A/N: Hey there, back with a magical one-shot. Kinda AU, but I am sure every fairytale admirer will love this.
Disclaimer: I donot own the fairytale I write about. The names have been changed. Things may sound silly at places.
~ Spellbound~
A Fairytale Romance
.
.
.
Once Upon A Time, A tribe of Fairy People lived by a Sparkling Stream.
Their houses were built among mossy boulders, half hidden by drooping ferns.
The Fairy king Azolla and Queen Bryony lived with their two daughters, Princess Purvi and Princess Tarika, in a palace made of leaves and petals with Vine- Clad balconies Overlooking the water. In short, The palace was Magnificently Elegant!
Princess Tarika was dark- eyed and raven- haired and Princess Purvi was fairest of all Golden Fairies. She was So lovely and So sweet and Equally Beautiful as Princess Tarika but very soon, Princess Tarika unknowingly was troubled by Envy and went completely Unhappy.
The King was kept busy with the affairs of his kingdom, And the Queen by her younger children, so neither of them noticed their daughter's unhappiness.
Princess Tarika was some years older than Princess Purvi, and had helped to care for her as a child. But as the little golden fairy grew into a beautiful young girl, so too did the envy grow in her elder sister.
Princess Tarika had found that she was able to cast spells, which was a rare and valued gift among her people. She knew she should Never Misuse her gift to ham others, but her envy overcame her better feelings.
She ordered a golden armlet to be made, and as the jewels were set in it she imbued it with a powerful spell.
One Evening, Tarika gave her sister the magic armlet. Purvi exclaimed with delight as its jewels sparkled in the lamplight.
" I shall always wear it, Dear Tarika," Purvi promised, as she slid it upon her arm. "It's so sweet of you, but then, you have always been such a kind sister to me." Purvi said, admiring the armlet.
Tarika went to stand for a while on the balcony and gazed down at the moonlit water. She knew that while he beautiful sister was bound by the spell, in the armlet, She would become tired and Unable to Fly as a fairy should.
The envy within her was satisfied, but her heart was heavy for she knew she had done a great wrong.
.
.
.
Now, in a neighboring kingdom two handsome princes, Prince Abhijit and Prince Rajat, were bidding farewell to their father and mother in an airy palace suspended between pink and white foxgloves spires, They were about to set out on a journey to find two fairy brides.
" Choose Wisely," commanded King Aven, their father. "They must be of Royal Blood, and Beautiful, if possible, for the sake of our people -"
" - and Sweet- natured," put in Queen Bel, their mother, " So that I may find it easy to love them."
" Healthy and Strong," continued the king, " For they must Fly with you and help you to care for the fairy people in your kingdom. Remember, this kingdom would be equally in two, Abijeet the foxgloves shall be yours one day, and you, Rajat, shall have the meadowsweet realm on the banks of the stream.
.
.
.
The princes flew off, together with several servants carrying provisions for the journey. Prince Abhijit had heard that two beautiful princess lived downstream, and a honeybee told him where to find them.
" They live downstream among the ferns," he buzzed.
" I z-ze-zee them when I fly down for a drink of water."
.
.
At nightfall, the princes arrived at King Azola's palace. A fanfare of honeysuckle trumpets announced them.
King Azolla and Queen Bryony welcomed them and introduced their daughters.
Young Prince Rajat had no sooner set eyes upon the golden- haired Princess Purvi and his heart was hers forever, while Prince Abhijeet fell quickly in love with the raven- haired tarika.
Later, Prince abhijeet said to his brother, " I would look no further for my bride than Princess Tarika except that I feel something is wrong here. There is a strange power in the elder Tarika and a strange weakness in the other. Perhaps I should look elsewhere for my bride."
" But I have found mine," declared Prince Rajat. " I shall ask Princess Purvi to be my bride.."
.
.
Next Day, Prince Rajat found Purvi walking slowly among the violets, and gently asked her to marry him. Purvi hung her head sadly.
" Alas, dear Prince," she sighed. " I don't know why, but I have become too weak to fly. I cannot be your bride, as I would be unable to work alongside you in your kingdom."
Prince Rajat stood awhile in serious thought, then came to a tough decision.
" Sweet Princess, you are the only one for me. Tomorrow, I shall tell my parents that I must GIVE UP my kingdom, It is true that a prince must marry a princess who is able to fly, but an ordinary fairy may marry his true Love, whether she can fly or not!."
Purvi tried to stop him but he flew away to ask her father for her hand in marriage.
Once he went out of sight, Princess Purvi shed bitter tears,
" I cannot let my dear Prince ruin his life for me," she sobbed. " I shall go far away where he cant find me. Then perhaps he will forget me and marry another fairy who can fly."
