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Mel closed the door of the cottage behind her with a smile. Her aunts wanted her out of the house—she suspected they were planning something for her eighteenth birthday—and it suited her well. She would have all the time she wanted to look for more blackberries like Perlah, Princess, and Emma wanted, and too see Frank, like she wanted.
She followed her usual path, gleaning some fruits along the way, and finally reached the tree that was their meeting point. She hoisted herself on the low branch and sat, her back against the bark of the trunk. On her left, she could see a vast plain where a river flowed lazily, and the city, with its tall castle over it.
She’d once asked her aunts who lived there. Perlah had told her it was a king and a queen. “And their son, prince Dennis,” Princess had added, looking like the prince was some kind of brat she personally knew. Emma had told her they were good rulers, and took good care of their people. Mel wondered sometimes if she would meet them one day. Not all people got to meet their sovereign, after all, so she didn’t get her hopes high.
She’d lived her whole life with her aunts, so she didn’t know anything about her parents; only that they were kind, but they couldn’t take care of her, so they put her in her aunts’ care.
On her right, she heard the noise of hooves on the narrow path leading to her position. He hooves stopped, and soon it was footsteps that approached the breach between the trees. Mel couldn’t hide her excitement as a man exited the forest.
The smile on his handsome face matched hers. “Frank!”
He took her extended hand and kissed her knuckles with the same grace he would use with a noble lady, though she hoped he wasn’t as tender with other women. “Mel, sweetheart,” he murmured, just before he kissed her cheek.
Mel and Frank had met a few weeks ago, by accident. Frank had been galloping through the woods, and was surprised by Mel’s sudden appearance on his path. Samson, his horse, was spooked, and threw his rider in the stream running next to him. Frank hadn’t been able to be angry at Mel for her foolishness when she came to him, concerned about his well-being.
It had been Mel’s first real encounter with a man—outings to the market under one of her aunts’ supervision didn’t really count—and she’d realised how little she knew about them. She soon learned that there wasn’t many differences between men and women, or at least between Frank and her. Like her, Frank loved learning everything about the world, even though he often struggled staying still during his lessons. He dreamed of travelling the world, and loved animals. He was kind to Mel, always took the time to listen to her, and talked enthusiastically about the things she liked.
Soon after their first meeting, Mel realised that every time she saw Frank—they planned their next meeting every time they parted ways—she felt like coming home.
She knew she trusted him when he promised not to follow her to the cottage.
She knew she loved him when after a busy day cleaning the house, she showed up late and overwhelmed at their meeting point, and instead of his usual jokes and smiles, he just let her hold him and didn’t speak, only to tell her it was okay.
Unlike the few love stories she’d read in aunt Princess’ books, loving Frank didn’t rouse butterflies in her belly. Instead, it settled her, calmed her, made her feel safe. The only uncertainty wasn’t if Frank loved her back, but how they would build something together. Their relationship was secret to everyone else, and Mel didn’t know how her aunts would react upon learning she regularly met with a man.
Frank sat next to her on the solid branch, his arm touching hers like the anchor he was to her. They stayed silent a moment, until Frank took her hand, entwining their fingers together.
“Mel,” he began, his voice trembling a little. “I want a future with you. I want to spend the rest of my life beside you, discovering you. I want you to meet my family, even if sometimes my sister is annoying. I know it would be a big change in your life, but I believe you’re ready for it. We’re both ready for it.”
Mel sucked a breath at his words, her mind scrambling to get them right. She faced Frank fully, her eyes lost into the blue of his gaze. “Do you mean it?”
“I do, Mel. I want you to come with me. Tonight.”
Excitement coursed through her body, and she grinned at him. She was going to see the world! She was going to spend her life with the man she loved!
“Midnight?” Frank nodded. “At the cottage? I’ll be waiting for you!” She explained to him how to get to the cottage, and they spent the rest of their time together chatting about his family, how his father would love her, despite the initial surprise of her presence, and how his sister migh finally stop teasing him about his love life. Mel mentioned that her aunts would be quite sad about her departure, but she would leave a letter for them, and maybe she could invite them once she’d settled at Frank’s house?
