a/n: you all have been so lovely! thank you for the reviews! these stories? i really really hope they are as much fun to read as they are to write!
au- a mash fairytale
(*and, i will still probably add more installments for the last chapter, run away with me. but i was so sad about Toy Soldier and so excited about writing this. so i skipped around. but... enjoy. please?*)
Once upon a time, in a rich and beautiful land, was born a princess. More lovely than a sunrise, with a heart of kindness and compassion- and all the wisdom and bravery to rival any king- she would be destined to make a great ruler for her people: a true and noble queen.
But fate proved not as kind. Only days after her birth, her father, the King, died. His fragile baby girl, left to care for a nation, as only an infant. But, beautiful as the land was, hers was a kingdom of unrest. So, to keep her safe, her mother sent her to a far away land, to live in the nation of her betrothed. Raised in a convent, until her fifteenth year, she grew more beautiful and more kind with every passing birthday, up until she was released to the household of her betrothed. However, even in this far away land, the little queen could not be safe: left with the throne, her mother became corrupt with power; and her betrothed, though seemingly kindly, proved to be a jealous, cruel lover- and, in a fit of envy, he locked the little queen in a tower, keeping her from all other contact. Even the prince's mother, a wicked sorceress, conspired against the little queen; she grew jealous of her son's averted affections- and so she cast a spell upon the tower: if the little queen attempted to leave her prison, she would surely parish. But such a spirit is not so easily contained...
Her name was Mary- Queen of Scots.
"You cannot keep me here forever."
The little queen kept her jaw tilted up. Though he may have broken many another girl, Mary retained her fire.
"I do not want to."
As he reached for her face, she winced as though he struck her.
"But I will if I have to."
Closing the door behind him, in the lovely prison cell, he left her to her anger and her grief.
There was, however, in this land, a hero. Brave and honest, though poor he might have been, in the same castle that held the lovely Mary prisoner, there lived a boy: the prince's elder half-brother.
His name was Sebastian.
Handsome and kind, he pitied the beautiful young queen imprisoned in the castle- as he knew his brother's cruelty, love him though he did; and Sebastian also knew the heart of the young queen was not for captivity. For, in her short time of freedom in the castle, the poor but handsome young man had fallen in love with her.
Alas! Now he could only gaze at her through the window of her cell!
But, perhaps not. He vowed to himself, in his heart, that he would help free the young maiden, no matter the cost.
So, one night, after all had gone to sleep, he began to climb the long and winding staircase to console the captive queen in her loneliness. And he bribed the queen's jailer, with what little he had saved, claiming he only meant to ease her depression with friendly company- and, if her mood brightened, Prince Francis would be pleased. So, on the condition that he kept nothing on his person, the guard turned away allowed the young Sebastian to pass.
"Mary," he said, finding her standing in the tower's lone window.
"Sebastian," she breathed his name, elated for his company, for he had been kind to her in her days of freedom here.
Deeply disturbed by her condition, distressed by her distress, he strided toward her, to wipe the single tear falling down her paled cheek.
"Oh, Sebastian." She held his hand against her face, starved, and thankful, for the warm, kind touch. "I am so glad to see you."
She was unwell: withering daily in her confinement.
Overcome, he embraced her, holding her for several tender moments before letting her go.
For hours, through the night, they delved into each others company- until the morning sun, breaking from the horizon, when they were forced to part.
"I must go," he said, pale light peeking through the window.
"Wait, Bash," she reached for his hand before he could slip through the door. "Please, will I see you again?"
"When the sun sets, and the moon hangs in the middle of the sky, I will return."
That day, when the Prince came to check on her, the young queen was tired, but far less sullen.
"My beauty," he said. "You are looking well today."
"Only happy to see you, your grace."
And the prince grinned- he would win her yet.
"But, my beauty," he said. "You look tired as well,"
She looked to her bed, a humble cot on the side of the room, and, being not only beautiful but cunning as well, she thought quickly, a plan formulating within her.
"My prince, I cannot sleep- for my bed is too cold."
"Very well, my beauty. You will have more blankets."
And he left and within the hour more blankets arrived to her room.
That night, when the sun had set and the moon hung in the middle of the sky, Sebastian returned, this time bribing the guard with a bracelet, from his mother. Again, the guard allowed him to pass, on the condition that he kept nothing on his person.
And again she turned from the window, and he wiped the single tear from her cheek.
