Week 10 Story: Escape

     Anne was not afraid of the pains of childbirth. She had already known such great pains that she couldn't imagine anything worse.
     She had lost both her parents. Her stepmother had done everything in her power to make her life hell. She had been forced to marry the prince, who only wanted her for her great dowry. Her stepmother had wanted the prince to marry her own daughter, but money and power was everything for the prince. The prince was especially cruel.
     When she gave birth to her first child, and it was a girl, she was beaten for weeks by the prince. Anne wanted to love her child, but there was something about her. An inexplicable lack of connection between mother and daughter prevented Anne from caring for this child who caused her pain.
     Now it was time to give birth to her second child. When her stepmother, the midwife, announced that the child was again a girl, Anne was aware she should feel sad. Instead, she felt void of feeling. She had learned long ago that if there was a God, He wasn't on her side.
     It was announced the next day that due to Anne's inability to produce an heir, she would be beheaded, and the prince would marry her half-sister. Anne's stepmother would win after all.
     Anne sat behind bars, awaiting her death. Suddenly, a shadowy figure emerged from the recesses of the dungeon. Anne recognized her, but couldn't quite place her.
     "Princess Anne, my name is Sophia. I was your stepmother's assistant during the delivery of your children. She told me she would kill me if I ever told you the truth. But I must! I can't live with this!"
     "Perhaps you aren't feeling well," Anne said kindly. "Go lie down."
     "No princess! I must tell you, or this guilt will kill me before your stepmother can lay a hand on me. Your daughters are not yours. You gave birth to two, healthy sons. Your stepmother switched them with girls from the village so that the prince would give up on you and have you beheaded. She did all this so that her daughter might marry the prince!"
     Anne didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do. Unlike her lack of feelings after her second delivery, she now felt overwhelmed by every emotion she had been suppressing over the years. So much anger, grief, and sadness suffocated her, leaving her silent.
     "Hurry princess! I have made arrangements to rescue you and bring you to your sons! For I was in charge of killing them. Instead, I had a family watch over them until I could reveal the truth to you."
     Behind her, Sophia removed a large stone from the wall that led to a winding hall by which the two escaped the dungeon. Sophia explained that she had partnered with others in the castle who had turned against the crown due to the prince's brutality. They had put their plan into motion as soon as Anne's second pregnancy was announced.
     Anne lived happily in the countryside with her two boys for years. She was so happy that the only reminder of her pain was a few scars given to her by the prince. She had shared with her boys the truth of her past, but had taught them that they need not be anything like their father. They shared blood and nothing more.
     One day while Anne watched the boys play in the garden, a party of knights rode up to the house. "Anne, we are here to bring you and the prince's sons back to the castle."
     Anne pinched herself to wake up from the nightmare, but the knights remained in the garden. "What is the meaning of this? The prince is married. He wanted me killed. Does he want to finish the job?"
     "Your half-sister could not perform her duties and produce an heir. Rumor spread that you were in fact successful. The prince has already had your stepmother and sister killed and awaits your arrival to be remarried."
     "Very well. But I must ask that we do not depart until tomorrow. My sons know nothing of their origins. For indeed, who could explain to their children that they have the blood of a prince while they live like paupers?  We must also rest for the journey, for we have worked in the fields all day.
      The knights agreed and made camp just outside the house. But Anne had no intention of returning to her wretched life in the castle.
     In the dead of night, she and her sons escaped. They hardly stopped until they had arrived at a different kingdom where they could begin new lives. They were never again bothered by the cruel prince, and they lived happily ever after.

Portrait of Anne Boleyn
Source: Wikimedia

Author's Note: This is based off of the story of The True Bride from the Marriage Native American series, but inspired by the stories of Henry VIII and his wives. In the True Bride story, the sons are replaced by a cat and a snake. It doesn't say that the prince beat her, but he did try to have her killed. At the end of the story, the wife does go back to the prince, but that bothered me, so I gave her a happy ending far from a prince that tried to murder her. Also a much happier story than that of Anne Boleyn and the other wives of Henry VIII. In the original story, the prince is attracted to her by her beauty, but also the fact that she could spit out golden nuggets. I wanted to remove all magic from the story and make it seem historical, since this pretty much happened with Anne Boleyn. So instead, I just gave her a huge dowry (and made the children girls instead of trying to explain how humans could give birth to animals). It is evident that this prince doesn't care for her, which is how he can beat her and easily have her and her family executed.

The True Bride: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).