Once upon a time, there was a princess…. such is how most fairy tales go. She eventually receives a happy ending with her prince to be. Yet that is a boring tale that has been retold a hundred times too many.

Would you care to hear another beginning to the same old fairy tale?

A forgotten castle sits in the deep, ancient part of the forest. Its magic protection is so strong that no one could see it even if he was several inches away from the outside wall. He would merely find himself walking in circles, if he survived long enough to reach the walls. Its spiraling towers reach up toward the dark sky as crows fly above it, sensing a structure existed below, but unable to see it. Its many rooms and stairways remain silent. Termites feasts on the furniture and the many books there. The kitchens remain bear of all food, already raided by the mice. In one of its towers is an old looking glass, covered with spider webs and dust.

No one lives in this forgotten castle now. However, years before, a lonely demon resided there. It had everything a demon should desire: power, rank, the ability to inspire fear. Yet there was one thing it did not have and yet desired, not as a demon but as a human.

And here is where the story begins:

Starfire was a strong girl. She was always strong since she was a small baby. She was also very joyful and had a rather optimistic personality as almost nothing made her feel down. Her father and mother adored her, and yet, she did not grow up to be a spoiled princess. No, she had a nice personality that melted most people's hard exterior.

She had beautiful flowing red hair down to her waist. Her eyes were a pretty green color, and she was graceful like a swan. She was also very tall which made it slightly hard to get partners for ball dances as most of the males did not want to dance with a female who was taller than them. But Starfire was lucky because she found a man who did not care about their height problem. His name was Robin.

Robin was tall too, though he was shorter by an inch or two when compared to Starfire. He had fine black hair that could never be combed down and strange gray eyes. He was also the son of a neighboring kingdom so he was a perfect match to Starfire.

It was to be a very grand wedding, one that would have taken off without any real hitch if it wasn't for one minor problem: Starfire did not want to marry Robin.

She liked the man and thought of him as a charming friend. But marriage? She thought that was a little too far into the future. She and Robin had only met a few months ago, and she could not believe her parents wanted her to marry already. She was only 18. Nevertheless, being the ever-dutiful daughter, she agreed to the marriage while praying to her goddess she will learn to love Robin and if not, she will be able to bear the marriage.

The wedding was announced with much fanfare, as it was a royal wedding. Everything was made sure to be in tiptop shape. Any blemish found was either repaired or removed entirely.

The wedding was to take place at Robin's kingdom because it was bigger and the kingdom of the husband-to-be was traditionally the place for such a large wedding. Starfire was surrounded night and day by servants who made sure she was to be the perfect bride to the perfect groom. All over the gossip and news spread about the wedding. There was much speculation about what was bride and groom was going to wear.

There was also much moaning and cursing of fate's evil hand that Starfire was the lucky one chosen to be Robin's bride. The other minor princesses whined to their nurses as they fanned themselves, absolutely refusing to go to the wedding ball. (Of course, they would go just to see if they could woo Robin away from Starfire). The princes went hunting imaginary animals muttered under their breath that Starfire should be theirs and they would duel Robin for her (and make a fool of themselves as Robin was one of the best duelist, either with swords or bow and arrows, in the entire land). Yes, everyone agreed that it was a match made in heaven.

Now the next issue was getting the bride over to Robin's kingdom. It should have been a rather easy affair as a mere bridge separated the boundaries of the kingdoms. A long and narrow bridge spanned several miles. No one knew who built the bridge, but the people knew how to use and repair it if something went wrong. Alas, several people decided to host a fireworks party on the bridge, and now there was a large gapping hole in the middle of it; one that would take a long time to repair and make bringing all the baggage and entourage of no less then 50 people quite impossible.

The parents, eager to see the wedding go off (and a strong alliance cemented finally), decided to do another route, one that was shorter a bit, but was fraught with danger and the like. Because of this, Starfire's parents added an additional 70 bodyguards to Starfire's already large traveling group. By the time Starfire and her group went on the new route, she somehow had 120 people, give or take about 10 stole-away. This involved a lot of planning as moving and feeding 120 people for several days was not easy. It was devised that Starfire would be placed in the middle of the whole group and the rest would surround her, like a large amoeba. It would protect, provide, and keep her company. Everyone agreed it was a genius plan and set about to put it into action. It was easier said than done. But, alas, the group did finally get going and left the Starfire's kingdom to go through the forests for several days to reach Robin's kingdom.

Now, I could end my story right here and now by saying that Robin and Starfire married and live happily ever after. Or I can continue the story and cause some mischief.

What did you say?

Mischief? I thought so.