Chapter 1: Once Upon a Time
The Dancing Princesses
a/n: Ahem. I really have no business starting another new story, but I blame Sienna and Kavi. In the TV Episode Title Bonus Challenge #7 subtopic, Kavi requested someone re-write a fairy tale using the characters from Criminal Minds. I thought, "oh, cute idea," and promptly forgot about it. Then, last night, I started thinking about fairy tales...and this whole thing just hit me. It's not technically a Disney movie as Kavi requested, but I hope she doesn't mind. :)
I'm re-telling "The 12 Dancing Princesses," in case you can't tell from the title. If you've never read it or unfamiliar with the story, you can Google it and read a quick version on ye olde Wiki. I've made some changes, of course, but it's still the story.
Please review me if you like what you're reading thus far. :)
Disclaimer: I own neither the characters of Criminal Minds nor "The 12 Dancing Princesses." Thanks to Jeff Davis et al. and...the Brothers Grimm, I guess, for creating them and letting me play. :)
Chapter 1: Once Upon a Time...
Prompt: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - "Doppelgangland"
Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.
-C.S. Lewis
"Tell it again, Daddy, tell it again!" the little boy demanded, his round face beaming with excitement.
"Again? Don't you think it's bedtime?"
"Not yet, Daddy! Just one more time!"
The father smiled indulgently and pulled his small son closer. "Very well, but just once more. Then bed."
"Then bed, promise!" he agreed eagerly.
The father paused as though trying to remember the story his son so urgently requested. "Ah, I've got it. Once upon a time in a faraway land-"
"Daddy!" the boy said, trying to stifle his giggles. "It happened right here!"
"Well, yes," the father agreed reasonably, "you know that and I know that, but other people don t. And isn't this how all the stories are supposed to start?"
The little face scrunched thoughtfully. "I guess so," he decided at last.
"Right, then. Shall I tell it, or is it bedtime?"
"Tell it!"
"As you wish, young prince." He cleared his throat dramatically and began again. "Once upon a time in a faraway land (though we all know it wasn't very far away at all), there lived four beautiful princesses..."
"Prince Morgan, welcome! We are so pleased to have you. We assume you're here to seek the hand of one of our lovely daughters?"
The tall, well-built young man bowed, his cocoa-colored eyes brightening as he smiled. "Your Majesty honors her humble servant," he replied in a tone that implied more self-satisfied assurance than humility. "It is my privilege to accept the challenge you've offered. I will discover where your daughters are going every night, and how they manage to evade your sharp-eyed guards."
The queen raised a brow; regarded the man before her with some skepticism. "Many men have made similar claims, young Morgan. No one has succeeded."
"Yet, gracious Majesty; no one has yet succeeded."
She conceded his point with a slight incline of her blond, perfectly coifed head. "Very well. I suppose you would like to meet my daughters?"
He bowed again. "As her Majesty wishes."
This man was scandalously arrogant, but somehow charming in spite of it. In the queen's experience, though, arrogance was the last thing one needed to win this particular challenge. "Follow me," she said at last.
The two set off through the palace's winding maze of corridors, and she spoke to him over her shoulder. "You know the rules, I presume?"
He nodded shortly. "The lady princesses are dancing through their slippers every night, despite being locked into their rooms. My job is to discover where they're going and how they're getting past the locked door. If I do so to your Majesty's satisfaction within three nights, I may choose one of the lovely young ladies as my bride."
Satisfied, she quickened her pace. "This is my daughters' room," she announced grandly. They had stopped before an elaborately carved door with an intricate lock. "Since my husband the king's untimely passing, I've been forced to be...protective...of my girls. Many men would seek to take advantage of an eligible young princess."
"The world is full of scoundrels, your Majesty," he agreed gravely.
"Of which you, of course, are not one," she replied archly.
He bowed his head. "Never, Majesty."
"Hhmm," she replied. Without further ado, she pushed the door open to reveal an elegantly appointed room. Since it was shared by four young women, however, it wasn't the neatest space he had ever beheld. Clothing, books, shoes, hairbrushes, and various other feminine accoutrements were scattered hither and yon. One woman, a pretty blond, was sitting at a vanity combing her long, golden hair. When she caught sight of her mother and the prince, she slowly turned from the mirror and rose.
"Mother," she said in an elegant, cultured voice, "I see you've brought another intrepid adventurer."
"Don't be glib, Jennifer; it's unbecoming. Where are your sisters?"
"Here, Mother," a low-pitched female voice said. "As ever, we're all here."
The queen rolled her eyes in exasperation, but she couldn't help a small smile of pride as her four daughters gathered for the prince's inspection. "My lovely daughters," she told him graciously, "Emily, Elle, Penelope, and Jennifer."
He eyed them all thoroughly, taking careful note of which name went with which face. Emily was the eldest; tall, graceful, with nearly black hair and equally dark eyes, she had looks to match the intriguing voice he'd just heard. Elle was next, also a brunette, but with exotic features and full, pouting lips. Penelope was third, and her outfit made him smile: bright red skirt, blindingly yellow blouse, and a large flower tucked into her blond ringlets. Jennifer, the youngest, was probably also the most traditionally lovely, with dark blue eyes and a sweet, heart-shaped face. He couldn't go wrong with any of the four, and his mouth curved in a delighted smile as he contemplated his bright, bright future.
"Ever felt like a cow at market?" Elle asked her elder sister from the corner of her mouth.
Emily had to stifle a laugh lest their mother notice. She poked her sister in the back in an attempt to quiet her. "He'll be easy," she muttered. "He thinks he has this in the bag."
"My favorite kind," Elle murmured back.
"Doesn't stand a chance," Penelope agreed with an evil little grin.
Bright and early three mornings later the queen was awakened by her steward bearing breakfast. The two had a familiar, comfortable relationship dating back nearly twenty years, and he was one of the few people who could weather her wrath. "How did our latest young prince fair?" she asked him as he served the light meal.
"Ah, well," he began, making quite a production of pouring juice and arranging pillows.
"Pierre?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in that way all her servants had come to dread.
"Yes, madam, it seems...it seems he departed quite suddenly. At dawn."
The queen set down her spoon. Her ice-blue eyes glinted. "And the princesses?"
"Still in their room, Majesty."
"And their slippers?"
He fidgeted. "Danced through...again," he whispered.
She closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. "Very well," she stated at last, "send out the proclamation again. Surely there s someone in this realm who can discover where my daughters go every night!"
The steward sighed, bowed, and removed her tray. At the door he paused. "Erin, Majesty, if I may be so bold-"
"You may not, Pierre. I know what's best for my daughters. Now go find me someone who can end this madness!"
In case you haven't figured it out, Strauss is the queen. I hate just overtly stating things in the course of the narrative, so I just dropped lil hints. Like her name.