Shifting into third, Ash sped the car up, driving almost effortlessly through the nonexistent Sunday night traffic. A quick glance into his rearview mirror revealed that his small daughter was still awake in the back seat. He smiled as she stared wistfully out the window, he often wondered what went through her five-year-old head.
As if reading his mind, she turned to him, "Daddy, I'm bored. Tell me a story?"
"A story? What kind of story?" he laughed.
The brunette put her index finger to her chin thoughtfully, "A princess story."
"Okay…um…got it!" Ash smiled, "A princess and-"
"No, daddy," Ella shook her head solemnly, "You have to say 'Once upon a time'."
His expression turned serious, "I'm sorry. Once upon a time there was a princess,"
"A beautiful princess," his daughter corrected.
"A…pretty princess," Ash amended, "There was a pretty princess who met a prince."
"Was he a handsome prince?"
"To some," he laughed, "They were friends for a long time and they fell in love like a prince and princess will. Everything was happy in the kingdom when the prince and princess got married and found out that they were expecting a royal baby." His voice took on a wistful tone as Ash continued, "After the baby was born the prince and princess began to fight everyday. Now, they always had arguments but never as bad. And a prince and princess who couldn't get along were having a hard time being married. So they decided that, for the sake of the baby, the prince and princess would live separately in different kingdoms."
He glanced again in the rearview mirror at his daughter's confused face, "but the prince and princess are supposed to be together." she stated.
"Let me tell you this Ella, the hardest lesson you will ever learn in your life is that nothing ends up the way it's supposed to be," Ash sighed. Her eyebrows furrowed together in concentration, he didn't expect her to understand what he was saying. It was just a story after all.
He turned left, pulling into a cobblestone driveway, "We're here," he said softly, getting out of the car as the door to the house opened and Misty walked out.
"Mommy!" Ella shrieked rushing across the lawn into her mother's arms.
"Hey El! I missed you so much. Did you have fun with Daddy?" Misty laughed holding her daughter against her tightly.
"Yeah! We went to visit Uncle Gary and I got to watch Daddy battle!" the younger girl enthused.
"Really? Did he win?"
Ella looked at her mother like she was stupid, "Daddy always wins."
At that, Misty finally looked at Ash with a slight smile, "Yeah, I suppose he does." She set Ella back down on the grass, "Why don't you take your stuff upstairs and put it in your room."
"Okay!" And almost instantly, the girl was gone, leaving just the adults standing awkwardly in her wake.
"Thanks," Misty said quietly, "I know sometimes it's hard to have her tag along with you. I always feel bad when I have to bring her to the gym with me."
"It was no problem, I love having her around. I just wish I could see her more…" he trailed off.
"I know, I'm sorry, I-" but Misty never finished her thought.
Ella came rushing back out to the front yard, "Daddy!" she exclaimed, "You never finished the story."
"What?" Ash asked breaking eye contact with Misty to look at the other set of blue eyes.
"The story. What happened to the prince and princess? It doesn't end there…right?" She looked so hopeful that he couldn't bear to tell her that it did.
"Do they still love each other? And what about the baby?" Ella continued, prodding her father to speak, "They couldn't live in the same castle anymore," she explained to her mother who joined in, looking expectantly at Ash.
It was Misty's eyes he locked on as he gave Ella her answer, "Of course they still love each other, and they both love their baby very very much," Ash crouched down and pulled his daughter into a tight hug, "Sometimes love just isn't enough. But the prince still loves the princess with all his heart and is just sitting in that big empty castle, waiting for the princess to say she still loves him too."
A/N: Truth be told, I like this one. I'm not sure that many other people will because there isn't a happy ending, but it was nice to write. Maybe I'm just pessimistic that way.
