CHAPTER
7
"Queen
Leanna and King Greagoir
were very much in love. The only thing
missing was a baby. They tried and tried
until one day Queen Leanna discovered she was with
child. There was much joy in their
kingdom. Queen Leanna
delivered a boy, a royal prince to rule after his father. The King and Queen were very happy. Everyone in the kingdom was happy, all except
Aghamore. Aghamore was the King's advisor and he thought that he
should rule the kingdom."
"There
always has to be one in every group" Gene commented under his breath.
"Yeah,
and usually that one is you, Gene." Paul laughed.
Gene
just looked at Paul. "Go on Thaddeus"
"Well,
one day the King was away and the Queen was left with the baby. She fell into a mysterious sleep and when she
woke up she was horrified to find the baby was dead." Thaddeus hung his head in sorrow at the
memory of the lost child.
"That’s
awful. The Queen must have been
heartbroken."
"That
she was. The Queen blamed herself,
although no one else did. They tried to
have another child but each time the Queen lost the child before it was born. The King and Queen were wracked with
sorrow. Finally, the King announced that
Queen Leanna was going to visit a nearby kingdom to
help her get over the depression she felt at the loss of their child. No one in the kingdom questioned this
decision because they all loved the Queen so much and they wanted her to be
happy again."
"That
was not why she left, was it?" inquired Gene.
"No,
Queen Leanna was with child and they were afraid if
she stayed that something bad would happen once more. She went to stay with friends in a nearby
kingdom and remained there until the baby was born. This time it was a girl."
"Sabrina."
interrupted Nicholas.
"Yes.
Queen Leanna stayed in the kingdom until Sabrina was
about a month old. At that time they felt
she could safely go home with the baby. Of course, the King would have guards
to watch over the Queen and the new Princess.
Everyone in the kingdom was so excited that the Queen had given birth
that they didn't object that she did so in secret. There was a huge celebration planned. The King and Queen from the neighboring
kingdom came to the celebration along with their family. King Greagoir was
so pleased that his wife and daughter were finally home, he announced that
because King Seamus and Queen Fiona had taken care of
his wife and helped with the birth of his daughter, that when Sabrina was old
enough, he was promising her hand in marriage to the youngest son of King Seamus and together they would unite the kingdoms."
"How
romantic" said
"Aghamore the Advisor did not think so. In fact, he became very angry,
he wanted his son, Hegarty to marry the
Princess. He was so livid with the King
and Queen that he put a curse on the baby Princess causing her to grow until
she was the size of a human and would never be able to rule over the faerie
kingdom."
"That
sucks." Stated Nicholas.
"Nicholas,
watch your mouth."
"Sorry
mom."
"Continue,
Thaddeus." Said
Gene, trying to hide a laugh.
"The
King suspected that Aghamore had caused the death of
his son and that he had been the reason The Queen had so much trouble carrying
a child. The Advisor and his son were
banished from the kingdoms and no one has seen them since. Sabrina continued to grow until she became
the size she is now."
Michael
continued the story from here, "You see, that is
why Kathryn and I are here. Sabrina
became too big to live in the forest with the other faeries, and the weather
was too harsh for her. She could not
hide in the trees or under the bushes because she was too big. King Greagoir made
a pact with my ancestors to watch over his daughter and they would always be
taken care of. Magic built this castle
for Sabrina so she would be safe. We
live here to take care of her just as my father did, and his father before him,
and his father before him, for the last 250 years."
"But
what happened to the King's son that Sabrina was supposed to marry?" asked
"Oh,
that." Thaddeus continued
hesitantly, "The Prince felt an obligation to Sabrina and he spent as much
time with her as he could. They became
fast friends, they would fly together and laugh
together. Even when Sabrina continued to
grow they stayed together, the Prince was determined to keep his commitment to
Sabrina. But, it became harder and
harder to do as she grew bigger and bigger.
The Prince tried to stay by her side as he felt that was his duty."
"Good
for him."
"The
Prince and Sabrina had many friends in both kingdoms. One day after Sabrina had left the forest to
go back to her castle the Prince found himself lonely."
"Uh
oh, I sense trouble brewing." Remarked Paul.
"Breanna, a friend of both the Prince and Sabrina, saw the
Prince and inquired why he was so sad. The
Prince told her he was lonely since Sabrina had left. Breanna and the
Prince shared a friendship. After a few
weeks both felt horrible at the realization of what they were doing to
Sabrina. Although, Breanna
and the Prince were just friends, each knew that they were beginning to feel
something more. They could not do that
to Sabrina. They vowed not to see each
other anymore."
"But
they could not keep that vow, could they?" Gene inquired,
a knowing look on his face.
