Hello everyone. Before we begin, I liked to thank Diamond1984 for favorite and following this story. You're just in time because we are now getting into the Cinderella arc! Like with Ivy, I'll be expanding Agnes' story since hers is based on the French fairytale, Donkeyskin... I think I prefer Allerleirauh better since it more detailed with the objects? But that doesn't mean I can mix both version in this chapter. Be warn, both versions are pretty messed up in the beggining, so you might feel a bit uncomfortable... Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 4: An Outrageous Marriage and Strange Requests
He couldn't understand. Why did he returned to being a frog? Why now, after his love's death? Maybe it's the same reason why Ivy's powers went into him... Maybe it could be her powers that has changed his curse.
She asked for him to live a blissful life before seeing her again one day... He promised. However, even now, he can't keep the first half of his promise... Not right now anyway. He needed time- time to heal from heartbreak.
With no other choice and far away from home, the Frog Prince decided to find a new pond to be his new home... Somewhere in the Black Forest of Germany. A few years have passed and Fate decided to continue being cruel... By giving the Frog Prince a second chance to find love, without the knowledge of what will happen later in the future...
In Verdon Gorge, France... In a wonderful kingdom, there lived a Princess. Her name is Agnes Koch, the only daughter of the King and Queen. She is a pretty girl, with long brown hair that it let down, brown eyes, and having a fair complexion. Ever since her mother died when she was very young, the girl would be sadden for her loss.
However, what the young Princess didn't know is that the Queen made the King promised to marry no one uglier than her. The King vowed and started to search for a beautiful maiden to wed, leaving the Princess alone with her nurse.
The King loved his daughter, but because he was fixated in finding a new bride, he would often leave her home by herself. The royal family was very rich for the King gain possession of a donkey that can... Supply the kingdom with plenty amount of gold.
It was on Agnes' 15th birthday that she encounter with her Godmother, Amelia. She claimed that Agnes is the second "Cinderella" and it was her job to make her live contently- to grant her a Happy Ending to a chapter of her life. In less than one year, Agnes became more and more beautiful. She became more happier and livelier, helping her cook make dinner and playing with the children in the courtyard.
Soon, news spread of the girl's beauty. It continue to spread until it reached the ears of her father. Of course he brushed it off at first, believing that they were exaggerating. At that time, the King gave up on his search for a new bride. He returned to the kingdom three years later on the Princess' 18th birthday. He became depressed and was growing older. He thought he'll never find his bride. Until one day, after half a year later...
It was morning when the King's advisers keep on pushing him to find a bride to be his new Queen.
"Yes, yes." the King replied impatiently. "I know, but all of these maidens are not perfect."
"Your Majesty, you will have to pick soon. There are many beautiful maidens in the land, why can't you settle for just one of them?" the minister questioned, wanting to give up on this long fruitless search.
"Because I promise my wife on her deathbed to marry only the one who is as beautiful as her!" the old King snapped. The King then looked outside his window when his sight set on his eighteen year old and a half daughter laughing and talking with her nurse. Taken in by her beauty, the King muttered, "That..."
"What is it, Your Majesty?" the minister questioned.
"Does my eyes deceived me? Is that you, Augustina?" he muttered quietly. "Tell me, who is that charming young woman down there?" the King asked, eying the maiden with a hint of lust.
"Why that's your daughter, Your Majesty." the minister gazed on the Princess. "She has become lovelier... Almost lovelier than our beloved Queen, if I may say so myself."
"Indeed..." the King agreed. "To think that she tried to hide her beauty from me. She looked very different when she dressed like a commoner... She has grown so much."
"Yes, yes, she has." the minister replied. "It would have been ashamed if the King had failed to recognize his daughter, don't you think? If you don't mind my asking."
However, the King was too busy watching his daughter to hear that remark, "That is it... She is the one."
"Pardon? Uh, what did you say, Your Majesty?" the minister asked in confusion.
"Call the Princess, tell her that I wished to speak with her." the King ordered the guards as he sat on his throne.
The minister and his advisers were confused at the sudden change of the King's tone. The guards, however, didn't question and went to fetch the girl. A couple of minutes later, Princess Agnes Koch came into the throne room with everyone else following her.
