Some love is forbidden, not in a Romeo and Juliet kind of forbidden love, but a plain pure love that is considered wrong. Hard to imagine that love could be considered wrong, but in this case it was. Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess with a wonderful mother and father; her name was Priscilla. One day when Princess Priscilla was very young her precious mother died. The King was heartbroken, but realized that the kingdom needed a Queen. He remarried to a young Princess from the neighboring kingdom, one who was not much older than his own daughter, now sixteen. The new Queens name was Regina, and she was incredibly beautiful, but not quite as beautiful as the princess. The only thing that the young Queen brought with her of her own was a sleek black dagger with rubies embedded in it. Shortly after Regina was brought to the castle, she met the princess, and was taken aback by her beauty, and Priscilla likewise. The young Queen spent much time with Priscilla after their first meeting. They wrote letters back and forth to each other, confessing of their secret love for each other, for the King could never know.
One day in late spring, Priscilla was writing to Regina under the guise of school work. Her father, the King came in, already suspecting of Priscilla of something, not sure what, “What are you working on Priscilla?” the King asked carefully, as he leaned over her shoulder. She tried to hide the letter under her desk saying “Oh just an essay on the different types of poisonous berries.” He saw through her lies and snatched the letter from under her desk. Infuriated by what he read, he went into a fit of rage, and demanded that she be cast out from the castle, “No one in my kingdom will have this sickness!” he cried. Regina was able to step in before the guards through Priscilla out, and told the King she could take care of the problem “I know of a treatment for this. My brother had this problem, we sent him to a special place in the woods. She’ll be good as new!” The King, not wanting to lose his daughter forever, accepted this answer. Regina made secret arrangements for her to be taken care of in the forest, by her dear friends. And so Priscilla was cast out of the castle.
As the years went by, Regina would visit her to report back to the King what progress she was making. She would bring gifts of Lace, and combs and sweets that she was not able to find out in the forest. Priscilla was treated well by her lovers’ friends, and they grew fond of each other. Word of Priscilla began to spread to other Kingdoms, and a Prince heard of the fair maiden in the forest. Assuming he would be able to “cure” her of her sickness he went on a journey to find her. One day, when Regina was visiting, she brought her apples from the King, as a gesture of his good faith. Priscilla took one bite of the apple and fell over as if dead. Regina went to her side, but before she could determine if she was still alive, the Prince arrived. Not wanting to be seen, Regina ran back to the King. Regina mourned Priscilla, and could not be consoled. She looked to her dagger she brought from home, and decided it was finally time to use it. She took the dagger and plunged it into her heart.
The very moment Regina took her own life, the Prince was able to dislodge the apple piece from Priscilla’s throat, seemingly bringing her back to life. Priscilla came to, asking for Regina, but the Prince could not tell her what happen to her. The Prince knew where Priscilla came from, so he took her back to the castle to ask her father for her hand in marriage. The King of course agreed, assuming that she had been cured, especially considering Regina was dead. The very next day, the Prince took Priscilla to his Kingdom to be wed, but tragically, he died on the way there of mysterious causes. The King, oblivious to this turn of events was in the process of writing a story to commemorate his reign, speaking of an evil step mother casting out his very own daughter. Priscilla returned to the castle, unbeknownst to the king, and slipped into the kitchen to put to use her knowledge of berries. Within a week, three royals were dead, one by her own hand, and two, we may never know the truth behind their deaths. As for Priscilla, she ruled the Kingdom with a steady firm hand, never to marry, but she kept many friends. It is said that forbidden love is the kind that never leaves, that sticks around even when no one wants it.