by Sam Mariano
Sighing, Julie knew she was going to give in, but she still managed to say, "You should be sleeping right now, young lady."
"Just real quick?" Alyssa begged.
Julie shook her head as she took a seat on the edge of Alyssa's bed, smiling reluctantly at her impish daughter. "It's a good thing you're adorable."
"And smart," Alyssa added. "Daddy says my brain is important."
"Of course it is, but Daddy also wants to brainwash you before you're of age to date."
"I'm never gonna date unless I meet a boy like Daddy," Alyssa stated firmly.
"At six and a half you've decided?" Julie asked, amused.
"Yep," Alyssa said, nodding. "I wanna marry someone just like him."
"Well, I sincerely hope you do," Julie stated. "But I hope he has less money, because then maybe he won't have to work so late all the time."
Frowning, Alyssa nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I don't think my husband should work, that way he can be home with us all the time."
Nodding, Julie said, "We'll have to find you a trust-fund baby."
Tilting her head to the side, Alyssa appeared to be confused, but she didn't say anything more about it.
"Okay, enough stalling," Julie stated. "I'm going to tell you a story and then you're going to go straight to sleep—no more arguments."
Nodding eagerly, Alyssa said, "Okay!"
"Long ago in a kingdom far, far away, there lived a young maiden—”
"A princess," Alyssa cut in.
"No, she isn't a princess yet," Julie corrected. "She's a young maiden."
"A fair maiden," Alyssa countered.
Raising an eyebrow, Julie said, "Would you like to tell the story yourself?"
"No," she said, rolling her eyes and nestling back into her pillows.
Julie nodded and then she went on. "Long ago in a kingdom far, far away, there lived a lovely young maiden named Juliet," she said, compromising on the maiden's description. "The maiden's mother had died when she was very young, and her father had remarried a very unpleasant woman. She had a son whom she favored very much, and he was a spoiled, rotten boy named Jack. Growing up, Jack would always pick on young Juliet, pulling her pigtails," Julie said, reaching out and lightly tugging a lock of Alyssa's long brown hair, "and pushing her in the mud when Juliet's father wasn't looking.”
"Why didn't his mom yell at him?" Alyssa asked, even though she already knew the answer.
"Well, she wasn't a very nice person," Julie explained. "And she didn't really like Juliet, so she thought it was funny when Jack would pick on her."
Rolling her eyes, Alyssa said, "I never like Jack."
Smiling wryly, Julie said, "I've never liked Jack either. Now, back to the story…"
Alyssa became instantly attentive again, listening eagerly for the next part.
"For years Juliet had to endure Jack's torment in her father's absences, and she never said a word to him about it, not wanting to upset him. But then one day when Juliet's father was out working in the kingdom, something terrible happened."
"He died," Alyssa stated, yawning.
"Well, yes. There was a carriage accident—”
"And he got runned over and died," Alyssa summarized. "I want to hear about the grumpy knight," she said impatiently.
"You're rushing me, child," Julie complained. "But you're right, it's getting later by the minute. Let's speed this thing up…"
"After Juliet's father died, the treatment of the stepmother and the wicked stepbrother got even worse. Since her father wasn’t there, there was no one to stop Jack from tormenting Juliet all the time. One day Jack made Juliet come with him out into the woods so that she could carry all the wood he could find for their fireplace—”
"He's the boy," Alyssa cut in, "Jack should be carrying the wood."
"Yes, well, Jack made Juliet carry all the wood. Carrying all the heavy wood made Juliet very tired and thirsty, so when they came upon a spring she asked if she could stop for a drink. 'No,' Jack told her, 'you may not drink from the spring.' So Juliet didn't stop for a drink, she just continued to carry the wood. It seemed she was carrying it for a very long time, but she thought that was just because the wood was so heavy. Then Juliet began to notice it was getting dark. Jack and Juliet were never supposed to be out in the woods alone after dark, because it was dangerous."
"Why was it dangerous?" Alyssa asked with a smile, because she already knew.
"Well, there were bandits," Julie explained.
Grinning, Alyssa said, "What happened to Jack and Juliet in the woods?"
