Once Upon A Tale (Published Amazon)

Chapter Thirteen

It was two hundred years later, when a young Maiden arrived on the doorstep of the Matriacal castle to apply for a position within it's walls. With her a child who clung to her mother. The Maiden was given lodgings in a small cottage not far from the castle. With her small daughter in tow, she began work at the grand castle.

They had been preparing for weeks to bring back life in the old castle with a ball. Everyone was to attend in honor of the Royal family who had once lived there. The maiden however had nothing to wear and had decided she would stay at the cottage with her daughter. But the Lady of the house would not hear of it.

"You are part of this house now my dear, why do you not want to be there to see the house become alive again?" The maiden looked down at her feet.

"My Lady, I have nothing to wear to such a grand affair." She told her. The Lady laughed throwing her head back.

"My dear, this is such a small problem. Follow me, you shall chose anything from the closet in the attic. It once belonged to the Matriacal family." The Lady of the house led the Maiden and her daughter up the spiral stairs to the attic room where a closet full of beautiful gowns hung. She looked at the Lady and smiled.

"Chose whatever you like my dear. I look forward to seeing you here tonight." The Maiden searched the hundreds of gowns in the huge room finally coming upon a pale pink gown. Her daughter chose a cream gown as there was not much for a child to fit into. The maiden wondered why there were so little children's gowns to chose from.

That night, the Maiden and her daughter entered the Grand Ballroom decorated beautifully. The pink dress had fitted her perfectly and the cloak she wore around her neck had matched her dress. She removed the cloak and hung it in the cloak room. As she and her daughter entered the Ballroom, there came gasps from all around her. She looked at her daughter who shook her head not sure why people were gasping. Just then, the Lady of the house came rushing up to her.

"My dear, where on earth did you find that necklace?" The Maiden placed her hand over the necklace and blinked a few times.

"It's been in my family for as long as I can remember. Why?" She asked the Lady. The Lady took her hand and led her towards a huge painting on the far wall. There in the painting was a picture of a women in her wedding dress and around her neck the pink ruby necklace the Maiden now wore. She gasped and looked at the Lady.

"Who is she?" She asked curiously.

"That is Princess Rosalind. She was married to Prince Patrick, the last heir to the Matriacal bloodline. That necklace you are wearing has been missing for two century's. It has a wonderful tale. Would you like to hear it?" The room had become silent. The Maiden nodded.

"It is said that before Prince Patrick and Princess Rosalind were wed, Prince Patrick had a true love. He never told his true love who he really was. However, upon his wedding day to Rosalind, his true love Clara witnessed the truth and with Prince Patricks first born child growing within her, heartbroken she cast a curse on the Matriacal bloodline.

"Listen well. From this day forth, no heir from the Matriacal bloodline will ever come to pass. This curse will last till the end of time. Unless. The true heir and first born returns to claim her birth right."

She then summoned the pink ruby necklace from Princess Rosalind's neck with her enchantress powers and disappeared with it." The silence and tension in the ballroom was nothing short of tantalising.

"It is said that the necklace will only reveal itself within these castle walls and the one wearing it is the true heir to the Matriacal bloodline." She looked at the Maiden's shocked face.

"It would seem, you my dear, are the true heir. You are a Matriacal. A Princess."

...The End...

Aurora looked at her mother as she read out the ending of her favorite fairytale. She looked down at the beautiful pink ruby necklace in her small hands that had been handed down through time along with the first half of the story.

"So mummy, does that mean we are Enchantress' or Princess'?" Her daughter asked her.

"Both my darling. The enchantress curse can never be broken." She looked at her daughter with a sad smile and placed the finished story on the table. For as long as she could remember, she too had always wondered about the ending. She just never realised it would be she who got to be part of it and put it down on paper to be passed down the Royal Enchantress bloodline, so future heirs would know a part of their history.

"But Aurora, you have always been a Princess to me." She kissed her daughter on top of her head and snuggled up beside her.