Prince Merle & His Beloved Cassandra
by Karen Cacciattolo
Published by Karen Cacciattolo at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 Karen Cacciattolo
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events or locations is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems without prior permission from the author.
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Five-Star Reviews of this title:
“I wish that this story continues …”
“Love it.”
Five-Star Reviews of other titles:
Fantasies of a Teenage Girl – Volume 1
“I love these stories!”
Love and Music
“Truly Enticing!”
“Love and music indeed.”
A Hero Called Seth
“Wonderful!”
“A great story.”
The Adventures of Bonita
“Very nice.”
To my nephew Thomas
Prince Merle was in his room thinking.
‘I really look forward to meet Princess Queenie next week …’
Prince Merle lives in France and he has been promised marriage to the Princess Queenie of England. They never met but they saw pictures of each other. Still, Prince Merle was very anxious to meet her. His mother Marjorie, the queen of France, entered his room.
“Son, what are you doing here all by yourself?”
“I’m thinking …”
“What are you thinking about? You are so quite.”
“I cannot take Queenie out of my mind, and I am really looking forward to this engagement.”
“I’m glad you are looking forward to it. The day is approaching. Why don’t you come down to eat?”
Marjorie started walking out of the room with a smile on her face.
“Coming …”
Merle joined her down the stairs to the dining room.
His father Orval, King of France, was already sitting at the table, ready for dinner.
“Merle, eat something. You haven’t touched your food!”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Come on son, eat something. Orval, speak to him.”
Marjorie forwarded her gaze towards Orval. The King put down his fork and knife and looked at Merle.
“Is something the matter? Speak to me.”
“Father, I don’t know what I’m feeling. Maybe I’m too anxious about next week.”
“Come on, eat! You must eat first; leave your anxieties for afterwards!”
Marjorie said in a somewhat irritated voice.
“Alright …”
Merle complied and started to eat, leaving behind his anxieties, only for that moment.
Prince Merle was a tall charming twenty-year old guy with grey eyes and brown hair. He was very popular with the girls and he was known as the guy who dates more than one girl at a time and never taking anyone seriously. He looked so much like his mother but he also took after his father. Queen Marjorie was now forty five years old, and even though she wasn’t getting any younger and her hair was grey, she was still a beautiful woman. King Orval was a little bit older. At fifty he was still very active and his hair was still brown, a fact which Marjorie was jealous about. Queenie was the princess promised to Merle. The princess of England was just nineteen years old, very pretty and sweet with green eyes and red hair. Merle liked her in the picture but he couldn’t understand why her skin was so white.
The day arrived when Prince Merle had to go with the carriage to the harbour. Before leaving the palace he turned to his mother.
“Son, take care of you.”
Merle had a wide smile on his face.
“Don’t worry mother, I will”.
Marjorie hugged him.
“Your private servant will be joining you now. I and your father will join you later on this evening.”
“Father, mother, don’t be long. When I’m anxious, I would rather have you both with me to support me.”
“Don’t worry son! Look, the carriage has arrived. Go on. Fay, take care of him.”
Marjorie turned to the private servant Fay.
“Yes, your majesty.”
Fay is the private servant of Merle. She is a pretty girl of seventeen with blonde hair and blue eyes. On their way to the harbour, Fay had a sad look on her face as she gazed down at her hands. Merle noticed her thoughtful look.
“What is wrong Fay? These past two weeks you were not yourself!”
“There is nothing wrong your majesty.”
“Fay, I do not want you to refer to me as ‘majesty’, you know I don’t like it. Please, tell me what is wrong.”
Merle was eager to know the reason of Fay’s sadness.
“Your majes … Merle, I have always taken good care of you and your matters. I have always wanted you to remain single and … oh, I’m really sorry for talking like that.”
“Fay, if you spoke like that in front of my mum and dad they would have thought that there was something going on between us. But don’t worry, you can talk anyway you like with me.”
Merle gave Fay a smile.
“Merle, your parents would have thought right! They would be seeing the truth ...”
Fay was shaking now.
“Fay, are you saying that …”
Merle was astonished and could not speak.
“Merle, I have always loved you and always will!”
“But you know I cannot marry you, even though I do care about you.”
Merle did not know what to say anymore.
“I hope you live a happy life with Princess Queenie.”
Fay said as she burst into tears and did not speak any more during the rest of the voyage.
As soon as they arrived at the harbour, there were many people waiting to welcome them with smiles and warm greetings. As Merle was going up the steps to the ship, people were singing and dancing to some music. Fay needed to hold on to something as people almost threw her to the floor. She walked after the prince while he was going up the stairs. On his way to England Merle was all the time thinking about Queenie and her family. During the night he could not sleep and so went on deck to stare at the dark sky and the sea. He could glimpse the ship where his mother and father, together with Fay, were embarked.
When he arrived in England the next morning, he was eager to go and meet Queenie. Here as well people were cheering and waving towards him and everyone was clapping their hands as soon as Queenie appeared and welcomed him. The princess looked strangely at Fay, which was standing a few meters away from Merle, and was not very pleased when she got to know that Fay was Merle’s private servant. She did not like the fact that a young blond girl was so close to her future husband. She also knew that Merle had a reputation of dating too many girls. But he was determined to change the guy and make him have eyes for her only. That evening in the princess’ garden, Queenie brought up the subject with Merle.
“Merle, what is the name of that servant of yours?”
