Fairy Tale

As a child, my mother would read me fairy tales, of knights and princesses, coming to rescue, of true love and castles, and they all had happy endings. I swore then that I would never be happy unless I too had a handsome prince.1

I being a beautiful child, my mother encouraged the idea. I continued to fancy it, even till I was a young woman. I grew even more beautiful every day, and soon I had many suitors. I was not interested in any of them, not a duke, earl, or knight could sway me from wanting to marry a prince. One day I was riding, and I saw a gleaming white horse. I jumped off my horse, looking for the rider, and then I saw him. He was a prince, I could tell, for he wore a crown of gold, and he had a bearing about him that none of the others had. I gasped, for I had finally seen my prince. He heard me, turned around to see what the noise was. Our eyes met, and it was love at first sight. He came over to me, asked me my name. I told him it breathlessly. He smiled, and then invited me to dinner at his castle. I was overjoyed. I went, and time and time again, he would invite me to his castle, I would accept. Finally, on bended knee, he asked me to marry him. I accepted this, love bursting out for him in my heart. We married, and he took me to live inside of his castle. All was well for a time, so good that I believed that there could be no bad part of this happy ending. What I didn't know was that this was just the beginning. 2

Tragedy struck a year after I had first come to the castle. His mother and sister died from a plague. He was beyond grief-stricken. He locked himself up in his tower, vowing not to come out again. The courtiers told me that he and his sister had been very close, they had never been separated. This dismayed me. I went up to the tower, trying to get my husband to come down. I heard voices, my husbands and someone else’s. This other voice was dark; it made shivers run up my spine. I recalled memories of the fairy tales, and I suddenly remembered all the dark creatures from them. I was frightened, but my love for him made me keep going. I came to the top of the tower. I opened the door, and then I saw it. My husband was making a deal with the Death Angel: that much I understood. 3

I listened outside the door. The Angel's Death Rattle was shaking deep inside of him/it. The Dark Angel said that in order for him to have what he asked for, he would sacrifice someone he loved for it. My husband nodded at this, apparently caught in the Death Angel's evil spell. I shrank back, and the Angel spoke one last time. It said that he should sacrifice me, his wife. I ran down the steps, heart pounding. I could not believe it.4

My husband would not do that to me!5

I stayed inside of the castle. My husband came down from the tower, kissed us all, and said he was sorry, that he was better now. I hoped so, but I was ready for action, whatever it may have been. We sat down to dinner.6

Later that night, when all were getting ready for bed, he pulled me aside, said he had a surprise for me. I was frightened. I asked him if it could wait till the morning. His lips pursed, he said no.7

I told him to let me slip out to the toilets first, as I had to refresh.8

He agreed. I looked into his eyes, and I saw none of his old love in them. I saw madness, I saw hate. I knew what he was going to do. I kissed him, and then went out. I did not go to the powder rooms, but to the stables. 9

I got on my horse, and fled the castle. My husband, unbeknown to me, had followed me to the stables. He caught me. He stole me up to the tower, cursing everybody and me.10

I was crying out. I suddenly knew what I had to do. I remembered a wedding present I had received from my husband. It was a pouch dagger, ready for action at a moments notice. I still carried it. This was my only chance, I knew. When we reached the tower, he left me on one side of the room, barring the door. He called out for the Death Angel. The Angel came.11

I shook in terror, horrified by this. The Angel asked for me to be brought to him. My husband came over, madness glinting in his eyes. I knew it was time for action. I shoved the dagger into my husband, pulled it out and shoved it in again and again until he fell to the floor.12

Shaking with exhaustion, I collapsed on the floor. The Angel had what he came for. He swooped down on my husband, sucking out his soul. I fainted.13

I left the castle, never to return again. I married again, this time to a pig farmer. I grew large and fat, lost all my teeth, and I was happy. This man I loved and I knew that he would never betray me, as my first did.14

I heard tales of the castle later in my life. Tales of ghosts and demons, and how nobody could live in it, because of the ghost of the evil prince. The tales also spoke of the Death Angel, which had kept up his end of the bargain as well. They said that two wraiths now guarded the castle, wearing beautiful robes, and crowns of gold and silver. I know, though I have told no one, who these wraiths are. My mother and sister in law, and they now seek out the one that put them to this doom. But they will never find me. I have changed too much now. And now my fairy tale comes to an end, though far from the one I imagined in my childhood days. I tell stories to my children, but of my own, I tell not. It still hasn't ended yet...15