The Raven and The Wolf

Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, lived a fair Princess. Her waist long hair was black like ebony and her pretty doe like eyes, showed only kindness.

That sweet Princess was engaged since childhood to a Prince from a neighboring kingdom, and what a Prince that he was! The most handsome and gallant and bravest of all. They were in love since they were toddlers and their affection towards one another grew stronger with every passing year.

They would spend together every summer and holidays, delighted to be in each other’s company. She would sing to him with her lovely voice, and he would dedicate to her his most romantic songs and poems.

As it was expected, their parents were ecstatic and thrilled and very much pleased to see the Princess and the Prince so in love with one another. But above all, they were utterly relieved they did not have to do the matchmaking themselves. Indeed, they considered themselves lucky their children had fallen in love so naturally and nobody thought what would happen should they someday stopped being in love.

Yet, this was out of the question. Especially now, that the wedding was only three months away.

The fair Princess was delirious with joy. She was singing happily all day long while rehearsing her dress. Oh, how eager she was for the moment she would follow the Prince to his kingdom to live with him forever!

The Prince was no less blissful himself. He was fervently working on some new songs that had to be ready for his wedding day. He also made sure that everything in his palace was settled in a manner that would please his beloved Princess.

It was agreed that the couple would not meet at all the month prior to their wedding, hence a pre-wedding party was arranged by the father of the bride. It was the last day of the second month and every royal family from both kingdoms was invited. That included the Evil Brother and Sister who lived in the castle in the darkest part of woods, of course. It was widely known that the siblings were into dark sorcery, so the parents of the couple feared greatly the possibility of a curse should they excluded the siblings from the festivities.

The Prince and the fair Princess did not believe in sorcery or curses but since their parents seemed rather intimidated by the mysterious siblings, they didn’t protest.

It proved to be a lovely evening. The sky was clear and full of stars that shone bright. The Princess looked radiant and the Prince was more handsome than ever. They danced together happily almost all night long. Everybody was gazing at them in admiration and a slight envy, making toasts for their wellbeing, but the young couple barely noticed any of that. They felt as if they were alone in the huge ballroom and their feet could not stop dancing. They could go on like this forever.

However, they were interrupted at some point by the Evil Brother and Sister who separated the royal couple for a single dance. As fearless of curses and magic they were, it would still be inappropriate to decline the siblings’ invitation on such a happy occasion.

Therefore, the Evil Brother danced with the fair Princess and the Evil Sister danced with the handsome Prince. And at his single dance the most alarming thing happened under everybody’s noses.

The Evil Brother held the Princess so tightly in his arms that she soon began to feel trapped in his embrace. Also, the fact that he shamelessly stared into her eyes all the while, made her feel uneasy. Then he whispered to her:

“Marry me”

She said nothing. She was shocked. Yet, he insisted.

“Marry me” he whispered once more. “Leave that boring idiot and come away with me”

“You are crazy” she scoffed.

“Maybe I am. But I want you. Leave him”

“How can you possibly think that I will consider leaving my handsome Prince for you! You are ugly” she snickered giving him a look full of despise.

The last statement was only partly true. The Evil Brother was not as good looking as the Prince, yet he had a certain charm, unseen by the Princess who was blind from the love for the Prince.

“And turn me loose” she added in an angry whisper. “I can hardly breathe!”

“Oh, no” he whispered back, a strange smile on his face. “Till the end of this dance you belong to me”

And if possible, he tightened his grip on her.

Meanwhile, few steps away the Evil Sister was leaning her beautiful head on the Prince’s shoulder. He did not seem to mind, though. In fact, he was feeling close to pleasure at this moment.

Then, she started murmuring softly to his ear:

“Oh, darling Prince… wouldn’t it be nice if you ran away with me? Leave the silly Princess and come to live with me in my castle. I can make you the king of everything and we will rule together. Just imagine how happy we are going to be”

“Tempting as this proposition may be” came his reply “I love my Princess more than anything. She is fair and kind and I want to spend my life with her”

“Dare you say she is more beautiful and charming than me?” she demanded angrily.

“I would be a liar if I said you aren’t beautiful” he said. “But you are not warm hearted like her. You are mean, cold and wild”

You see, the Prince although flattered, he had perceived the Evil Sister’s true nature and intentions. He was charm by her looks like any man would be, but his love for his Princess was strong and steady.

“You have no idea what wilderness is, my sweet Prince” she smiled to him.

After that dance, the siblings left the ball, and the couple was reunited. However, they didn’t share the experience each had from their unusual partners. They simply pretended the interruption had never happened.

It had happened, though. The Princess was still upset when she lied down to sleep and the Prince was slightly worried himself that night.

Yet, they were not alarmed enough.

For, some.

where in their own gloomy castle, the Evil Siblings were making plans.…