“Fay. She’s very pretty, don’t you think so?”
“But I’m much more attractive then her! How old is she?”
Queenie was now getting furious. Merle immediately realizes that Queenie was getting jealous and he replied with a huge laugh.
“She’s seventeen. Do you like her?”
Queenie tried to calm down.
“Not at all! Merle, she is younger then we … please, send her back to France. I can take care of you myself.”
“Don’t tell me that you’re jealous of her?”
Merle was amused but Queenie did not reply back so he kept insisting.
“Speak to me! Is it because you know that she is better looking than you?”
Merle could not stop laughing.
“How dare you speak like that? It’s not true, I’m the prettiest!”
Queenie shouted at him. Merle stood up from the bench and moved closer to her.
“Queenie, let’s talk about something else.”
Queenie is calmer now.
“Good, you’re going to be engaged to me and only me!”
The following day Merle’s parents joined him in England and they were preparing for the engagement party of Queenie and Merle. The beautiful ceremony followed with a wonderful party. Fay was not at the party; instead she stayed in her room looking out of the window. Queenie noticed that she was absent from the party and so went up to Fay’s room.
“Fay, why are you here all by yourself?”
“I am looking at prince Merle. He seems very happy, more than usual.”
Queenie smiled at her.
“Of course he’s happy! Merle loves me more than anything else in this world!”
Fay gazed in Queenie’s eyes.
“I hope you will take care of him.”
Queenie gazed back.
“Of course I will! And you Fay, you don’t need to stay here anymore. You may go back to France. Merle doesn’t need you anymore. You’re a nuisance to him.”
Fay was really upset when she heard this.
“No, that’s not true! Merle needs me and you don’t know him as much as I do!”
Queenie could not stop laughing wickedly.
“But now Merle is mine, even though we are not married yet.”
Fay became more upset.
“You go ahead and get married but I will still remain his private servant. You have no right to make me go away!!”
Queenie became very angry at Fay and grabbed her by the shoulders. They kept struggling and pulling at each other until Fay slipped off the balcony. Merle was looking up from downstairs when he heard the two girls fighting. He was terrified when he saw Fay falling down from the balcony.
“Faaaayy!!”
All the people were screaming at the scene. Fay lay motionless on the floor of the garden and Merle went near her to try and wake her up.
“Fay, wake up, wake up!”
He looked up at the balcony.
“Who did this to you?”
He kept on shaking and talking to her to try and wake her up but she was still motionless. She was dead. Merle was very upset and he ran upstairs to the room where he found Queenie sitting down with her face in her hands.
“What happened Queenie?!”
Merle was shouting at her. Queenie stood up and went up to Merle to try and hug him.
“It’s not my fault if she’s hurt!”
Merle saw that Queenie felt truly guilty about the situation and hugs her back.
“Let’s hope that she will be better soon.”
Merle made a decision to himself that it was better that Fay was out of his life otherwise during his marriage to Queenie there will be quarrels all the time.
A few weeks passed and Fay was asked to leave the family and go work somewhere else. In the meantime, Merle and Queenie were still enjoying their engagement period in England. They received an invitation to go to Australia for a boomerang competition which was held annually for royal men. Merle and Queenie had the intention to spend some three months in Australia before getting married and so this invitation came in at the right time and they decided to attend the event. A few days before the long trip, Queenie’s servants were preparing her and Merle’s clothes. She wanted to take with her the best dresses and she had so many of them, that she had lost count! She was eager to dress into these dresses during her vacation in Australia and while sorting them out in her room with the help of the servants she was showing every piece to Merle.
“Look darling, don’t you think this would be nice to wear on the competition day?”
Merle was amused by her enthusiasm and said to her.
“My dear, I got you a lovely dress from Paris, which I’m sure you will love!”
Another servant standing behind Merle came up in front of Queenie with the most exquisite green silk dress she had ever seen.
“Oh my god! It’s beautiful! This is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen! Everyone will look at me when I wear it!”
“I’m sure people won’t take their eyes off you my dear.”
Queenie was over the moon and she hugged Merle.
“Thank you Merle, this is amazing!”
A few days later Queenie and Merle were on their way to Australia. They were both very eager to see the country as they have never been there. When they arrived in Sidney, people were awaiting them, waiving and clapping their hands. Merle was not expecting this welcome and he was very pleased. That evening they were discussing the idea of staying and living in Australia but Merle was concerned about his parents.
“I do like it here, but I would like to keep my parents close too. I am keen to go back to France one day.”
Queenie was a little bit jealous about this affirmation as she wanted Merle only for herself. However, she also understood that his parents were important to him.
On the eve of the competition Queenie and Merle had a picnic organised in the forest. They really enjoyed it and on their way back home, they could see a small carriage full of flowers passing by. A young lady was seated on the carriage and she came to a halt when one of the flower baskets full of roses toppled from the carriage and went down on the road. Merle quickly approached her to help her pick up the basket and could not stop noticing her cute face. He picked up a rose from the basket.
“Here, this is for you.”
He told the young lady with a smile while handing her the rose. She was really shy, and without saying a work she picked up the basket, put it back on the carriage and continued with her journey. Queenie noticed Merle’s gesture and when the young lady went away she immediately went up to him to ask him what was that about. Merle smiled at his fiancée.
“Nothing. Let’s get back to the house, I need to sleep.”
