Once upon time in a beautifully tragic land with a kingdom that was at the peak of its destruction, lived a just as beautiful and tragic family crafted of the finest royalty. There were three in total, no more than this. The king: an aging man who had been a kind and courageous being in his prime, with a smile that seemed to wash anyone's worries away, no matter the cause. The queen: a beauty all her own, with cream coloured skin and eyes that shone like the finest cloudless sky, with a compassion that was admired far and wide. Finally, the king and queen's only child: a princess who was loved across the kingdom, but also pitied upon by many far and wide.
The kingdom's sole heir was ill, sickened beyond every point imaginable, forced to stay in her chamber day in and day out. The princess grew terribly sad with her predicament, and would wish - pray, hope, long - for her illness to disappear, so that she may enjoy her life to the fullest. The young princess felt her life wasting away ever so slowly as she kept to her bed, the memories of a time when she was without this sickness plaguing her mind every moment. She was never without the painful reminder that she may never get better, and with that constant reminder forced into the back of her mind by fate, the princess found that she could not smile as she could before. Frowns only accompanied her expressions, followed by wishful sighs held under her breath.
The poor princess wept every moment she was alone.
The king and queen were quite concerned with their daughter's condition, as any caring parents would have been, and they searched vastly for a cure to the sickness that had taken over their only child's life. It was not easy, not in the very least, as all the doctors and healing witches they came across could not seem to cure the princess's sickness, no matter what method they tired.
"It is just simply incurable." They would say after yet another failed attempt in making the princess healthy again, their faces long and grim as they passed over the news.
The princess would not be alone in her weeping each and every time those words were said.
Gifts crafted of useless consoles were delivered to the princess almost every day, the meaningless 'get well' cards that were sent along with the gifts only adding to the princess's sorrows - even if the gifts were from the citizens of the kingdom. She simply couldn't find joy in their consoles - not anymore.
The king and queen were aware of this, and during all this time of hurt, they were quite ready to give up on finding their daughter a cure. They could not deal with one more phrase of how she wasn't able to be healthy again. They were not ready for another heartbreak. The princess knew naught of her parent's plans, and why would she? The king and queen only saw their daughter three a day (once in the morning, one in the noon, and once in the evening), and that was to merely check up on her - make sure she did not pass away. They would look upon her pale face and lonely sea-green eyes and give only the slightest of smiles upon seeing that she was not dead. Sometimes, if the princess was looking particularly lonely, the king or queen would sit with their slowly dying daughter and run a hand over the curve of her brown hair, soothing back her tears for just a few instants.
Though she would never admit to any one other than herself, the princess noted these gentle moments as some as her very favourite.
But, the king or queen still never told their daughter of their plan, the lack of hope they possessed in their hearts. They could never give their daughter such news, absolutely never break her heart in that manner no matter how broken and shattered their own hearts already were. Maybe it was wrong of them to do so, but they felt it was for the very best, with only their daughter's best intentions in mind. Only the very best for their sole child.
Eventually, in the eve of a summer night, the time came when the king nor queen could not bear to see their daughter wither away in her bed any longer. It was then that they decided to sent to off to a place far, far away - so that perhaps, just maybe, the princess could find a cure there. (It was unlikely, but they were still quite willing to give the notion a try.)
When the clock struck twelve, and the bell tower chimed it's last twelve tolls, was when the king's most trusted knight was sent to sneak into the princess's chamber and pull the sleeping girl out from her bed. The plan was simple - the knight would carefully carry the princess from her chamber, drop her off in a prepared carriage outside, and see her off from there, telling the driver to carry her off to the furthest place possible. That was all - no explanation for the princess in any matter what so ever.
And just like that, the princess was simply whisked away into the starless night - never to be seen again. It may have been cruel, but that is simply how things like the matter at hand worked in this beautifully tragic kingdom.
There were rarely happy endings in the kingdom - and none were recorded in any sort of history book. The kingdom was simply not meant to cater happiness.
Even still, the kingdom is filled with the tragic wails of a woman who lost her sole child, while her husband lays a heavy hand upon the upper of her back, rubbing circles into a body that will never quite stop racking with sobs. All the man can do is breathe out a heavy sigh, and closes his eyes against his wife's wails.
That is all he can ever do.