Ashlee

Ashlee
By EscagirlUK

Note: Dear spellchecker, use British spelling, stupid, I'm not an American.

*****

Long ago and far away there was a land called Pangaea. In Pangaea there was the kingdom of Kandel. Kandel was ruled by King Amoni and his wife; Cleo. Amoni had seven children by his wife, the eldest was the Crown Prince Shawn; rapidly appring ing his twentieth birthday, on which a three-day ball would be held and where he was to choose a lifemate.
Many years ago, seventeen in fact, Princess Ermin (Amoni's twin) disappeared. None knew that she had left to marry her true love; Lord Ewyn of Rowan. She did marry him and within that very year they were blessed with a beautiful baby boy with purple eyes and a tuft of flame-red hair.
The baby was named Lee Nawor, and he grew up happily until one night during his seventh summer.
It was a dark and stormy night, as these things are wont to be. Ermin was a strong-willed woman who held no fear of nature; when the storm was light, she went out for a ride on her pretty little red-chestnut mare. Ermin didn't mind the storm, for she loved its violent attitude; the crack of thunder and the flash of lightning against the ink-dark sky. Shesti (the mare) was a high-strung creature and the storm frightened her. She reared up violently with the next flash of yellow, tossing her rider to the ground. Ermin hit the ground with a thump and a sickening crack heralding her violent death, while Shesti ran for the safety of her stable.

About a year after Ermin's death Lord Ewyn met Siren of Clove, who also had children. Ewyn began to court Siren; Lee needed a mother, and it would do him good to have siblings to play with.
Lee's stepmother was a cruel woman who had two daughters, called Allegra and Genna. Allegra was every bit as cruel and beautiful as her mother, while Genna was plain in looks and very meek.
Soon after the marriage Ewyn died. It was only then that Siren showed her true colours; making Lee work about the house as if he were one of the servants. When he rapidly grew out of his clothes (as children do) Siren refused to buy him more, so he was forced to wear his mother's old dresses. Over time Lee became known as Ashlee because he was often covered in soot from tending the fires. As Lee also became stronger, Siren continued to add to his duties about the house.

Years later, when Lee was about 15, Siren came to realise that lee was the prettiest thing in the house, despite his being a boy. This knowledge only inspired her to devise even more tasks to do; tasks that often involved getting very dirty, to hide his beauty. Despite the constant hardships and having to wear his mothers clothes, Lee grew up to be kind and gentle, though not always with a sunny disposition.
And, thus, our story truly starts.