When they arrived at the house, Queenie went straight to bed while Merle went out on the balcony. The moon was shining brightly that night and Merle was feeling very romantic. He was talking to himself.
“Those beautiful blue eyes and that dark hair ... she’s really pretty. I wish I could meet her again. I think she’s the most beautiful girl I have ever met! Not even Queenie is that pretty. Thank god I’ll be staying here for three months; maybe I will have the chance to meet her again.”
He was of course thinking about the girl they met. At this point Queenie woke up and joined him on the balcony.
“Merle, why aren’t you asleep?”
“Oh, I was going to bed right now.”
Queenie could sense that he was thinking about that girl.
“Merle, are you thinking about the girl we met earlier? She’s an ugly poor brat.”
Merle looked at Queenie and tried to smile.
“That’s not true! I think she’s the most beautiful girl I have ever seen with those blue eyes and long dark hair.”
Queenie was irritated by his reply but she didn’t want him to realise that she was jealous.
“Well ... I’m much prettier than that! Let’s go to sleep now.”
The girl carrying the flowers was Cassandra. She was fifteen years old and made a living out of selling flowers.
The day of he boomerang competition arrived. Everyone was seated waiting for the games to begin. The men taking part in the competition were very nervous and some of them were making fun of the youngest one who joined the competition. They were making fun of him because he was very young, baby faced and less experienced then the others. To everyone’s surprise, when the games started this young man was winning one game after the after. Merle asked Queenie whether she was supporting any one of the players.
“I’m supporting the young man. He’s so cute!”
Merle than teased her.
“Yes, he’s reminding me of someone .. Oh yes, that girl of the flowers. Maybe he’s her brother .. I could ask him whether he knows her.”
Queenie was not amused and gave him an angry look. Merle could not stop laughing at her expression. The competition continued and the young man won. People were clapping and waving at him. The young man was really pleased especially since he won a lump sum of money. Both Merle and Queenie were pleased and as a special gift, the young man was to receive a kiss on the cheek from Queenie. As soon as he approached the princess he became extremely nervous and his hat fell on the floor, revealing a long trail of black hair. The young man was Cassandra. Everyone was surprised, including Merle. He stood up from his chair and approached her.
“I will solve this problem.”
Merle moved closer to Cassandra and kissed her on the lips. Queenie was furious and when Merle and Cassandra parted again, she slapped the young girl on the left cheek.
“You’re a thief and you were not supposed to be in this competition!”
Cassandra was knocked down on the ground and she felt really ashamed in front of all those people who were staring at her with their mouth wide open. She immediately stood up and ran away with tears in her eyes. Merle was very angry and when he and Queenie went back to their house, they could not stop fighting.
“You don’t love me!!”
“Of course I do love you, but you are too jealous!”
“You didn’t have to go on and kiss her.”
Queenie was very angry.
“What did I do wrong? You were going to kiss ‘the young man’! I think that girl is more beautiful than you are!”
With this last sentence Merle went out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Queenie lay down on the bed crying her heart out. Meanwhile, Merle went out of the house and started walking. He couldn’t stop thinking about Cassandra. He really wanted to see her again. As he was approaching the road to the forest, he could hear someone crying. To his surprise he saw Cassandra walking towards him.
“You’re that girl!”
She came nearby and looked up at him.
“Aren’t you the Prince Merle of France?”
Merle was now staring at her with his mouth wide open.
“Who are you??”
The young lady wiped her tears with a handkerchief she had in her pockets.
“I’m Cassandra.”
Merle was really intrigued by the girl.
“I really like your name. What are you doing here by yourself?”
Cassandra explained to him that she had nine brothers and sisters and that her father was very sick. In order for him to get better he needed to take a very expensive medicine and when she knew about the prize of the boomerang competition, she decided to try her luck. Of course, even though she won, she was disqualified from the game and went home empty handed. Her mother was really angry with her and threw her out of the house.
“I tried to knock but she wouldn’t open the door for me.”
Cassandra started crying again. Merle felt really pity for her.
“Don’t worry, I will help you out.”
They walked together towards the house and went into the garden. They sat down on a bench and Merle looked at Cassandra.
“You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. I think I’m in love with you.”
With these words he took her hands in his and kissed them. Cassandra stared at him.
“But you are going to marry Princess Queenie!”
Merle took off his coat and put it on Cassandra’s shoulders.
“Here take this so that you won’t feel cold.”
They were now hugging each other and fell asleep on the bench. Queenie got out of bed and went down the stairs to the hall to see whether Merle was around. She was furious about his actions and when she didn’t find him, she went upstairs and locked the bedroom door behind her.
“This will teach him a lesson!”
While laying in bed she started crying again.
“What if he doesn’t come back?!”
When she woke up the next morning she unlocked the bedroom door and went downstairs to look for him. She entered the dining room where she found a servant preparing breakfast. Queenie was desperate now.
“Did you see Prince Merle?”
The servant looked at Queenie.
“No Princess Queenie, I have not seen his majesty. But don’t worry, I’m sure he’s somewhere around and will be back soon.”
Queenie sat down by the dining table and had breakfast. Twenty minutes later she changed her clothes and went out to town to carry out some errands. She was hoping that when she returned to the house, she would find Merle waiting for her.
In the meantime, Merle woke up to find himself curled up on the bench with Cassandra. He shook her shoulder.
“Cassandra, wake up!”
