Once Upon a Prince

Prologue

Once upon a time, in a land not that far away lived a girl named Raylynn. She lived in a house with her father and mother, smothered everyday with love and affection.

"Mommy, Daddy says you're moving away, is that true?" Raylynn asked her mother as she tucked her into bed.

With a sad sigh, her mother answered. "Sorry, Baby cakes but it's true. Your father and I love you very much but we don't love each other as much as we used to."

Without further explanation, Raylynn's mother turned out the lights and left the room. Leaving a highly confused and deeply saddened Raylynn to wallow in her own thoughts.

The next morning, when Raylynn awakened she found her mother and all her mother's belongings gone.

"Daddy, where's Mommy!" Raylynn cried.

Raylynn's daddy knelt so he was face to face with Raylynn. "Mommy is strugglin', Baby. She left so she could learn to be a better mommy."

"But I liked mommy the way she was!" Raylynn screamed.

Raylynn's daddy didn't know how to deal with an eight year old's temper tantrum, so he went to his room and closed the door. Behind said door, he cursed Raylynn's mommy and prayed to God he'd send him a woman to help take care of his child.

~Two Months Later ~

Raylynn's daddy came home from work and sent the babysitter home with a check for her work. Behind him was a woman and two little girls only a little bit older than Raylynn herself.

"Raylynn, come here. I want you to meet some people."

Raylynn crept from the living room, meek as a mouse, and stood before her daddy and the three strangers. Spying the girls, Raylynn's heart sped with excitement.

With these two people be my new friends? Is daddy finally replacing Stephanie with a babysitter that will actually play with me? Raylynn thought.

"This is Helen and and her two daughter; Margret and Meredith. Helen is going to be your new mommy, Margret and Meredith will be your new sisters."

Raylynn stared at her daddy in blatant disbelief. "But I already have a mommy, you said she was coming back. She can't come back if someone takes her place." Teary eyed, she explained.

Eye to eye with his beautiful daughter, her daddy explained. "Mommy isn't gettin' better and she's not coming back so I brought you a new mommy, and look, she has daughters you can play with!"

Upon further inspection. Raylynn looked to the girls and noticed frowns where smiles should be. They don't wanna be my sisters. Raylynn thought. She looked to her daddy as tears began to form, "But, daddy-"

"Raylynn-" Her daddy began but was cut off by Helen with a hand.

"Let my handle this, my love." Helen purred, she looked to Raylynn with venom in her eyes. "You will address him as father, daddy is not very sophisticated, he makes too much money to have such an ill-educated child. Listen up, the decision has been made; you don't get a choice. I will be your mother and my daughters will be your sisters. Well, step-sisters, No one will believe a gave birth to a child like...you."

With that, Helen walked away, children and Raylynn's daddy, excuse me, father in tow. All the while discussing how to unspoil his child. "She should lose everything she holds dear, that will teach her how to be grateful and humble.

To Raylynn's dismay, her daddy listened. Daddy is gone, now I have a father. Raylynn concluded.

As days turned to months and months turned to years, changes were made and everything valuable that belong to Raylynn was given away to her sisters, Margret and Meredith. Her room, her television, her freedom, and any love that used to be given to her by her daddy.