Once Upon a Time (open)

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

Cara sat on the floor of the student lounge, reading through an equine novel - yes not normal for the teen, but she thought it was time to start pretending that she was a normal teenager.

"Cara!"

The sound of her name caused the girl to jump into the air. "How can I be of assistance, Aurora?" She asked the young girl who bounced across the room toward her.

"Can you please tell me a story?" The three year old asked as she plopped herself down on the floor in front of the teen. "Please?"

Cara glanced at the page number of the book she was reading and closed the book without marking the page. "A story?" She replied as she looked at the little girl. "What kind of story?"

Aurora bounced up and down as she clapped her hands in glee. "A fairy tale, please."

Cara nodded as she leaned back and looked at the ceiling of the lounge, her brain working as she sorted out the beginning of a story. "Once upon a time..." All fairy tales started with those words. "In a land far, far away. Was a village that was ruled by a King and Queen whom were loved by all of their people. The King quite often went out hunting with the men of the village and the Queen held parties that all the women could attend. Not long after the birth of their only child, a daughter with hair as black as ebony and eyes that were of an unusual colour, the royal adults vanished..."

"Oh no!" Aurora squeaked, her eyes wide. "What happened to the princess?"

"Although he had been banished by the King himself, the princess' uncle was brought to the castle to look after the girl." She smiled as the three year old's face relaxed. "Lord Alexander however wasn't happy with his new job of being the heir's guardian. If it wasn't for the child, he would now be wearing the crown! He hired a number of women to look after the child while he set to taking control of the kingdom..."

[lorilie]

Alyss Madigan was walking cautiously through the Lounge when the story hit her ears. The tale intrigued her. She'd never been told a story in her life. She peered around the wall she was currently passing and watched Cara. She hadn't been noticed yet. Cautiously, she slipped out to scurry to a chair and sit on the floor behind it, her soft breathing coming in silent bursts. She hardly dared to breath for fear of being caught by the girl, her terrified nature making her limbs shake.

Seamus was walking through the lounge, polishing a noseband in his large hands when he heard Cara. She was telling a story to a young looking girl. His interest was piqued signifcantly as he heard the details, and his gut told him this wasn't just a fairy tale. It was a background story of Cara. So he sat in a chair closeby, but not intruding, his eyes asking if it was alright for him to listen in.

Melissa Whitcombe, on the other hand, approached Cara with no caution, nor asking. She simply heard the story from across the room where she herself had been drawing, set down her sketchbook, and crawled over to sit next to Cara, her eyes as wide and glassy as the three year old's. Melissa was practically a child herself, after all.

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

The arrival of new people went unnoticed as Cara's fairytale unfolded. "Even though raised by a number of different people, Gorgée grew up pure and true. She would often sit in one of the high arch windows, looking out over her crumbling town not knowing what or how she could help the people who were starving below her while those in the castle ate themselves full every night." Her voice broke off as Aurora gave a small sob. The teen reached out and gently used her thumb to wipe a tear from the three year old's cheek. "Alexander had also noticed the purity in his young niece and knew that if he wanted to keep things the way they, he would need to have her married off as soon as possible." Her cat-coloured eyes glowed as the story moved along. If she closed them, she could picture the whole scene. "As the years went by, Alexander sent messengers through to the most distant castles as he could find to announce the offered hand of his niece. However, not a lot of Princes wanted the betrothal when nothing other than the girl's hand was offered..."

[lorilie]

Alyss rocked herself slowly, wondering if the girl in the story would've known that she wasn't only starved in her town while her mother on her high throne gorged herself, but she was often beaten, mauled, hurt, and verbally abused. She allowed a short shiver, but nothing more.

Seamus could only rub the leather noseband in his hands and think to himself almost softly; 'Stupid princes. A pure princess like that is worth a heap more than any stack or pile of rubbish gold.'

Melissa spoke quietly, voicing her inquring question. "Surely there was one prince willing to take her hand?" A story wouldn't be complete without a cliche ending, after all.

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

Cara turned her head and looked at Alyss, she lifted her eyebrows, her eyes twinkling. "Sure, there was possibly a Prince that wanted her hand. But the thing is..." She looked back at Aurora and gave the girl an impish grin. "Young Gorgée didn't want to be married off. While she spent her days, weeks, months, years even in the highest towers of her castle; being taught by the woman-folk, that had been hand-picked by her power-hungry uncle, she had learned how to sent message by the pigeons that her parents had bred and trained. The young teen spent her days sharing and receiving news from the local kingdoms, slowly and quietly building an army." She pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them. "She knew that everything had to be done in perfect timing,in a way that would look as though the kingdom was being taken over by another that had decided to resist against the ruling of Lord Alexander." Her voice trailed off again as she allowed the story to sink in, and to give the listeners a chance to ask any questions they might have.