“Once upon a time, there was a handsome prince, th
e handsomest prince in all the land. In a lot of ways, the prince was lucky beyond measure. He had a strong family, feared and respected throughout the land, plentiful riches so he never wanted for anything gold coins could buy, and he was blessed with such beautiful looks that the ladies in the kingdom sought him out so he never had to be alone. The prince was also intelligent and generally observant, but he had one weakness.”
“What’s his weakness? Is it chocolate? Or poisoned apples?” a boisterous brunette girl demands from the row of Morelli children in front of me.
The older, dark-haired girl whose lap the little one is sitting in shushes her. “Quiet, Rosalie, let her tell her story.”
I smile faintly at the interruption and go on. “For all his good qualities, the prince wasn’t infallible. He could be tricked, just like anyone else. One day, he was riding his steed through the forest and he happened upon a beautiful—but evil—enchantress. She wanted the prince’s kingdom for herself, so she pretended to be a harmless maiden. She tricked the prince into falling in love with her, and once she had his heart in her possession, she cast a spell on it so he could never fall out of love.”
“Poor Prince Charming,” a little blonde girl murmurs, shaking her head.
“The evil enchantress made the prince unhappy, but for reasons he didn’t even understand, he couldn’t stop loving her,” I tell them.
“It’s because of the spell,” Rosalie puts in helpfully.
“That’s right,” I agree, nodding. “But then one day a more powerful prince from a nearby kingdom took an interest in the enchantress. Thirsting for power, she left the handsome prince for her new suitor, but she took the prince’s heart with her!”
Rosalie’s hands fly over her mouth. “Oh no!”
“So, for many years, the handsome prince tried to move on with his life, but he couldn’t fall in love. He met a lot of new maidens, smart and talented and funny maidens, but as much as he liked them, he was still trapped under the spell of the evil enchantress. Time went on and the old king died, so the prince had to take over caring for the people of his kingdom. The handsome prince became a handsome king, and he became all-powerful in his little corner of the world. There were parties in the kingdom, for the prince was well-loved among his subjects.”
“Hey, we’re at a party!” Rosalie pipes in.
“Rosalie,” the dark-haired girl says again, shooting me an apologetic look. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I assure her, smiling. “You like the story, don’t you?” I ask Rosalie.
“Yeah,” she says, nodding vigorously.
“So, anyway, news that the handsome prince was now a powerful king traveled across all the kingdoms, and can you guess who heard about it?”
“Who?” Rosalie asks.
“The evil enchantress,” the blonde girl guesses.
“That’s right, the evil enchantress! Now the handsome prince she left behind had more power than the man she left him for. Seeing an opportunity to have even more power for herself, the mean-hearted woman came back to the kingdom of… Vegasia. She went straight to the castle to see the newly crowned king, to profess her love for him.”
“She loves him now?” Rosalie demands.
“No, not really. She’s just pretending to love him, hoping he will love her again, that way she can reign beside him as queen and abuse his power. She’s a piece of work, this enchantress.” I’m getting off on a tangent, so I wave it off. “Anyway, the strapping king rejects her advances and banishes her from the castle, but the enchantress doesn’t give up. She never gives up. Now that she has her sights set on the handsome king, nothing will stop her from having him. Meanwhile, the handsome king had to choose a future wife to rule beside him. He chose a beautiful princess from a nearby kingdom named Laurelia. She wasn’t super sure she wanted to be a queen, and even though she very much liked the king, she knew he didn’t love her and she couldn’t understand why.”
“Poor Laurelia,” the blonde girl offers.
“Yeah, but she was all right. She had a lot going on in her life. She wasn’t sobbing in her pillow over some guy, even if he was a king. Hobbies and interests are important. I’m digressing. Anyway, so Princess Laurelia and the handsome king had a beautiful baby boy—a new prince for kingdom! The people rejoiced… all except for the evil enchantress. Knowing that the king would never come back to her if he had a family with someone else, the conniving enchantress hatched a plot to steal their baby and take him away so the king would never see him again!”
Another child, not one of Mia and Mateo’s brood, raises a hand. “Wouldn’t Laurelia be the queen now? You said princess.”
Everyone’s a critic. I shake my head at him. “They’re not married.”
“But they have a baby,” he points out.
“Correct. Anyway, the enchantress sent her minions to infiltrate the castle, turning the king’s most trusted advisor against him. Like the handsome king had so long ago, the advisor fell in love with the evil enchantress.”
“She’s so mean. What’s so great about her?” the blonde girl demands. “These guys need to wake up. I hate the enchantress.”
“So do I,” I assure her. “What’s your name? I like the way you think.”
Her cheeks pinken and she says a little more shyly, “Lily.”