“I would be honoured to meet them,” he replied. “After all, they’re the ladies who raised you to become this beautiful and wise woman!”
Later, after a last embrace and a kiss on her forehead, Mel returned to the cottage with a smile on her lips, unable to hide her joy. She was almost singing as she opened the door of the old cottage, where her whole life had been. “I’m home!”
The first thing she noticed was the cleanliness of the house. It was almost as if the old stones of the floor had changed colours. The rare cobwebs Mel usually left in a corner of the main room to fight mosquitoes in summer had vanished, and in the air floated a flowery perfume.
“Mel! Welcome home!” Aunt Emma, the youngest of the three, exited the kitchen. Perlah and princess followed her, smiling widely. “Come to the kitchen, dear!” Perlah called. “We have a surprise for you!”
In the kitchen, a new smell welcomed Mel, with the sight of an impressive cake, layered and covered in blueberry jelly.
“Happy birthday!” all three women chanted joyfully, and Mel clapped in her hands, impressed.
“It’s beautiful, thank you!”
“And you haven’t seen everything yet!” Perlah gestured with her head, and Princess left the room, to return with a gorgeous pink dress in her arms.
Mel gasped, admiring the work of art in front of her. The white lace at the collar and cuffs almost shined under the light of the fire, and she wondered how her aunts had made this dress.
“Go put it on, and we will have a piece of this cake.”
Not only it was beautiful, but it was also comfortable, as much as Mel’s usual garb. She felt her heart grow with affection for her aunts. They did know her a lot, and she hoped she would be able to find clothes that didn’t bother her when she would live with Frank and his family.
She returned to the kitchen and enjoyed a delicious cake with Perlah, Princess, and Emma. With a squeeze in her chest, she realised it would be her last meal with them for some time. Would a messenger manage to get to the cottage easily? Or she could leave a letter to one of the merchants her aunts usually bought from at the market.
Once the plates were empty and clean, Perlah invited Mel to sit back on her chair.
“You know your birthday is normally tomorrow,” she began, suddenly serious. “We celebrated it together today, because tomorrow, you’ll be with your parents again.”
What? Mel’s ears were suddenly buzzing.
“You are a princess, Melissa, and for your eighteenth birthday, you will be reunited with your parents, King Jack and Queen Dana. We’ve raised you at their request, to protect you. We’re leaving tonight for the castle.”
Mel’s hands felt numb, and the only thing she could think of was Frank.
“I can’t!” she protested.
She would leave with Frank tonight. Why did her aunts have to plan something else? Why was it so important that she met her parents, who had been absent her entire life?
Emma’s eyes widened, while Perlah frowned. “What are you talking about?” Princess asked. “Why can’t you meet your parents? They’re kind people, they want you with them!”
Mel bit her lip. She didn’t want to tell them, but that was becoming necessary. “I’ve met someone!” she finally blurted. “And I was supposed to leave with him tonight!”
“What?” her aunts gasped.
“You’ve met a man? How exciting!” Princess exclaimed. “Er... that’s such a bad idea!” she corrected after a mean elbow to her arm from Perlah.
“My dear, you can’t!”
Mel’s breathing began to shorten into panicked huffs. “I love him! And he loves me! Why can’t I be with him?”
Emma placed a hand on her arm, but she pulled away, a low hum building ip in her throat.
“Sweetheart, you’re already betrothed,” Perlah replied in a calm voice.
Mel felt like she was drowning. “Betrothed?” Her vision blurred, and she understood it was tears when they rolled on her cheeks as Princess answered.
“Yes, since your birth you’ve been betrothed to Prince Francis!”
That was the last straw for Mel. She crumpled on her chair, sobbing. She had to leave the place she’d grown in her entire life to find parents she didn’t know, and she couldn’t leave with the love of her life, because she had to marry another man! A prince he might be, but he was still a man she didn’t know, and didn’t want to know!