"Ashleigh!" The voice rang out, harsh and angry. Lee approached the menacing form of his stepmother and stood before her, hands clasped behind his back.
"Yes, Stepmother?" the redhead asked in a soft voice. All the while entertaining the mental image of feeding the creepy old bat to rabid man-eating pigs, for calling him 'Ashleigh'. One day the old bat was going to get what's coming to her.
The old but eerily beautiful woman glared down at her detested stepson. By the Gods, she hated the annoying willful brat. Not only because he was willful, but also because he was prettier than her own children were.
"You were told to wash the floors, boy," she said imperiously, tapping one slipper-clad foot against the marble floor.
"I did, Stepmother," said the purple-eyed boy, frowning. He looked at the floor. It looked clean...
"You obviously didn't do a good job, then, did you Ashleigh? It's filthy." Lee looked at the floor again; it still looked clean to him. "I want to be able to see my reflection!" snapped the cruel woman.
"Yes, Stepmother. I'll wash it again right away, ma'am," he said. He wisely didn't point out that if he washed it that much, you'd be able to see a lot more than just their faces in the marble, especially if they were wearing short-skirted dresses. Siren was cruel and had a wicked way with a whip; he had the scars to prove it, too.
"Don't be all day about it, either, boy. You have other chores to do." With that said, Siren whirled around; skirts and cloak flying about her in that impressive way only bad guys can ever truly achieve. Lee sighed and went to fetch a bucket of soapy water and lemon.
As he was drawing water from the well he sensed the presence of his fairy friend Minty.
"Hello, Minty," he said, smirking at the muffled curse coming from the girl. The mint-skinned fairy blew her wild forest green hair out of her face and glared at him with slitted orange eyes.
"How in the name of the Seven Hells do you do that, damn it?!" demanded the fairy crossly, perching on the well wall beside him.
"That would be telling," said the redhead, knowing he was annoying the heck out of his friend. Minty blew a spit bubble at him. He wrinkled his nose. Eeew. That was so gross. "That's really gross, you know that?"
She grinned and nodded.
"Uh-huh. Why else would I do it?" the fairy asked brightly.
"You are very weird," he told her.
"Thank you!" she chirped happily.
He rolled his eyes and sighed. Why him? Why did he have to be tormented by this fairy? What had he done in a previous life that deserved being tormented by Minty? No, really, why him?
Lee couldn't hear it, but the Universe was frowning and muttering to itself "Because I said so!" in an affronted tone.
"Sooooo, what're you doin'?" she asked curiously, swinging her legs and banging her heels against the rock of the wall.
"The old bat wants me to wash the front hall to the state where she can see her reflection," said the flame-haired transvestite, hauling on the rope attached to the bucket.
"But, then, wouldn't you be able to, like, see up her dress?" asked the fairy, frowning.
"Yeah." Lee shuddered. "What a horrible thought."
The redhead finished pulling up the bucket and set it on the cobblestones. He sighed tiredly.
"It's going to take ages to clean the hall again, and I have tonnes of other chores to do too! I have to feed the animals, weed the gardens, take down the washing, do the mending, stoke fires in the bedrooms, settle down the animals, and a million other things! And if I don't get it all finished the old bat's going to whip my ass half to death!" He sighed again, resting his face in his hands. "I'm never going to be able to do all that and wash the hall enough that you can see your reflection!"
"Hey, don't worry, Lee!" said the fairy. "Don't you dare say 'that's easy for you to say', either!" She jumped off the wall and settled next to the bucket, not bothering to draw her wand for such a minor spell; wands were really for show and self-defence.
She held a hand over the bucket and murmured a spell. Both her hand and the water glowed an icy blue.
"Ta-da!" she proclaimed, fluttering her hands. "Instant Reflective Cleansing spell. Guaranteed to clean things until you can see yourself in them, or your money back!" Lee smiled softly and held back a snort of laughter.
"Man, I love you Minty, you're a total lifesaver!" he cried. The fairy looked nervous for a moment.
"Just don't ask me to marry you or anything - I already have a sweetheart, thank you very much," said the fairy, blushing.
Lee ruffled the smaller being's forest green locks, grinning at her indignant squawk.
"Thanks, anyways, Minty. You're the best ever," he told her seriously.
"Shucks. It's nothing, really. I'm your best friend!" The girl paused, blinking. "Hey, I got to go. I'll see you around, Lee. Bye!" The fairy flapped her wings to get off the ground, then zipped off without waiting for an answering 'goodbye'.
Lee shook his head and added the soap and lemon before carrying the bucket to the front hall. She was still the same old hyperactive Minty as always. He wished he could be that happy, only without the anti-depressants Minty consumes to get into her annoyingly cheerful state. He shook himself out of his thoughts. Well, he ought to get washing that floor, or it'll never be done in time, spell or no spell.

At that point in time the prince was journeying home from a brief battle against a vampire clan. They had a few casualties, but all of his men had survived. The Gods blessings were upon the First Company day day; other such campaigns had left widows and suicidal shieldmates.
Prince Shawn rode with a heavy heart, despite their victory. It would soon be his twentieth birthday and (in accordance with the Tome of Magical Kingdoms) a three-day ball where he would choose the person he was to be chained to for the rest of his life.
It would be an understatement to say that his Royal Highness was not pleased with the prospect of quite likely being saddled to some twittering female for the rest of his living days. He hadn't yet told his father he was of the homosexual persuasion.
The ball, and his life, was going to be a nightmare, he decided silently.

