• Year 236, Prince Charlie falls in love with a young girl named Ella. This girl, known as Cinderella (Cinders-Ella), is a young servant girl. The two are able to get over there status differences and marry, bringing young Cinderella into the life of her dreams.

    Year 375, a young noble girl is saved from life in the country with seven dwarfs by Prince Phillip. Her evil stepmother had poisoned her with an apple, and the Prince woke her up with a kiss. Again, the girl, Snow White, lived happily ever after in the palace.

    Year 417, the eldest prince is turned into a beast. After a while he falls in love with an ordinary girl, and she falls in love with him. He turns back to normal, they get married and the prince and new princess live happily ever after.

    Year 496 a poor girl is awakened by the kiss of prince after sleeping for a hundred years. They live happily ever after. Year 547, a peasant girl is rescued by a prince from a dragon guarded tower, and they live happily ever after.

    Year 599, a servant girl begins work at the castle and her and the prince fall in love. Rescued from her poor life, the girl lives happily ever after. Year 678, thanks to her fairy godmother, a girl marries a prince and, again, lives happily every after.

    Maybe that was perfect for them, but what is great for some people may be horrible for others. Being a princess is not everyone’s dream, and won’t make everyone have their ‘happily ever after’. For this girl, born in year 764, it is not what she wants.

    -----

    Once upon a time, there lived a very poor man. This man tried very hard to supply for his family but was never able to do well. He loved his wife and five daughters, but just couldn’t do better however hard he tried. The need for money was so great that he and his wife had even decided to not have any more children, although they both desperately wanted to have a son.

    One day, his fifteen-year old daughter, known as Unus, toke the younger girls out into the forest to search for some kind of berries or fruit to sell. Finding nothing, they turned around to leave when they heard a soft cry. Thinking it was just some kind of hurt animal, they tried to ignore as the walked home. But the sound seemed to follow them. At first it was on their right, but once they were almost out of distance of the sound it appeared close on their left After walking for a while more it appeared behind them , and then in front of them. Then it was on their right again.

    “It’s moving!” Nine-year old Tria said. “A fairy must be moving it!”

    With that it was settled. In that area fairies are beings of fate. If you meet one you do as it says for you know that it is what’s best. The group of five children headed straight towards the sound. In no time they came across a meadow.

    “Where’d this meadow come from?” The twelve year old, known as Duo, said, disgusted. “There’s no meadow here!”

    “There is now,” Unus said, staring at it in wonder. “Come on, the sound is coming from over the hill over there.”

    And so they approached the hill. And what they saw surprised them immensely.

    For there was a fairy bent over a basket. The beautiful, winged creature was
    tucking in whatever was in the basket. She looked up as the family crossed the hill. She smiled, a beautiful shining smile, and said, “Take good care of her. Treat her as your own.” And then she glanced down, smiled at the still-crying baby, and disappeared.

    The baby’s cry got louder. Unus, the bravest and oldest of them all approached the bundle and reached down. As soon as she toke hold of the little human girl, the tiny baby stopped crying, almost like she was aware that she was now where she was supposed to be.

    The meadow never appeared again.

    -----

    The family took the little girl in without a second thought. They knew that if they did not take her in she would end up left in the forest to die somewhere, and they could not bare to do that. Also, it was evident this girl was special in some way, for that fairy had been watching over her.

    And so the baby, who got the name Nostri, grew as time went on. Nothing unordinary happened for quite a while. No fairies appeared, no one came to tell her about her real birth parents, and to everyone she was just one of the six girls. Her sisters got older and got married, but always stayed close to home. On Nostri’s fifteenth birthday only Quinque was left at home, but all the sisters came over since the fifteenth birthday is a huge one. Although most families give out presents for birthdays, this family doesn’t because of the money situation. And so, birthdays had just become a fun family time. Often on birthdays they would have a good birthday meal, but even that wasn’t guaranteed.

    And so the day went on wonderfully. It was getting close to evening when someone came through the neighborhood yelling out, “There’s a royal carriage coming into town!”

