I do not own the rights to anything Disney.
The Eldest Daughter
Margaret's life wasn't a fairytale.
For starters, she was most certainly not a princess. Margaret, or Grete as she preferred to be called, was from a family of bakers. She was the eldest daughter and had five sisters- Becca, Lisa, Tilly, Cara, and Mia.
Her family lived on the floor above their bakery, which could be rather hectic at times. The sisters shared one bedroom with three to a bed. Sleeping in the middle of the bed, with a sister on each side wasn't the most pleasant thing to fall asleep too. Especially when they decided that your body made a great resting place for their cold. However, waking up next two people who loved you was nice after a bad dream. She'd never admit it out loud to them, but she really did love them, even when she never had any privacy or they were always taking her things. Of course, she'd always steal it right back- brush, mirror, hair tie, book or whatever else her younger sisters had taken and hidden away. The one nice thing about being the eldest was that they could never take her clothes, not until she outgrew them anyway.
With five active sisters, two protective parents, and other relatives working at the bakery, Grete was never alone. Not that she minded- much.
The Burg Family Bakery sold all sorts of breads, pastries, pretzels, noodles and other treats. One of their more well known breads was their signature Burg bread. Grete's father, Rueben Burg had worked for years to perfect a bread that would taste delicious to people, but not so much to bugs, rats, and other animals who had a fondness for nibbling on their bread. The key ingredient came from the woods over the bridge outside the kingdom. Only Grete and father knew what it looked like or where it grew. Her father was extremely protective of the identity of the plant that had brought great luck and fortune to his bakery. Grete only knew because she was with him on the day he found it- nobody else, not even Grete's mother knew the location. It for a good reason though- over the years a few spies from rival bakeries tried their best to learn the identity of the plant, though all had failed.
He was always trying out new ingredients and new spices in their baked goods. He would say, "Grete, our bread is good, no? But why settle for good when it could be great, or magnificent, something the angels themselves would sing about?"
She would always laugh at that. Her father could always make her laugh. Like the times he would bemoan his fate of having six daughters when he only wanted a son. The somber mood would quickly be ruined by him picking up whichever daughter was closest and tickling her, followed by letting his young daughters braid his hair and beard with flowers. The image of her father, huge and muscular, being decorated with flowers could always bring a smile to Grete's face, even when she was sad.
According to her mother, Gretchen, her father hadn't always been like that. He had once been a proud soldier in the king's army until a war injury forced him to return home and take over his father's bakery. Grete's grandfather had inherited from his father and so on, going as far back as Corona's beginning. Naturally Rueben wanted a son of his own to inherit the bakery, but got Grete and her sisters instead. He had been disappointed at first, but when Grete was placed into his arms when she was born, he was a changed man. Gretchen likened him to a loaf of day old bread- crusty and hard on the outside, but soft and light on the inside; getting softer and fresher with the arrival of each daughter. Once a strong, tough, soldier he was now a jolly giant, friendly to all those who came into his shop.
In the shop, her father saw to the baking side of things while her mother would be working on the pastries and decorations, or out front by a small cart to sell some goods to people who were in too much of a hurry to stop inside. Her younger sisters would play out in the plaza- playing chase, braiding each other's hair, or join some of the other neighborhood children. Grete and Becca were old enough to join some of their aunts and cousins in the kitchen doing the more delicate work with icing and decorations for the treats. Sometimes her father would let her join him in his experiments, or show her the business of running the bakery since she was going to inherit it someday.
Every once in a while the princess would stop by and let Grete's sisters play with Pascal while the princess stopped to chat with her subjects and see how their lives were going. She was pretty humble for a princess, which probably had to do with being locked in a tower for most of her life. However, she did have a genuine interest in the lives of her people and was also curious. Other kingdoms might find her behavior peculiar, but the villagers were so grateful to have their princess back, they didn't care if she was odd. Occasionally her husband would join her, though he'd do his best to keep his hands in plain sight lest anybody accuse him of returning to his thieving ways.
And that was Grete's life. Do chores, work at the bakery, watch her sisters, help her father. Occasionally their might be a festival or celebration. Or Jakob would stop by with fresh eggs, milk, flour and other supplies for the bakery while trying his best to flirt with Grete.
Jakob, she supposed was attractive, but he was also rather annoying. He was always bragging about the latest wares from foreign lands his merchant family had gotten in. He didn't even have to deliver the supplies to the bakery, he only did it so he could see Grete. Her mother was always encouraging her to be nice to him, but sometimes when his mouth was running about trading with foreign lands such as Arendelle, Agrabah, and others, and how great they were, Grete just wanted to slap him and ask, what was so wrong with Corona? What was so wrong that he wanted to leave and have adventures as soon as he was of age?
Not that she did. Her mother would have boxed her ears for being so rude, especially to Jakob of all people. "Don't bite the hand that feeds you," her mother would say.
That was Grete's life. It life wasn't a fairytale, nor did she want it to be.
*Author's Note*
I'd like to thank Queen for reviewing last chapter, and to all those who favorited and followed the first chapter. Hopefully I'll be hearing from more of you in the future.
So, that's Grete. She's the opposite of Hans and Anna- the eldest, from a large and close family, and is okay with her life. The four little girls in the dance scene of Tangled who were braiding Rapunzel's hair are Grete's sisters. There's one brief shot of a woman next to a cart of bread who is her mother. The bread, and the cupcakes Rapunzel and Flynn share are all from the bakery.
Jakob is a minor character, included as a rival for Grete's affections and to serve a small purpose in the final chapter.
Next chapter is 'Mercy' in which Hans receives his punishment and eventually ends up in Corona.
Thanks for reading, and if possible, please leave a review.