Several days later there was a knock on the front doors as Lee was putting away his gardening equipment. He hurried to the doors and stopped before them; brushing some stray hairs be an an ear, leaving a trail of dirt, and wiped his filthy hands on his apron. Only then did he answer the door.
"May I help you?" he asked the rather cute courier pleasantly.
"Deliver this unto the Master or Mistress of this fine household if you would please, miss," said the courier, trying to sound serious but only sounding young. He handed a large envelope embossed with the royal insignia to Lee.
"I will," said Lee nicely. "Thank you, sir." He didn't feel any anger about the courier - who was so obviously young and eager to do what must be his first important job - mistaking him for a woman.
"You're welcome, miss," the courier replied jovially. He bowed to Lee before mounting his horse and continuing on his way.
Lee shut the door while staring curiously at the envelope, turning it about in his hand. He wondered what the letter inside it said; he'd have to give it to the old bat to find out though. So saying, he climbed up the staircase and set off for the drawing room, where Siren would be teaching his stepsisters - the spider queen Alegra, and mousy little Genna.
He knocked on the door and waited impatiently. The door was soon opened, and he was on the receiving end of a glare.
"Why have you disturbed your sisters' lessons, Ashleigh?" demanded Siren crossly.
"Eh... This came by courier a few minutes ago, Stepmother," he told the woman. "I thought it might be important," he added as he handed the letter to his stepmother.
The woman snatched it and ripped it open, pulling out the piece of paper. She quickly scanned it, smiling as she did so.
"What does the letter say, Mother?" asked Allegra in the same imperious tone that Siren used. Genna just nodded in nervous agreement.
"It says," started the old woman. "It says that there will be a three-day long ball at the palace in which his Royal Highness Prince Shawn will choose who he is to marry. Every eligible female below the age of twenty must attend."
Allegra squealed in excitement. "Oh, Mother, we must get some new clothes for the ball! Nothing I own will do for a royal ball!"
"Of course, my child, of course," said Siren soothingly. "We will all go to town today and get you new dresses for the ball."
Lee sucked in a breath.
"Stepmother?" he asked cautiously.
"Yes, Ashleigh?" rep Sir Siren, watching her stepson.
"May I attend the ball also, Stepmother? I've never seen the prince before," he explained. Siren smiled, though it didn't seem to be cruel.
"Of course you may attend the ball Ashleigh," she said, then put emphasis on the next word, "if you finish your chores and you can find an acceptable outfit to wear." There was no way she would let Lee go to the ball, not when he was as pretty as this and could easily be mistaken for a girl. He might end up accidentally capturing the prince's heart.
Lee felt disappointed; there was no way he'd be done by the time the coach came to pick up the old bat and her daughters. Then again, there was no way the prince would have such bad taste to pick either of his stepsisters. He cast a glance at Genna. Which was a shame, because Genna wasn't all that bad. Maybe somebody else would be able to see beyond his favourite stepsister's mud-coloured hair and plain looks and fall in love with her. She did have gorgeous green eyes, which were her best feature, too. He hoped she found somebody nice to marry.
"I understand, Stepmother. I don't think I shall be able to attend the ball, after all," he said quietly. "Thank you for giving me permission to go, however."
"Your welcome," said Siren serenely. Inside she was doing a victory dance.

Shawn glared out the window as he watched the carriages set out to pick up the various people attending the ball. He hated the idea of this ball; he just knew that the ball was going to turn into a battle amongst the women, with him as the prize. He refused to marry anybody who would do such a thing like that.
He sighed and glared some more. Damn that damn Tome of Magical Kingdoms. Damn it all!

