Three little princesses, what happened to them?
Three little princesses, now lost to the realm.

It all happened long ago, in a kingdom far and away, in a great white castle called Dawn of the Golden Day. An aging King and Queen lamented for they could not produce an heir, and though blessed with three healthy daughters, could only despair. Whispers of curses spread from the palace to the fishing bays, with each stillborn prince the nurses wrapped and took away. And thus, the three sisters grew up, pampered but forgotten. All but lost in their own bubble, strangers to maternal affection. And though their temperaments were as far apart as could be, their bond was stronger than blood, their love deeper than the sea.

First was Amber the Great, the eldest and fairest of the three, renowned throughout the kingdom for her breathtaking beauty. Vain and entitled, she believed she was divinely chosen, more deserving than those who missed out on good fortune. And for the exception of the two sisters she loved so dearly, she felt only contempt toward anyone different and thus deemed unworthy.

Then was Onyx the Cursed, the ill-fated middle child, forever rendered infamous for her unspeakable plight. Plain and mild-tempered, she’d grown up in Amber’s shadow, and met the most dreadful end following a life of sorrow. So obsessed she was with the image of her sister, that she struggled to nurture her fading reflection in the mirror.

And lastly was Amethyst the Pure, the youngest and kindest of the three. She spent her entire life doting on her unusual family. And while she found great joy in replenishing the cups of others, she could never quite master how to be her own cupbearer. Warm to friends and strangers alike, she was beloved by the people, and she went down in the books as the kingdom’s true lost jewel.

Three little princesses, what happened to them?
Three little princesses, now lost to the realm.
Oh, but haven’t you heard? They went to the Wishing Well,
And one after the other, each sister fell.

The Gods, it seemed, would grant consolation to the King and Queen. And on this first day of spring, the court had much to celebrate: a royal wedding had been announced, securing at last the kingdom’s fate. Amber the Great had finally met a suitor who appealed to her refined taste; a rich and handsome prince from a powerful neighboring state. The Dawn of the Golden Day would unite with the Sword of the Silver Snake, and together, they would rule all the land, from the barren desert down to Remembrance Lake.

But there were those who believed that the seemingly fortunate union was nothing but the beginning of the end. And that the daughters of the King were sent to face a force with which they could not contend. For in the old orchard, just on the kingdom’s border, where the luster of gold met with the shine of silver; There was an ancient olive tree, said to be as old as the earth, concealing within its trunk a well of unquantifiable worth. It was the granter of wishes known as the Wishing Well, where the Queen herself was rumored to have once traded her blood for a spell.

The Wishing Well was known by many names; the trickster, the monster, the all-seeing mirror. For it looked deeply into the heart and conscience of its summoner. And depending on what it saw, it complied differently with the bidding, though always gave fair warning about meddling with fates and spitting on life’s offerings.

With the wedding only a few weeks away, the bride-to-be was sent to meet with her fiancé. The King’s carriage stopped for the night at a hostel by the border, where young Amber decided to go for a stroll in the old orchard. She was unable to sleep, so excited was she, and before she knew it, she’d awakened the old spirit in the Olive tree.

“Good evening, stranger. You may now tell me your greatest desire. And if it’s in me to give, I shall offer you the world on a platter. But do take heed that I am a servant of Spirit, and if your heart is impure, your wish will only lead to what you truly merit.” 

Amber thought and thought, aware of the hazard. She wanted all for herself, and had not a kind thought for another. “Take them away, and away, let them stay,” she said. “I want nothing and no one to spoil my luxurious wedding day. Remove the sick, the poor, the old, and the unappealing. Let my kingdom only reflect what’s to my level or my liking. I do not want to see their ugliness anymore, nor be forced to listen to their complaints. As a future queen, I should not have to scoop down to interact with these mongrels ever again.”

The Well, unhappy, grunted and responded, “Beware, child of fortune, before you think yourself immune to the world’s dangers, for you may very well, one day, also depend on the kindness of strangers.”      

“Do you think it pleases me,” Amber answered, “having to ask for such things? Can’t these savages take care of themselves, instead of always begging from the King? I do not wish them harmed, just cast away from my land.”

“But how will they survive,” the Well asked, “sent empty-handed into the sand? With no food or water, how could they possibly live?”

“My duty is to myself. Mercy is for God, and not mine to give.”

“Very well, very well. You’ve now wished your wish, from the Wishing Well,
Beware, beware, wisher of spells, for the heaven you seek may truly bring you hell.
You wish for a kingdom where the evils of injustice can no longer reach you,
But you forget that it is the very source of your privilege that now offends you.
Instead of righting the wrong, you wish its victims to be silenced and shunned away,
So you may continue to live unbothered while families starve day after day.
The cost of your selfishness is but the blood of innocents,
And yet, the deaths of children is nothing to you but a nuisance.
For all the blessings you’ve received, you’ve lost your way and your soul,
And traded basic human decency for diversion and gold.

