by Walleye
When her Father was introduced to him and he gave his ancestral names the King actually found them there in the peerage as the Hedge Witch had been quite thorough in providing a backstory. As a result when the Princess asked her Father for permission to wed him it was immediately granted.
They had a beautiful wedding and it came just in time because within three months her Father the King passed on and the former Toad Prince became the king. Four months after that the Queen gave birth to a handsome baby boy.
When it came time to pay the Hedge Witch her gold price the King took his young wife with him but not before he explained who he had been and why he owed the Hedge Witch. Needless to say the Queen did yell at him for not telling her sooner but since she loved him and he loved her she eventually forgave him and went with him to see the Hedge Witch.
The Hedge Witch gladly accepted his payment. But she was even gladder to inform him, maliciously of course, of the problems she’d glossed over before.
“Dear happy couple.” She told them with a malicious grin while dangling from a web thread. “Unfortunately for you two my magic could not remove all the attributes of being a toad.”
“What does that mean?” His wife the Queen snapped angrily.
The Hedge Witch replied. “Toads live nearly twenty five years and that is how long he will live as a human. When you reach your twenty-fifth birthday you will die, young king.” With that she and the gold vanished.
The King determined from his birthdate that he had ten years to live which caused his wife to cry. He held her and told her that if that was the price he had to pay to be with her that it was one he would be happy to pay.
The ten years passed all too quickly and his son and his wife were at his bedside when he drew his last breath. The Queen became very bitter after his passing because she feared her son would have a short life too and she and her son became estranged.
May all who hear this tale take to their heart its warning. Our tale is done.
The Meetings
Maryellen put down the book and looked up at her fairy friend.
Thistledown sighed. “This tale is not as well known as the Frog Prince as humans seem to like only tales of a transformed human being turned back into a human.”
She didn’t say so but she believed that was why Maryellen’s sister, the Little Mermaid, was portrayed in her fairytale as having a tragic ending as she a nonhuman mermaid wanted to be human and love her man and humans were uncomfortable with that.
Some would say that the moral was that she was punished for not knowing her place in the scheme of things much like the Toad Prince. The thought made the little fairy very sad and more determined than ever to help her friend win her beastly prince.
“What are you going to do now?” Thistledown asked her after Maryellen had spent some time thinking.
Maryellen held up her slate. To see the Queen. She got to her feet, picked up the book and indicated to the Keeper Joseph she wanted to keep the book.
He nodded and wrote something in a book that he kept on the desk. He looked up and told her. “You understand you must return the books when you leave the castle?”
She nodded and he cautioned her. “Don’t tell her that I leant you this book as she has been trying to have each and every one of them destroyed.”
Maryellen smiled and kissed the gentle, kind-hearted man on his cheek before she left to face the Queen.
However when she got to the Queen’s room she was just in time to see Gwen go through the guarded doorway. Ella and Belle were seated with their Father on a marble bench and obviously awaiting their turns.
Their father got up. “Here, Milady, please take my seat.”
Belle laughed. “I know where you’re going, Dad.”
Ella chimed in. “Ever since he saw those tapestries all he can think of what he could get in trade for them.”
Her Father pulled his pants which had slipped down back up. “Well, I’m a merchant after all.”
“Go on, Daddy.” Belle encouraged him. “We’ll be fine and you’ll be happier.”
As he started to turn away, Ella said with an impish grin. “And if one of us gets chosen to be a princess, then you’ll be the first one to get an order from us.” As he stared at her Ella continued. “I think I’ll make it a royal proclamation that you have to lose thirty pounds and keep it off for a year.”
He looked aghast at her before he lifted his belly and shook it so it jiggled. “I’m not too fat.” He protested.
Belle chuckled as she waved a hand at him. “Oh, go on, Daddy. We won’t make you lose thirty pounds.” As he smiled and turned away she said to Ella. “I think it should be forty, don’t you?” He cringed as he walked away but he kept his dignity by not turning around.
Maryellen thought she heard him mutter as he left. “I should not have caught you Belle when I dropped you when you were little. Look where it’s gotten me.”
His two daughters giggled at this complaint they had heard so many times before.
Since these women had nursed her back to health there were no longer titles to push them apart. So Ella turned to the woman who had joined them. “Maryellen, have you been ordered to an interview too?”
Maryellen just shook her head in reply.
“But you’re seeing the Queen?” Ella continued.
Maryellen nodded.
Belle reached out and took her hand in hers. “You’re here because you’re in love with Johnathan, aren’t you?”
Maryellen blushed and lowered her head. The two sisters exchanged a look over the top of her head.
“And does he love you too?” Belle asked
Maryellen took her slate and wrote. I know so.
“Oh dear.” Ella exclaimed. “And I bet the Queen doesn’t want you because you can’t speak and thereby break the curse.”
Maryellen’s mouth fell open before she reluctantly nodded. How did these women know all of this?
This was cleared up when Belle told her. “Between the three of us we figured it all out. It was the only explanation for everything that was happening here.”
