The Raccoon Boy P. 1

There was once a beautiful princess whom lived in a high up castle in the great hills of a far land, (A/N I decided just to twist-y the ‘once upon a time’ cliché and try a more— descriptive beginning) where she would play among the great forests neighboring her home and sing to the peasant children near her father and mother’s castle. 1

The princess’s father however, saw that as she grew older she became prettier and prettier until she was the most beautiful of all the land. This of course caught the attention of many peasant boys who had once been her dear friends, and they in turn began to fall for her one by one. The King decided this would never do and locked his princess away; he did this only to ensure she not breed ugly heirs to their heritage (and not to mention horrid grandchildren as well). 2

So many suitors came (and were they ever beautiful!), and only the most handsome was chosen for his lovely daughter; and though she did not love him at all, she still found herself entranced by his beauty and allowed herself to be happy. This was not hard, for soon after their marriage she became Queen and he King. Even sooner after their extravagant wedding, the beautiful Queen bore her equally as beautiful king three beautiful children. 3

Her three children grew to be clever, cunning, and ever so charming as well as beautiful; but they were boastful and sneering of all their wit and attractiveness, or really the two eldest. For the youngest was, to put it so very lightly, a variant oddball. 4

Oh yes, she was beautiful, but her heart was not set on boasting about it; rather than that, she cared much more for kindness and intelligence than beauty. It often angered her father when she, instead of roaming and romping about the castle grounds, would pick up a book and sit all day in the library wrestling verbs and conjectures and morals in her head. Her mother however, would look at her oddly when she found her youngest strewing all her time in the gigantic library (that really nobody used) and reading. The Queen would whisper to her daughter whenever she found her5

“Dear child what is the matter6

Your eyes are as bright as diamond 7

You read and yet you’ve never plaid 8

My goodness child, are you madder than Hatter!” 9

The child would look up and give only smiles to her mother, and would say she would play after she finished the book she read. When her mother left, she felt guiltily about her promise, for the child had no intentions to ever go outside. ‘I shall soon be seen through the gates of our home, and then I shall look upon those so unfortunately of lower birth than I, and I shall weep dreadfully whence I see their scorning faces.’ The youngest daughter was convinced that every peasant, and any creature in her fair land, thought her like her two brothers; as vicious and boastful and spoiled as they. 10