Lee waved as the carriage drove away with his stepmother and stepsisters in it; they were off to the ball. He bit his lip to stop himself from crying. He had really wanted to go, dang it. Guess it just wasn't meant to be.
"Hello, Minty," he said morosely. The fairy squawked and tripped, falling on her backside.
"I really wish I knew how the heck you do that!" she proclaimed. The redhead turned to her, then blinked in shock.
Minty's wings and hair were a myriad of colours. Red, blue, green, yellow, orange, pink, purple and even brown was streaked through her hair and wings.
"What the heck happened to you?" he asked. The fairy blushed.
"I got caught in the crossfire between two fairy children and a fight involving multiple castings of a dye spell," she said sheepishly. "Now, I'm not here to tell you about my misfortunes! I'm here to cheer you up!"
"What's the point? I'm not going to the ball," said Lee quietly.
"No fear, you shall go to the ball!" cried the hyperactive fairy. "For I am your Fairy Godcousin!"
"I thought you were my Fairy Godmother?" asked Lee.
"I'm only a hundred years old, you know! I don't even have my own kids yet, never mind grandkids! What a horrible thought too, all those raging little monsters running about, and having to duck flurries of spells and deal with miscasts. No, thank you," ranted the fairy.
Minty glared at Lee. Trust him to bring up children.
"Well, anyways, like I said - you shall go to the ball!"
"How, exactly?" asked Lee.
"Magic, duh!" Minty set a miniature glass coach on the courtyard.
Then she moved them away from it and took out her wand. It had a star on the end, which was useful for defence against attackers. After all, no man wants anything sharp and pointy between his legs, now does he? Unless, of course, he is a masochist, however unlikely that is.
"You better not expect me to start dancing and singing 'bippitty boppitty boo'," she warned her friend. "Or you're going to find it very hard to walk." That said, she waved her wand and murmured a spell.
The coach ornament began to grow bigger, and bigger, until it was the size of a normal coach; it was still made out of glass, though.
"Brilliant!" cried Minty. She then set down six plastic white horses and two male dolls and recast the spell to get the horses, the driver and the footman. "There," she said in satisfaction. "All ready to go now!"
"Not really, no," said Lee dryly. "I'm kind of under-dressed here, Minty."
"Oh. Oh! Right. Sorry!" cried Minty. She waved her wand again and Lee was dressed in an elaborate lavender gown, complete with lavender slippers that laced up to his knees. His long flame-coloured hair had been twisted into a crown of braids held in place by a silver and amethyst hairpiece. The final touches were a silver and amethyst necklace and the makeup. "There, all done!" Minty took a step back to admire her work. Lee would be the belle of the ball! Or beau of the ball; whichever worked.
"I feel really stupid, but thanks for helping Minty," Lee said gratefully.
"It's no problem! Just remember to be back by midnight, because that's when everything goes back to normal again. It'll come back at half seven tomorrow night, and again the night after that," Minty explained to Lee.
"I'll be back by midnight. Thank you Minty. You really are the best!"
"Was there ever a doubt?" asked the fairy in mock conceit.
Lee laughed and got into the coach with the help of the footman.
"Not really, no. Bye Minty!"
"Bye!" Minty called after him, waving frantically. She sniffed, and wiped away a tear. "They grow up so fast," she sighed dramatically.