Belle wondered if she should consider Maryellen competition as she had developed feelings for the Prince too. But Belle knew she could never react with jealousy. She knew her sisters were always telling her that she had to be more forward and assertive but that wasn’t who she was. She always tried to see some of the good that everyone had inside them.
She could see there was something special going on between the Prince and Maryellen and she wasn’t sure she wanted to come between them. Belle was just a good person and not motivated to try and tear a competitor down, especially a person as nice as Maryellen.
“I wonder how our sister is doing.” Ella asked.
Belle shrugged. “The Queen is said to be very strong willed. I don’t think they’ll get along.”
“So, you think we should reduce our tariffs on goods from the dwarfs?” The Queen asked.
Gwen nodded. This was the third business-related subject the Queen had asked her about. “Because we can use their imports to produce goods much cheaper and sell them at a higher price to the coastal cities.”
“Interesting.” The Queen said. “You do understand business.”
“I’ve done it most of my life.” Gwen replied. “I should hope that I did.”
The Queen nodded. Yes. This woman could prove useful as most women had no idea what a profit or a loss was, especially the princesses.
She had heard rumors that this woman was already romantically involved but decided to push. “If I made you a princess, would you marry the Prince?”
Gwen shook her head. “No.”
The Queen was staring at Gwen. “You don’t want the Prince?” Her voice was filled with disbelief. “What do you mean you don’t want him?”
Gwen felt her back stiffen. Nobody, not even her Queen, belittled her choices. “I’m sure he’s a brave man and a good fighter. But when I marry it will be for love and I have already found a
man that I love and who loves me.” She knew that Rumpelstiltskin would turn cartwheels if he heard her proclaim her love for him.
The Queen stared at her and then nodded. She wasn’t the one. “You may go now.” She said without any emotion in her voice.
Gwen gave her a curtsey and left the room. She saw Ella looking up at her next to Maryellen. “Ella, you’re next.” She rolled her eyes as she said it.
“That bad?” Ella asked with a small smile.
“You have no idea.” Gwen said as she sat down in the place Ella had just vacated.
Ella smiled at Maryellen and her sister Belle. “Here goes nothing.”
As soon as she entered the room Ella curtsied to the Queen who just nodded and gestured for her to take a seat. After Ella had seated herself and adjusted her skirt the Queen asked. “You are Ella Fontaine?”
Ella nodded her head. “Yes, your Majesty.” She swallowed back her automatic sarcastic response which would have been. ‘You were expecting someone else?’
The Queen sniffed. “At least you’re polite unlike your sister Gwen. She had to be reminded of proper etiquette.”
Ella knew that Gwen became impatient with rules that made no sense to her and smiled inwardly at what she imagined her sister’s reaction had been. These two strong willed women had not hit it off with the first word exchange and she was sure it had gone downhill from there.
The Queen taped her fingers on the arm of her chair for a moment before she said. “I’m going to be very blunt. Do you want to be a princess?”
Ella managed to keep her jaw from dropping. This woman didn’t beat around the bush and since Ella appreciated directness she gave it right back. “Yes.” There. Let her chew on that.
The Queen seemed a little taken back. “Don’t you want to explain your answer?”
Ella shrugged and gave her a wan smile. “What is there to explain? You are offering what every little girl dreams of, being a princess. I would be a fool to say no to such an offer.”
“Even if it meant both of your sisters not becoming one?” The Queen asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ella leaned forward. “Your Majesty, you don’t understand the connection between the three of us. We had our links to each other tested when our Mother died and during our kidnapping by that poor, sick King who wanted us to spin gold and we came out of it devoted to each other. So whoever you deem to make a princess will still take care of her sisters and will share everything with them.”
“Even if she marries my Son?” The Queen shot back.
Ella sighed. “You can make me a princess but you cannot make me marry your son as I am already promised to a wonderful man who is a white wizard. So, I think this conversation is over.”
“It certainly is.” The Queen growled. “Send in your sister Belle.”
Ella smiled sweetly. “I think Maryellen wants to talk to you too.”
The Queen looked very irritated. “I’m trying to avoid that as we are running out of time to figure it out.”
“You are not going to be able to avoid it.” Ella told her. “She’s waiting outside right now.”
“Drat.” The Queen rubbed her forehead. “Well, I appreciate the notice.” She smiled at Ella. “You and your sister have given me a lot to think about. Please send your other sister in.”
Ella got up curtsied. “Thank you, your Majesty.” She wondered. What was the woman planning?
“Any advice for me.” Belle said with a worried look. Obviously she had been talking to Gwen.
Ella took her hand, pulled her sister close enough so she could whisper. “Just be yourself.”
“Good advice.” Gwen added. She had the best hearing of all three of them.
Belle squeezed Ella’s hand. “Thanks.” She disappeared through the door.
Ella sat down so that Maryellen was sandwiched between the two sisters. “Now tell us what you want to tell the Queen as I think we can help you.” She told the surprised woman.
“Yes.” Gwen said. “We young women have to stick together.”
