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Once upon a time there lived a King and his Wife. They lived in a far off land where emerald hills would swell and the sun was always smiling. The palace they lived in posed precariously on the edge of a cliff looking down at a blanket of rippling blue. The towering stone walls stood awkwardly, leaning against one another in an attempt to stay up. Lofty gaping wholes like wide-open mouths positioned themselves on the walls of stone. The Tolerant Palace sat long-sufferingly on the top of the cliff, enduring the thrashing winds and spatters of seawater. A winding dusty path trickled down the cliffs from the castle and lead one to a secreted beach where one could look out and see not just the ocean but also a desolate island seemingly floating on the surface of the sea. This Lonesome Land drifted patiently, waiting for that day when a young girl should discover it.
Time was passing and the days seemed to fly over the rooftops of the castle, aging it steadily. The King's days began to slow and were on a pacing decline. This created pressure on the childless couple; they had no heir. The King's impatience grew in correlation to the growth of wrinkles and that of a single silvery hair that sprouted spitefully from his head. The King was all too aware of this and so became more determined than ever to create a son in the near future. The Queen-slightly fonder in her feeling and emotions-also wished for a child, although for the sole reason that she yearned for someone to love. The King she did not love. The King was her duty and so was the job of producing an heir.
Years swam by, miscarriages rippled the water until finally land was discovered; the Queen was with child and was, to be sure, to give birth to a living baby who would live'let's just say for a while.
The child was born quite unexpectedly whilst the Queen was out for a swim in the sea at dawn. The cliff slopes were too steep for her to clamber back up again and so a large rock pool was found. This was the child's first taste of life on earth; the bitter taste of salt that sharply stung the eyes and throat. This child loved it however.
The Queen fell in love immediately, when her eyes, now burden-less rested tiresomely on the child. She rocked it and gently stroked its soft tufted head.
The King's heart became denser then sank. There was no love felt towards this child from him. Simply by her existence, the baby had created her father into a bitter man, as she had not fulfilled his expectations, although she had just been born. She was not he son the King had so hoped for neither did she have an acceptable appearance. When flame red locks of hair emerged from the Queen and the gender of the child was clear, the King felt wretched, cheated, anger seeped through him like poison making him numb.
The King glared at the baby like a guard dog would at an impostor. It lay, crimson and shrivelled, in a cot far too big and elaborate for a newborn baby making it look even smaller than it was and almost engulfed by the crisp white sheets and blankets surrounding it. The tinged shade of her skin clashed sickeningly with her red hair and her small hold of a mouth opened letting out silent screams reaching no ones ears, but seemingly injecting the King with disgust.
The King walked out of the bedroom with an eerie sense of calm, leaving the unwanted baby and its motionless mother both desperately in need of help, yet neither were able to show it. One was far too drained of life, her body in shock from the tiresome labour and the other unable to call, as she had no voice. The Auburn Haired Princess was born a mute and would be until her last day.
The Queen died two days after the birth. For those two days her body lay sprawled limply on the sweat sodden bed sheets. Her skin became putrid jaundice and her dark hair gathered in greasy clumps. Life had been sucked out of her as if by a vacuum cleaner, leaving only the remains, traces of once a living creature.
The body was discarded discreetly and was forgotten apart from the last trace of the Queen, which lay in the cot, bony and weak because of a lack of food as the Auburn Haired Princess had no way of asking for it'