"Well, when the sun finally disappeared out of the sky, Juliet realized that Jack didn't know where they were, and that was why he was making her carry the wood around everywhere."
"He should've asked for directions," Alyssa stated.
Nodding, Julie agreed. "Silly Jack."
Then, continuing on with the story, Julie said, "Suddenly Juliet heard the sound of horses galloping up the pathway, and she knew it must be the bandits!"
"Oh no!"
Nodding, Julie said, "So as the horses got closer, Juliet and Jack both got scared. Juliet knew she couldn't run with the wood, so she put the wood down by the side of the path and ran, hoping to get out of sight before the bandits came. 'Stupid girl,' Jack hissed at her. 'Mother will be upset if we come home without the wood.' But before Juliet could even respond, the horses were so close that she knew they must be right behind her. 'Stay with the wood,' Jack said, shoving Juliet in the direction of the wood pile and jumping behind a big bush so the bandits wouldn't see him. But the driver yelled out, stopping the horses. Juliet had been spotted!"
"What happened next, Mommy?" Alyssa asked, bouncing a little.
"Well, as it turned out, it wasn't the bandits."
"Who was it?"
"It was the prince of Juliet's kingdom, traveling home after his visit to a nearby kingdom. When he saw Juliet discarded carelessly by the side of the road, he stopped. Prince Marcus was his name, and as he climbed out of the carriage, looking Juliet over, he asked, 'Why are you alone in the woods at this late hour?' Juliet was afraid—she didn't know who he was or if Jack would get mad at her if she told the man that she wasn't alone out there—would they look for him, too?—so instead she merely said, 'I was gathering some wood for my fire and I got lost.' The prince raked an appraising look over her, saying, 'Lost, you say? Where do you live, girl? Where are your parents?' Juliet was quiet for a moment, unsure of what to tell him, and then she finally said, 'I have no parents, sir.'"
"Poor Juliet," Alyssa said. "I like the story where she does have parents, Mommy."
"Well, I'll tell you that version tomorrow, but it's too late to change it now."
"Okay," Alyssa agreed easily. "I just want to get to the good part."
Shaking her head, Julie said, "You are so impatient. Fine. Back to the story."
Nodding, Alyssa grabbed her raggedy old Build-A-Bear from beside her and cuddled it close, leaning a little more heavily into the pillow, her eyes beginning to get a sleepy gleam. "Pay attention, Poppy Seed," she whispered to her bear.
"Since Juliet had no family, Prince Marcus told her to come in the carriage with him and he would try to get her a guest room in the castle, and he would even try to find her a job as a maid. So Juliet went with the prince, leaving Jack hiding in the bushes."
"I'm glad. I really don't like him," Alyssa told her mother.
Smiling, Julie went on. "Back at the castle Juliet grows fond of Prince Marcus as he arranges for the seamstresses to make her a new dress—one that isn't torn and sewn carefully out of old rags and potato sacks. Prince Marcus seems very nice to Juliet, and he also arranges for her to help out in the kitchen, and in exchange they let her stay in an old abandoned room near the tower. She and Prince Marcus become friends, and in the afternoons he even takes her out and teaches her to ride his horse."
Unable to ignore the instinct to interrupt, Alyssa said, "The first time you told me this story, I really wan
ted Juliet to marry Prince Marcus."'
Ignoring her precious little interruption, Julie went on with the story. "After living at the kingdom and visiting with the prince all the time, Juliet began to fall in love with the prince."
"Nooo," Alyssa whined. "She isn't going to marry him, is she? Where's the grumpy knight, Mommy?"
"Be patient, child," Julie reprimanded.
"I'm gonna be real mad if she marries the wrong guy this time."
Biting back a chuckle, Julie decided to speed the story up and save her daughter from an anxiety attack. "So one day Juliet and Prince Marcus are out gathering flowers in the field, laughing and playing and having a grand old time—”
"And he kisses her," Alyssa stated, wrinkling up her nose in displeasure.
Sighing, Julie said, "Daughter, I love you from your head to your toes, but you are completely butchering my fairy tale."
"I don't want Prince Marcus kissing my Juliet," Alyssa said protectively.
