The Revengeful Prince

Once upon a time, there was a Princess named Annabelle. Annabelle was said to be the most beautiful girl anyone had ever seen before, with her long blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes. Naturally, she had many suitors. Every Prince wanted to be worthy of her hand in marriage. Princes would come from all over the area in order to try to win over her heart but she never could find the right one. They would offer her power, wealth, huge castles, but none of these things appealed to Annabelle. She wanted someone who would simply care for her and love her not just for her beauty.

One day, a Prince came along that seemed different than the rest. Prince Aaron was not like the other princes. He did not have a large castle or tons of money. He didn't try to woo her with material things. He simply spent time with her and told her how he would never forget how special she was if she chose him. And so it was, Prince Aaron had caught her interest to be her one true love.

They spent so much time together taking long walks and having picnics by the pond. One day after many months of courting Princess Annabelle, Prince Aaron finally got down on one knee. He took out the most beautiful ring and told Annabelle he would cherish her forever if she would do him the honor of becoming his wife. Annabelle was so happy and gladly accepted.

In the weeks following, Annabelle and Aaron would go to all the nearby lands to announce their marriage to the other Princes, Kings, and Queens. Their first stop was the kingdom currently under the rule of King John and his son Caspian. Caspian had come to Annabelle multiple times desiring her hand, leaving him to despise Aaron for becoming her husband. Caspian had offered Annabelle everything the world had to offer, a castle and shoes and all the dresses she could ever want. He never understood why she did not want those things.

When Annabelle and Aaron arrived, they were met by Caspian who looked upon them with an evil glare. Annabelle did not like the idea of staying in the guest house on the land but knew she did not have a choice. Caspian took them to their house and Annabelle immediately noticed it was different than before. They had redone the whole thing and everything was made of wood, which she found to be odd. As she went inside she felt even stranger about the weird scent of gas coming from the unlit fireplace.

When Caspian left she told Aaron she did not like the thought of the situation and said they would leave immediately the following morning when it was light, hoping that would be okay. Later that night, she heard a weird rustling outside and looked to see one of Caspian's servants with what seemed to be a box of matches. She knew it! Immediately she woke Aaron and they snuck out of the back of the house. She could not believe Caspian would try to do this. Angry, Annabelle took a match herself and threw it onto the place, causing the house to go up in flames. Unfortunately, the blast consumed the servant and took him down, but Annabelle and Aaron made it out okay. She felt guilty for what she had done but felt it was the only way.

Author's Note: This story was modeled after House of Fire, but with different characters. In House of Fire, the story focuses on the Pandava family which consists of Prince Vidura and also Queen Kunti. The Pandavas and the Queen are visiting the palace at Varanavata and are suspicious of the behavior of Prince Duryodhana who they suspect as evil and revengeful. Once entering the palace they quickly become suspicious of it being made of just wood. Also, they notice how the roof and everything is soaked in oil. Vidura jumps to the conclusion they are in danger and then decides to plot an escape from where they are staying. In order to escape, they all start to build an underground passage that leads out of the palace into the forest outside. Eventually, when the passage was complete they were ready to leave. The whole time they were constructing the passage, Purochana who worked for Duryodhana was waiting to light the place on fire. In order to seek revenge, the Pandavas light the house after they have escaped to the forest. Unfortunately, Purochana is consumed and killed in the fire, but even worse, a wind blew the fire to another nearby palace and killed a whole family, which saddened the Pandavas. In both stories, there is an antagonist that is attempting to kill people by setting their house on fire in secret. I changed it to be a jealous Prince instead of Duryodhana and also not have as many people die.

Bibliography: The House of Fire by C.A. Kincaid