"Yes, Father?" Agnes questioned.
However, the King didn't answer. Instead, he studied her. Her brown hair was down and she was wearing a gown with floral designs. The knee-length skirt was yellow and the overskirt was pink, reaching to the floors. A royal sunhat with bright feathers is on her head and pale purple boots are on her feet. In her hands is an umbrella. She was the spitting image of his late Queen, with paralleled beauty... Maybe even more. Just being in the presence of the Princess was like having his wife here with him. Meanwhile, the Princess was feeling uneasy as her father just nods in satisfaction. It was really creepy...
The King then lean back on his throne with a smirk on his face, "Perfect, she is perfect."
The advisers and minister in the room gasped, some out of shock and others out of disbelief, while the Princess looked around in confusion.
"Perfect? Perfect for what?" Agnes asked in worry, not liking the many shocked looks on everyone's faces.
"Leave." he addressed at everyone else in the room. "I wished to speak with my daughter alone."
Everyone, even the guards, left the room, leaving the Princess alone with the King.
"Father?" Agnes questioned in weary voice.
"Tell my Agnes, why were you surprised that I asked you to see me?" the King asked.
"Ever since Mother died, you have ignored me." Agnes replied with a hint of sadness.
"Have I offended you?"
"A little bit." she answered in a small voice.
"Then I am sorry." the King replied.
The King got up from his throne and walked down the stairs. He then walked around Agnes in a circle, like a cat having cornered a mouse. He kept on looking at her while the Princess gave small glances nervously around her shoulders, the feeling of something being out of place is in her mind. When he finished walking in circles around Agnes, he was now standing in front of her.
"Um, Father, before... What- what did y-you mean about me being perfect for?" Agnes nervously questioned in uncertainty, fearing for his answer.
"Tell me, Agnes... Do you love me?" the King asked.
Confused at the sudden question, she answered, "Yes, I do love you. You're my father."
"But..." the King paused, wanting to asked her gently. "Do you... Have any feelings that goes beyond the love for your father?"
Agnes just shook her head no slowly.
"Father, I feel weary and troubled. May I leave now?" the Princess asked.
He sighs, "Very well." Before the Princess could exit the room, he added, "But do come back at 8 o'clock."
She simply nodded and head out the door. She was still confused and was fearful at her father's movements and talking. It was like he was a completely different person. Not like the father she knew, more like a stranger.
That evening the Princess came back, but this time, everyone else was in the room. Servants, advisers, the minister, and the guards. She was still disturbed after what had happened in the morning. It was worse when everyone started to asked her a question she was not prepared for.
"Are you aware of what's happening, Princess?" one servant asked.
"Aware of what?" Agnes asked.
"That you'll become my lovely bride and marry me, of course." the King calmly answered.
"What?! Father, no! Are you out of your mind?!" Agnes demanded, her eyes showed a mixture of fear, shock, anger, and disgust.
"No! Your mother wishes me to marry someone who possess equal beauty as her!" the King got up from his throne and walk down the stairs. He stared at Agnes as she started to feel fearful and uncomfortable in his presence once more. "Hm... You have her looks, the very vision of her in front of my eyes... Therefore you shall marry me."
"But I don't want to! This is absolutely ridiculous!" Agnes protested, she was starting to panic at the terrible news. "Father, I am not Mother, I am not Queen Augustina! I am your daughter!"
"Your Majesty, if I am free to say this, but this is against the law! It's not fitting of royalty! This is insane! It's a crime for a father to marry his own daughter!" the minister intervene.
"Silence! My daughter is the very image of my beautiful Queen Augustina. I shall marry her... And marry her I shall... And I shall do whatever I see fit as King!" He declared that statement with such an intimidating tone and authority. He reached out to touch his daughter, but Agnes step back in fear. Instead of disappointment, the King was smirking which really makes Agnes feel really uneasy. Turning to everyone else, he added, "The Princess Agnes Koch shall wed me at the end of this month!"
"Father, have you gone mad?!" the Princess was on the verge to tears.
"My dear Agnes, no. I am deeply in love." the King answered. "You shall be my lovely Queen."