Rolling her eyes, Julie fast forwarded. "Later that day after he kisses her in the field," she said, despite Alyssa's grimace, "visitors arrive at the castle. There is much excitement as the servants buzz around the castle, preparing for a feast, a celebration. Juliet has no idea what they're celebrating, but before she knows it she's swept into the kitchen, helping wash and prepare potatoes for dinner. Juliet is still thinking about her afternoon with the prince, however, so she walks around, dreamily helping to prepare for the big feast, not even curious as to what it's for. Juliet was in her own little world, dreaming of Prince Marcus."
Alyssa sighed, still looking displeased.
"Later that evening there was a big feast in the dining hall, and for the first time Juliet got to see the visitors. As the feast was served and Prince Marcus sat at the head of the table, smiling and looking as handsome as ever, Juliet was ever so surprised by the beautiful visitor who entered the hall. The visitor was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair that glistened like the sun as it fell down her back. She wore an elaborate purple dress, with jewels worth enough money to feed Juliet's kingdom for a year. 'Welcome, Princess Emily,' called out the troubadour as he began singing songs to celebrate her beauty. Just then the king stood up, raising his glass and causing the entire hall to fall silent. 'This feast is in celebration of my son Marcus and his betrothal to the lovely Princess Emily. May they both have much happiness and be blessed with many beautiful children.'"
"Poor Juliet," Alyssa said again, shaking her head.
"Juliet couldn't believe what she heard! Prince Marcus had just kissed her earlier that day when they were gathering flowers—how could he be engaged to marry someone else? But he was smiling as he sat at the table, and he smiled at Princess Emily as she took her seat next to him, picking up the glass next to his and toasting him before she took a drink.
"Unable to watch any longer, Juliet ran from the dining hall, and she was so distraught that she couldn't think, so she just kept on running and running, wanting to get away from the celebration, away from Prince Marcus, away from the beautiful princess who would be his bride. Juliet ran fast even though she had started to cry, so she couldn't see very well through her tears. When she finally ran out of breath she did stop, but she had been running for so long that she realized she didn't know where she was. Juliet was lost and alone in the woods, and as she looked at the sky, she realized it was beginning to get dark."
"Uh oh," Alyssa said with a sleepy little smile as she forced her eyes to stay open.
"Juliet tried to find her way back to the castle, but it was getting very dark very fast. Still, Juliet was determined to find her way back." Then, switching the mood, Julie took on a more suspenseful tone. "But then something very bad happened. Juliet heard the hoof beats of horses coming her way, and she hoped that it was the castle guards so they could help her find her way back home…"
"But it wasn't," Alyssa supplied.
"Nope," Julie said, shaking her head. "It was the bandits! When they saw Juliet, they immediately jumped from their horses. 'What have we here?' asked the first bandit, walking in a circle around her as he appraised her dress to see if it held any value. Seeing that her dress was fashioned of a rich fabric, the bandit decided she must be at least a little bit important, and he decided to kidnap Juliet and hold her for ransom. Juliet was having none of that, and she kicked and screamed as the bandits tried to shove her into the carriage, demanding that they let her go. 'Ouch, why'd you do that?' asked the second bandit as she kicked him, and Juliet paused, thinking his voice sounded oddly familiar. Imagine her surprise when the second bandit turned out to be none other than Jack, her wicked stepbrother! He had heard that the prince was taken with her, so he thought it would be a good idea to capture her and hold her for ransom. Overhearing his discussion with his partner, Juliet stopped fighting to get free and told him instead, 'You're wasting your time. The prince is marrying someone else; he won't pay your ransom to get me back.' But Jack and the other bandit didn't listen to her, they just stuffed her in the carriage despite her protests.
"In the distance, Juliet could hear another set of hoofs, and Jack and his partner got nervous, saying, 'Hurry up, it could be the guards!' So Juliet waited until the hoof beats came closer, and then she took a breath, leaned toward the carriage window and began screaming for help."
Since Alyssa was getting tired, she had to sit up so she could at least stay awake through her favorite part of the story.
