Disney Princess Remix

-Ashley's POV-

"Filthy brat!" My abusive father, the king, screamed as he threw me against the wall. I crawled to the corner in pain, sobbing.
"Please no more!" I begged helplessly. He dragged me by my hair, tossing me into my cell-like room and locking the door.
"I'll kill you one day!" He screeched. I didn't dare respond, he terrified me ever since I was born. My mother, the queen, died in childbirth, and he blamed me, going insane with blind hatred for his own son. I had planning my escape for a while now, since the attacks worsened. That night, I gathered my limited belongings and smashed the glass window. I was thin enough to squeeze through the bars, thank god for once that he starved me. I had to move quickly, before he caught me and really did kill me. I slipped outside, dangling a several dangerous feet above the ground before dropping my already damaged self into more pain. Struggling to my feet, I limped into the surrounding forest as fast as I could, hopefully before he could follow. At least the cover of night concealed me in shadows. I knew that I hadn't gone far before I collapsed from exhaustion.
When I woke up again, I was not on the forest floor.
"God, no!" I screamed, thinking he had found me and taken me back. I sobbed and shrieked, twisting around in the blankets. Wait, what? I never had real blankets, only rags. I stopped for a moment, calming my heart rate and feeling the fuzzy texture.
"Sh, it's ok, you're safe," a woman told me as she dabbed my bleeding forehead with a washcloth. I groaned.
"He did kill me, didn't he?" The woman appeared confused.
"You're alive, you've got Anna to thank for that. She found you half dead in the forest and brought you back here. What's your name?"
"Ashley," I replied, puzzled. "Who are you, who is Anna, where am I, and what's going on?"
"I'm Dakota, one of the seven elves who live in these woods. The other six are Lizzy, Magda, Risa, Ali, Lily, and Anna. You're in our cottage right now." I laughed, sitting up.
"I can't believe this. A day ago, I was being abused by the king. He'll never get me if I'm protected by magical elves!" I exclaimed in joy. In the blink of an eye, my life was transformed.
"Actually, we were cast out from the rest because we're not magical. And why were you being abused by the king?" So I told Dakota my story. All of the elven women in the household had gathered by the time I reached the end.
"That means you're the prince!" One of them gasped afterwards. I nodded.
"Just please, whatever you do, don't take me back there."
"Well of course we won't! You're safe here," another promised.
"Thank you," I said in relief, settling back down onto the pillows for more much needed rest.

-Andy's POV-

I still didn't know what I was doing at the king's castle. All I knew was that one moment, I was practicing archery, and the next, he was offering a shockingly high amount of gold to me if I could bring him the heart of his son, who had been missing for days. I agreed, knowing how much I needed the money. Besides, that much could keep me going the rest of my life. He handed me a silver dagger.
"This should be bloodstained the next time I see it," he told me. With a nod, I was out the door and beginning my quest. I walked for hours through the woods and saw nothing. I wandered aimlessly for the prince and found everything but him. Finally, dying of thirst, I stumbled upon a small stream, trickling thinly over stones. A hooded figure crouched by the water source looked up when they heard me approaching.
"Hello," a silky voice greeted me. "The water's clean, if you were wondering." Honestly, I was so thirsty I wasn't even worried about that.
"Thanks." I bent down, and as I did, I glimpsed at the face hidden behind the mask. He was the most beautiful stranger I had ever seen. His eyes were as deep a brown as the bark on trees in the summer, his hair as dark as raven's feathers.
"Is something wrong?" Whoops, I was staring.
"No, sorry. Wait, actually, do you know where we are?"
"Yes," he said with a laugh. "I can take you to a safe place. I'm Ashley, what's your name?"
"Andy," I replied. "By any chance are you the prince?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
"Lucky guess," I lied, following him. So this was the guy I was hired to murder. My hand twitched at the dagger concealed within my coat pocket, but a sickening feeling pooled in my stomach when I touched it. Who was I kidding, I couldn't kill an innocent person, let alone someone who was this kind to me when we just met moments ago. Come to think of it, I was raised in a half ruined village, Ashley might have been the most considerate person I'd ever met. He was hands down the most attractive. Wait, what? That wasn't right. He wasn't-my heart fluttered when he turned to me-attractive.
"Here we are." He took out a little stone key and turned a wooden lock in a door disguised as part of a tree.
"Wow," I breathed when I entered it. It was huge on the inside, much larger than it appeared on the outside, and was lit by candles, flames held back by glass cages.
"Now, who's this?" A woman asked, seemingly appearing from no where.
"I'm Andy, I was passing through the forest and met Ashley at the stream," I explained.
"Would you mind if he stayed a few nights here, Lizzy?" Ashley asked her. She shrugged.
"Long as he helps out with chores and cooking." And just like that, I was in.

-Ashley's POV-

I've never really been outside of the castle, that's why I'm so pale, but I felt something towards Andy. He was hot. Really hot, I wasn't going to lie to myself, the guy was super attractive. Hair like midnight, eyes so blue that the stars paled compared to them. I couldn't help but ask for him to stay. Over the next week, I developed feelings for him. Not just finding him attractive, but I liked him as more than a friend, he was special, different in some way. He made me laugh and smile more than anyone else, though I did have a tragic life. Now, I was taking a walk with him in the forest searching for firewood and was tempted to tell him about my feelings.

-Andy's POV-

The thought of the king returning itched at the back of my mind, a constant fear that haunted me even in dreams. I was tortured by nightmares of him forcing me to kill Ashley, cut out his heart as I promised to do that first day. I couldn't ever do that now, I was falling in love with him. He deserved to know the truth. There was a pause in our conversation as we gathered the firewood.
"Hey, Ashley, could I tell you something?"
"Anything, Andy. What is it?" I swallowed hard, suddenly wishing I'd stayed silent. His beautiful brown eyes stared into my soul, or so it felt like.
"Ashley, I was hired to kill you."

Notes

Part two coming soon!