    The family glanced at each other, and then all stood up at the same time. No way were they going to miss this. No one in the town would miss this.

    The carriage pulled up just as the six girls got to the main square. The Square was full, because everyone in the town was there and even some people from the surrounding towns.

    Everyone gasped as the eldest prince stepped out of the carriage. They had not expected someone so closely related to the King. The Prince scanned the people, obviously looking for someone.

    “I learned something this week.” The Prince paused, still scanning the crowd. “I learned that I have a sister.

    “For you see, fifteen years ago, to this day, my mother the queen
    gave birth to a baby girl.”

    “Fifteen years ago to this day. . .” Unus said slowly. She glanced at Nostri.

    The Prince continued. “Apparently The Queen had been warned by a fairy that there was impending danger for the little girl. And so, my little sister was handed to a fairy. That fairy hid her. And now, we have it under very good information that the princess is somewhere in this village.”

    The crowd was quiet. Very, very quiet.

    “Well,” The prince said, exasperated. “Someone must know
    something!”

    “Nostri!” Duo whispered. “It’s you! It. . . it must be! Say something.”

    But Nostri couldn’t say anything. She didn’t want to say anything. Most people would want to go live in the palace, but Nostri knew that she didn’t. Her greatest wish was to stay at home with her family. Nostri had never minded her life, she knew that she was where she belonged, and she had always had people who had loved her. She was content to stay where she was.

    “Say. . . something. . .” The voice came from the direction of the trees. It sounded like a hum, and the trees leaves shook as it came. The crowd, including the prince, had obviously heard it as they looked around. “Nostri. . . It’s for the better. . . Nostri. . . Say something. . .” There was no wind, yet the tree’s branches shook with all their might, even causing a few leaves to fall off.

    “Nostri, is it? The tree’s seem too know.” The Prince said, still scanning the crowd. “Nostri! Come up here.” He said it with such force and authority that Nostri felt she had to obey him. And so she approached him.

    “My name is Nostri.” She said.

    “You?” The prince exclaimed. “But you’re so. . . so. . .” He paused and glanced out over the richer families. It was easy to tell that he was expecting someone from there. “Alright. Come with me. Back to the palace. Your true home.”

    “But I. . .” Nostri began to say.

    “Did I ask a question? I didn’t think so!” The Prince said. “Come!”

    “I. . .” Nostri just sighed as she glanced at her sisters still in the crowd. Unus waved her on. ‘Go,’ she mouthed. And so, Nostri went.

    -----

    The road to the palace was a long and quiet one. At first the prince tried to make conversation, but Nostri soon ended it, as she realized how shallow, arrogant and naïve he was. All his life he had had whatever he wanted, and it showed.

    Once they got to the palace, Nostri was showed her room, and then taken to meet her ‘father’ and ‘mother’. She was hoping for some kind of affection from them, but during the meeting she got the feeling that she was talking to cold statues. It was not something she enjoyed. In fact, It just made her miss her adoptive father and mother more then she already did. Distressed and very unhappy, Nostri was brought back to her room.

    And so the day past. And the next. And the next. And then they days turned to weeks, and the weeks to months. Nostri did what she was told, and tried to become what might be considered a ‘good princess’. But she knew she was no good at it. She’d much rather be farming then crocheting, she’d much rather be eating a empty but laughing table then a full but silent one, and she’d much rather be working all day then having half the day to do nothing. And above all, she missed her family. In fact, she missed having a family. For, in the royal family you only saw each other at some meals and functions where you had to, and even then you didn’t act like a family, and Nostri hated it.

    One day, after being in the palace for about two months, Nostri was sitting out on her balcony when she started to cry. She had done this many times before, in fact almost twice a week. This time, though, was different, for her fairy godmother was watching. And so, she appeared.

    “What’s the matter, dearie?” The Fairy asked.

    “What do you think’s the matter?” Nostri said as she glared at the fairy standing in front of her. “I want to go home!”

