Anne

Anne and Richard were devastated as the doctor’s words left her mouth. Anne kept replaying them in her mind: “I’m sorry but you’re unable to conceive children.” When the doctor left the room, Anne started crying but Richard comforted her and said, "We'll get through this together."

Anne and Richard went home to Anne’s anxious father, King Charles. When they arrived, he asked them what the doctor said. Anne started crying again and excused herself. Richard explained to her father the horrible news and he was crushed.

The next day Anne refused to get out of bed. She wouldn’t eat or drink anything and this behavior continued. King Charles and Richard were worried about her, but the king was worried more about who would take the throne when he passes.

Anne and Richard talked over the idea of adopting a child. They considered this option for a while before they made their decision. Anne and Richard came to the conclusion that they would go through with the adoption process. They filed paperwork and were told that it could take several years before they could actually adopt a child.

The issue was that the king already had heart disease. When he found out his daughter couldn’t have a child, he stressed his body and his blood pressure rose. He ended up getting diagnosed with heart failure and did not have long to live.

King Charles ordered his best servant to follow him into his royal office. He asked the servant, "Where do your loyalties lie?”

The servant replied, "Most certainly with you, Sir.”

Hours before this encounter, the king had devised a plan to steal a baby to be the heir to the throne. King Charles ordered his servant to pretend to be a nurse working at the hospital and steal a newborn baby boy. He advised him to lay low and meet him outside behind the hospital with the baby and they would go from there.

The servant followed the king’s orders and successfully stole a baby boy. On the way back home, King Charles told the servant, "We need to hide the baby in the secret soundproof room and tend to him for a few months before delivering him to Anne."

The servant replied "Of course, Sir. You should tell Anne that you sent me away for a few months to do business and I’ll look after the baby. They wouldn’t suspect a thing."

King Charles replied to servant, "You’re brilliant. I shall see you in a few months then."

The king called the adoption agency and cancelled Anne and Richard’s adoption paperwork saying they were no longer interested. After a few months passed King Charles faked a call to Anne and Richard saying that there’s a baby boy for them to adopt. Anne and Richard were so happy to hear the news and ready to become parents.

The servant presented Anne and Richard with their baby boy and said, "Congratulations to the both of you. I can't wait to help you take care of him and watch him grow up." Anne immediately fell in love with the baby boy at just one look. Anne and Richard loved raising their son even on the nights he woke them up crying. On those nights Anne would rock him in a chair and sing lullabies. But one night the rocking and singing wasn't working, so Anne went to the servant.

She said, "I can't get him to stop crying and what I usually do isn't working."

The servant said, "I know just the trick! My mother always did this to me when I was fussy. You just need to swaddle him and play peaceful nature sounds."

The servant then swaddled the baby boy and turned-on soothing ocean noises. The baby stopped fussing immediately and fell back asleep.

Anne looked at the servant in disbelief and said, "Wow, you made that look so easy, thank you."

The servant responded, "Of course, let me know if you need anything else.” Little did Anne know that the servant had spent the last three months taking care of her baby boy.

One day the servant rushed into the king’s royal office; he had heard word of the FBI taking over the investigation of the missing baby. King Charles felt a rush of panic go through his body and they began brainstorming ideas about what to do. Finally, they came to a conclusion.

King Charles sent Anne, Richard, and their baby boy to his private island with the servant.

The king said, "I need you all to stay on the island until I order the servant to bring you back. It’s imperative that you say nothing about your sudden leaving. I have some important business to conduct and it could get dangerous. I want you to be safe, so we have to take precautions."

Anne replied, "Oh Father, of course we’ll go and not say anything. Please be safe and try not to stress your body while we're gone." That night, they loaded up on their private jet and flew to the island.

A few weeks had passed by and it was now the month of April. King Charles had a bad feeling in his gut. That’s when the FBI then came knocking on the door. The FBI agents, Blake and Jane, explained to the king that they were working on a case about a baby boy that was stolen in December. They sat the king down and started to question him.

Blake asked the king, "What were you doing on the night of December 3rd?"

King Charles replied nervously "Well, I was umm... helping out my daughter and her husband fill out adoption paperwork."

Jane said, "Are you positive that you were with your daughter that night?"

The king had starting sweating and replied, "Yes, I’m positive."

Blake and Jane then asked him the whereabouts of his daughter because they needed to speak with her. Blake then told the king, "Anne is FBI’s most wanted."

Author’s Note: I read the story of a princess, Cannetella. In the story, the king wished for her daughter to marry and she did not want to, but the king wanted an heir to the throne. She then wished for a man of a gold head and gold teeth. She got her wish and lived a miserable life with her king husband. The king's cooper helped her sneak back to the castle. Her husband heard of the news and went to find her at her old castle with her family. He was then killed after they found out he was there.

In the original story Cannetella is pretty terrible and the king is loving. In my story I made Anne a sympathetic character and made the king the villain, but he is still loving and protective over his family. I wanted to make this change in order to produce a plot twist at the end of my storybook. Since Anne wasn't originally the best character to start out with, she endured tragic events and received her consequences. I wanted to give her a second chance and achieve good character development.

Bibliography: Andrew Lang, The Grey Fairy Book. Story Source.

Image Credit: Princess at Piqsels