“So you never have to bear witness to the pain of others, I shall take your sight,
And take your hearing, too, lest a wailing orphan awakens you in the night.
I will also take your voice, so you’re never to speak with unfortunate souls again,
And thus keep you separate for good from those you so deeply disdain.
Do not say you’ve not been warned, for I have told you I belong to Spirit.
And the laws of the Universe, through me, you will be made to inherit.”

Blind, deaf, and mute, the terrified princess ran away in the darkness. And this was the last the kingdom ever heard of young Amber and her supposed greatness.

Three little princesses, what happened to them?
Three little princesses, now lost to the realm.
Oh, but haven’t you heard? They went to the Wishing Well,
And one after the other, each sister fell.
Each went to the Well and did not heed its advice.
Each made her wish, and each paid the price.

With her older sister missing and unaccounted for, Onyx was offered as a replacement. For the wedding to proceed was the sole concern of the power-hungry parents. And to make matters worse, Silver Snake’s Prince was renowned for his superficiality, and to compensate for Onyx’s lacking looks, the King begrudgingly doubled the dowry.

And so, the princess left, bearing gifts and dripping with jewelry from head to toe. And on her way to her betrothed, she, too, met with greed’s oldest foe. The Well patiently explained to her the rules as it had for her elder sister, but if the two siblings shared one trait, it was their disregard for the welfare of others. Onyx explained to the Well, trying to justify herself:

“My entire life, I’ve been made to feel less than,
My days of being a victim must come to an end.
I, too, was born of regal blood. I only ask for my fair share,
Don’t you understand to whose beauty I will be compared?
Let the Prince fall for me, how or why is not my concern,
I must have his undying love, even if the world must come to burn.
I’ve spent my life in the shadows. Don’t I deserve some happiness, too?
I’ve not asked you to harm anyone, just give me my proper dues.”

To which the Well responded:

“Oh, dear child of woe, have you not learned a thing?
Suffering is but a part of life, familiar to both peasants and kings,
The mark of a victor is not the lack of hardship nor the laurels gained,
But to understand that his greatest triumph is the empathy he retained.

“But, alas, I see you seek not advice but look for a quick solution,
So rarely do we acknowledge the part we play in our misfortune.
Do not fear. I shall grant your wish and provide you with a spell,
But beware how you use it, for treachery seldom ends well.
With these words, the Prince will lie at your feet as a helpless dog,
And so, he shall lose all free will, lost in eternal fog.
Every night, by his bed, repeat this incantation in his sleeping ear.
But ‘tis your last warning; for every cheat, doom is always near.”

From cradle to grave, from Master to slave,
For these words whispered shall awaken the flame,
Conjuring my face in the call of your name.
Your world of reason shall no longer be,
Nor there be a haven for you to flee.
Like shadow to light, you shall be bound,
Forsaking your people, family, and crown.
For my love alone, you shall live and yearn,
And away from my arms, only crave to return,
Only by my side, will you know peace and replenish,
You shall love me or despair, seek me or perish.

Armed with words on paper, Onyx found the confidence to meet her future family. Her face concealed behind a veil, she insisted on one point, and one point only: Until the wedding night, her features had to remain unseen. Invoking piousness, she parroted virtue to enable her scheme.

Thus, the matrimonial vows were exchanged, and the spell uttered that first night, the Prince becoming both King to the realm and slave to his deceitful wife. Without guilt or qualm, Onyx enjoyed her lover’s unconditional devotion, though grasping fully well the cost he bore for his obsession.

The new King soon became nothing more than a pitiful puppet, leaving his affairs unattended and his kingdom neglected. On the brink of war and famine, the people at last revolted. Storming into the Castle, they hunted down its failed rulers: They put the King to the sword and took the foreign Queen prisoner. Accused of sorcery, Onyx finally admitted her grave mistake. She was deemed guilty of high treason, and thrown bound and gagged down Remembrance Lake.

And thus, Onyx the Cursed was lost to the world. A bud crushed in its infancy, the princess that could’ve been but now would never be.

Three little princesses, what happened to them?
Three little princesses, now lost to the realm.
Oh, but haven’t you heard? They went to the Wishing Well,
And one after the other, each sister fell.
Each went to the Well and did not heed its advice.
Each made her wish, and each paid the price.
First was Amber with the emerald eyes but a heart of stone,
Then went Onyx, the lost specter who could never come into her own.