She walked out over the floating leaves of water plants and stepped into a fallen leaf. she pushed it into the middle of the stream where the fast- flowing current carried her swiftly down the valley.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, King Azolla and the two prince spent much time in anxious talk. The king praised Rajat for the strength of his love, but he said he must not give up his kingdom without consulting his parents.
Suddenly, word came that Princess Purvi was missing. They all joined in the search for her, but she was nowhere to be found.
After several days of searching, all hope of finding her was gone, but the heart- broken Prince Rajat announced he would keep looking until he found her. Nothing his brother or the King and Queen said could make him change his mind, and he flew away alone, down the valley into wild regions where No Fairy had ventured before.
...
Later Prince Abhijeet confessed his love and asked Princess Tarika for her hand in marriage but she dint reply and kept on sitting among the mossy boulders gazing in deep sadness at the sparkling water.
" Princess Tarika" Abhjeet said lovingly, " I want you to tell the truth. You are the cause of your sister's troubles, are you not?"
" You know?" faltered the princess, raising her dark tear- filled eyes.
" I guessed," replied Abhijeet, wiping her tears. " Why not tell me everything? Perhaps I can help you."
It was great relief for Tarika to confess what she had done.
" My envy was like an illness," she said, her cheeks wet with tears. " I used my gift for evil instead of good. I ruined Purvi's life, and now I have ruined my life, too."
" Oh Tarika!" Prince Abhijeet said gently. " I can see you are truly sorry for what you have done. Don't cry, Let us hope that my brother Rajat is able to find your sister and bring her home safely to us all."
Tarika nodded in grief, happy to get his support and agreed for the marriage.
.
.
.
Princess Purvi had been carried a long way downstream and soon her leaf boat began to sink. She managed to struggle ashore and found herself in a sheltered inlet. Here she rested in the shade of tangled vines which were weighed down with ripe berries upon which she fed.
Many tiny froglets who lived among the reeds came shyly out to talk to her, and as the days passed they became her little friends. They told her it was a good place to stay and that there was only one danger: sometimes a dragon would rise from the water to snap at flies - and froglets, if he could catch them.
" Perhaps he might even eat a Fairy!." said one froglet. " If he came, you must run away and hide as we do." Said another.
.
.
The days slipped by, and one warm sunny afternoon the princess was sitting near the water with her tiny friends when suddenly, Prince Rajat flew down and landed before her.
" At Last, I have found you!." He cried joyfully.
The princess, at first startled and then was delighted to see the love in his eyes, was just about to run in his arms when a huge dragon rose in a great rush of spray from the stream and lunged forwards.
The froglets leapt away in all directions.
" Run Purvi!" yelled the Prince as he drew his sword to protect her but the dragon's long tail swept round and knocked him to the ground.
Purvi did not run, She saw the dragon bend its neck and look down at the prince, and she thought it was about to devour him. She had no weapon to hand and no stones to throw, so she pulled off her magic armlet and flung it at the dragon's head.
The spinning armlet flashed in sunlight, and the dragon snapped at it and swallowed it whole. The magical spell began to work , and sapped him of his strength. It fell back into the stream and slowly into its depths, never to return.
The dragon's claw had wounded Prince Rajat, but princess Purvi made bandages of Cobwebs and healing salves from streamside herbs. As he regained his strength, so too did she recover hers and she soon found she could fly once more. At last, the day came for them to say goodbye to their froglet friends, and together they flew up the valley to the fern kingdom of King Azolla.
What cheers and rejoicing took place when they arrived! A huge feast was prepared to welcome them, and there it was announced that Princess Tarika would marry her love, Prince Abhijeet while Princess Purvi would marry her very own beloved, Prince Rajat.
In a moment of quite, Princess Tarika spoke sorrowfully of her wrong- doing and begged for her forgiveness. Purvi lovingly forgave her and, together the two couples happily planned for their wedding.
A Double wedding took place which was of such magnificence that no-one in the entire kingdom ever forgot it. everyone in the fern kingdom , the Meadowsweet Kingdom and Foxgloves Kingdom was invited, from the whole Royal family to the humblest Honeybee and mouse.
The happy fairy couples flew away to their new homes among the Foxgloves an Meadowsweet.
Princess Tarika now only used her gift for the good of others- so the fairy folk lived HAPPILY EVER AFTER!
And the dragon, who swallowed the armlet lay SPELLBOUND at the bottom of the stream, never to frighten the froglets again.
~ The End ~
A/N: Hope you liked this. Make sure you review and tell me how you felt about the story.
Love xo
PurpleAngel1