She was a princess once upon a time. In an age where kings and queens ruled over the world this young maiden dreamed about a prince charming only for her, and a happily ever after. The kingdom of her father was small but wealthy, and she was raised as the epitome of grace and kindness, loved by all the population.
Those dreams became true when a prince from a smaller kingdom proposed, and to her delight her father accepted the deal, engaging the two royals. In the following months the two were inseparable, and even if he was a bit rude or unrefined as a noble, she didn’t care as long as he loved her as deeply as she loved him.
Many night the bold princess escaped from her father’s clutches to reunite with her prince, and many night the pair spent together in passion inside a cabin outside the castle walls sharing their love with one another.
But even the best dreams have to end at some point, and this happened when the prince cancelled the engagement, leaving the tear streaked maiden alone in the caste gardens. The king, not knowing how deeply invested the two were with each other thought nothing of it, while the princess felt used and betrayed by her lover, that left her suddenly for an unspecified reason.
After a week the decision of the prince became more clear, with the heralds announcing the wedding of the princess of a larger and mightier neighborhood kingdom with her former lover, to the consternation of the girl.
She heard the rumor surrounding the other maiden and met with her previously, the other princess wasn’t more beautiful, she was spoiled and a bit vain, so she could not understand how her lover left for such a girl. The answer was made clear when in her investigation she discovered how the father of the other princess vowed to wed the two and make heir his new son in law.
Of course, the princess realized with a sense of dread, in my kingdom brother would inherit the throne after father’s passing. All this time, all our love… Only a stepping stone to rise on a higher position, with the goal of becoming king one way or another. For all the talks about honor and chivalry all her prince craved at the end of the day was more power and authority, and she would have been the one to deliver it to him if he didn’t chase another wench.
In that moment her hearth broke completely, and a monster would emerge from the shards. Perhaps a more centered woman would have learnt the lesson and would be more careful of men from that moment, but this girl was angry and hurt, and in an anger fueled moment threw the first gift he gave her, a golden ring, into the dresser, destroying it in an unexpected blaze of fire.
As the princess gaped at the flames still present on the pieces of woods remained, her eyes glanced speculatively at her hand, where now little embers flicked and disappeared at her whims. Magic, her mind supplied stunned, a forbidden art… And exactly what she needed to exact her revenge.
Love can be a strong force to encourage someone, and when this girl saw hers denied she became disillusioned with the world, and even more hateful toward men in general.
She would reveal all the princes as the beast that they were really with her new powers, for better or for worse…
First she needed to master her abilities away from prying eyes, and a forest in a nearby nation was the perfect spot for her experiments, with the reputation as a haunted place.
The young maiden disappeared in the night, never to be heard or seen in her birth kingdom, to reemerge years later as the wicked witch of the forest, bane of the unwary. She built a stone tower in the hearth of the enchanted woods, her safe place as long as she never made too much waves. Her crusade against the royals of the nearby territories started with the kidnapping of a noble girl from her bedroom, challenging all the knights of the realm to rescue the maiden from her fortress.
After all the sorceress needed a bait to lure all the unsuspecting princes in her clutches… And as for her former lover, now husband of that other girl? His punishment would be exemplary…