To a Land Where There are no Happily Ever Afters

The morning dawned bright and lovely. Chirping birds and a pack of tiny mice worked to nudge Molly until she awoke from her sweet dreams. Another dream of her true love. A man whose eyes had looked so vibrantly green in her dream.

Shaking the thought away Molly, sat up and smiled to herself as she snuggled back into the unfamiliar bed she'd slept in. It was as fine as any she could ever imagine and Molly allowed herself just this one moment to indulge in it. Although her tweeting friends would hear none of it. "Alright, alright," she laughed and yawned. The sun was coming up, shining through the gossamer curtain and it called to her to rise and see. Soon she climbed out and down ( really, were all the beds in the palace this tall?) to stand at the window of her room. Below, the kingdom of Andalasia spread out in its gleaming, shining glory for her to see. Molly smiled. It was a beautiful day. A beautiful day for a…

Molly spun to greet her friends who'd come from the forest to be with her. "It's my wedding day!" She sang and spun. The animals were so overjoyed for her that they laughed and began to sing as they and set to help her ready her hair and slip into the dress they'd all worked so hard on last night. Time flew as birds curled her hair and adorned it with beautiful fresh flowers. the rabbits pulled and arranged each flounce of her gown while Toby lay purring on her lap, soothing her jumpy nerves. From time to time, Molly found her thoughts drawn away from the seemingly endless good wishes of her friends and back to the green- blue eyes from her dream. Each time they appeared in front of her thoughts, Molly would shake her head and set her thoughts on the man she knew. Her own Prince Tom.

Oh he was so he was! They'd laughed and talked all the way to the palace the evening before as they'd planned their future together. It was so... thrilling! She couldn't wait to begin their life together. Which was a good thing, because she was now dressed and being led into the garden to await her walk down the aisle to her future. The animals all went to the chapel to await her and Molly was left all alone for her big reveal. Standing there she turned her attention to her appearance as she primped and plumped the dress to its widest, fluffiest, fullness.

And that's when the first wave of panic set it. Was marrying a man she just met a bit... rash? Insane even? She gulped in air and settled her mind. No, of course not! After all, he was her true love. He had to be... After the dreams who else could it be? No, no this was right. This was how it was supposed to be, this was the start of her happily ever after.

"Molly?" A thin, voice called. An older woman, hunched and worn stood by a fountain. Molly walked over to her, thinking her a servant.

"Yes, hello! I'm Molly" She smiled to the woman.

"I've come to give you a gift my dear, a very special gift for your wedding. Queen Narissa wants you to wear this today." The woman pulled a glittery tiara from her cloak and handed it to Molly.

"It's beautiful. I'm... I'm honored." She was, it was curious that the queen herself hadn't come to meet her last night. It was said a headache kept her ill in bed and she could not therefore attend the banquet given to welcome her new Daughter in law. Prince Tom had told her it wasn't unusual behavior for the queen and had then smiled so sweetly at her that she'd forgiven the queen. In fact, she still quite looked forward to meeting her. It be awfully wonderful to have a mother again. And so Molly placed the gifted tiara on her head and asked the woman, whom she privately thought reminded her of a bit of a hag, but she would never say such a thing. ) how she looked.

"Come to the water and see, me dear! I'm sure you'll be pleased. It's also tradition to make a wish here before a royal wedding." The toothy woman grinned as she sharply started to pull Molly towards the fountain flowing nearby.

"I'd be happy too!" Molly glanced at her reflection and admired the reflection that shown back. It was like every dream come true, seeing herself in such a beautiful flouncy dress with her hair curled and piled high. And that she was marrying a Prince! A dream come true!

Although...

"Time to make a wish, my dear." The woman behind her cackled. Cackled? No, that was simply a rude thought.

"Alright." Molly closed her eyes and thought hard. What does one wish for when all of your dreams are coming true? But then the face from her dreams appeared before her again. Nearer and clearer than ever before. "I… I wish to be with my own true love for the rest of my life! That he and I may be happy with one another and that we-"

Suddenly Molly was shoved down into the fountain and sank deep deep down into.. Well she wasn't sure what. There was no water but... Glimmers seemed to float toward her, clinging to her skin. She wouldn't say they hurt but they more or less vibrated strongly and it wasn't exactly a comfortable sensation. Soon she was covered in them before the glimmers burst around her and sent Molly dropping down, hitting the floor with a thud.

Holding out a hand before her, she looked hard at it. Her hand looked...Odd. The gown felt heavier and the light before her looked strangely thick. Hesitantly, she reached out to touch it. From its source she heard noises, or was that voices? Curious, and seeing nothing else in the darkness Molly pushed at the strange door. With a shove it moved and slid to the side. Molly peeked her head out and called out a timid hello. The voices didn't answer her, so she called again. Finally, she pushed her shoulders through and wiggled her way out, the skirt of her wedding gown made it a challenge and Molly more so fell out, and up she noted.

How odd.


This is pretty unbeta'd for spelling and punctuation. If you see an error, it is all mine ( let me know) I hope you enjoy this AU as much as I am.