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 Two young girls laughed as they skipped through the meadows; one picked flowers on her way and the other admiring the view.

"Oh Ella, if only mother doesn't think of you so," the older girl said, "If only you could sleep in a room next to mine, if only you could dine at a table of mine, if only you could dance at a ball of mine. If only you could truly be the sister that is mine."

The girl named Ella laughed. Her head barely reached the dancing tips of the grass, even if she stood on her dainty little toes she wouldn't have surpassed the silk ribbon tied around the older girl's waist. "It is a wish that cannot become true. I am your illegitimate sister, the forbidden child of the queen. I am a curse born and bred by revenge, do not think such thoughts, sister. A true princess is someone that I will never be."

"You will understand one day, I will make you my sweet princess sister once father passes the crown. Just you wait."

"Silly Briar," Ella smiled, she looked up at the sky with her round green eyes, "My supposed father is an infamy of this kingdom. But that is a subject we should never touch about."

"Let us forget about our fathers and struggles, and live like the wild beasts of the forest," the older girl whose name was Briar cried, her loose blond strands dancing in the wind while her red lips peeled back into a smile.

Ella laughed once more as she ran into the maze of dancing grass, only the tip of her dark brown hair visible. Briar sighed contentedly, watching as the younger girl danced with the weeds and shone happy in the sun. She knew no matter how much she wished, the little girl would never be as happy in the castle. Ella was blamed for the fright Enchanted Kingdom had received one unfaithful day when their precious queen, Ruby Red, did not awaken one morning. Earlier, the queen had been watching her servants as they spun silk for her because she couldn't do it herself due to her curse. A curse which causes her the inability to perform house chores. Whilst she was observing her finger brushed by one of the needles, and with a slight touch it pricked her delicate skin, drawing a bead of blood to the surface. Soon after the queen fell to the ground, into a deep death like sleep. The people mourned and cried as the days passed whilst the queen slept sound, it wasn't until the ninth month that the sleeping beauty awoke, with a new babe in her arms; the child having been nourished from her pain of the past. A revenge sought from a widow of the dwarves who had been banned from the kingdom, left to rot in the wild.

Briar Rose, A Tale of the FairiesWhere stories live. Discover now