A/N: Well Well, here is my fairy tale fic, one I think I will enjoy greatly. I have been putting off posting it, because I haven't had much time to think about where it is going to go, but I think I have it. Yes, This is a take on Grimm Brothers' fairy tale "King Thrushbeard" It is not set in the jungle, so I suppose it can be called alternate reality, but really its just a sappy love fic with my favorite characters! So I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: No I don't own the characters, no I don't own the story line, well, except for the parts I am going to majorly embellish!
"Father! Father!" the dark-haired princess shouted. She stomped around the corner, her long blue gown swooshing around her. "Father! Father, I need to speak with you!" Becoming more agitated, she turned around the next corner heading for his chambers. Her blue eyes flared with anger and her raven curls bounced haughtily.
"Father!" she shouted as she entered the King's room. "I have to speak with you about this decree, I have heard that you have chosen to throw a ball in my honor. Is that correct?"
"Yes, my dearest, I de-"the stout king began.
"How DARE you!" she shrieked, "How could you do such a thing?"
"I'm sorry, I decided to throw a celebration for my only daughter, and as king I know I should always ask the permission of my daughter before doing such a horrible crime," the gray-haired man calmly stated.
"Father, you know I don't mean that, I mean the fact that I am supposed to meet suitors and choose one to marry that very day. How is it that your only daughter is supposed to marry some prince that will make her miserable the rest of her life?"
"It is not my wish that you are to marry just any prince that comes along, I wish for you to find the right one, the one that brings you love. It can happen, for it has happened to me. But I am afraid that if your present attitude toward love and men continue, you shall never find what is the most wonderful thing in the world, true love," the king said tenderly.
"Yes, yes, father, I know that is your intentions. I'm sorry, but Father, can you really expect someone to want to love for other reasons than my position? I don't think princes are made for true love, and I would be very content to stay rich and alone. I don't need anyone, leave me my jewels and we shall be very happy together," the stubborn beauty protested.
"Jewels or no jewels, the ball will be a fortnight hence, and you will choose a suitor. That is a royal order of King Arthur!" he spoke sternly and turned away. The princess turned on her heel and stomped out of his chambers slamming the door behind her.
"True Love! What does he know of true love? I don't need to be weak and stupid, I need to have power and that is all!" the princess turned toward her chambers and made plans.
"Princess Marguerite," the young maid began, "I have laid out your gown for the ball tonight. Should I draw your bath now?"
"Very well, Veronica," the princess sighed, "if I must I must. But I do not have to choose someone. If I can find the flaws in them all tonight, I might never have to marry them. They can't very well expect the Princess to marry someone with flaws!"
"It doesn't sound like a very secure plan to me, Milady," Veronica said.
"Well, secure or not, it is all I have. I'm afraid that I must be wed, whether I like it or not, but I do not have to go through with a wedding."
"What do you mean, Princess?" Veronica was puzzled.
"I mean that if I am forced to wed, I will surely die before the ceremonies take place," she calmly said staring at her reflection in the full-length mirror.
"Princess Marguerite! You cannot be serious!" Veronica gasped.
"Oh, but I am. I will not be forced to do something I have no say about."
"Prince Hernandez of the Spanish territories," the grand announcement was made as the Prince made his way to Princess Marguerite's throne.
"Him?! Him?!?" Marguerite stammered to find a fault. "Why, he is just too tall and thin. There must be a famine in his country to be that skinny." Before the man could say anything to her, he was pulled off.
"My dear," the king whispered, "you have done that to the last five suitors. Will you please stop making a mockery of my kingdom and at least let the men speak!"
"Yes, of course father." She settled back into her throne and watched as the line of suitors moved closer. The next man was a stout bald man, covered in jewels. Marguerite, so disgusted, was not even aware of what his name and province was.
"Hello, my fair Princess. I wish to br-"the man began.
"He is much to FAT!" the princess waved him off. As the man turned away infuriated, the king shot the princess a look of shock. "What? I let him begin speaking!
The king huffed and turned away. "You test my patience, Marguerite."
After several more rejections, justified or not, the king and every courtier was becoming annoyed with the Princess' pickiness. The suitors, one after another, were sent away furious and resentful of the King. For peace's sake, Marguerite would need to be more tactful in her rejections.
But tactfulness could not even help for the last and final suitor. As the young prince approached, Princess Marguerite had to catch her breath. She stared at his eyes, the pale green spirals that never left her gaze. As he came to kneel, she looked upon his entire face. At this she began to laugh aloud. As she gained a sense of composure, she asked, "I'm sorry, your highness, your name?"
"Prince John Roxton of Avebury, my Lady," he bowed low at this. The Princess swallowed laughter for the second time, for his beard, his wild beard was more than she could take.
"Well, Prince Rox-"she giggled. Her father looked at his daughter in surprise.
"My dear, what is it?" he asked.
"Nothing, Nothi-"she laughed again, "But that beard and that long hair! You are so unkempt! It looks like a thrush's beard,"she bent over in laughter. The court stared in shock as the Princess gained her composure once again. "Now Prince Roxton what is it that you were going to say?" she smirked. He did not turn away as she suspected, but slowly met her eyes.
