There was once a beautiful, ambitious but poor little peasant girl named Sarah, who lives at the edge of a tiny little village, beside a narrow creek. She lives with her almost senile grandmother as she had lost her parents many years ago. Now, Sarah is not like any other peasant girl at her age. No, she wants more than her poor and ordinary life. She dreams of marrying a prince, living in a castle, wearing beautiful gowns and having servants galore.
When the royal family paraded in royal carriages through the town square, she stood in the crowd, eager to catch a glimpse of the most sought after royal prince. A small glimpse of him never sated her hunger to be his bride. She yearns to be a part of a world that she doesn’t belong to.
One day, as she was walking through the small town market, the royal messenger made an announcement that made her heart skip a beat.
“By the order of the Queen,” he read the Royal Proclamation, “The Royal Prince is in search of a fine Princess to be his future wedded wife, so as to take his place on the Throne as King. Royal Princesses from near and afar will be invited to meet with the Prince and once he had made his choice for a bride, there will be celebration for the whole country.”
Everyone cheered and clapped after listening to the proclamation. Sarah was almost disappointed, as she feared that her chance to be Princess is no longer there. She went home to ponder on her choices for her future.
Almost two months passed and the Prince still hasn’t found a bride for himself. It was said that the Prince almost always found something wrong with every Princesses that came to see him. Hearing this, Sarah’s brilliant mind started hatching a plan on its own.
It may be risky, not to mention that she could be tried for treason, but if she could just pull it off with no witnesses, she might just have a fool-proof plan in her hand. She decided that to act as soon as possible would make the plan work out right, as any dallying might make her change her mind.
Everyday she looked up at the sky, waiting for it to be dark, boding rain. It was almost a week before the dark clouds covered the village late in the afternoon. Without any second thoughts, Sarah trudged out of her small hut wearing one of her nicest dress, full of determination. No one was out around as they could see a storm coming up. This doesn’t deter Sarah, as she had a quest to fulfill. She had about an hour’s walk to the She smiled smugly, as this fitted her plan just perfectly. When she could see the gates of the Palace, she tore at certain places of her dress to make it look battle worn. By then, she was already wet and muddy, and she looked like a mess. She walked confidently up the Palace steps, and knocked on the door expectantly. She heard footsteps scurrying and a small mouse of a girl opened the door and looked up at Sarah.
“Can I help you?” she squeaked, apparently surprised at Sarah’s appearance.
“Hello there,” Sarah said, smiling weakly, an act that she had perfected over the days, “I am Princess Isabella from the faraway kingdom of Guinevere
“I’ll be right back,” the mousy girl squeaked, before closing the door on Sarah’s face. A few minutes later, the door opened, and the Queen stood there, looking at Sarah.
“And, who are you?” she asked.
“Good evening your Majesty,” Sarah said, curtseying, “I’m Princess Isabella from Guinevere, the land by the ocean. My kingdom was attacked by pirates, and I’m afraid no one survived.”
“But then, how did you escape?” the Queen asked, aghast.
“My father, the King of Guinevere, sent me away on our noble steed, Sir Nicholas, but alas, my steed died not long after sending me at the edge of this land,” Sarah explained convincingly, “I would like some shelter and some food, please.”
“Why dear, you’re shivering there,” the Queen exclaimed, before making way for Sarah to go in the Palace, “Do come in. Lucy here will see that you get some warm clothes and then you can join my son and me for dinner.”
Lucy, the mousy looking girl, scurried away with Sarah following close behind her. She was shown to an extravagantly decorated bedroom where Lucy laid down a fresh pile of clothes. Sarah picked up the pile to find a long flowing pink gown, which she pinned to her body excitedly. She stood in front of a full-body length mirror, admiring herself. Lucy was looking at her weirdly, but when she turned to look at her, she quickly disappeared out of the room.
Sarah took a bath and changed her clothes quickly, and started to find her way to the dining hall. When she found the dining hall, she was mesmerized by the beauty of the dome like ceiling.
“Nice of you to join us,” the Queen commented as she stood beside the long table.
“Hello there,” the Prince greeted, “you must be Princess Isabella.”