"No,
they could not. When Sabrina would leave
to go home, Breana and the Prince would be together
talking and laughing." Thaddeus
suddenly hung his head and quietly continued, "One day after Sabrina left,
she came back unannounced because she had forgotten to give her parents a
message from The McGregor. Sabrina saw Breanna and the Prince together."
"Did
she get angry?" asked Nicholas
"No,
she did not." Thaddeus felt shame,
"Sabrina never said a word to the two of them. She left to go home leaving Breanna and the Prince unaware that she had ever seen them
together. Sabrina did not come to the
forest the next day, which was unusual for her.
A messenger came from the castle just saying the Princess was not
feeling well and would join us the next night."
"Did
she join them?" inquired
"Yes,
the next day Sabrina came to the forest.
Unbeknownst to Breanna and the Prince, Sabrina
requested a meeting with her parents and the parents of the Prince. At that time she announced that it was not
fair to hold the Prince to the promise her father had made many years ago. Although, she was a faerie too, she would
never be able to fully live in his world."
"That
must have been very hard for her." Stated
"I
think it was the hardest and the bravest thing she has ever done." Thaddeus stated. "Both kings reluctantly accepted her
request realizing she was right. King Greagoir announced to his people that the promise of
marriage between Sabrina and the Prince no longer existed at the request of the
Princess. He also agreed that even
though there would be no marriage between the kingdoms they would remain close
due to the help they had given him and his wife at the birth of his daughter
and together with King Seamus proclaimed them to be
sister kingdoms."
"What
happened to Breanna and the Prince?" asked
Nicholas.
"They
knew that they were the reason the announcement had been made. The Prince went to speak to Sabrina. In the most unselfish gesture, Sabrina told
him that he should find someone he could live his life with and that Sabrina
would give her blessing to the union.
She never let on she knew about Breanna
although the Prince realized she did know."
"But
what happened to them?" again Nicholas asked.
"Breanna and the Prince were married, today they have six
children. Sabrina is the godmother to
each of the children. Both Breanna and the Prince are still close to Sabrina, but they
are very careful about her feelings. It
has been many many years but sometimes you can still
see the hurt in Sabrina's eyes. At those
times only the Prince visits with Sabrina.
Sometimes it is too hard for her to see him with someone
else." Thaddeus wiped the tears
from his eyes.
"Thaddeus,
you seem to know this story very well."
Gene said looking at the faerie sitting on his son's shoulder. "But, you never told us the name of the
Prince."
Thaddeus
hung his head sadly. "I am the
youngest son of King Seamus.”
"It
was her decision Thaddeus." Paul tried to remind the small Prince.
"It
was not her decision to grow so large."
Thaddeus was irritated. "It
was not what she wanted, it was not what I
wanted. I wanted Sabrina as my wife, but
it just could not be."
"Thaddeus,
Sabrina knows how you feel." Lady
Kathryn spoke from the doorway.
"She understands and does not blame you. You need to stop blaming yourself."
Thaddeus
looked at Lady Kathryn and just nodded his head, but in his heart he knew she
was wrong. It was his fault,
he should have stayed loyal to Sabrina.
"I
almost forgot why I came." Thaddeus quickly changed the subject. "King Greagoir
has instructed me to tell the humans that he will grant them one wish apiece
for allowing the children to come to the festival with Sabrina."
Gene,
Paul, and Shannon looked at each other.
"That
is a great gift," said Michael.
"Tell King Greagoir that his gift is
accepted. And thank him for his
generosity."
With
that Thaddeus flew out the window.
"What
does he mean grant one wish a piece?" asked Gene.
"The
King has given you a great privilege."
Michael told them. "In
exchange for your permission for the children to attend the festival he is
granting you a wish."
"A
wish, like I wish for a million dollars type wish?" Paul asked shocked.
"If
that is what you wish for the King will grant it."
"Let's
think about this wish thing before we get carried away."
"Mom,
you should see Sabrina's room."
Sophie came dashing into the library.
"Yeah,
she sleeps on a big leaf." Evan panted
out of breath from running down the stairs.
"And she has a real waterfall in her room."
Lady
Kathryn smiled at the two children.
"She has her forest in her bedroom.
Now, it is late you children should be getting to bed."
"She
is right, it is bedtime. You have had a
busy day."
"Evan that means you too." Paul told his son.
"I
think this discussion is something we need to continue tomorrow."
The
three adults took the children upstairs leaving Kathryn and Michael alone in
the library.
"Do
they know?" asked Kathryn.
"They
know Sabrina's story. Thaddeus told
them. I told them how our ancestors have
always been Sabrina's caretakers."
Michael looked at his wife.
"Is she asleep?"
"Yes,
I got her calmed down and she is fast asleep."
Michael
smiled at his wife. "That is
good. Now, let us retire for the
evening." With that he took her
hand and they vanished into thin air.