![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
drownedinlightSo, this is an assignment I started for class, but since I'm not turning it in, I figure it's okay for me to post. And to be quite honest, I've been trying to do a re-write of this story for a while, even if the one I had in mind was slightly less....evil. Anyway, our assignment was to re-write a children's story from a new perspective, and I chose to re-write The Twelve Dancing Princesses, since it's been one of my favorite fairy tales for a long time now. I chose to re-write mine from the perspective of one of the underground princesses. The whole premise (I will post the revised story even if I don't count the words, but just for now so you're not total lost) is to turn the story on it's head, and make the princesses, not the princes evil. Because in most early version of the story (all of them involve the princesses going dancing each night in a magical underground kingdom, and each night, they dance so much, they wear out their shows.
The king is mightily miffed about this happening each night and sets a challenge that if someone could come and figure out where they go each night, he may marry the daughter of his choice and inherit the kingdom) the contestants were beheaded if they could not figure out where the princesses went (later versions include them being thrown into the dungeon (and later released) or no punishment for not figuring it out). But the truly disturbing thing is that the girls allow them to be beheaded, even laughing at the soldier/ cobbler /farm boy who figures them out. Some people attempt to justify this by saying that they were enchanted, or cursed. I attempt no such justification in this story. This is the beginning which will be revised and posted later.
This story begins with a prince. Most of them begin with a princess, and in some other tellings of it, so does this. But for now, it begins with a prince.
He, the Prince, lived in a place called the Underneath. They have no other name for it, because there is only one kingdom in the Underneath, and that is ruled by one king, and then one of his sons afterwards. It is not always the eldest son, but the most able. If it is perhaps not a son, it may sometimes be a daughter. But this Prince would be king; he probably is now, for much time has passed since then.
There was no sun, not like in the world above, but they did have light, for every plant and thing that grew there, was sturdy and glistened to reflect a single drop of light. If you saw them, you would think they were metals and precious stones, growing out the ground. But to the people of the Underneath, they were simply plants, simply things that grew out of the ground.
When the Prince came of age, there were a number of great parties held in his name, for it was believed he would soon be wise enough to take the throne and rule as he should over his people. And the Prince danced gaily with the ladies of the court, with each of his eleven brothers, and more as they bounded around in circle dances. But then a thing most strange happened. On the shore of the lake, in which the palace of the Underneath King stood, he saw twelve strange women, standing on the shore.
They were indeed strange for their bodies were many colors the prince had never seen before on a person. They had browns and reds in their skin, yellows and browns in their hair. Most everyone in the underneath had pale skin, dark hair and pale eyes for they did not know what a sun was, and it was rare people came into the Underneath. The thing that puzzled him most about these women, though, were the strange coverings of their feet. He had heard of shoes before, but most Underneathers did not wear them. As he bounded out to meet the women, his eleven brothers following in tow, the crowd whispering and wondering behind them, the Prince thought that these must be women from Above.
One by one, each prince rowed across the water of the lake to the group of women. They stood in awe for a moment, taking in each of them women, in their colorful dresses, and strange shoes.
“Who are you?” the Prince asked.
“It is quite rude,” said one, “to not introduce oneself first.”
“I am Hyram, and these are my brothers,” he said, shrinking away from the woman. It was not simply because she reproached him so, but because she, and the others, made him feel cold. They were so warm; they exuded warmth, that the air just beyond them felt frigid. Hyram had never felt so cold in his life.
“I am Princess Melodia of Carneous, and these are my sisters,” the woman said waving her arm at the eleven other women.
“Twelve princesses for twelve princes!” exclaimed Hyram’s youngest brother.
“They should come back with us, Hyram,” said the next eldest to him. “And join your celebration.”
“You are having a celebration in that palace?” the princess asked.
“Oh yes!” Hyram exclaimed, shaking his head up and down. “I have become of age.”
“Soon Hyram will be King,” one of his brothers added, clapping Hyram on the back. The princesses looked at each other for a moment, before Princess Melodia held out her hand to Hyram, who took it and led her back to his boat. She requested that he not row so quickly, for she felt sick when he did, so it took longer in getting back to the shore. When they arrived, several people grabbed the boat and hoisted both of them out. Hyram took Melodia, and nearly led her to the dance floor but she dug her heels in.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to the King? Wouldn’t he like to know guests have arrived?”
“He knows,” Hyram assured her. “We all saw you arrive. Would you like to dance?”
“I would like to meet the king first,” she said, wringing her hands together. Hyram looked to one side, as if it would help him understand what she wanted, and still, took her by the hand, and led her to where the King sat, resting from the dance.
“Father!” he said. “This is Melodia, she is a princess in the Above.”
“And which above might that be?” the King asked. “There are as many kingdoms in the Above, as we have rocks here in the below.”