"Oh Bash," she sighed. "I am dying up here."
And so this night, he held her for a few moments longer.
And they indulged in each others company, until the morning sun, breaking from the horizon, when they were forced to part.
"Will I see you again?" The young queen Mary asked.
And the handsome Bash replied: "When the sun sets, and the moon hangs in the middle of the sky, I will return."
The next morning, when the prince came to check on the little queen, she seemed in a brighter mood still, though even more tired than before.
"My beauty," he said, watching her carefully. "You are looking well today."
"Only delighted to see you, your grace."
Today he only looked on her with a faint, suspicious smile.
"But, my beauty," he said. "You look tired as well."
She gestured to her bed.
"My prince, I cannot sleep- for my sheets are too rough."
"Very well, my beauty. You will have softer sheets."
And he left and within the hour more sheets arrived to her room.
That night, when the sun had set and the moon hung in the middle of the sky, Sebastian returned, this time bribing the guard with an abundance of wine. Again, the guard allowed him to pass, on the condition that he kept nothing on his person.
And again she turned from the window, and he wiped the single tear from her cheek.
"Oh Sebastian," she sighed. And he was grieved, for he saw that she did not have long, were she to be locked up here, in this place.
And so this night, he held her for a few moments longer- and longer and longer, so that she remained in his embrace, growing more fond of him by the hour, til dawn appeared, until the morning sun, breaking from the horizon, when they were forced to part.
"Bash," The young queen Mary said as he turned bitterly to leave. "I must see you again."
But his heart ached, low and heavy in his sturdy chest. "Oh Mary," he said, burdened by grief and guilt and despair. "I am a poor bastard- and I have nothing left to bribe the jailer."
He had planned to tell her that he would come back only when he could free her from her imprisonment- but it was then that she, the clever young queen, revealed her own plans for escape.
To which the handsome Bash eagerly replied: "When the sun sets, and the moon hangs in the middle of the sky, I will return for you."
The next morning, when the prince came to check on the little queen, she seemed in a brighter mood even still, though even more tired than the previous days. And in his jealousy, suspicion rose within him, and he lashed out at the young queen.
"My beauty," he hissed, grabbing and clutching her wrist in a vice-like grip. "You are looking rather well today."
"Only elated to see you, your grace." She turned her face, ignoring the pain of his threatening clutch.
"But, my beauty," he hissed, gripping tighter as she struggled away. "You look tired as well. Who has been keeping you up?"
"No one your grace," the queen settled the trembling in her voice, gesturing to the bed once more. "Only that I cannot sleep, for my pillow is too hard."
"Very well, my beauty." The prince through off her hand, his suspicions still aroused. "You will have your pillows- and then I'll have no more of your games."
Little did he know, this was the last game she need play.
And he left and within the hour more pillows arrived to her room.
That night, when the sun had set and the moon hung in the middle of the sky, Sebastian returned, but not to her cell. No, this night, he waited at her window. The beautiful, clever queen needed a guide, someone to lead her safely back to her own land. For she had used the blankets, the sheets, and the cases of the pillows, to tie together a rope.
Carefully tossing the knotted fabric from the window, the daring young maiden proceeded to lower herself from her cold cell, to the ground bellow. And, in the final drop, her strong and handsome comforter was there to catch her.
It all had seemed but too simple- until the queen took faint.
"Mary. Mary," Sebastian said, catching the collapsing figure in his arms. For the prince's mother, the sorceress- the curse she placed on the tower could not be eluded.
"Bash," she said, catching herself on his shoulders. She shook her head, as though she did not understand, she reached for his face.
"Mary," He lifted her, stroked her lovely face. But it was too late- she was already fading, and so quickly gone!
Instantaneously, he felt his heart rupture, shattering like ice in his chest. That he would have anticipated the treachery of the sorceress; that he would not have let her be locked in that tower! That he would have told her...
His face tilted to her. A single tear dropped from his eyes, landing on her cheek. All was lost...
"Sebastian,"
He jolted from his state of grief. She was awake- as in that single drop, there contained the most potent combatant to darkness that there could ever be: true love.
Without hesitation, he kissed her, his beloved queen. And, without shame or remorse, but rather with all the love in her overflowing heart, she kissed him in return.
And he guided her safely from the castle, back to her home land, where the two successfully defeated her power-corrupted mother and regained the country that had been so rightfully hers- but that is a tale for another time.
And they both lived happily ever after.