Cassandra was mumbling with her eyes closed and when she opened them and saw Merle she was speechless.
“Merle …”
The prince asked her to get up and follow him and she immediately complied with his demand. In order to not make a sound inside the house, he was thinking of going up to his room by climbing up the adjacent tree which led exactly to the balcony of his bedroom. He did not want the servants to see Cassandra as yet.
“Cassandra, come let’s climb this tree, and please be quiet.”
Merle went up first, then he helped Cassandra. When they reached the balcony they engaged in a cosy hug.
“Merle, what are we going to do now?”
Cassandra who was rather confused now. Fortunately the balcony door was open and Merle let her in.
“Look at that wardrobe there … choose a dress, I am going to the bathroom.”
As soon as he walked out of the room, Cassandra approached the wardrobe and chose a light blue dress with straps and a white rose on her chest.
“Cassandra, your bath is ready. You can change there and when you’re ready come to my room. Greta, my private servant will do your hair.”
Greta was Prince Merle’s new private servant. Unlike Fay, she was a fifty-year old woman with grey hair and she loved Merle as a son. Cassandra entered the bathroom, washed and dressed. She was eager to meet Prince Merle in his room. She went out of the bathroom and hurried straight to his room. Merle was fascinated by her beauty! There was Greta too in the room and she too was stunned by Cassandra’s beauty.
“Cassandra, you’re so beautiful! Greta, look at her, isn’t she the most beautiful girl you have ever seen?”
“Yes, she is Prince Merle. Cassandra, the Prince told me the whole story and I will tell you where to hide.”
“Thank you Greta!”
“Sit down here dear so that I do your hair.”
“She’s in your hands Greta!”
“Trust me Prince Merle.”
Greta did not waste time to start doing Cassandra’s hair. She took a liking to her and really enjoyed styling her hair. She was amazed by the beautiful texture of it.
“Cassandra, your hair is so beautiful. I never saw something like it! We English people love dark hair.”
“Greta thanks for your compliments. That is very kind of you.”
“Sweetheart, all the private servants of Prince Merle are kind hearted!”
“I must agree” Cassandra said with a smile.
“Are you girls ready?”
“We’re almost there Prince Merle. She’s almost ready.”
“Cassandra, you’re stunning! I feel I’m in a dream.”
“Come on Prince Merle, she’s for real!”
“I know, I know.”
“Well, I think now I shall leave you two alone. Have a nice day!”
Greta went out of the room and Prince Merle and Cassandra were left alone. Prince Merle couldn’t help but hug this beauty staring at him.
“Cassandra, I don’t want to be separated from you.”
“Merle, I don’t want to be separated from you either, but ...”
“But what?”
“But you’re engaged to Queenie.”
“I will solve this problem, don’t worry. Now, let me take you around the palace.”
“I would love to see the garden most!”
“Yes, of course.”
Prince Merle and Cassandra went around the palace and then went out in the garden. Cassandra was about to cut a pink flower while the Prince went back inside. All of a sudden, a man on a horse passed by and grabbed Cassandra from her waist. She started yelling for help. Merle heard her screaming and went immediately outside. When she turned around to see who this man was she realised it was her friend Jesse.
“Cassandra, why are you afraid? It’s me, Jesse!”
“You gave me a fright!”
“Where were you? I haven’t seen you for almost a week!”
“I’m happy to see you Jesse. You see that guy approaching us?”
“That’s Prince Merle. What are you doing here with him?”
“We became friends.”
“And you forgot me? We meet all the time but this week you forgot all about me!”
“I’m sorry Jesse. I don’t want to make you sad. Of course, we’ll keep on meeting up.”
Prince Merle approached them a while later, and Jesse and Cassandra came down from the horse’s back.
“Cassandra!”
The Prince pulled the girl towards him.
“Hey, she’s not your property! We’re lovers.”
Jesse pulled her back towards him. The Prince was perplexed.
“Cassandra, what does this mean? You’re mine and no one else’s.”
“Merle, I never told you the whole story.”
“Cassandra, wait.”
Jesse interrupted and turned to face Prince Merle.
“This doesn’t mean that because you’re a Prince you can steal people. Cassandra is mine and you’re about to marry Queenie.”
“How dare you talk to me like that? I want to help Cassandra and so she’s mine!”
“Stop it guys! I don’t want you to fight. Jesse, if you want to meet with me ...”
“Cassandra, move back, I want to teach this Prince a lesson.”
Jesse took out a knife from his pocket.
“So you want to have to win this fight to get Cassandra back!”
Prince Merle took out his sword.
“Good! I will fight with you with great pleasure!”
Jesse was a young good looking man of nineteen. He and Cassandra were best of friends since they were children. Their friendship had blossomed into love and they used to meet often in the forest. Both he and Prince Merle started fighting and Cassandra was so afraid that she ran inside the palace. A few minutes later she could hear one of them crying out with pain. Cassandra started crying and returned outside to see what happened.
“What happened?!”
The Prince was on the ground crying with the pain.
“Ouch, it hurts!”
“Merle, you’re bleeding!”
Cassandra knelt down near the Prince but Jessie grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him.
“Cassandra, you’re mine now.”
“Jesse, I’m so confused right now! I want help Merle.”
“No, you come with me now!”
Jesse grabbed Cassandra by the waist and pulled her over the horse. He immediately climbed behind her. Prince Merle was desperate when he saw them fading away.