Instead of answering, Sarah did a polite curtsey, smiling sweetly, as the Prince pulled out a chair for her to sit on. Dinner was spent with polite talks and questions of her imaginary country. After dinner, the Queen left the table earlier. After the Queen left, Sarah got up to leave, as she bade goodnight to the Prince.
Finding her way back to the bedroom, she passed by the kitchen, where she heard whispers that made her stop in her tracks. She tip toed near the door to listen better.
“But he seemed smitten by her,” she heard the Queen saying to someone else.
“I can see that too, your majesty,” she heard Lucy replying.
“And I think her story don’t seem to be right,” the Queen whispered lower. Sarah had to strain her ear to listen, “How can someone who lost her father and the whole country seem all fine and calm. Its like she made it all up.”
“When she knocked on the door, the first thing that she asked for is the Prince,” Lucy said, excitedly. There was silence for a while as they both pondered the situation.
“I know how we can make sure whether she’s a Princess or not,” the Queen said, “we should place a pea at the bottom of her mattress, and pile a hundred mattresses over that lone pea. You know that real princesses can feel a pea through thousands of mattresses.”
“That’s a good idea your majesty,” Lucy agreed, her voice pitching higher, “I will get to it now.”
“Yes, Lucy,” the queen said, nodding her head, “and tomorrow we will know whether she’s a princess as she claims to be or not.”
Sarah quietly backed away from the door and retreated back to the dining hall, holding in her breath. Her cover was almost blown. She thanked the heavens that she happened to be walking by when the queen and Lucy were whispering in the kitchen or else tomorrow might be the last day she’ll get to see the daylight.
Sarah waited in the dining hall until Lucy came to fetch her. She followed her quietly as Lucy took her to the end of the second floor into a small room. In the middle of the room was a queen sized bed which was piled high to the ceiling with mattresses. Sarah gasped as she looked up at her sleeping place. Lucy stared at her quietly.
“This is your room, your highness,” Lucy said, bitingly.
“Why is it so high?” Sarah asked, playing her part well.
“It’s a specially made bed for princesses,” Lucy replied, “for your comfort, princess.”
“Okay,” Sarah replied, “how do I get up there?”
Lucy pointed at a ladder situated at the edge of the bed, and turned to leave. Sarah watched her leave with contempt. She was going to win this war, no matter what. She will get the prince.
That night, Sarah didn’t toss or turn in her sleep like she usually did lying on her old house floor. When she awoke in the morning, she stretched and yawned as if she never slept soundly for years.
“Good morning, Princess,” the prince greeted her enthusiastically.
“Good morning,” she replied, as she took a seat, making sure that they saw that she sat down with difficulty.
“Did you have a good night’s rest?” the queen asked, fixing her with a cold stare.
“Oh, I don’t mean to complain,” she replied, “but I haven’t had an ounce of sleep last night. I was tossing and turning, but I can never find comfort. My whole body has bruises as if I was sleeping on rocks.”
“Oh, did you?” the queen asked, quite flabbergasted. She never thought that Sarah was a real princess, and now she has proof that she is indeed a princess.
“Yes, and not only that,” Sarah continued, faking a sob, “I couldn’t stop thinking about my father and my people. I feel all alone in this world now.”
“Oh, mother,” the Prince voiced out, as he rushed over to comfort Sarah, “look what you’ve done. Now you’ve made her cry.”
“It’s fine,” Sarah said, wiping her pretend tears, “I’m glad to have found a place to shelter for the night, but I guess I best be on my way out.”
“Where will you be going?” the Prince asked, shocked.
“I’ll have to find a place to stay now that I don’t have a home, don’t I?” she said, looking at him.
“No, please don’t go,” the Prince begged, “Please stay and be my wife.”
She looked at him with surprise, but inside of her she was dancing with joy. Her plan finally worked!
“But, the Queen,” she replied, looking sympathetically at the Queen.
“If my son has found his match, then who am I to disagree,” the queen said, smiling at Sarah kindly, “Let’s announce the wedding and get ready for the celebration.”
Sarah smiled as the preparations were made. She had finally reached her goal, to marry a Prince and to live in a Palace filled with servants, and no one will ever know of her deception.