    “But you are home, darling,” The fairy said, a little confused. “This is your home.”

    “Have you even been watching?” Nostri asked.

    “Well, I’ve been busy. . .”

    “Fat lot of good you’ve done me. I thought fairy godmothers were supposed to help!”

    “Do not talk like that! You are a princess!”

    “That’s the problem!”

    “That is the problem. Royalty does not use contra—“

    “Hello? Are you even listening here?”

    “Okay. Sorry. Tell me the problem.”

    And so Nostri did. She told her everything, about how much she hated being here, and how much she missed her family.

    After she was finished, the fairy said, “Here. I know this won’t help much, but. . .” The fairy closed her hands in a circle shape, leaving room between them. She then blew on them, and opened her hands. A small bird was sitting there. “He will carry messages between you and your father. Just write a note, roll it up and hold it out to him. You can call him any time using this.” She pulled a whistle out of her pocket. Then she put the bird down, and said, “I must be going.” And with that, she disappeared.

    That very night, Nostri wrote her first message, and that morning one was returned. And so, time went by a little bit easier, with no more visits from her god mother.

    After about a month, Nostri got a very distressing letter. It was from her oldest sister, Unus, and it said that her father was very, very ill and they were unsure if he would live much longer. Unus also said that she “wished you would be here to see him before he goes. He misses you dreadfully.”

    Nostri spent a day fighting with her feelings. Part of her wanted to go ask the King if she could go see her father, and part of her just wanted to leave it. The first part won. She was dying to see her father again, and couldn’t imagine not. But yet, when she remembered the King, the cold, hard statue that she had grown to know, someone who didn’t love her and didn’t care, she imediently knew she couldn’t. And so, instead she planned to just run off.

    What she didn’t plan for was one of her servants, Fredrick, to notice what she was doing. He asked to come along and be her guide for he knew the land well. At first she was hesitant, but then she decided to let him. And so the two went off and started the long trek.

    They walked part of the way, and got rides part of the way. Nostri and Fredrick talked a lot, now that they were out of the palace and could talk. The two of them formed a close bond, which, by the time the journey was over, had turned to love. Now there was another reason Nostri didn’t want to go to back to the palace. Every once in a while Nostri would catch sight of someone who looked a lot like her fairy godmother, but then lose sight. She was never sure if it was her.

    In the evening of the third day, they got home. Her family was overjoyed to see her. Her father, especially, who really truly was dying.

    But the next day something happened that Nostri was sure would, but had hoped would not. The prince, the queen and the king showed up at the village looking for her. She knew that she must face them, but she had no intention of going back to the palace.

    “Nostri! Why did you leave?” The King boomed, his voice loud sophisticated, and forceful. “Come home with us!”

    “I have no intention of going anywhere.” Nostri said. “This is my home.”

    The King glanced around, disgusted. “You home is at the palace! And you are coming.”

    “No, I’m not!” Nostri looked straight into his eyes, something not many people braved to do. “My home is here! This is where my family is, and this is where I am staying.”

    The queen sighed as Nostri’s fairy godmother appeared and whispered something in her ear. “Charlie, dear,” The queen said as she put her hand on the king’s shoulder. “Let her stay. She has never been princess material.”

    “But she is our daughter!”

    “Maybe by blood, but she was not raised the way our children were. Really, we are not her parents.”

    The king looked at Nostri, at the queen, at the prince, and at Nostri’s fairy godmother. “Alright,” He said. “You may stay.” He stomped back into the carriage, the prince following him, as the crowd cheered.

    Nostri approached the queen, and the queen toke hold of Nostri’s hands. “Thank you,” Nostri said, truly grateful. “Thank you for everything.”

    “Your welcome, darling,” The Queen said. “Remember, you are always welcome at the palace. Come visit us sometime.” Nostri nodded. “Is there anything else we can do for you? The queen smiled.

    “Well. . .” Nostri asked for just enough money for her family to live on. Then, with the best doctor’s help, her father lived for many more years. And so, they all lived happily ever after.

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