“Cassandra, don’t leave me! I love you!”
Cassandra was crying.
“Jesse, please let me go and help Merle, than I will come back to you.”
“No way!”
Both Jesse and Cassandra faded away and left Prince Merle on the ground. The Prince made an effort and stood up and walked slowly towards the door. He started calling his private servant.
“Greta
... come quick!”
“My
lord, what happened to you?”
“I was in a fight, please help me ‘cause I’m bleeding a lot!”
“Of course, come!”
Greta helped him up to the room and managed to stop the blood coming out from the wound. She put some bandages on it and the Prince was feeling much better.
“What happened your majesty?”
“I fought with a guy named Jesse.”
Prince Merle told the whole story to Greta.
“So Cassandra loves Jesse?”
“Yes. Now I know that she won’t come back to me. I love her; she means the world to me.”
The Prince was crying now and Greta tried to tell him words of comfort.
“Your majesty, I’m sure that Cassandra will come back to you one day. That’s how I feel. Anyway, you’re engaged to Queenie and you couldn’t marry her.”
“I know, but I don’t love Queenie anymore, I’m in love with Cassandra.”
“Your majesty, please calm down.”
“She will not come back to me ...”
Prince Merle decided to let go of Cassandra and continue his life with Princess Queenie. That evening Queenie returned to the palace and went up to the room. When she saw Merle, she was overjoyed and went over to hug him.
“Merle! I knew you would come back to me!”
“Queenie, please forgive me for being away from you. I love you and I won’t leave you again.”
“I’m so happy now!”
The future husband and wife kissed deeply. Meanwhile Jesse and Cassandra stopped by the sea and were preparing a camp to stay for the night. Jesse could see that Cassandra was too quiet and thoughtful.
“Cassandra, what’s up? You haven’t said one word.”
“Jesse, I love you, but what if Merle dies?”
“Cassandra, forget about the Prince. Why don’t we get married?”
“When?”
“Now! Come, let’s go to the church.”
Cassandra stood up, arranged her skirt, cleared all the things they had prepared and went straight to a small chapel nearby. They went inside and managed to convince the priest to marry them.
“Now you’re mine forever!”
“Jesse, I know ...”
Prince Merle tried hard to get Cassandra out of his mind, even though it was a very hard thing to do. He and Queenie were planning to stay five years in Australia and decided to get married as soon as possible. In the meantime, Cassandra and Jesse set up a home in the country side. Cassandra still felt something for Merle and she managed to forget about her family who had thrown her out of the house for no reason. Jesse knew everything about Cassandra and what had happened to her.
In France, Queen Marjorie and King Orval were thinking about their son.
“I wonder what they are doing at the moment in Australia.”
“I think they are enjoying themselves down under. Don’t forget that it is summer there.”
“Oh yes, I almost forgot! Ufff, I’m getting old ...”
“Yes, and we’ll be grandparents soon, Merle will get married soon.”
“I really wish they’d have a girl.”
Two months later Merle and Queenie got married in Australia. Prince Merle managed to completely forget about Cassandra even though when he used to see carriages with flowers, he used to think of her. Queenie was happy and forgot all about the mishaps between her and Merle of the past. The Prince was now trying to live happy with his Princess. Queenie was expecting a baby and Merle was very thrilled with the news!
“Queenie, this is wonderful news. There will be a great big feast on the birth of our baby.”
“What would we call the baby?”
“We’ll see later on to that.”
“Merle, I really wish that we have a baby girl. What about you?”
“Me too! Let me write to my parents in France before sleeping.”
Prince Merle fetched a few papers and pen and started writing a letter to his parents. On another continent Jesse and Cassandra were expecting a baby. She too wished she had a baby girl.
“I really wish the baby to be a girl!”
“I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl as long as it’s healthy.”
“What would we call her?”
“I have no idea, but since it’s ours ... well let’s see ...”
“Jesse, I ...”
Cassandra had a big secret which she was hiding from Jesse. Before she got married to him, she had slept with Prince Merle and she was sure that the baby was Merle’s and not Jesse’s. She wanted to tell Jesse about his, but she was finding it hard to do so as she was afraid of his reaction.
A few weeks later Prince Merle was taking a walk outside the palace when he saw a carriage with flowers passing by. Merle stared at the carriage; it was the same one of Cassandra only that it was driven by a boy.
“Hey boy, what is your name?”
“Me? Owen ...”
“Are you a relative of someone named Cassandra?”
“Cassandra is my sister and I haven’t seen her since my parents threw her out of the house! Where is she?”
“Calm down. Why did your parents throw her out?”
“You remember when Cassandra won that money? My mother threw her out saying that she had to start living on her own as we are a very big family ...”
“But that is awful ...”
“Cassandra was the sister I liked most, she was very kind and I hope I will be able to see her again one day.”
Owen continued on the road while Prince Merle kept staring at him while seeing the carriage fade away. He immediately started thinking about Cassandra again and was talking to himself.
“Oh no, here we go again, I can’t take her off my mind! But, I love Queenie; oh I think I’m going crazy!”
He started his way back to the palace where he found Queenie having a glass of water.
“Merle, what’s wrong with you? You look worried ...”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me ... what are you thinking?”
“Don’t worry dear, there’s nothing wrong.”
“I hope you are telling the truth.”
“Of course sweetheart, I love you and I tell you everything.”
“Oh, that makes me feel much better.”