“I’m so sorry, Mel dear. But as a princess, you will have duties,” Perlah said. “Now come, it’s nearly time to go.”
For tow hours, all four women walked in silence to the castle Mel had always admired from afar. She watched the sun set with a heart so heavy she wondered how she was able to move at all. Frank was going to come to the cottage and find it empty. He was going to be angry, betrayed, so hurt! And she hadn’t even been able to leave a note for him.
The entered the castle through a hidden entrance, and after several stairs and long empty corridors, they finally reached a wide room. Mel was certain it was beautiful, but her heart and mind couldn’t see it at that moment.
She sat at a dressing table, and the mirror sent back the image of a girl with red eyes and a blank expression. This was exactly how she was feeling, and the thought didn’t bring any relief.
You need one last thing, dear Mel.” Perlah produced a wand—since when did she have one? Mel wondered briefly—and circled in the air with it, making a crown appear in her hand. “This is the symbol of your royal status. It’s the sign of your responsibilities as a princess.”
She placed it on Mel’s hair, delicately, and it felt like a weight landing on her head, her shoulders.
She wasn’t ready. It was too much, too sudden.
Mel hid her face in her arms, and sobbed. She barely heard her aunts leave the room, too caught up in her grief. Was nothing she wanted worth consideration by anyone? Would she be able to negotiate with her parents about her betrothed? About Frank?
Suddenly, a strange sound rang in the room, like a call, and Mel felt her feelings melt away. It was really odd, as if someone had put a thick blanket over them. Against her will, and unable to fight it, something made her raise her head and rise from her chair. She saw herself walk to the hearth, thankfully without any fire, and the wall behind it opened silently. A voice guided her through the dark hallways and stairs that spread in front of her, until she finally reached an empty room where only a strange machine stood.
“Touch the spindle,” the voice said, its tone imperative.
Mel’s feet moved again, and as she approached the machine, her hand extended to a pointy stick. She tried to resist, realising that something bad was about to happen.
“Touch the spindle!” the voice insisted.
Mel was screaming inside her body as her index finger touched the needle. The pain was sharp, and the last thing she heard was her aunts’ horrified cries behind her, a flash of light the last thing she saw.
Mel fell, and didn’t feel anything anymore.
Frank was almost flying as he rode back to the forest that evening. Mel had accepted to come back with him! He was going to marry the love of his life, and his betrothal to the vanished Princess Melissa didn’t hold any weight in his decision. His father, King Michael, didn’t know yet about it, but he would accept, maybe with strong arguments, and also upon meeting Mel. Who could resist her bright smile, her joyful eyes, her intelligence? She would conquer everyone. He also had Trinity’s support on this. His sister often teased and opposed him, but when he’d finally told her about Mel, a few question from her had been enough to prove her superiority over any other woman, even lady Abigail, who he’d been infatuated with for some time, before the king reminded him of his first engagement.
But today that engagement didn’t matter!
Despite the darkness of the forest, Frank and Samson found their way to the woodcutter’s cottage. The young prince jumped down his horse and took a few deep breaths to gain some courage.
He knocked on the door twice.
“Enter!” a voice answered. Was it the wood,or did this voice sounded nothing like Mel’s? Perhaps she’d told her aunts?
He opened the door and stepped in a dark room, lit only by the moon outside.
“Hello?” he called, suddenly wary. Something was wrong.
The door slammed closed and many goblins jumped on him screaming and laughing, holding his arms and his legs as he struggled to escape them. Then, he felt the ropes on his shoulders and his wrists, and by the time light—green, chilling—spread in the room, he was unable to move, and a gag muffled his protests.
Then, a tall figure approached him. A woman, wearing an elegant gown, her black hair flowing in her back. She could have been like any woman if it weren’t for her almost cadaverous traits, her glowing red eyes, and the staff made of dark wood and a mysterious orb that she was carrying.
“What a delightful surprise,” Antivaxa drawled. “I was expecting a peasant, and I find a prince. Well, my dear Prince Francis, this is even better for my plans. Take him to the fortress!”