Prince Shawn was bored out of his mind dancing with yet another gold-digging female. He politely acceded the young lady to another man, and went to find his cousin Devon.
What he found was rather surprising. His shy cousin Devon was talking to somebody, and a female at that! Well, well, well, cousin Devon has a crush. Shawn studied the girl. She wasn't really all that much in the looks department. Mud-coloured hair and a face as plain as a board, but her eyes more than made up for that with their brilliant emerald glow. Her blush added colour to her pale face, and her smile was dazzling. "Hello, Cousin Devon," he said blithely. "Who is your charming lady-friend?"
"Ah. Cousin, this is Lady Genna Rowan," said Devon. "Lady Genna, this is his Royal Highness Prince Shawn."
"A pleasure to meet you, my lady," Shawn said; bowing and kissing the back of her gloved hand. He noted the anger and jealousy on Devon's face as he watched the younger man from the corner of his eye. "Now, if my lady would be so kind, I wish to speak with my cousin for a moment. Do not fear, he shall be by your side again in the blink of an eye!"
Genna smiled shyly, blushing as she looked at Devon, curtsied and left to get some food.
Shawn watched her go, before turning back to Devon.
"Well, she's not much of a beauty, except when she smiles," he told Devon. "She also seems to truly like you, and not just want you for your money. Plus she's related, if only by marriage, to the Lord of Rowan, rest his soul. You could do a whole lot worse."
"Huh... What?" asked Devon nervously. "What are you talking about... Surely you don't think she's interested in me, Shawn!"
"It's rather obvious that she is. It'd be rather cute if one of you did something about your attraction. Lady Genna is a woman however, and so you must make the first move. Arrange to meet with her again tomorrow night," he advised his shy cousin.
"I... I... Well, okay. I'll try, Shawn. But I don't see what such a lovely young lady would want in me," said the slightly younger man. "I really hope you're right, you know. She's... Lady Genna is absolutely wonderful." Devon sighed dreamily, before going to find his ladylove.
Shawn shook his head. Love did the funniest things to people. It was like their brains just dribbled out through their ear holes or something. A hand touched him arm; startling him. He turned around and stood stock-still. What stood before him had to be an angel. An angel in lavender.
"Oh. Oh, dear. I'm sorry, my lord," said the vision, blushing. "I didn't mean to startle you thus."
"Oh, that's alright, my lady," he said. "What can I do for you?"
"I was wondering if you could maybe show me the prince. I've never seen him before," said the girl. Shawn was surprised, she didn't know who he was? How extraordinary.
"I'm sorry, Lady...?" he trailed off.
"Lee. Anne. Lianne," said Lee. "Lady Lianne."
"I'm sorry, Lady Lianne, but his Royal Highness left the partly a short while ago," Shawn told her. "He claimed to be feeling unwell." The girl looked downfallen.
"Oh. I hope he gets better soon. Being ill is very trying on a person," said Lee wisely.
"I'm sure you'll see him tomorrow," said Shawn. "But until the end of the ball today, would you like to sit with me in the gardens just outside?"
"I'd be delighted to," said Lee, still a bit disappointed.
"Wonderful," said Shawn. He escorted Lee outside through some side doors. There was a fountain in the centre of the area, and flowers grew everywhere in a riot of colours. It was beautiful, and smelt heavenly.
They sat together on a bench on the other side of the fountain, facing the doors.
"I feel sorry for his Highness," said Lee quietly.
"Why?" asked Shawn, surprised by the comment.
"The only thing the women here want from him is his money and the prestige that comes with being his queen. They don't care about him at all. He's going to have a horrible life, married to one of the women here," said Lee sadly.
"That's not exactly true, you know. Not all the women here want him for that," said Shawn. "I know one woman here that doesn't want him at all, a women called Lady Genna. She seems to like his cousin; Lord Devon, a lot."
Lee paled and bit his lip. Genna? With the prince's cousin? Well, this Devon better not be horrid to Genna!
"I hope the Lord Devon is a nice person," said Lee. "Lady Genna may not be a beauty, but she deserves a nice man for a husband."
"You don't think she wants him for his money?" asked Shawn, surprised.
"Not at all, my lord. Lady Genna is nothing like her conniving sister or mother," explained Lee. He frowned. "I really do hope this Lord Devon is a nice man. It would be such a shame otherwise."
Shawn watched Lianne surreptitiously, surprised at the hardness in her purple eyes. He had a feeling that there was a lot more to this Lady Lianne than could be shown on the outside. Well, hopefully he would figure out her secrets over the next few nights.
They spent the rest of the evening talking about many things - inheritance laws, magic creatures, animals and other things. It was exhilarating for the prince, having never expected a single woman at the ball to be even remotely intelligent.
Lee was having such a great time with the unnamed lord that he forgot the time. He was shocked out of his fun when the clock bell began to go off, signaling that it was twelve. He stood up in a hurry.
"Oh! I must go," he said. "I must go!"
"Wait, please, stay!" cried Shawn, grabbing his wrist. "Please stay."
"I can't! Oh, I must go, I must!" Lee tore his arm from the man's hold, and ran as fast as he could in the cumbersome outfit. Shawn was left a desolate figure by the fountain.

