There once was a young princess. She was the most beautiful princess in the land. Princes, servants and town folk were amazed by her beauty. They couldn't help but stare. She had fallen in love with one of the princes, Prince Edward. He was handsome, and together they made a picture perfect couple. But the princess had a secret. A secret which no one knew: if she were to marry the man she truly loved, she would lose her beauty and become an ugly princess.
"Why I can't I marry you?" Prince Edward asked, "You are the most amazing woman I have ever met. You are smart, caring, and you would make the most beautiful bride. You take my breath away every time I look at you."
The princess didn't know what to say. She wanted to marry Edward more than anything, but she knew if she did he would quit loving her. The day following their wedding night he would roll over to kiss his beautiful wife good morning and find a hideous woman, not fit to be his queen.
He worked on her. He showed her the ring he bought. He asked her over and over to marry him, but her answer was always the same, "I love you Edward, but I cannot marry you."
One day the princess went for a walk. She stopped in front of a fountain on her father's land, sat on the edge and dangled her toes in the cool, crystal blue water. The gardener, an older woman, came over and sat next to her. "What's troubling you Princess Grace?" she asked.
Before the princess could answer the woman said, “I know what it is. Your mother had the same problem: if you marry the man you truly love, your beauty and poise will be gone forever.”
The princess slowly turned her head and looked at the woman as she continued to talk, “Your mother decided to keep her beauty and look where she is now. Don’t make the same mistake your mother did, Princess. Marry Edward and on your wedding night before you go to bed, take this cream and rub it on your entire body. Make sure you don’t miss a spot, and make sure Edward doesn’t use it on himself.”
The princess was hesitant but she thought about what the woman said and the woman was right even if she turned into an ugly princess. So, she did as she was told. The next morning she went straight to Edward and said, “I love you, Edward and there is nothing I want more than to marry you!”
That Saturday, Prince Edward and Princess Grace had the most beautiful wedding. They danced the night away and at the end of the night Princess Grace rubbed the cream on her entire body just as she was told. She woke up the next morning and ran straight to a mirror. She cried, “I’m still me! It's really me!”
Edward walked over to her and said, “Of course you are sweetie, who else would you be?” She shrugged her shoulders and smiled as he pulled her into a tight embrace, “Now, let me kiss my beautiful wife.” She kissed him and reminded herself to take a walk by the fountain later. There was someone she owed a big thanks to.
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Interesting, Mandy. There are some terrific spots at which this story could go off in unexpected directions -- really put a twist to the traditional fairy tale. When the woman at the fountain tells the princess that her mother kept her beauty "and look where she is now" initially had me thinking she'd wound up in a bad state -- that keeping the beauty might not have been the best thing. When she warns Grace not to let Edward get any on himself, or not to miss a single spot, I wondered what might happen if either of these happened. Could be interesting -- and could make this truly your story, unlike anything else!
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