As the goblins pushed Frank outside the cottage and forced him to climb on a terrified Samson, Frank remembered the day he’d met Antivaxa for the first time before now. He’d been four, and wondering how he’d marry a baby, before the witch appeared and uttered her threats against the little princess in her crib. That had been one of the most terrifying moments of his life, and he’d had nightmares about it for weeks.
The convoy of goblins escorted him and Antivaxa to a desolated land dominated by a high and dark fortress. Frank was led to a cell in the depths of the castle and chained to the wall, before the guards left him alone, behind a heavy door.
Alone with his despair.
Where was Mel? Why had Antivaxa been at the cottage tonight? Since it was the eve of the day Princess Melissa was supposed to come back to her parents, why did the witch care about a young woman living with her aunts?
Unless... no. Frank couldn’t get his hopes high about that, or he’d be crushed. But... if Mel was indeed Princess Melissa—and the names fit, he thought with a pained heart—that would mean Antivaxa had found her and managed to carry out her threats, despite the systematic destruction of spindles across King Jack’s kingdom. She had captured him in the woodcutter’s cottage, not in the castle. And no one beside Mel—and maybe her aunts if she’d told them—knew where he was supposed to be tonight. Antivaxa had expected a peasant, not him, so she only knew the place and time. Not the man who loved Mel and would save her. There was also only one reason the witch would want to keep someone from saving a simple peasant girl. She wasn’t a peasant girl.
Mel was truly Princess Melissa.
And he was unable to go save her.
Frank glared at the irons on his wrists, at the locked door, at the stone walls, and at the high ceiling, and felt discouragement wash over him. How long would he have to rot in here before someone—his father? his sister?—realised he hadn’t fled an unwanted marriage, but was a prisoner in the hands of a powerful witch? Would they send an army? someone to negotiate his freedom?
He couldn’t tell how long he’d been lost in his depressing thoughts when he heard the loud clank of a key in a lock, and the door opened.
Antivaxa stepped in the cell with a victorious smile.
“My minions are rejoicing with me, because tonight, I have won over a father’s protectiveness and three idiotic fairies. Because the princess I cursed almost eighteen years ago is lying, asleep for eternity, while her prince, the man who loves her, can’t leave his cell.
“But do not fear, dear Prince Francis! You can still have hope, for in a hundred years—” the witch moved her hand over her staff, and an illusion floated in front of Frank, illustrating her words. “ttthe brave prince, finally free, will ride to the castle where his love lies.” An old version of Frank, riding an old Samson, rode in a slow pace to the crumbling castle of King Jack.
“There, in the highest tower, she will be woken up by true love, to show that love always wins, despite the obstacles.” She showed Mel, in a beautiful dress, asleep in a bed surrounded by flowers. His love was just there, out of reach, and his captor would do everything in her power to keep him away. She would torture him but still keep him alive to watch him ride away in a hundred years, when he would have no time left to spend with Mel.
The cruelty of the witch was a punch in his guts. He rose in anger, trying to hit her, but was stopped by the chains fixed to the wall.
“So much ardour!” Antivaxa laughed, stepping out of his reach. “Don’t worry, we will take good care of you in the coming decades.” On these words, she turned away and left Frank alone in the dark.
His solitude didn’t last long, though, and a few minutes after Antivaxa’s departure, three spheres of light entered his cell through the bars of the door, transforming into three women with wings and waving a wand. Frank recognised them as they began to move around, one unlocking the door, another freeing him from his irons. They were the fairies who had blessed Mel as a baby.
“Prince Francis! We are here to help you save Princess Melissa. We will give you everything you need,” the third fairy, who looked the wisest, said. “Are you truly in love with her?”
“I would give up my titles and riches if it meant being able to spend my life with her,” Frank replied without hesitation.
“Good answer!” the shortest fairy replied with a grin. “Emma, good work on the irons!”
Once Frank was free, the eldest fairy made a sword appear in his right hand, and Emma materialised a shield in his left hand.