In the morning Lee thought it prudent to stay out of Siren' and Allegra's way, what with the rage they were in. Genna spent the day in a happy daze, unable to believe that somebody was courting her.
The day went by with much slamming of doors and shrieks of rage, the conciliatory responses by Siren, punctuated by the dreamy sighs of Genna. Lee spent the day being as quiet as possible and trying not to be in the same room as his stepmother or Allegra.
At seven the coaches came and took away Siren, Allegra and Genna. Lee waited patiently for half past seven, when the transformation would again occur. After the transformation he made his way to the ball where he spent the next four hours debating with the prince about which was most tiring: war, or housework. Genna spent a lovely time with Devon, sighing dreamily and staring into each other's eyes in a way that caused the surrounding people to make dentist appointments for the cavities they got from watching them. Siren and Allegra went out of their minds trying to figure out who the lavender-clad beauty was.
At midnight Lee made yet another quick escape, and returned home just in time.

The next day went similarly. Genna spent the day in a dreamland, while Siren and Allegra tried to figure out who the lavender beauty was. Lee did his various chores as usual, while keeping as far away as possible from Siren and Allegra.
Later that day the three women went to the ball, Lee following in his little glass coach a half-hour later.

Lee was having a great time. For the past hour he and the lord had been debating on whether it was morally right to remove the hand of a convicted thief.
"What if, for example, the thief was a very poor woman and her children were starving because she had no money to buy any food so had to steal it?" asked Lee.
"She could have taken her children to the Soup Kitchen. There's one in every town and village to provide food for the very poor and the homeless," answered Shawn.
"She may feel embarrassed and possibly humiliated by having to rely on charity," countered Lee. "Plus, by removing said thief's hand, you are inevitably destroying any chance of them getting honest work should they turn from the path of thievery. After all, what honest person would hire somebody that was so obviously a convicted thief? The thief would never get the chance to prove himself capable of being trustworthy, because nobody would trust a person with one hand. Also, the fields in which they could work will be extremely limited because there aren't many jobs that can be done with only one hand. All in all, you are effectively murdering said thief for something that is beyond their control."
Shawn sighed, and admitted defeat. The people who had gathered to listen to the debate clapped, and Lee congratulated Shawn on a battle well fought.
At that moment Lee felt the need to use the bathroom, and politely excused himself.
As he was about to enter the bathroom, Genna left it.
"Lee?!" exclaimed Genna in surprise. What was Lee doing here?
"Genna!" cried Lee softly. "Keep your voice down, do you want everybody to hear?"
"What are you doing here, Lee?" asked Genna.
"I've been coming to try and get a look at the prince," explained Lee. "I want to see what he looks like."
"If Mother catches you here, Lee, she'll be so angry!" she said.
"I know." Lee grinned crookedly. "What about you? Has that Lord Devon proposed to you yet? I'll threaten him for you, if you like."
"Lee!" hissed Genna, blushing fire-engine red with embarrassment. "No, I don't want you to threaten him, and, yes, he has proposed." Her voice had gotten gentler and dreamy at the end. "He's wonderful, don't you think?"
"Yeah." The sarcasm was lost on Genna in her love-filled state. Lee shook his head and sighed. Love was dangerous. It was like all your brains dribbled out of your head into a grey-pink puddle on the floor. At least, he thought brains were a grey-pink colour. Minty had said so, but then you shouldn't really trust what she said in her Prozac-induced happiness. Plus she had a really morbid sense of humour.
He pushed his love-struck stepsister towards Lord Devon and continued into the toilet. Neither he nor Genna noticed the enraged form of Siren standing nearby.
After doing his business in the bathroom, Lee decided it was time to tell his lord friend - who's name he still had to find out - that he wasn't a woman. He hoped the lord took it well.

