In the land far, far, far away, we once again meet up with the princess named Kat and the pauper named Ella. We last left off with the two foes becoming friends, but now even more has happened. Ella has been adopted into the royal family and she too is a princess! In addition to Ella’s new found royal status, both girls are also of age to be betrothed and they couldn’t be more excited! The king, however, did not wish for his baby girl, Kat, to get married, so he created the “Suitor Games” in hopes that it would be too challenging for men across the kingdom. In order for them to get married, two men must win the games that require great merit, skill, and precision to marry the princesses. Now that we have the background, let’s get to the story.
One day before the Suitor Games, Ella was walking in the palace garden, daydreaming about what life as a wife would look like. While she was daydreaming, she ran into a handsome young man named Steve. Steve was known as the cutest of all the land and Ella had always had a crush on him. When Steve saw Ella, he knew it was love at first sight. The two spent hours talking and laughing in the garden. As they walked through the garden, they realized they truly were each other’s other half. Ella couldn’t imagine living her life with any other man by her side, so she ran to the king and demanded he call off the Suitor Games so that she could marry Steve. The king refused. He had never been the biggest fan of Steve, and he would not give up his new daughter to him unless he won her fair and square. While Ella was crying in her room worried that she and wouldn't get her happily ever after with Steve, Kat was as relaxed as she could be. She trusted her father and was completely content with the chance that no suitor might win the games. Finding a husband had never been something she’d even thought about, so why fret now?
Dusk fell upon the kingdom, and Ella was still crying. As her tears were falling she noticed a sound at her window. *Clink.* *Clink.* Intrigued, she stood up and wiped her eyes as she walked towards the window. When she got to the window she noticed it was Steve throwing pebbles. Ella swooned and begged Kat to let her go. Kat, being the great friend she is, promised to not tell the king. So Ella hurried down the stairs to welcome Steve in a sweet embrace. Steve held her face and kissed her forehead, causing Ella’s insides to melt. As the stars twinkled above them, they walked along the garden exchanging stories and laughs, completely losing track of time. When the sun began to rise, Ella knew she had to get back up to her room before her father realized she had been out all night. She quickly gave Steve a quick kiss on the cheek as ‘good luck.’ The games were about to begin.
For weeks the King prepared for the suitor games. He bought the girls dresses that were prettier than any coronation gown they had ever seen. The Castle was so clean that the floors sparkled and glistened. The floors were so spotless that you could even eat off of them if you wanted. Outside the gates were men from all over the kingdom and beyond who were eager to win the hand of one of the princesses. The clock struck noon, the gates opened, and the Suitors Game had finally begun. The games would require great precision and skill. Each suitor would have two chances at making a bullseye with the King’s ancient bow. If a suitor failed at hitting the mark, then they would be asked to leave the premises. Kat remained calm and knew only a suitor who deserved her would hit the target, but Ella was nervous Steve wasn’t skilled with the bow.
One by one the Suitors nocked their arrows and shot the ancient bow. Some would miss the target by a landslide, and others would barely miss the center. Every shot made caused Ella to tense more, and more, and then finally it was Steve’s turn. Ella stared intensely at her Suitor. As she focused in, the sounds around her faded, and then Steve seemed to move in slow motion. He nocked his arrow with ease, pulled the bow back with a smooth motion, and released the arrow. The arrow breezed through the air, and Ella felt as if the whole world stopped. Ella could not take the worries running through her mind, so she turned away, too scared of the outcome that could happen. Ella heard the arrow hit the target, and immediately, the crowd went wild. There the arrow stood, right in the center of the target. Steve and Ella would be together forever. Steve ran to the King, shook his hand, and scooped Ella up into his arms and whisked her away.
Kat saw how happy Steve made Ella, but realized she had no desire to be a wife. She also knew that if she were to ever be a wife, she wanted the relationship Steve and Ella had. Kat tapped the king’s shoulder and whispered in his ear. A smile and a look of relief slowly formed on his face. The king walked up to his podium to make an announcement, “I hereby declare that the Suitor Games are over. Princess Kat wishes to rule this kingdom by herself.”
The king got his wish, Ella married Steve, and Kat ruled the kingdom. They all lived Happily, Ever After.
Author's Note: In the tale I read, Sita’s father creates a competition to win his daughter’s hand in marriage. In his competition, competitors must break the ancient bow. If no one is successful, Sita will remain unmarried. Before the competition, Rama met Sita similar to how Ella and Steve met. and the two fell in love. The only problem was that the two were not allowed to be together unless Rama broke the bow. On the day of the competition, men were unsuccessful left and right. Then when it was Rama’s turn, he successfully broke the bow in half, and Sita became his bride!
I really loved the story of Rama winning Sita. I chose it because I felt that it worked perfectly with my “Fairytale” theme I have going in my stories. I wanted to continue the story of Kat and Ellie in the kingdom, and also added a little more ‘drama’ with the King not wanting Ellie to marry Steve. I also thought hitting the center of the target seemed difficult enough to do without needing the magical, ancient bow. One thing that I added to this story that I didn’t have in my original was a more ‘feminist’ character. In my original story I had Kat get married, but I felt like I just rushed the ending and added her in it for really no reason. So in this story I mentioned her a couple more times, and then had her drop out of the competition. Instead of getting married, I made her character content with being single. Her “happy ending” consisted of her getting to rule the kingdom herself without a king.
Bibliography: Rama Wins Sita