“Let’s go for a walk in the forest, you want?”
“Yes Merle!”
Months have passed and Cassandra gave birth to a baby girl. Both of them were very happy and organised a small party to celebrate. The girl was a beauty like her mother with blue eyes and dark hair, and Jesse was over the moon with joy. They named her Shirley. The girl had nothing in common with Jesse but looked a lot like someone else. It was Prince Merle. Cassandra never told Jesse the truth. She was afraid of the consequences if she told him that Shirley was not his. On the other side of the land Queenie also gave birth to a girl, so their dream of bearing a daughter came true. Prince Merle wanted to name the child Ingrid. They too organised a party to celebrate. Ingrid was a beauty too with blonde hair and green eyes. She was a quiet little baby and looked like both her parents. Both families were happy with the birth of their daughters.
Two years on Jesse and Cassandra were talking about the day they had met.
“I really fancied you, Jesse.”
“Me too! Look at us now! We’re married with a two-year old child. Cassandra, would you like to have more children?”
“Oh yes, I want four more!”
“Oh my, one is already more than enough and you want four more??!! Why don’t we go somewhere for a holiday before thinking of having another baby?”
“But we haven’t got money to do that!”
At that point Shirley came into their bedroom. She couldn’t sleep and told them that she had seen a monster in her room. She had a nightmare of course and Cassandra put her between her and Jesse and soon fell asleep.
“She’s a lovely girl; she looks just like you Cassandra.”
“Yes, I know she even looks a lot like Mer ...”
“Mer what?! Did you mean Merle?”
“Oh sorry Jesse, I don’t know what I was saying, I must have been dreaming ...”
“So that’s why people are all the time telling me that she has nothing in common with me!”
Jesse grabbed Cassandra by the shoulders and was shaking her badly whilst asking her to tell him the whole truth. Cassandra burst into tears and was terrified. Shirley was still sleeping.
“You’re hurting me!”
“Tell me everything or else I’ll kill you!!”
“When I wasn’t meeting with you some two years ago, I had met Merle on my way to the flower market.”
“Prince Merle?”
“Yes, we went into the forest and made love under a tree.”
“So Shirley is not mine?!”
Jesse was so angry that he pushed Cassandra by the wall and wounded her head. Cassandra was crying even more and when she touched her head and saw blood in her hands, she went hysteric!
“Jesse, look what you did to me!!”
“Why did you let him do this to you?? Why?!”
Jesse was extremely angry and every time Cassandra tried to get up from the floor he pushed her against the wall. Shirley woke up now and was terrified to see Jesse hurting her mother and started crying. Jesse turned to Shirley and slapped her on the face. Cassandra grabbed his arm and pushed him away from the girl. Jesse pulled her towards him and then pushed her face towards the window. Glass was all over the floor and Cassandra was screaming out loud with the pain she felt on her face. She fell down on the floor and fainted. Shirley was still crying and all of a sudden Jesse knelt down near Cassandra.
“Cassandra ...”
She lied there motionless. Jesse held his head between his hands and started sobbing. Some of the neighbours who heard the screaming were knocking on the main door and managed to go in. Two men entered the bedroom and when they saw Shirley crying and Cassandra lying down on the floor covered in blood they looked at Jesse with their mouth wide open. A policeman was called who came in and arrested Jesse. Meanwhile a doctor was now attending to Cassandra and Shirley. An old lady was helping him out.
“Cassandra is badly bruised but Shirley is doing just fine.”
“Can I help you in anything?”
“Just stay here and look after Shirley while I make some stitches to Cassandra’s head.”
When the doctor finished the stitches, Cassandra started to gain consciousness and was calling for Jesse.
“Where is Jesse? Who are you?”
“I’m a doctor Cassandra, please take it easy as you are very badly bruised.”
“Where is my Shirley?”
“She is being taken care of by one of your neighbours, don’t worry, she’s sleeping.”
“Where is Jesse? I need to see Jesse.”
The doctor explained to her that he was arrested for doing this to her. Cassandra started crying and begging him to take her to Jesse.
“But he’s my husband and I love him!”
The doctor tried to calm her down and asked the old lady to take care of her and the child when he leaves. Cassandra was still crying and the old lady wanted to know what had happened.
“I can’t tell you, it’s a secret!”
“Why are you so stubborn? I’m here to help you my dear.”
“I don’t want your help, I want to see Jesse!”
The old lady was about to say something but a policeman appeared in the room. He wanted to ask questions about the incident to Cassandra. The old lady left them alone and went to attend to Shirley who was still sleeping in her room. Cassandra didn’t want to divulge the reason for the fight but the policeman kept on insisting that he needed to know what had instigated the fight.
“Listen, young lady. We know the whole story. Jesse told us that you were Prince Merle’s lover.”
Cassandra felt so ashamed when the policeman told her that he knew everything. She also felt guilty for her husband and for keeping the secret for that long. The policeman informed her that he will stay arrested for a while but she had to decide whether to report him or not and send him to jail after a trial. Cassandra didn’t want Jesse to end up in jail and didn’t do any official reports. During the night she couldn’t sleep and took a decision to leave Jesse after she is better and go to see Prince Merle. She decided to tell Merle the truth about her daughter.
A few days later Cassandra was preparing to go and see the Prince. Jesse was still locked up in a cell. She dressed up Shirley picked up her bag and went outside.
