The Princess of Three Kingdoms

by LadySybil-AlaisBranson

For sixteen years, Ella had only ever known the life of a commoner. But then she learns two shocking truths; that she is the long lost princess of not one but two kingdoms with a brother and sister she never knew, and that the boy she fell in love with is a prince in disguise. Can Ella accept it, or will she go spiraling down a dark path where there is no coming back from?

King Etienne of the Southern region of France was a kind and fair ruler, dearly loved by his household and his people. He was blessed to have found true love in his wife Queen Iphigenia, a woman who was as kind and fair as he was. They had a son, Prince Adrien, who was barely two years old but very obedient and bright. It seemed like the little family and their kingdom were happy and peaceful, and had a great future ahead.

But one day, all of that changed. Queen Iphigenia was weeks away from expecting her second child, and yet suddenly the child decided to come early. The physicians and midwives tried everything to save the queen, but it was no use, for the pain was too much for her. As the healthy, beautiful newborn princess was brought to her dying mother, Iphigenia kissed her daughter's head, whispered, " I love you, Helene" and drew her last breath. Prince Adrien, being too young to understand the situation, was spared the pain of losing his mother.

King Etienne, however, was not so fortunate. Indeed, he took his beloved wife's death rather hard, blaming it entirely on his infant daughter. Blinded by anger and grief, he ordered his servants to take the child into the woods and abandon her. Fortunately one of the servants, Cogsworth, decided to disobey the king. He fled with the little princess across the border into the northern territory, which was the domain of King Stefan and Queen Leah, Iphigenia's sister and brother-in-law.

The monarchs already had an infant daughter of their own, but after hearing the dreadful news of Iphigenia's death, they took pity on the poor baby and agreed to take her in as their own. The kingdom soon rejoiced at the announcement of the two ' twin' princesses. A grand christening ceremony was arranged, and royalty, nobility, and common folk alike from near and far came to attend. However, the happy occasion was darkened by a great evil: the black fairy Maleficent. Furious that she had not been invited, the sinister creature cast a terrible curse on little Helene, sparing her sister Aurora. On the princess's sixteenth birthday, she would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a deep slumber. The only way to wake her was if she received a kiss of true love.

Utterly frightened, the king and queen proceeded to have every spinning wheel in the entire kingdom and beyond burned. As an extra precaution, they pleaded with the good fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather to take their daughter deep into the woods and hide her away from the world until the date of the curse passed. So the parents watched sadly as the three elderly women disappeared into the night with Helene. Thankfully, they were comforted by the fact that their other daughter Aurora could stay safely by their side to be raised and prepped to be the next ruler. As the years passed, though the girls led very different lives and had no idea of each other's existence, they each grew to be someone their parents could be proud of, the perfect embodiment of a princess.