“I am of Carneous, majesty,” Melodia replied, bending her knees into what we would recognize as a curtsey, but look quite silly to those Underneath. “My sisters and I found a door that lead us down a dark carven and through an avenue of the most extraordinary trees. They appeared to be made of silver and gold, and diamonds.”
“Such things are normal here,” explained the King. “I know in the Above you must look diligently for such things, but they are common here.”
annotated version of the twelve dancing princesses here: SurLaLune FairyTales
The king is mightily miffed about this happening each night and sets a challenge that if someone could come and figure out where they go each night, he may marry the daughter of his choice and inherit the kingdom) the contestants were beheaded if they could not figure out where the princesses went (later versions include them being thrown into the dungeon (and later released) or no punishment for not figuring it out). But the truly disturbing thing is that the girls allow them to be beheaded, even laughing at the soldier/ cobbler /farm boy who figures them out. Some people attempt to justify this by saying that they were enchanted, or cursed. I attempt no such justification in this story. This is the beginning which will be revised and posted later.
This story begins with a prince. Most of them begin with a princess, and in some other tellings of it, so does this. But for now, it begins with a prince.
He, the Prince, lived in a place called the Underneath. They have no other name for it, because there is only one kingdom in the Underneath, and that is ruled by one king, and then one of his sons afterwards. It is not always the eldest son, but the most able. If it is perhaps not a son, it may sometimes be a daughter. But this Prince would be king; he probably is now, for much time has passed since then.
There was no sun, not like in the world above, but they did have light, for every plant and thing that grew there, was sturdy and glistened to reflect a single drop of light. If you saw them, you would think they were metals and precious stones, growing out the ground. But to the people of the Underneath, they were simply plants, simply things that grew out of the ground.
When the Prince came of age, there were a number of great parties held in his name, for it was believed he would soon be wise enough to take the throne and rule as he should over his people. And the Prince danced gaily with the ladies of the court, with each of his eleven brothers, and more as they bounded around in circle dances. But then a thing most strange happened. On the shore of the lake, in which the palace of the Underneath King stood, he saw twelve strange women, standing on the shore.
They were indeed strange for their bodies were many colors the prince had never seen before on a person. They had browns and reds in their skin, yellows and browns in their hair. Most everyone in the underneath had pale skin, dark hair and pale eyes for they did not know what a sun was, and it was rare people came into the Underneath. The thing that puzzled him most about these women, though, were the strange coverings of their feet. He had heard of shoes before, but most Underneathers did not wear them. As he bounded out to meet the women, his eleven brothers following in tow, the crowd whispering and wondering behind them, the Prince thought that these must be women from Above.
One by one, each prince rowed across the water of the lake to the group of women. They stood in awe for a moment, taking in each of them women, in their colorful dresses, and strange shoes.
“Who are you?” the Prince asked.
“It is quite rude,” said one, “to not introduce oneself first.”
“I am Hyram, and these are my brothers,” he said, shrinking away from the woman. It was not simply because she reproached him so, but because she, and the others, made him feel cold. They were so warm; they exuded warmth, that the air just beyond them felt frigid. Hyram had never felt so cold in his life.
“I am Princess Melodia of Carneous, and these are my sisters,” the woman said waving her arm at the eleven other women.
“Twelve princesses for twelve princes!” exclaimed Hyram’s youngest brother.
“They should come back with us, Hyram,” said the next eldest to him. “And join your celebration.”
“You are having a celebration in that palace?” the princess asked.
“Oh yes!” Hyram exclaimed, shaking his head up and down. “I have become of age.”
“Soon Hyram will be King,” one of his brothers added, clapping Hyram on the back. The princesses looked at each other for a moment, before Princess Melodia held out her hand to Hyram, who took it and led her back to his boat. She requested that he not row so quickly, for she felt sick when he did, so it took longer in getting back to the shore. When they arrived, several people grabbed the boat and hoisted both of them out. Hyram took Melodia, and nearly led her to the dance floor but she dug her heels in.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to the King? Wouldn’t he like to know guests have arrived?”
“He knows,” Hyram assured her. “We all saw you arrive. Would you like to dance?”
“I would like to meet the king first,” she said, wringing her hands together. Hyram looked to one side, as if it would help him understand what she wanted, and still, took her by the hand, and led her to where the King sat, resting from the dance.
“Father!” he said. “This is Melodia, she is a princess in the Above.”
“And which above might that be?” the King asked. “There are as many kingdoms in the Above, as we have rocks here in the below.”
“I am of Carneous, majesty,” Melodia replied, bending her knees into what we would recognize as a curtsey, but look quite silly to those Underneath. “My sisters and I found a door that lead us down a dark carven and through an avenue of the most extraordinary trees. They appeared to be made of silver and gold, and diamonds.”
“Such things are normal here,” explained the King. “I know in the Above you must look diligently for such things, but they are common here.”
annotated version of the twelve dancing princesses here: SurLaLune FairyTales
