite to go to the ball. With that dirty, dull, messy brown birds nest that you call hair." Her other sister, Savanah said. You see her mother and sisters have beautiful, straight golden blonde hair, while she has ugly, curly brown hair. "They're right," She thought, "my hair is ugly and dull the prince would never pay any attention to me eve if I did go.
So up to the day of the ball she has been stuck with doing all the cleaning in not only the wealthy houses, but theirs too, as well as making the dresses for her sisters and mother, and also all the cooking that her mother usually does since her mother told her, "I can't be cooking so close to the ball, I might end up hurting myself then end up disgracing our family in front of the royal family and all of their royal friends." So she has been stuck doing all of the chores they usually shared.
So, it's the night of the ball and her sisters and mother were about to leave when, they handed her a long list, about 4 feet of chores that they said had to be done before they came back home. Then they were off. Sydney was originally going to catch up on the sleep she has been missing with all the extra work she has been doing but now it looks like that is out of the picture. It was after midnight when she was finally done with all of the chores, and then about an hour after she was finished her mother and sisters came home, they were tipsy and she had to help all three of them to their rooms and then she herself went to bed.
When morning came the next day the prince was supposed to announce who he was going to marry but instead the towns were told one by one that the prince didn't find his love yet. So needless to say her mother and sisters were upset because not only did they not get to become a princess and maybe someday queen, but the prince didn't even pick someone yet.
It was toward the middle of the day and Sydney was sitting down on a hill overlooking the entire town and most of the kingdom when she heard footsteps coming up behind her. She didn't get scared because it wasn't like this was a private place, it's just rare that someone would be up here at this time of day when most people had to work and clean. But what did surprise her was, who was there. None other than Prince Eliot himself. She just stared, shocked that he was away from his kingdom without any of the palace guards.
"What is such a beautiful lady doing out here all alone?" Prince Eliot asked. After Sydney had stopped staring she replied.
"Hello your majesty, I was just thinking."
"If you don't mind me asking what were you thinking about?" He asked. She looked him in the eye and saw that he really was curious and not just asking.
"Not at all. I was thinking about how I wasn't home at the right time and missed getting an invitation to your ball she said with a slight frown on her face.
"So that's why I had an extra invitation." He said with a look of realization on his face. "Wait, were you in the town that day buying food at the farmers market?" He asked as he thinks he remembers seeing her that day.
"Yes, I was." She blushed. "Why are you asking?"
"Because, I remember seeing you that day, I was just kind of upset because I had to invite all of the ladies who my father told me to invite, not who I wanted to invite." He explained.
"Who did you want to invite?" She asked.
"You." He whispered. She still heard him.
"Why me?" She asked.
"Because you seem to stand out in the crowd whenever I go through the town." He answered honestly
"But why, I mean you can have lady in the entire kingdom or any princess from any kingdom, why are you drawn to me?"
"You just seem like a person that doesn't change herself for anyone, and I like that. Also I feel that if you went to the ball you mother and sisters would force you to act differently, then your true self."
"I never thought about that." She replied. They sat there for hours talking and laughing, until the sun started to go down. Then he gave her a ride home on his horse as wished her a good night and left.
Once she opened the door to her mother and sisters looking at her. They looked at her like she was the scum of the earth. Her mother and sisters wouldn't even look at her they just told her to do the chores and after she had done that she went to her room and fell asleep before even changing clothes. While she was asleep her mother locked her room so that she couldn't get out and the worse part was that her room was four stories high.
The next day when she woke up and went to the door and discovered that it was locked and could hear that someone knocked on the door and what sounded like Ashley and Savannah trying to flirt. She was really sorry for whoever was on the other end of their flirting. Then she heard Prince Eliot's voice asking if she was home. Of course then her mother just had to join in to the conversation and tell him that she didn't live here. So then since he left, not wanting to deal with their flirting.
Once, Prince Eliot left she heard her mother coming up the stairs to her room and unlocked the door. Her mother told her to never tell anyone that her mother locked her in her room or that Prince Eliot came looking for her, but to simply say that he was there for Ashley and Savannah then left Sydney to her own thoughts. "Don't forget you still have to make us dinner, so get to it." She heard her mother say from down stairs. She hurried up and wiped the tears she hadn't know she shed, stood up dusted herself off and went downstairs to the kitchen.
While she was making a stew for dinner she could hear Ashley and Savannah gushing over the prince and then ending up yelling at each other because they both thought that they had the princes' eye. She just wanted to go into the other room and tell them to shut up but knew that if she did she would probably get locked in her room again. So, she just stayed quiet trying to drown out their voices while making the stew.
But, what she didn't know is that while she was trying to drown out she sisters the prince was wondering why the lady told him that Sydney didn't live there. After a while of sitting in his private lounge that he need to get out of the palace for a while. So he went to the stables and got his horse and went to the woods. While he was in the woods he didn't realize that he was headed to Sydney's house until he came into a clearing and saw her in the back of the house getting the laundry.
