A Different Kind of Happily Ever After

Have you ever lived in a household where only one person is the star? Has your own mother ever shown more affection for another child simply because of her perfect teeth and flawless skin? Probably not.

You see, thirteen years ago, a pampered little princess, Ella, became a part of our family when Mother got married. As if it wasn’t strange enough to start calling this new man Papa, his “Little Princess” was now my sister. Mother was very taken with her. Three years later, Papa passed away. It was a very tragic thing too, as my real sister Clarissa and I had grown to love the man. Before he died, he told me, “Adelaide, be kind to Ella. I’m sure she will miss me.” I had locked myself up in my room and wept.

Or course, Ella wasn’t mean. She had just grown up expecting certain things to be done for her, things that Clarissa and I had always done for ourselves. For the first month, in an effort to make Ella feel welcome, Mother had made it her own responsibility to clean Ella’s room, make Ella’s bed, and the like. However, if there’s one thing I know about Mother, it’s that her chores become my chores over time. I wash dishes, Clarissa cooks, and Mother goes on shopping tours for Ella. Thus, Ella became the “princess” of our household, and Mother gave her share of the work to us.

This particular morning, the town crier came to our noble village and cried, “His Royal Highness, Frederick II is giving a ball. All young ladies of the village are invited.” I was almost shaking with excitement. It was common knowledge that Prince Frederick was growing older, and would soon be too old to marry. Our village was full of ideal choices for future princess (I include myself in this category)! Besides, who didn’t want to marry the Prince?

Then, I remembered Ella…

At that moment, our relationship turned from sibling rivalry to competition for the man of our dreams.

I won’t bother you with details of preparation for the ball, the excitement Clarissa and I shared (that Ella crushed), or any of it. I will, however, tell you what Mother said:

“Girls, Ella, you must be back be midnight, or there will be consequences. Yes, even you, my dear.” Ella looked shocked. “Her Majesty’s first taste of punishment,” I chuckled to myself.

When we arrived, Prince Frederick looked bored. I could see that all of the girls were beautiful, but not one looked especially beautiful or kind. In about two seconds, he made his way over to Ella.

As they slow-danced, he asked her what she thought of his castle. Ella’s idiotic reply was, “Why, there are so many servants to cater to my every need!” He abruptly ended the dance. “Next!” I thought.

What happened next seems like a dream. He walked over to me and asked, “May I have this dance?” I followed him out onto the floor. His twinkling eyes and confident smile made me slightly forget to breathe. I tried my best not to tread on His Majesty’s toes, but he didn’t seem to mind if I did. I eventually started talking to him, and to tell you the truth, it was quite easy. I immediately knew there was something between us that no other girl had.

Three days later, there was a knock at the door. It the Prince himself! He knelt down and asked, “Adelaide, will you marry me?”

It was happily ever after after all.