"Jack immediately silenced her, but not before she cried out for help and said that she was being kidnapped. Suddenly there was a loud cracking noise and the driver started yelling. The carriage began to slow down, despite Jack yelling for the driver to go faster. 'I can't, sire! The carriage is broke!' The carriage shook then, as if someone had jumped on it—”
"He did," Alyssa said, grinning.
Julie offered a tolerant smile and proceeded with her story. "Jack called out, 'He broke the carriage!' And then, with the carriage coming to a complete halt, Juliet tried to get to the door to climb out, but before she could get to it the door swung open, and there before her in a dashing suit of shining black armor stood a knight, his sword poised to fight if he had to."
"The grumpy knight!" said Alyssa, clapping happily.
"Jack and the other cowardly bandit were shaking in the corner, and Juliet could only stare at the man behind the knight's mask. She couldn't see him, but she was very grateful to him for saving her. So, as any self-respecting maiden would do, she wanted to thank him. 'I am ever so grateful that you stopped to save me, kind sir,' she began. But, to her surprise, the knight seemed to be very impatient. 'Yeah, yeah, yeah,' he said, gesturing for her to climb out of the carriage. 'Come on, I don't have all night. As it is, stopping to save you has made me late for dinner.' Juliet was confused, and she frowned up at her grumpy savior, but she climbed out of the carriage and climbed up on his horse anyway."
Julie heard a soft chuckle from behind her so she stopped, startled, until Alyssa sprung from her bed and went running across her floor barefoot, throwing her arms around Aaron's waist and proclaiming, "Daddy's home!"
Aaron easily lifted her into his arms, giving her a kiss and gazing at her adoringly as he said, "Are you really making your mother tell you the grumpy knight story again?"
"Uh huh," she said with a cheerful nod.
"Don't you ever get tired of it?"
"Nope," Alyssa said, shaking her head vehemently. "It's my favorite story, Daddy."
"It's different every time it's told, how can it be your favorite?" he asked her.
"But it's always kinda the same," she told him. "The grumpy knight always saves Juliet and they always live—”
Aaron covered her mouth, raising his eyebrow and saying, "Now now, you're going to give away the ending." He placed her back down on the ground and looked up at Julie. "Why is she still awake?"
"She conned me into another bedtime story," Julie stated. "Plus, she wanted a kiss from Daddy before she went to sleep."
Shooting Alyssa a look as she climbed into bed, he stated, "That is an excuse, young lady."
"Daddy, come sit down. Mommy's going to finish telling us a story," Alyssa said, patting the bed.
"But I don't have to listen to this story, dear. I already know how it ends," he told her, absently leaning in to give Julie a kiss.
But Julie grinned at him impishly, saying, "You might be surprised."
"All right, but hurry it up. I would like to see my daughter asleep before midnight and my wife… at least in bed. I'll tell you a bedtime story," he told her, smirking.
"Ooh," Julie said, returning a playful smile. "Okay, where was I?"
"The grumpy knight saved Juliet from Jack and told her she made him late to dinner."
"He's a nice guy," Aaron remarked dryly.
Smiling, Julie said, "He can be. Anyway, after saving Juliet he whisks her up to the castle. As it turns out, the grumpy knight was on his way to the celebratory feast. Once they're back at the castle Juliet remembers why she ran away in the first place, and the news of Prince Marcus's engagement."
"He shouldn't have kissed her if he was gonna marry some other girl," Alyssa stated, shaking her head.
"No, he shouldn't have," Aaron agreed. "Prince Marcus is an idiot."
"Aaron," Julie said in the same tone she used to scold Alyssa.
"Go on," he said, rolling his eyes.
"Not all princes are good," Julie allowed. "But some of them are. Those are the ones you want to live happily ever after with. Now, back to the story…
"With the news of Prince Marcus and his engagement to Princess Emily, Juliet didn't feel comfortable working at the castle anymore. The servants had known of her involvement with Prince Marcus, and when word finally got back to Princess Emily she was very angry, and ordered Prince Marcus to send Juliet away. The prince agreed, and Juliet realized that he was not the prince she thought she loved, because he wouldn't send her away…"
Stealing a glance at her husband, Julie noticed that even in the fairy tale, his face bore signs of vague irritation.
