1.
The Story
Begins…again.
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The
young girl, sat in front of her vanity, twisting sun-washed golden hair
into long elegant braids, while tying
the ends with red satin ribbons. Red satin ribbons that
matched her royal gown that is. A marvelous vermilion
dress, velvety to the touch, and ending at her feet, only to reveal
slender legs clad in delicate royal white
stockings through a high cut slit. Her feet were
mischievously absent of shoes while she made faces at her
reflection.
“Rosella!?
Princess!?” Yes, Rosella. Princess
Rosella was being summoned by the humdrum voice of her
doting mother, Queen Valanice. It was suppertime.
“I’m coming!”
cried the impatient princess, pausing a few moments in front of the
mirror examining herself some
more. She stuck her tongue out and wrinkled her nose before
sighing and getting up. Alas, it had been a boring
several months since she had returned from what had been a most
perilous yet undeniably exciting adventure.
Rosella had traveled to a far off land known as Tamir in search of a
magical fruit that would save her ailing
father, King Graham, and ultimately save the life of the good fairy
Genesta as well. It was a quite a lot to handle
for such a young princess, but she had returned a mighty heroine
amongst her questing family. The following
months had been rather boring as things returned to royalty as usual.
Being a princess meant being sheltered and
pampered from the dangers of the world. Where all the fun is,
Rosella often thought to herself.
With a wistful
sigh, Rosella turned to head downstairs to the when she heard what
sounded like a familiar voice. “Hello?” asked Rosella
squinting her blue eyes and
peering about the room searching for the source of the faint sound.
It was then she
saw a shimmer of colors bouncing between the shadows of the stairwell.
Picking
up a small pair of black heels into her hands, Rosella proceeded to pad
quietly
down the steps, watching the colors dance on the walls going down the
stone
archway. At the bottom, Rosella was face to face with a very
familiar sight. The
very mirror that the good fairy Genesta had contacted her with many
months ago was
again alive with moving images; only this time it was not Genesta.
It was…
Lolotte!!!
This couldn’t
be. There had to be some mistake. Rosella had
killed Lolotte with an
arrow of pure love, right through the heart. There was no way
that she could have
survived. Could there? But Rosella couldn’t refute
what she saw before her. The
wicked hag witch was moving about wildly holding two small cages, in
swinging
arms. It didn’t make sense, but it looked like she was on
Genesta’s island, and
everything was in disarray! What Rosella saw next struck her
the most
dumbfounded. It was Edgar. At least she thought it
was. He had gone back to his
ghoulish form, and seemed to be aiding his evil mother in capturing
Genesta’s
fairies!
The events
unfolding in front of Rosella looked so real and close that she didn’t
notice herself extending a
slender finger toward the magical mirror, poking it through as if water
in a pond. “Oh!” she exclaimed, pulling
her finger back. Her little heart beat with a sense of
urgency. What should she do?
“Rosella?
Dear, are you lost in your fantasies again? Please
come to dinner,” called Valanice, chiding her
daughter. Rosella turned and could see her mother’s shadow
calling from the dining room. She then turned and
faced the magic portal again. Dropping her favorite black
heels to the stone floor with two clicks, she gingerly
slipped her stocking feet snugly inside. It was time for
Rosella to make a decision. Will she…