“My darling Shirley, we are now going to meet a very important man.”
Cassandra had written a letter to Jesse before leaving her home. In the letter she explained to him how sorry she was for keeping a secret like that from him for all that time and she needed to see Prince Merle about it. She wrote that she loved him and didn’t know when she was going to come back and to not look out for her. Cassandra and Shirley went up on a train and later in the evening arrived a few kilometres away from where Prince Merle lived. Cassandra decided that they should walk the rest of the journey.
They arrived near the palace after an hour. Cassandra looked up at the balcony which used to be part of Merle’s room. She put down Shirley on the ground and from far away she could notice a male figure looking out from the same balcony. The male figure was the Prince himself. He too could notice the female figure and the little child outside the gate. He went inside to fetch his binoculars. He came back outside and his heart started to beat faster as soon as he realised that the lady was Cassandra. He couldn’t believe his eyes and was shaking all over. He returned inside ran down the stairs almost stumbling over Greta who was washing he floor.
“Your majesty … what happened? You’re so pale!”
“Greta, Cassandra is back! She’s back! She’s back!!”
“What on earth?”
“Don’t say anything to no one, I have to go to her …”
The Prince hurried outside and opened the gate. He ran over to Cassandra and held her tight in his arms.
“Cassandra!”
“Merle …”
“It’s been such a long time …”
“Yes, Merle, I need to tell you something …”
“Please don’t talk! Let me hold you tight for as long as I want. Say what you have to say later!”
With this last sentence Merle kissed Cassandra deeply on her lips. Shirley was staring at this strange man. She had never seen him before and was wondering why he was holding her mother so tight and kissing her on the lips. Cassandra let go of Merle and held Shirley’s hand.
“Merle, this is Shirley.”
“She’s your daughter?”
“Merle, she’s our daughter, yours and mine …”
“What?! How can that be?”
“Well, do you remember you and me under the tree some two and a half years ago or more?”
“Oh, I see, yes … I can’t imagine what I have put you through … What about your husband?”
“I left Jesse. He was really upset when I told him that Shirley was not his daughter.”
“I don’t know what to say …”
Cassandra held Shirley up in her arms and kissed her on the cheeks.
“Shirley, do you know who this man is?”
Shirley put her thumb in her mouth. Poor thing, she was tired after that long walk. She kept staring at Prince Merle and was saying “dadda, dadda …”
Tears filled the eyes of Prince Merle. This was a surprise for him and was not expecting to have a daughter with the love of his life Cassandra. Greta appeared behind the gate.
“Cassandra!”
“Greta! How are you?”
Greta hugged Cassandra and cried too.
“I was sure that you were going to come back!”
Greta looked at Shirley and wrapped the little girl in her arms. She then went inside with the child who was half asleep and left Merle and Cassandra alone. Merle looked calmer now and had a puzzled look on his face.
“Cassandra, how do you expect me to believe that Shirley is my daughter? You already lied once when you didn’t tell me that Jesse was your lover back then.”
“Merle, you must believe me. Shirley is your daughter. Can’t you see that she really looks like you?”
“I don’t know ... you know ... I’m married to Queenie and I have a daughter too. I can’t abandon them …”
“So, I came here for nothing?”
Cassandra started crying. Merle couldn’t stand to see her cry and hugged her even tighter.
“Please don’t cry, my treasure. I really do need you …”
“What are we going to do?”
“Let me think, I don’t want to lose you for sure … please work with us as a servant until I solve this problem with Queenie … I mean, I don’t want to hurt my family!”
“But will I still be able to see you?”
“Of course, leave it to me, I will find a solution to this.”
Prince Merle and Cassandra went inside. Greta was preparing dinner and Shirley was sleeping in a cot situated in the kitchen. Merle turned to Greta.
“Greta, listen to me. Cassandra is going to stay here as a servant. Don’t tell anyone who she is and try to avoid her meeting Queenie.”
“Yes, your majesty. Don’t worry, I’ll be very discreet.”
The Prince left the kitchen and Greta guided Cassandra to her room where she had a few clothes to give her.
Two days passed and Cassandra was washing the plates. No one had yet discovered who she was. Queenie knew nothing about her and didn’t see her. Cassandra was now talking to herself.
“I haven’t seen Merle for the past two days. I think it’s because of Queenie. I wonder how this will work out.”
In the meantime, Jesse was looking at the letter that Cassandra left him. He burst into tears. He felt sorry for what he had done, but he couldn’t control himself. He brought up Shirley as his own daughter and felt betrayed. He didn’t know what to do next as he was all alone now.
Shirley was in the garden picking at flowers. Queenie was in the garden too and saw the little girl. The Princess thought that the girl looked like someone she knew but couldn’t remember who. She suddenly remembered Cassandra and returned inside the palace to look for her husband.
“Merle! Merle!”
Prince Merle appeared in the hallway.
“You called?”
“Merle, you have to tell me the truth …”
“What?”
“Cassandra is here, right?”
“Queenie …”
“Tell me, is Cassandra here? I want to know everything!”
There was nothing else he could do but tell his wife the whole truth. Merle told her that Cassandra had returned and was working at the palace as a servant. He was afraid of Queenie’s reaction but the Princess smiled at the news.
“Why are you smiling? I thought you hated her.”
“Why get angry? You’re married to me and we have a daughter together. She’s a servant and I can order her around as much as I like!”
“So you don’t want to get rid of her?”