Maryellen considered this before she nodded, looked up and pointed at someone, causing the two sisters to stare at her and then at the spot in the air. The spot glowed and a small fairy appeared before their very eyes.
“Thistledown!” The two sisters exclaimed.
“Hello again.” Said the fairy. She pointed her wand at the book. “You need to read the story in here very quickly. It explains a lot of things.”
Gwen took the book and began to read while Ella read over her shoulder. When they finished they nodded at each other. “How can we help?” Gwen asked.
In the other room Belle had just been asked the question by the Queen. “Do you want to be a princess?”
Belle blushed. “Yes, ever since I was a little girl and my Mother read me the tale of Cinderella it has been one of my fondest dreams.”
The Queen smiled as she realized that this sister was different from the other two. She was more moldable into what she desired as she had no prior commitments.
“And if I told you that only you would be a princess and not your sisters?” She asked with a predatory smile.
Belle’s face fell and then she raised her eyes and stared directly at the Queen. “I’m sorry but I would still share everything with them as they are my beloved sisters.”
The Queen started. It was like talking to the other two but with gentler and kinder answers. She had hoped that her sources had been wrong but now she saw that her sources were right. Belle was no longer the over kind and generous girl who existed only to please others. That girl would’ve waved good bye to her bratty sisters and left them to suffer. This girl would never do that.
She sighed. “Do you love my son?”
Belle blushed. “That’s a very personal question.”
“Do you?” The Queen insisted.
Belle looked at her hands for a minute. “I could be in love with him. I don’t know yet.” She raised her head. “Besides I think he’s in love with Lady Maryellen.”
The Queen waived her hand in dismissal. “Lady Maryellen can’t break the spell. You can.”
Belle frowned. “It just doesn’t seem right.”
“Breaking the curse is all that matters.” The Queen told her.
“But I don’t think the Prince loves me.” Belle protested.
The Queen laughed. “That doesn’t matter. All the original curse said was that he had to learn to love. It never specified that the one he loved had to be the one who said ‘I love you’ to him so that the curse could be broken. It’s the perfect solution. You get the man you love and he gets to be a man again.”
“But he doesn’t love me.” Belle protested.
“He will if he’s given time to get to know you.” The Queen told her. “I’m sure you can be very seductive when you want to. It’s been done by many princesses before you.” She said with a wicked smile at Belle. Yes. This one would do nicely. She could be manipulated.
Belle scowled and drew back. “Unlike some women, I am not a prostitute.”
The Queen sniffed her dismissal. “No. You’d be a princess.”
Belle retorted. “Whatever you want to call it, I’d still be selling myself for wealth and a good life. Isn’t that what a mistress or a prostitute does?”
The Queen rubbed her forehead as she was getting a terrible headache. “No. It isn’t.” She pointed out. “A prostitute sells herself every day to different people. And a mistress has no legal standing except what the owner allows her to have. She can be gone overnight with just a wave of the man or woman’s hand. A princess has legal protections and recognition.”
“So. No. They are not exactly the same thing and I would never encourage a young woman to be either a prostitute or a mistress as they devalue her worth. A princess on the other hand has greatly increased value and worth which she keeps until she passes on.”
Belle blinked in confusion. This woman was very formidable. “You would make a great devil’s advocate.”
Belle wanted to say no but she found herself torn. Being a princess had always been her dream.
She could have that and Johnathan too but would she really have him? Even if Johnathan didn’t love her now could he truly come to love her? Or would he always love Maryellen and keep his heart locked away from her?
Not for the first time she wondered what would have happened between her and Johnathan if Maryellen had not been there. She disregarded that thought as it led to jealousy and resentment which had never been part of her.
It was her inherent goodness and kindness that made her the ideal woman to break the curse. But it also made her sad and feel she was doing wrong when she saw the look in Maryellen’s eyes whenever she gazed longingly on the Beast.
Belle sighed. “Can I give you a commitment after I talk to your son?”
The Queen smiled in satisfaction. She was almost reeled in. “I’ll give you two or three days. No more than that.”
Belle stared at her hands. “I hope that will be long enough.”
“You realize of course that when I step down my son will become King and you will be Queen. That is nothing to cast aside easily.” The Queen told her, ready to strike and set the hook if the fish took the bait she had just offered her.
“No.” Belle agreed. “It is not. But peace of mind and love are big factors in my decision. I would not want to become a Queen and live without love.”
“True love is overrated and almost impossible to find.” The Queen retorted. “And so almost nobody who searches for it ever finds it.”
Gwen who had been listening at the door opened it and ushered her sister and Maryellen into the room. “Which is why the Toad Prince risked everything for you.” She announced. “He had true love for you.”
The Queen’s face went pale. “What are you talking about?” She tried to gather her thoughts in the face of this unexpected development.
Gwen stepped towards the Queen driving the woman a step backwards as she pointed her finger at her. “The Toad Prince loved you so much that he was happy to be with you even if it was only for ten years. Since most of us never find true love as you declared, then you had ten years longer than most ever have.”