"Lady Lianne!" Shawn said, taking a hold of the young woman's arm. He noticed the grim expression on her face, and became concerned. "Lady Lianne, is there something wrong?"
"We need to talk," said Lee, sighing. "There are things I must tell you, about myself. Where can we talk without being heard?"
Uh-oh. This sounded bad. This sounded really bad. Shawn swallowed thickly.
"There's a room nearby that we can use," he said, heart heavy.
He led Lee to a small but cosy room, decorated tastefully in a mix of yellow and red. They sat down on the plush armchairs. Lee plucked at the material of the armrest nervously.
"I," he started. "I am not what I appear to be."
"What do you mean?" asked Shawn. A thought struck him. What if it had all been a lie about not knowing who he was, what if Lady Lianne was a gold-digger like all the other women here?
"I mean," said Lee, "that I am not of the gender I appear to belong to." Lee sighed, pushing some loose hair behind his ear. "What I'm trying to say, my lord, is that I am a man."
Shawn blinked stupidly at the revelation. The revelation stared back, then yawned.
"You are?" he asked stupidly.
"Uh-huh," affirmed Lee, watching Shawn nervously. "I am."
"This... This is. This is brilliant!" concluded Shawn.
Before Shawn could explain why it was brilliant to the stunned Lee, the clock began to chime. It was midnight. Lee got up with a cry, and rushed off as he had done the previous two nights. Shawn ran after him, calling for him to come back. Lee didn't listen.
This being a fairy tale, one of Lee's slippers should have fallen off. Fortunately Minty tied things in double knots, because just imagine how many people in the kingdom had the exact same size of feet! Not many people had purple eyes, however.
Genna watched as the prince chased her stepbrother, and saw the love in the prince's eyes as he tried to get Lee to come back. Then she thought of her Mother, and was decided. She would help the prince find Lee.
"Your Highness," she said, curtsying to the prince. "Please, I wish to speak with you."
"Yes, Lady Genna?" asked the prince morosely.
"Purple mixed with red is often seen within the walls of my home," she told the prince cryptically, and excused herself to find her fiancé.

As usual, the ball ended soon after midnight and the prince went to speak with his father. It was time to tell King Amoni that he was, in crude terms, 'bent'.
Shawn watched his father quietly. The old man watched his son back, before coughing.
"Well, son, what do you want to speak to me about?" asked the king in a rough scratchy voice.
"Father, I have something to tell you. You won't like it, but you'll just have to deal with it," Shawn told the king bluntly. "Father - Dad, I'm gay."
The pipe the king was holding fell from lax fingers and hit the floor with a thud, weed scattering on the plush red carpeting.
"You're WHAT?" demanded the king.
"I'm gay," repeated the prince. Well, his dad seemed to be taking it rather well. "And that girl I've been spending the last few nights with? She's a guy."
"But. But. But what about heirs!" cried the king.
"We can always use magic, Father. After all, great-grandmother was a lesbian and she had four children with her consort, through magical means," Shawn said reasonably. The king sighed.
"All right, Shawn. I don't like but but I'll deal with it. Now, where does this lucky man live?" asked the king tiredly. Shawn blushed.
"Um. Well, you see Father; I don't know where he lives. He rushed off at midnight and didn't tell me where he lived." Shawn paused. "Lady Genna did, however, give me a rather strange message afterwards."
"Oh? What was it?" asked the king curiously.
"'Purple mixed with red is often seen within the walls of my home'," quoted the prince.
The king rested his chin into a hand, and frowned.
"It's obviously this Lady Genna knows the man, and this message is to tell you where he lives," said the king. He pondered the message. "This man, he was that cute redhead in the lavender dress, wasn't he?"
"Yes," said the prince, wondering why his dad had asked.
"Does he have purple eyes?"
"Yes, he does," said the prince, beginning to comprehend what the king was thinking.
"Okay, 'purple mixed with red' is obviously synonymous with the man's purple eyes and red hair. 'The walls of my home' would obviously refer to the Rowan mansion just outside the city." The king smiled, having deciphered the message. "So, this man is obviously residing at the Rowan mansion."
Shawn smiled at his dad in gratitude.
"Thank you, Father," he said honestly, hugging the king. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Oh, shush, boy," said the king, embarrassed by the display of affection. He patted his son on the shoulder. "Now, boy, why don't you go get your future consort, eh?"
The prince stood up suddenly.
"You're right, Father. I must go now!" Shawn made a heroic pose, which wasn't very effective since he wasn't holding a sword while he did it. He stalked out of the room and made way to the stables, calling for his horse to be saddled and the royal guard to be made ready to accompany him. He had no doubt he'd find trouble at the Rowan mansion.
Very soon the prince and six others were galloping down the dark, gloomy, cobblestone streets of the city.

