Fairy Tale

Once upon a time . . . there lived three princesses, daughters of a powerful king who ruled his kingdom with an iron—but always loving—fist. No one in the world was a precious to the king as his daughters. They were the brightest stars in the constellation of his life. Although he knew in his heart it must happen, the mighty king feared the days when handsome knights would dash into his castle and marry his darling girls, taking them away from him.

The oldest, Cassidy, was the cleverest: she spent most of her time with her nose buried in a book, hidden away in the great library her father had commissioned for her. Keena, the middle daughter, was the bravest: she was more talented with a bow, a sword, and a spear than many of the king’s men-at-arms. Alanna, the youngest, was the most beautiful: her skin was an immaculate shade of ivory, her hair as golden and shining at the sun, and with eyes the color of a cloudless autumn sky—she could persuade any man to do anything she wished.

Everyone expected lovely Alanna to marry earliest—for what suitor could resist a maiden so fair? But it was strong Keena who was first asked for her hand. The knight’s name was Cavan, and though his strength matched Keena’s own, his handsomeness rivaled with Alanna’s. Keena was passionately in love with Cavan, and he with her. Anybody who saw them together envied the depth of their affections.
  
But the king, struck so forcefully by his fear of losing them, imprisoned all three of his daughters in a tower, keeping Keena shackled to the wall. Keena, who had not wept even upon the death of her mother, cried day and night, bitter, wrenching sobs.

“Shush, sister dearest, do not despair,” crooned Alanna, stroking back Keena’s hair. “Cassidy will find a way to marry you to your darling Cavan.”
   
This Cassidy was very determined to do. She did not sleep, she did not eat, she did nothing but sit by the tower’s window and think, think, think. Three days before Cavan and Keena were due to be married, Cassidy at last cried out: “Ah-ha!”

Keena, who had finally fallen asleep in Alanna’s arms, and Alanna, who had also fallen asleep, jumped into consciousness. “What is it?” gasped Keena.

“I have discovered a solution,” answered Cassidy.
  
Her two sisters crowded as close as they could, Keena still being shackled to the wall. “Well?” prompted the younger ones.

“Father has a counsel from whom he takes advice on everything, and who he sees every day. If Cavan were to be on that counsel, Keena could come with him and he would see her as often as her husband.”

All three sisters were very cheered by this idea. Now the only problem that remained was getting out of the tower. “Alanna shall distract the guard and take his ring of keys,” said Cassidy, two days before Cavan and Keena were to marry. “Then we will be able to get out.”

The plan fell flawlessly into place. Cavan and Keena married and had many strong, handsome children. So it was, too, for Cassidy and Alanna. The king, upon his deathbed, apologized profusely for imprisoning his daughters. “I only did it out of love for you,” said he.

No one, not even Cavan and Keena, blamed him for that. They themselves knew best that love blinds reason and consumes the soul.