"My Lady Marguerite," he began slowly with a smile, "You complain much more than any lady of nobility should. I thought Princesses were supposed to be kind and grateful. I don't think I wish to be married to a woman of such insulting behavior."
At this the Princess stood and slapped the prince. He looked back to face her, still smiling. Anger rose in her cheeks and she began to laugh.
"I only speak the truth, I'm sorry if my honesty offends you. But you have too many faults for my liking, and I wish you would leave." Princess Marguerite smiled, settling back into her throne.
"You make the truth what you want it to be because you are afraid of it yourself. No one is perfect, and you know that. You know wh-"
"THAT is enough out of you! How dare you, you ....thrush-bearded buffoon!" Marguerite snapped in his face.
The prince continued smiling, "What sort of insult is that?" The princess pushed past him and ran out of the hall.
"That is the FINAL straw, Marguerite! Do you know that now NO nobleman will marry you?" the King began to shout. Marguerite looked at the bottom of her dress. She bit her lip. Oh, Marguerite, you've done it this time. This is just the beginning "They will hear that you are a shrew, which you proved tonight! If you will not act like a Princess, you will not be a Princess!" the King roared. Marguerite flew form her seat. "You will marry, and you will marry who I say when I say! In fact, you shall marry the next peasant that comes to the castle, "the king roared.
"No! No, you can't!"
"I can and I will. After that, you are no longer royalty and no longer my daughter!" the king stalked out of the room.
Marguerite sat in her dimly lit room, and the tears came. "I will not let him do this to me, I will die first." She lay across her bed and sobbed. Between her sobs, the music of a lute floated quietly into her terrace window. She slowly rose and walked toward the sound. In the moonlight, the lake shone and the trees swayed. She looked down to see the source of the beautiful music. A figure could be seen in the shadows, but it was completely undistinguishable. She paused to listen for a few moments, letting her tears slow. Then the thought entered her mind, the terrace, if she jumped...... No, she couldn't, not with someone down there. "I'll wait until morning. Maybe father will have changed his mind by then."
The harsh morning light woke her to the noise outside. She raced to the window and looked down. "NO! "she screamed as she saw a line of peasants coming toward the castle. Veronica came in at the sound.
"Is everything all right?" she asked.
"No, there are peasants coming toward the castle. Have them stopped before my father sees them!" she shrieked.
"Yes, milady." Veronica bolted out of the room. Minutes later the door opened again. Marguerite stood and smiled," Did you stop th-? Oh! Father, what are you doing here?"
"I have come to speak to you about your marriage."
"But father, you cannot expect me to marry one of those peasants!" she pointed out the window to the mob outside the palace.
"No, of course not," he smiled.
"Oh, thank the gods," she sighed.
"I expect you to marry this peasant."
"What?"
"This peasant." The king stepped aside revealing a rather attractive, though raggedly clothed, young man complete with a lute.
"A poor musician? You cannot be serious!"
"Oh but I am Marguerite. Amazingly enough, this poor man has accepted to marry you. Now take only the bare necessities. I am assuming that this man does not have any room for ALL of your precious possessions. And, besides that, you are no longer the Princess so please leave the Royal Jewels and Seals here." He turned to the peasant." You may take her clothes and sell them and whatever you think will make some profit for you as a dowry." Happily, the man's eyes lit up and rushed to the wardrobe to pick what would be valuable.
Marguerite, on the other hand, had begun to cry. Softly, at first, but her sobs were slowly turning to wails. She looked to Veronica and shared a glance before she moved towards the window. Veronica's eyes widened as she began to connect the pieces.
As Marguerite neared the edge Veronica cried, "NO! Milady, No!" The King stood puzzled as Marguerite began to lean farther and farther over the railing. The peasant turned at the commotion and gasped. Realizing her intent, he rushed to her side and grabbed the hem of her dress and wrist at the last second.
"NO! LET ME GO! I don't want to be your wife! You can't make me! PLEASE! Let ME GO!!" she screamed as she kicked her feet in the air.
"Never," the man gently replied as he pulled her up from the side. After Marguerite was safely away from the balcony, the man turned to her. "Well, now that that little theatric is over, I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is James Buxton. I am a poor musician, that is true, but I can promise that you will not starve, as long as you can manage to make your pretty little hands do work. Now, if you would hurry, I would like to get the ceremony taken care of and get home before all of a day's pay is lost."
Marguerite staggered at the man's rudeness. "If you Sir, think you are going anywhere and making me do anything, you are sadly mistaken! I know what my father has promised you, but you will not get one cent out of me or my possessions. Even though I may be forced to go with you, I will not love you, and I shall not be forced to stay with you. You will soon find out that I value no one's happiness more than my own, and whether the laws of the church call us wed I do not nor never will think of us in such a way."
"Just as well," James replied, "Well if you are quite ready I would like to be off" With that, the King and James turned toward the door and left. Marguerite stared at the heavy doors and clenched her fist.
"How DARE he!" she screamed. Veronica rushed to gather things for Marguerite. Marguerite sighed in exasperation and defeat, and went to help Veronica.
Please Review! I really wnat to continue this story, but I wont if no one is reading or enjoying it.