“Let’s go now! Princess, go as a scout to tell us when the prince’s disappearance has been noticed!”
“Absolutely, Perlah!” Princess replied to her elder.
Then, they all exited the cell, running in the hallways and climbing floors to find their way out as soon as possible. The fairies soon changed back into their smaller form, flying around Frank like a luminous escort.
“The prisoner escaped!” someone screamed, and suddenly they were fleeing a horde of goblins trying to catch Frank. He avoided hands, arrows—that Princess changed into roses—and stones—turned into bubbles by Emma—before he finally reached the main doors. Perlah knocked the guards out, and Samson, freed by Emma, ran to him. Frank grinned at the sight of his horse and briefly hugged him, before climbing on his back.
The little group galloped and flew away Antivaxa’s fortress, leaving the goblins behind, the creatures being unable to run as fast as them.
Soon after, however, a thick was of thorns began to rise all around them.
“It’s Antivaxa!” Emma shouted. “She’s trying to slow us down!”
Soon, they were surrounded, and Frank began to hack the branches to free a path.
“I’ll help!” Princess waved her wand and cast rays of light that cut the bushes on their way, while Perlah flew up to tell them the right way to follow the reach King Jack’s castle.
Frank felt that they’d progressed well, when a terrifying roar reached them. It was the roar of a very big, very angry creature, who was about to begin its hunt. Frank felt a new strength flow into his arms, and he hacked the thorns with renewed energy. The panic also helped a lot on the moment.
Right when he reached a clearing in the bushes, an enormous form flew right over him.
A dragon, he realised with a chill.
Cold sweat rolled on his back. That wasn’t the fight he had expected. He patted Samson’s neck with a few words of encouragement as the dragon landed in front of them.
“You thought you could escape me so easily? Fool that you are! Your princess’ chances to wake up will die with you!”
“You can try, witch!” Princess shouted.
The dragon—Antivaxa—roared again, and a fire began to gleam in her throat. Samson neighed in terror, but Frank managed to keep him facing their enemy, so when the dragon breathed her fire on them, they were ready. The flame hit Frank’s shield and bounced on it to the ground, where some grasses were immediately ignited.
As Antivaxa growled, building her fire again, Frank decided to run. He rode through an opening in the bushes that the fairies had created while the dragon was distracted. He felt the burn of the flames behind him, but kept going, as long as Samson could go with him. It felt as if his horse had been given more courage than usual, and that thought gave Frank even more energy.
The dragon flew over his head and landed in front of him once again. As Frank parried her fire, he thought that the sword in his hand was only a burden. He needed an opportunity to approach the witch and strike her.
Suddenly, Samson panicked and ran away. In his attempt to calm him down, Frank was thrown down, falling painfully on his back. Luckily, he hadn’t lost his sword and shield. As the dragon approached and breathed her fire again, he was forced to step back, and soon found himself on an unstable ridge over a cliff.
Antivaxa spew fire again, and this time Frank got the feeling his shield wouldn’t resist it another time.
“I need help!” he shouted at the fairies flying above him.
They immediately joined him, and together blessed his sword. “May this sword of truth reach the heart of this evil, and vanquish her forever!”
The sword felt lighter in Frank’s hand. He let the shield fall, and with both hands, he threw the sword, right into the dragon’s heart.
Antivaxa screamed in agony, the, toppled from the ridge. Frank stepped aside to avoid her gigantic body and left the crumbling ridge before it collapsed over the dragon’s corpse. Finally, he crouched on the ground, relieved and exhausted.
The fairies surrounded him, laughing and congratulating him, and Samson trotted over to him. He petted his loyal horse and thanked him.
Frank raised his head. In the night sky, the moon and stars were shining stronger than before, and a new peace settled over the land as the thorny bushes vanished.
“Now, it’s time to go!” Perlah said urgently. “Mel is still waiting for you, and we need to get everyone ready for you both!”