It was a bloody, viscous scene at the Rowan mansion. Genna lay crumpled and unconscious by the wall; blood trickled from her nose, and a large hand-shaped bruise was beginning to form on one side of her face.
Siren was a tall sinister figure, a bloody whip held in one hand. Allegra watched her mother with unconcealed glee and cruelty.
Lee was a small, bloody form on the floor. Unable to move or speak, he had no way of fending off his stepmother's attacks. Before his eyes was a haze of red, as he drowned in a sea of red-hot agony. His ears were filled with a sound like the sea dashing against a beach.
Gods, please. Just let it end. Please...

Shawn banged frantically on the door to the Rowan mansion, but there was no answer.
"Break it down!" he ordered the guards, hair windswept and eyes wild.
The guards quickly did, and were horrified at the gruesome sight before them; Shawn gaped at the mutilated form of his love.
A guard grabbed Siren's hand that held the whip.
"You are under arrest for the attempted murder of the consort-designate of his Royal Highness Prince Shawn," said the guard harshly, as he began to bind her wrists together.
Another guard quickly intercepted Allegra and bound her hands, charging her with being an accessory to attempted murder. Shawn was kneeling by Lee's bloody form, weeping as he brushed blood-soaked hair from Lee's battered face.
"I'm s-sorry I - ah - couldn't s-stop her f-f-from hu-hurting Le-ee," said Genna's pained voice, as a guard helped her to her feet.
"I'm sorry I didn't get here in time," said the prince brokenly.
"Is there a carriage or cart of some kind that we can use to transport you and the consort-designate?" asked a guard gently.
"Ye-ss," said Genna, between gritted teeth. "In th-ah! In the back."
One of the guards quickly got the large cart and fastened it to one of the horses, leading it around to the front of the mansion. A guard carried Genna to the cart and set her in it, before mounting his horse. Siren and Allegra were already on horseback, the form of a guard behind each of them. Lastly Shawn set the unconscious form of Lee into the cart gently, and reluctantly mounted his spirited stallion to lead the way back to the palace.

Through the superb skills of a master-healer, Lee managed to survive the horrendous wounds inflicted on him and Magic was later used to remove the scars left behind. It would take a very long time and lots of counseling, however, before the young man was back to his normal self.
Lee and the prince were eventually married. And (in accordance with the much accursed Tome of Magical Kingdoms) twelve fairies were invited to the wedding. Among the fairies invited was Minty and her girlfriend, a water fairy called Blitz.
Of course, being fairies, they all gave the happy couple a magical gift. Eventually it was Minty's turn, and Lee wasn't sure whether to dread or look forward to the gift Minty would give them.
Minty, being the drugged-up maniac she was, gave both Lee and Shawn the ability to bear children. Which caused quite a bit of scandal, but overall was thought to be a very practical gift as the normal magical means of same-sex breeding involved a sex change.
Blitz followed this gift by saying that any children born with their blood in it would also share Minty's gift. This was thought to be a practical gift, also, as somewhere down the line the future ruler of the kingdom may be homosexual, too!
Several days later Genna married her Lord Devon, and the two couples lived somewhat happily ever after; if you discounted the fact that Genna was allergic to Devon's dogs and Lee hated being pregnant.
As for Siren and Allegra, they were having a rotten time slaving at the coal mines in the ice fields at the northern borders of the country.