The horrible news did not take long to travel back to Golden Day’s King and Queen; The Sword of the Silver Snake had fallen, and with it, their future and their dreams. Oh, how they worried; how to secure their dwindling power and maintain their lifestyle? With only a daughter left, too young to marry off and bear a child. Still, they looked far and wide, deep into the four corners of the earth, until they found an enthusiastic suitor plagued with an abnormal and heinous thirst. And the rulers shook hands, the parents willfully turning a blind eye. Solemnly, they advised Amethyst of her fate and duty to their newest ally. The poor child had never advocated for herself, and on this, they heavily relied. For a chest full of gold, they traded her innocence and shushed her muted cries. With renewed hope, they helped her into the same carriage that had taken her sisters, cursing her soul to a painful death and her body to a monster. But though unable to speak up, Amethyst had devised a plan of her own. And facing the Olive Tree, she asked the Well to house her tombstone.

“Dear old friend, I must ask you for a favor,
We both serve Spirit and bow to Mother Nature,
And I dare not bid you to break any sacred principle,
I simply ask of you a kindness: take me back to the land eternal.
Where my soul can reunite with the ones it yearns to see,
Where my sisters now lay, let me spend eternity.
My parents will not mourn me. There is no one left that my passing would hurt.
Allow me to meet fate on my own terms and, in death, reclaim what’s left of my worth.”

“Dear child of grace, you are truly one of a kind,
And your loss would be but a tragedy to the whole of mankind.
Even in despair, you weigh the cost your peace would bring to the rest,
But as you may have guessed, I can not grant your humble request.
For the spark of Spirit resides within us all, and thus I may not take any life,
However shrouded in darkness it may seem or filled with constant strife,
It is often those who struggle most who make the brightest light bearers,
Wishing to spare others the torment that they themselves suffer,
Even when hope seems all but lost, never lose your conviction,
For in every wound and scar lies the seed of a hero’s creation.”

“My sorrow is far too great, please forgive my selfishness,
I can not go on; my memories cause me too much distress.
My identity and my name, a constant reminder of my pain.”

“What if I took away all that burdened you?
Start you afresh, with no recollection of what haunts you.
You will forget anything that ever had you defined,
And so could walk the earth anew and leave your troubles behind.
But do beware: buried tales do not cease existing,
And stories that are silenced return as a haunting.”

And thus, Amethyst the Pure was lost to the world, born anew as a sweet shepherd girl. And though she found great joy tending to her sheep, some nights by the fire, she fought an inexplicable need to weep.

One morning, on one of her strolls, she came upon a pitiful sight; a homeless woman more akin to a troll, covered in filth and treated with spite. She was kicked and spit on as she begged on a street corner, yet tried to bite anyone who dared gently approach her.

The villagers warned Amethyst about this evil witch—nothing but a disgusting foreigner. Her fate was justified, they argued, Just look at how she thanked the hands that tried to feed her! They said the Gods had punished her wickedness by taking away all her senses, for she had danced with the Devil and now paid for her offenses.

Yet, the shepherdess was undeterred, and with a confident step, she approached the heap of soiled fur. It must have been her scent, for the beggar woman clung desperately to her sleeve. Her dirty face streaked with tears, Amber kissed her unsuspecting sister’s hand, refusing to let her leave. Amethyst brought the woman back to her home, where she helped bathe and feed her, for she felt an unusual and comforting warmth in the company of this stranger.

From that day on, they were always seen together, walking arm in arm, smiling from one ear to another. Every day, they would pack a picnic and take it down to Remembrance Lake. For only there could they truly feel at peace, sensing the familiar presence that would help soothe their aches.

Three little princesses, what happened to them?
Three little princesses, now lost to the realm.
Oh, but haven’t you heard? They went to the Wishing Well,
And one after the other, each sister fell.
Each went to the Well and did not heed its advice.
Each made her wish, and each paid the price.
First was Amber with the emerald eyes but a heart of stone,
Then went Onyx, the lost specter who could never come into her own.
Then followed Amethyst, willing to give her all, down to her last bone.
Three little princesses went by the Olive Tree;
One lost it all in order to find her humanity,
One traded herself for a throne and a fantasy,
And one lost faith and now wept with no memory.

Though separated in the world, the three princesses were reunited, for thus is the bond of sisterhood; their souls could not be divided. And up at the Dawn of the Golden Day, with no more children there, the King and Queen aged in solitude, waning under the servants’ lone care. It was said that their last words were filled with the regret they bore, for the daughters they failed, seeing only their value in trade and nothing more. And thus came the end of the Golden Dynasty, and the grand palace lay empty forevermore.

The End