Frank rose, helped by the fairies. As he galloped to the castle, Samson was fast like the wind, carrying Frank as if he weighted nothing.
Quicker than ever, they passed the gates and entered the main courtyard. Silence reigned alone here, and only the light snores of the people lying on the ground, leaning on their lances, on each other, crumpled over the fountain edge gave any indication they were still alive. Had the fairies made them all fall asleep? or maybe it was because of the curse? Frank didn’t linger on these thoughts, but jumped from Samson’s saddle and ran to the castle doors. After a long walk in the corridors, on narrow stairs, he finally reached the room he’d been looking for.
Mel was there on the bed, her blonde hair spread around her head like a halo. Frank laughed lightly at that sight. She’d told him once how she preferred to have her hair in a braid when she slept, so she would have to spend long and painful minutes brushing it.
He sat on the edge of the bed and held her hand in his.
“Hello, Mel. I’m finally here,” he whispered. “My love, I’m sorry this has happened to you, but I’m so glad that you are the woman who’s been destined for me. I truly hope you’ll think the same when you wake up. Oh, Mel, I want to spend my life with you, the next hundred years if we could!” He brought he hand to his lips, kissing its back with the softest of kisses. “I want to give you your first kiss while you’re awake,” he murmured, his eyes closed as he kissed her hand once again, his lips lingering on her skin.
“That’s what I want too, Frank.”
Frank’s eyes flew open and he took in Mel’s smile, her soft eyes, and the love on her face. His heart felt suddenly too big to his chest as she cupped his face with the hand he’d kissed.
“Will you kiss me, Frank?” she whispered, pulling him to her.
“Any way you want, my princess,” he replied. He went willingly, one hand on the side of her face and the other on her waist, bringing her closer to him.
He kissed her smile first, before she opened her lips under his, pliant, eager, and tender. Her free hand came to his shoulder, and soon, they were both sitting on the bed, laughing as they exchanged soft kisses scattered on the other’s face.
When they parted for more than a second, their noses were still touching, their breaths entwined.
“Oh, Mel, I can’t believe you are the princess I was destined to marry,” he said, a little breathless. He told her briefly of the curse cast on her by Antivaxa and everything the fairies had done to protect her, then his own journey and fight against the witch.
“Thank you for saving me. Are you alright?” Mel asked. “I’m so glad we got to know each other before any official meeting, Frank,” she added giddily when he assured her he wasn’t injured. “I know you at your earnest, at your most vulnerable, and you know me without artifice, without the burden of social expectations.” She pulled away a little, her wide hazel eyes diving into his. “I can’t wait to discover and love more of you.”
Her words went right to his heart, warm and sure, and Frank could only bring her back to him for another deep kiss.
They were interrupted by the three fairies entering the room in a flutter of wings and with many joyful exclamations.
“Mel!” Emma grinned as she saw the Princess. “I’m so happy that you’re well!”
Frank helped Mel get up from the bed, so she could embrace all her aunts.
“No more secrets, please?” she asked Perlah, who nodded solemnly.
“We have to hurry!” Princess interrupted. “Everyone is waking up, and they will be waiting for you two.” She held Frank and Mel’s hands and joined them together. “The kings and queen can’t wait to meet you, Mel.”
“Your parents will be so proud of you,” Emma added.
With Mel’s hand on the crook of his elbow, accompanied by the three fairies, Frank went down to the throne room, still realising he was loving the woman destined for him, for whom he’d been ready to give a title up.
He couldn’t hold his grin if he’d wanted to at the sight of the reunion between Mel and her parents. King Jack and Queen Dana embraced her affectionately, genuine tears in their eyes. Mel replied more shyly, but with the same earnestness she had in everything in life.
“Well,” King Michael, his father, said as he approached him, “it seems you might like your future wife.”
Frank laughed. “Like? Oh, father, I’ve loved her for months.”
With these words, he approached Mel, and with a hand on her waist, he greeted his future goodparents, before pulling his betrothed to the middle of the room, where they danced like the first time they had met, in a clearing lost in the deepest woods.