"That was a bad story, Daddy. Moooooom!" Sofie cried before Carly and I could react.
Carly shook her head, smiling. "Okay. Let mommy tell the story." Carly said. Sofie sat up and put her hands under her chin.
"Once upon a time…." Carly began and I just sat there, waiting for her story too. Yup, this was going to be a long, long night.
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"There was a beautiful princess who lived in a far-away kingdom." Carly continued.
I smiled. I knew right then whose story she was going to tell but for the fun of it, I wanted to listen too. This was going to be fun.
"Beautiful?" I asked her with my eyebrows raised.
Carly glared at me but she didn't say anything.
"I think that's an understatement sweetheart." I said softly before she could hit me with a pillow which she was already holding, ready to be thrown. I winked at her and I could see her cheeks turn red. Carly loved it when I would complement her and often, she would reward me with her beautiful smile.
"Daddy! Stop interrupting!" Sofie cried. Oh yeah, we had a daughter waiting for a story. I almost forgot.
I then turned to Sofie and explained. "You see, Sofie, the Princess was not just plain beautiful. She was the most adorable, sought-after Princess in town. Her eyes sparkled like diamonds and her smile…" I admit, I was now lost in my thoughts.
"What about her smile?" Sofie asked impatiently. I looked again at my wife, and I swear she was wearing the same smile I was talking about.
"Her smile could launch a thousand ships." I blurted out without even thinking.
I heard Carly laugh. "So… Helen of Troy?" she smirked and I laughed with her.
"Daddy! Mommy! What about the story?" Sofie cried again. She always hated it when Carly and I would become too mushy in front of her. I wasn't sure if it embarrassed her or she doesn't like the idea that we unintentionally ignore her. I guess that's one of the consequences of being in love this much.
"Oh, right. Yeah." I said and gestured my hand for Carly to continue.
"The Princess and her brother were sent by the king to live in a place far away from their own home. At first, the Princess was extremely anxious and depressed because she didn't know anyone in the kingdom yet. But one day, a dashing Prince who was her age came to the palace where the Princess and her brother moved in to welcome them." Carly smiled and looked at me.
"Dashing? So, you think I'm dashing?" I interrupted. Well, I had to. She never called me dashing before. That was a first and I won't let it go that easily. If I had a tape recorder in hand, I would've recorded it for future use.
"Oh, shut up Fredward!" Carly rolled her eyes. That was the second time she called me Fredward that day. It was a sign of annoyance.
"So… Dashing, huh?" I continued to tease her and before I knew it, another pillow landed on my face. It was from Sofie.
"Daddddyyyyyyyyyyy!!!" she yelled and pouted.
"What?" I asked innocently while picking up the pillow she threw.
"You continue the story so you won't interrupt anymore!" Carly said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. I laughed at how cute they both looked.
"Alright then. Where were we?" I asked, remembering that we were on the part where the dashing Prince, as Carly stated, went to welcome the Princess.
"The Prince was welcomed by the Princess' brother and he was invited to join them at a royal banquet. The beautiful Princess, however, was nowhere to be found that time. She was in her room." I continued and tried to remember what happened next.
"The Princess, hearing that someone had come over, went down immediately to see who it was." It was Carly who told that part.
"Oh yeah." Sofie's eyes were now on me, waiting for the continuation of the story. "The Princess sat at her chair in a graceful manner and was introduced to the Prince by her brother. That's when the Prince noticed how mesmerizing she looked. Her black, straight hair fell down on her shoulders and her eyes were chocolate brown. Her lips were red and her cheeks had a pinkish color in them. That's what you call love at first sight."
I could see Sofie looking at her mommy now, carefully studying Carly's features. Carly just smiled at her.
"Black hair, chocolate brown eyes, red lips, rosy cheeks…" Sofie whispered. She looked at me once more and then stared at Carly again. "Like Mommy?" she asked.
"Yes. Like Mommy." I smiled and nodded.
"The Prince knew right there and then that he was struck by Cupid's arrow." Carly giggled as I continued. "He fell so hard for the Princess that he would come over their palace every time he had the time. He always wanted to see her though he knew that the Princess didn't feel the same way about him."
"The Princess didn't love him?" Sofie asked.
"It's not like that sweetie. You see, the Princess had a lot in mind during that time and she was afraid to love him for they became very good friends. The Princess knew that falling in love with him could destroy the friendship they built." Carly explained as Sofie frowned. She still was too young to understand these kinds of things but there was no other way to explain it.
"When you grow old, you'll understand it." I smiled at her.
"Okay…" she said eagerly. "On with the story." She continued as Carly and I laughed at her enthusiasm.
"So the Princess and the Prince became very good friends along with another Princess." Carly was the one to continue.
"More of a witch, actually." I grinned, remembering those days.
"Fredward!" Carly yelled at me. She always hated it when I call her best friend names. Well, actually, she was my best friend too.
"I'm confused…" Sofie whispered almost to herself.
"Sorry baby. Daddy's being difficult here." Carly said to her as she glared at me. "The three of them became very good friends- the dashing Prince, the beautiful Princess, and the other Princess."