“Of course not! She’ll be MY servant whether she likes it or not!!”
Queenie had a wicked smile on her face and left Merle alone in the hallway. She then went near the servants’ quarter.
“Where is Cassandra?”
“I’m here your majesty.”
“Come with me to the garden, I need to speak to you.”
“Yes your majesty.”
Cassandra and Queenie walked towards the garden.
“Why did you come here Cassandra?”
“I had nowhere else to go and Merle had to tell you something ...”
“Don’t refer to him as Merle! He’s a Prince and you’re supposed to refer to him as Prince Merle de Lemoine!”
“I’m sorry your majesty. Prince Merle de Lemoine had to divulge some news to you ...”
“Merle told me nothing!”
“So how come you know that I’m here?”
“That is none of your business! And I know something else too ...”
“What do you know?”
“The child you have may not be of your husband Jesse! I heard the news about him and why he was arrested.”
“So you know that my Shirley is Prince Merle de Lemoine’s daughter?”
“That is what you say. You come from a poor family and don’t expect your daughter to be part of Prince Merle’s family.”
Cassandra stood there with her mouth wide open. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard! And she expected Queenie to have a different reaction than that. Queenie said nothing else and returned inside the palace.
A few more weeks passed and Cassandra was seeing less and less of Merle. She was still working as a servant and Queenie tried to make her life hell with chores and duties. Cassandra wasn’t getting any support from Merle and she kept on thinking about Jesse and the way she had cheated on him. She confided her troubles to Greta who tried her best to comfort her. Cassandra was also worried about her daughter Shirley who had met her half sister Ingrid and seemed to get on well. Shirley, however, was too jealous of Ingrid since of course, Ingrid was living in wealth and had the love of her father Merle, whilst Shirley had none. This jealousy turned into hatred and one day Shirley tried to make Ingrid fall into a fountain. The water was deep but luckily Ingrid survived. Prince Merle hardly ever spoke to both Shirley and Cassandra. He seemed to be thorn between the love of his life and his obligations towards his family.
Jesse was living at the home he shared with Cassandra and Shirley, and was eager to meet his wife again. He was sorry for what he did and he was also ready to take care of Shirley as if she was his own daughter. He planned to go to visit Prince Merle’s palace and try to win his family back. He of course required the help of his friend called Daniel who agreed to join him on the trip.
“So, we shall take a few boxes of wine to the palace and say that these were delivered by someone important. Then, when we go inside, I’ll try to look for Cassandra. I hope she doesn’t make a scene when she sees me!!”
Off they went to get Jesse’s family back. When they arrived in front of the gate a soldier asked them to wait while he asked some of the servants to come and help out. They entered the kitchen and Jesse was looking everywhere for Cassandra. She came out of the laundry room and their eyes met.
“Cassandra!”
“Jesse ... it’s been so long ...”
They hugged each other and Cassandra had tears in her eyes.
“I’m really sorry for what I did! Can you forgive me?!”
“Yes, I forgive you, I’m sorry for having cheated on you!”
Prince Merle entered the kitchen and was infuriated when he saw Jesse hugging Cassandra.
“You don’t give up, don’t you?”
“I came here to take Cassandra AND Shirley with me!”
“Over my dead body ... let’s make a deal ... we fight ... if you win you take them back, if I win they stay here!”
“Not a problem!”
Jesse pulled out his knife and Prince Merle pulled out his sword. Cassandra was crying even more and Shirley came on the scene. Daniel and the servants did not say a word and stood there almost motionless. Cassandra immediately pulled Shirley towards her and Jesse and Merle started the fight. Jesse was thrown on the floor and Merle put his foot over Jesse’s face.
“I’m not going to kill you! I’m going to lock you in a dungeon for as long as it pleases me!”
Jesse was trying to take Merle’s foot away from his face. Two soldiers joined in and grabbed Jesse by his arms and took him away. Cassandra pulled at Merle’s shirt.
“Leave him alone! I hate you, I hate you!”
“Cassandra, I can’t let you go ...”
Both Jesse and Daniel were sleeping in the dungeon. One evening, Cassandra was holding a tray with glasses of wine and she had to take them to the soldiers who were making sure that Jesse and Daniel do not flee the place. She had planned to give the soldiers some sleeping potion and got some help with this from Greta so as to be able to disappear once and for all from the palace and take Shirley and Jesse with her.
The plan was a success and as soon as Cassandra gave the wine to the soldiers they drank it and fell asleep in a few minutes. She took the keys from one of them and opened the heavy door of the dungeon. They managed to run away from the palace and took Shirley with them.
The following morning Prince Merle woke up and went down to the dungeon. When he arrived he saw the door wide open and the soldiers fast asleep on the floor.
“What happened here?!! Where are Jesse and Daniel?”
One of the soldiers opened his eyes and was hesitating to reply as he had no idea what had happened.
Prince Merle ran outside and saw Greta near the gate.
“Greta, Cassandra is still here, right?”
“Your majesty, I haven’t seen her this morning, not even Shirley.”
“Oh god, they ran away!!”
“Your majesty, why don’t you leave them alone? You have your family to take care of, leave them to live in peace.”
“Oh Greta, maybe you are right ... maybe it is the right thing to do to let them go ... this was my mistake. The biggest mistake of not having ever decided between Queenie and Cassandra.”
“Come now your majesty, let me make you a cup of tea.”