The Rose Red Queen

The German sun rose over spring to the enchanted kingdom as it did every morning. But today was no ordinary day. The Moors and humans of the kingdom were gathered together to honor the birth of Queen Freya and King Andrew's newborn child, Rosalie.

The queen and king watched as Nion the wise dwarf held Rosalie up for the whole kingdom to see. The water nymph pixies flied up and down, the dancers, singers, musicians, poets, and magicians put on their best performances, and the unicorns stomped their hooves with happiness.

But not everyone was pleased. In a charmer room behind the castle, a scraggly sorceress grumbled to herself, looking at the Mirror. This was Freya's sister, Ravenna. She was jealous because Rosalie would be the next queen.
Freya and her trusted adviser, Doreena, appeared at the charmer room after the ceremony to find out why Ravenna had not come.
Ravenna shook her head. "You should have been first in line."
"I was first in line, until the little redhead was born." She turned and walked out of her charmer room.

Time passed and Rosalie grew into a healthy, playful young girl. Early one morning in winter, she and Freya walked to the balcony of their castle. Freya told her daughter that one day she would be queen.
"Look, Rosalie. Everything the light touches is our kingdom."
Rosalie scanned the horizon and noticed a dark spot in the distance.
"What about that shadowy place?"
"That's beyond our borders. You must never go there, Rosalie."

Later that day, Rosalie ran into Ravenna.
"Hey, Aunt Ravenna! Guess what? I'm gonna be fairest queen of the land. My mom just showed me the whole kingdom. And I'm gonna rule it all!"

Ravenna looked slyly at the young princess. She was plotting to get rid of Rosalie so she would be the next queen.
"She didn't show you what's beyond that rise at the northern border?"
"Well, no. She said I can't go there."
"And she's absolutely right. It's far too dangerous. Only the bravest princesses go there."

Rosalie didn't see her aunt's evil trap. She wanted to show her mother a brave princess she could be. She ran home to find her friend Jonah, the Huntsman's son.
"Come on! I just heard about this great place!"
Rosalie and Jonah asked their fathers if they could go exploring. Andrew agreed as long as they took Doreena with them.

Rosalie and Jonah raced across the Enchanted Forest. They led Doreena through herds of the Moors and wild animals until they finally lost her. The kids laughed and pounced on each other. They tumbled down a hill and landed in a dark ravine filled bear skulls and bones.
Rosalie looked up and gasped. "This is it! We made it!"

Before the kids could explore any farther, Doreena tracked them down.
"We're way beyond the boundary of the Enchanted Forest. And right now we are all in very real danger."
Suddenly, three robbers appeared. They were Finn, Ravenna's brother, the General and the Black Knight. They backed the kids and Doreena into a corner.

Just when it looked as if there was no way out, a beautiful knight appeared and knocked the robbers over.
It was Freya!
"It you ever come near my daughter again..."
The enforcers quickly ran away.

As they walked home, Freya looked at Rosalie. "You deliberately disobeyed me. I'm very disappointed in you."
Rosalie crawled onto Freya's lap. "Mom, we're pals, right? And we'll always be together, right?"
"Rosalie, let me tell you something my mother told me: look at the stars. The great fairest queens of the past look down on us from those stars. So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those queens will always be there to guide you. And so will I."

Meanwhile, back at their lair, the robbers had a visitor.
"I practically gift wrapped those kids for you, and you couldn't even dispose of them." Ravenna was furious. But she had a new plan. She warned the robbers to be prepared.
Finn laughed. "Yeah! Be prepared. We'll be prepared! For what?"
Ravenna glared at her brother and the two robbers. "For the death of the queen!"

The next day, Ravenna brought Rosalie to the gorge, where the giant wild boars were grazing. "Now you wait here. Your mother has a marvelous surprise for you."
When Ravenna was safely away, she signaled to the robbers. They raced into the gorge and chased the herd of the boars toward Rosalie.
Ravenna ran off to find Freya. "Stampede! In the gorge! Rosalie's down there!"

Freya jumped into the gorge to find her daughter. She grabbed Rosalie and put her on a nearby ledge. But when Freya tried to climb out, the rocks crumbled beneath her.
She saw Ravenna standing above him. "Sister, help me!"
Ravenna dug her sharp nails into Freya's hand. "Long live the queen." Then, she let Freya go.

Later, Ravenna found Rosalie standing beside her mother's body.
"It was an accident. I didn't mean for it to happen. What am I gonna do?"
"Run away, Rosalie. Run! Run away and never return."

While Ravenna returned to rule over the land, Rosalie did as her aunt said. She wandered until she could not walk anymore. Finally, she collapsed to the ground.

When Rosalie awoke, everything looked different. A tough woodcutter named Sara and her husband Eric, an exceptional warrior found her and brought her home with them.
Eric explained his motto to Rosalie: Keine Sorgen. It meant no worries. "You gotta put your past behind you."
And that is exactly what Rosalie did.

Years passed, and Rosalie grew up. One day she saw a Huntsman attacking Sara. Rosalie came to her adoptive mother's rescue, but the Huntsman easily flipped Rosalie onto her back. Looking up to him, Rosalie realized that the Huntsman was her old friend Jonah.

Jonah was surprised to see Rosalie. Ravenna had told everyone that Rosalie was dead.
"Why didn't you come back to the land? You're the fairest queen of all."
"I'm not the fairest queen of all. Ravenna is."
"Rosalie, she let the robbers take over the land. There's no food, no water. If you don't do something soon, everyone will starve. You're our only hope."

But Rosalie didn't believe she could challenge Ravenna. "I can't go back."
That night, Nion visited Rosalie. "I know who you are. You're Freya's girl. She's alive, and I'll show her to you. You follow old Nion. She knows the way."

Nion led Rosalie to a nearby pond where Gryff, his half-brother and his sidekick, Bromwyn were standing there. Rosalie looked into the water and a beautiful woman.
"That's not my mother. It's just my reflection."
Nion shook his head. He touched his finger to the water and it began to swirl. "Look harder. You see... she lives in you."

Suddenly, Freya's shape appeared in the clouds. "Look inside yourself, Rosalie. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the circle of life."

The next morning, Jonah woke Eric and Sara to see if they knew where Rosalie was. Just then, the trio heard laughter overhead. It was Nion, Gryff and Bromwyn. They told them that Rosalie had gone back to the land to take her rightful place as queen.

Back at the castle, Ravenna was fighting with Rosalie's father. Suddenly, a mighty song shook the ground. Ravenna turned. There, in a shadow above her, stood Rosalie in her mother's shiny armor.

Ravenna pounced on Rosalie, and the two fought. Finally, Ravenna backed Rosalie into her charmer room. With her niece dangling to the front of the Mirror, Ravenna whispered the truth: she was the one who had attacked Freya.

Anger rushed through Rosalie's body. She scrambled back onto the court and pinned Ravenna. "Run. Run away, Ravenna never return."
Ravenna started to slink off, then turned and lunged at Rosalie. With a swipe of her flower magic powers, Rosalie knocked her aunt into the air and over the ledge with the Mirror. Ravenna plunged into the gorge below with the Mirror breaks into billions of pieces.

With Ravenna gone, Rosalie took her rightful place as queen. Before long, the land flourished again. Jonah remained at Rosalie's side, and they had a child of their own. As the sun shone down on them, Nion held the child up for the whole kingdom to see. The land had a new princess. The circle of life continued on.

—The End—