"Was the other Princess pretty too?" Sofie asked.
"Yeah. She was pretty too. She had a blonde and curly hair." Carly explained.
"Oh, like Auntie Sam?" I smiled at how Sofie was picking this all up. But how come she didn't react about the dashing Prince? Ugh.
"Yes, like Auntie Sam." Carly smiled.
"Then one day, the beautiful Princess told them that she fell in love with someone." I paused. It was almost painful to say those words and remember what happened then. "The Prince's heart fell apart but he was happy for her. He cried but he never showed her. He tried to hide his feelings for the Princess but it grew stronger everyday."
"Aww." It was Carly. She reached for my hand immediately and intertwined our fingers. She must have seen how affected I was. I looked at her and smiled to show her I was okay and that what matted most was we were happy now.
"Did the Princess fall in love with a Prince too?" Sofie asked curiously.
"No. She fell in love with an ogre who loved playing with dollies." I grinned.
Carly hit me playfully in the arm and started laughing. "What?" I chuckled.
"He wasn't an ogre!" She exclaimed, rolling her eyes.
"He was!"
"Noooo!"
"Carly, stop being so difficult."
"He was just a bad Prince. Besides, he's incredibly hot to be considered an ogre!"
"Hot? Ugh!"
"What? He was! Sam said so!"
"Ogre!"
"You're just jealous!"
"Am not!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Sofie screamed at the top of her lungs in a high-pitched voice. I hated it whenever she did that. She caught it from her mom. Usually, when we were fooling around, Carly would scream at me to make me stop.
Carly and I looked at each other and laughed so hard that I almost fell off the chair I was sitting on.
I continued when we stopped laughing. "Okay. So, the Princess fell in love with an ogre, an ugly one." I emphasized the word ugly for Carly. She just rolled her eyes again and chuckled. "The Prince was devastated because the ogre took the Princess away from him. She wouldn't spend much time with the Prince and the other Princess anymore."
"But the Princess wanted to. She loved her best friends but she liked the bad Prince…" Carly paused when she heard me cough. "Alright. She liked the ogre too. Happy?" she asked me with her eyebrows raised.
"We should be consistent honey. We don't want to confuse Sofie, don't we?" I laughed before going on with the story. "Then one night, while the Prince was waiting in the palace, the Princess came home from a date with that ogre. She was crying her heart out."
"Why?" Sofie asked.
"Because the ogre cheated on her." Carly continued smugly.
I saw yet again, another confused look from Sofie so I tried my best to explain what Carly had said. "The ogre told the Princess that he loved her, but the Princess found out that the ogre loved another girl too." Okay, I was confused too but I continued anyway.
"What did the Prince do?" Sofie asked as she rested her head on the pillow, almost sleepy.
"The Prince was mad. He never wanted to see the Princess cry so he went to the ogre's lair and challenged him into a fight." I said as Carly put the blanket over Sofie.
"You want to finish the story or are you sleepy? We could continue tomorrow." Carly whispered to her and she gave her a kiss on the forehead. Sofie shook her head.
"Alright. So the Prince and the ogre fought. It was a tough battle but the Prince was determined to win that one for the Princess."
"What happened? Was he hurt?" Sofie asked again.
"Yes baby. The Prince was badly hurt but he managed to return to the palace. The Princess was touched at what he did. He just showed her how much pain he was willing to take for her." Carly smiled as she explained and I smiled back before continuing.
"Then that night, the Prince confessed his love for the Princess for the millionth time but she still didn't return his feelings." Carly looked at me with an apologetic smile and continued.
"The Princess was battling her inner feelings. She was still confused and hurt by what the ogre did but she knew that she felt something different for the Prince." She continued, giving her side of the story.
"Really?" I asked her. Okay, I couldn't help but interrupt again. She never told me that before.
Carly just smiled at me and we both looked at Sofie. We were surprised she didn't yell at me for butting in. We figured she must be really tired but she was fighting it so I immediately continued.
"The two remained good friends until one night, they both went to this royal ball. There was dancing, food, and everything. Before the night ended, the two shared a special dance and that's where it all began."
"Mmm?" Sofie mumbled waiting for the conclusion of the story. Her eyes were almost closed.
"The Princess finally confessed her love for the Prince after the ball. She told him that she loved him too. And then…" Before Carly could continue, we heard Sofie's heavy breathing. She was asleep now.
Carly and I looked at each other and then stood up to give Sofie a goodnight kiss. I then held her hand as we walked quietly towards our bedroom. Finally! Some alone time with my Carly.
As I slowly closed the door of Sofie's room, I carried Carly bridal-style and walked into our bedroom. She gasped in surprise but she willingly put her arms around my neck and giggled.
I gave her a peck on the lips. "Now, let's put you to bed. And no more yelling this time. We don't want Sofie to disturb us, don't we?" I grinned.
"And they lived happily ever after!" she laughed softly before crushing her lips again against mine.
~THE END~
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AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hope you liked the 2nd chappie. ^_^
I guess my next story will be longer than my previous ones. I wanted to try a multi-chapter story. Yay! Haha.
Thanks again for reading and reviewing. ^_^