Once the stew was done, she told them dinner was ready and gave them each a serving. As she was about to sit down at the table and eat she mother said, "Sydney don't be foolish, the help don't get to eat meals at the table with the family." After that was said her mother told her to go and get the laundry that were hanging up in the back of the house. As she was out there she heard what sounded like a horse in the woods but she wasn't scared because she knew some hunters took their horses with them. But what did shock her was when she turned to the right and saw Prince Eliot on his horse watching her, in his pajamas no less. "Your Majesty what are you doing out here so late? In your pajamas no less."
That seemed to snap the Prince out of his trance and look to see that Sydney was staring at him and that indeed he was wearing his pajamas. "I'm sorry, I was just riding through the woods and didn't realize I headed here until I saw your house." He said honestly.
"It's okay, I was just wondering." She replied.
"Mind If I ask you a question?" He asked.
"No, go ahead."
"Why was it that when I came here earlier a woman said that you don't live here?" He asked looking at quizzically.
"That was my mother and I don't know, she probably wanted you to pay attention to Ashley and Savannah and not a girl like me."
"How did you know that it was your mother who I was talking about?'
"I knew it was my mother because she locked me in my room and told me not to tell anyone or ever talk to you again, even though I was pretty sure that I would never even see you again."
"Why did you think you would never see me again?"
"Wow, you sure are asking a lot of questions. But to answer you, I thought I would never see me again because you are always surrounded by wealthier, more beautiful women and I'm just nobody that doesn't even have a decent dress to wear." She said as she looked down at her close to thread bare dress and worn shoes that are both torn and dirty, while even in his pajamas Prince Eliot was looking like royalty even in his pajamas.
"You are way more beautiful them anyone of those women and way more beautiful than your sisters no matter what your mother thinks. Because in the end I'm the one who get to decide who my wife will be." He said while gazing into Sydney's ocean blue eyes with his Chocolate brown eyes. He cupped her cheek with his hand and slowly leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back and they just stood there kissing for what seemed like an eternity but then they need oxygen so the broke apart but just enough to where they could breath. "Wow" was all Sydney could say, while Eliot just smiled at her. They didn't even notice Sydney's mother and sisters in the Doorway that lead outside until her mother cleared her throat very loudly. "What do you think you are doing kissing some lowlife peasant in my backyard, Maid?" Her mother said clearly not realizing the Prince because of the night darkness.
"Maid?" The prince whispered to Sydney.
"Yeah, she disowned me for some unknown reason but still keeps be around to be a slave and before you ask this has been going on since just before you ball." She whispered back.
"So is that one of the many reasons you told me you had for not coming to the ball besides the fact that you didn't have an invitation?"
"Yes" She answered. Just then Prince Eliot held her hand and steed out of the shadows of night so that Sydney's mother could see both of them clearly.
"Oh My, I'm so sorry your highness I didn't know it was you, but you got to understand I thought that my maid here was kissing some peasant on my property and it was not acceptable." Sydney's mother said while bowing her head towards the prince.
"Your Maid, why on earth would you say that your very own daughter is you maid?" He yelled at Sydney's mother, then stormed back out into the darkness with Sydney in tow as he led her to his horse got on then offered a hand to Sydney to get on his horse. Sydney got on the horse, grabbed onto the Princes waist as he led them off to the hill that was overlooking the town where they first met.
Once they got to the hill Eliot helped Sydney down from his horse and they both sat on the ground, just looking up at the night sky that was filled with stars. "The Sky sure is beautiful, don't you think?" Sydney said
"Yea. But not as beautiful as you." Eliot answered, making Sydney blush. "I Know this is a little straight forward but, Will you do me the honor and become my wife?" and Got down on one knee in his pajamas in grass holing Sydney's hand.
That made her blush even more but of course she said "YES!" and hugged him like there was no tomorrow. Then after she left go of her little bit of a death grip on him he pulled out a ring and put it on her finger and it fit perfectly. "You know that this ring has been in my family for generations and has never been sized bigger or smaller, and in my family that if this ring fits your loved one perfectly then they were the one you were supposed to be with." This just made Sydney blush and smile more than anything.
Since Sydney didn't want to return to her house and Eliot didn't want her to rather they bother got back on the horse and made their way to the palace. Once they got there they found the king a queen in the throne room and told them about everything. The King and Queen were very happy because their son has finally found a bride and that his bride is a very nice, selfless woman, not at all like their friends daughters. After that the king and Queen retired tot their rooms and Eliot and Sydney went up to Eliot's room where they just talked until they both fell asleep and then the next morning they announced to the whole kingdom they were getting married.
A few weeks later they were married and were crowned King and Queen after Eliot's parents stepped down to live the rest of their lives in peace.
The End