Another gasped was let out by the people in the room while the Princess was too distraught to protest anymore. This was just an insane idea! It is a disaster! No, it was a nightmare! What led her father to even think of this crazy suggestion? She looked at him, shaking. She needs a way out. She needs to find a way to make it impossible for him to marry her- to delay and give her time to plan an escape.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to calmly make her request as she looked straight into her father's eyes, "V-Very well, Father. Although I have one condition. I wished for three ball gowns and a cloak."
"Very well." the King agreed, surprised, but gladden for the obedience of his daughter. "I shall have it made for you immediately."
"However," Agnes stopped the King. "Each dresses shall be different. One will have a glow as brightly as the sun, another will have the color of the weather, and the last dress shall have the color of the pale blue moon."
"And what about your cloak?" the King asked.
"As for the cloak, I wished for it to be made from your marvelous donkey skin." Agnes answered.
"These are very strange requests... But it shall be done." the King replied as he leaves the room along with everybody else.
Agnes felt a small smile on her face for she let out a sigh of relief. She knew that he won't get it done. With impossible requests like that, she will be safe from the marriage, right? Wrong.
The King had the dress makers absorbed the sun beams into the threads, to make it glow a bright gold color like the sun. When all the threads shine like the sun, the seamstress sew the fabric. In no time, the first dress was complete. He would have the servants catch the clouds and shooting stars that passes by as dusk approaches and decorate them on a midnight blue fabric. Soon, the second dress was finished. Lastly, the King made the others soaked a beautiful shade of blue fabric in the Lake of Sainte-Croix during the night when the moon is full. The reason was because the lake has a beautiful blue color that people say that the water absorb the moonlight when it shine on the surface. However, it would shine the best at night, hence why the servants are soaking the fabric in the water. When they took it out, the cloth gave out a bright silvery blue glow.
As for the donkey skin? The King gladly part with it, killing the thing for it's fur. He also had the seamstress fashioned it into... Something more suitable for the Princess. Near the end of the month, everything was done.
Everyone was in the room, staring.
The first gown was stunning, shimmering like the sun from up to down. There were many intricate designs made from yellow, gold, and orange sequins to make little dots and sun patterns throughout the bodice and sleeves. On the overskirt were golden swirls to act like the rays of the sun on top of the white skirt underneath.
The second dress was completely midnight blue with star designs that dazzled the minds. The stars are as tiny as diamonds and pearls from the bodice, but as it goes down to the skirt, the stars are more noticeable. The first sleeves were a lighter shade of blue while the circular flounce over-sleeves being the same color as the entire dress. The clouds were imbued into the fabric. Because they were caught while the sky changes color, the dress itself would change from dark blue to purple.
Lastly, the final ball gown that glowed like the moon is a beautiful royal turquoise blue color. It almost like a mixture of the sky and sea. It has short puffed sleeves with some frills around it and the sweetheart neckline has purple and green laces. It looked the most simple out of the others, but it was still grand.
As for the donkey skin, it was made into a furry cloak with a hood.
If the Princess wasn't stuck in an unwanted marriage, she would have been struck in awe like the rest of the people in the room. However, she wasn't. She was distraught.
"Hmp, the wedding shall take place tomorrow." the King declared. "Make sure that you are well rested tonight."
With those final words, the King walked out of the throne room along with everyone else, leaving Agnes alone with her three ball gowns and cloak.
She collapsed on her knees, still in shock. What was going to happen to her now? She was scared for her life... And for her future. Taking her dresses and cloak to her room, the Princess quickly locked the door as she sat on her bed, trembling in fear. The thought of her marrying her father was just too much to bear that even Agnes wasn't sure if she was going mad herself.
She doesn't know what to do now. She was all alone in her dark room. How was she going to escape from that marriage now? Her father is determined to have what he want and the people can't stop him either, not even the minister.
She needs help, but where? Wait, help? That's it! There was only one person out in the world who can help her... And she knew who to ask help from.
"Amelia, please help me." Agnes whispered.
Suddenly, a cloud moved aside to reveal a full moon. As the moonlight shine through her window, pale blue light shined as the figure of a woman appeared. She has long straight dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. Her Godmother wears a beautiful white dress and in her hands is the magically Magic Glass Wand.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please leave a review because it will be helpful. Plus, I want to know how you feel.