Writing a Fairy Tale Guided by Traditional Fairy Tale Patterns

Fairy Tale Pain of the Innocent
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Fairy Tale: Pain of the Innocent
Mary was only five years when her father disappeared mysteriously. He had gone hunting deep in the forest and often returned home after three days with a big catch. The father went hunting with a few young men, and when they returned, they would sing joyously about their catch. On a fateful day, Mary's father left with three other young men to venture deep into the forest. He had promised Mary and her mother to return as soon as possible. However, that evening, the young man returned home with the sad news that they could not trace him. The king ordered several men to go back to the forest in search of him, but after three days of searching, they returned with their faces down and admitted that they were unable to find him.
Life became difficult by day because Mary and her mother were left with no one to fend for them. One day, when she may have gone to fetch firewood, she met a charming prince who instantly fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. Mary was hesitant but later agreed. The prince was a savior to her because he was not only a companion but would also take her from the extreme poverty that they lived in. Her mother was excited about the news and thanked God for the blessing. However, the prince was the main obstacle to their union. She wanted her son to marry from a royal family and not a pauper like Mary. When the prince introduced Mary to her, she asked, "From which family is she?" The prince smiled and explained to his mother, but as he continued explaining, her face changed gradually from a bright smile to a dull frown. She was disappointed in her son. Despite her love for her son, she cannot give her whole-hearted approval for him to marry the girl of his choice.
Nevertheless, Mary and the prince got married in a colorful wedding that was the talk of the village for several years. The two lived happily, and despite her mother-in-law agreeing to their union, she was still not satisfied. After three years, Mary had not given birth, and her mother-in-law had become suspicious. She was getting older and wanted to see a grandchild. She had called them severally to inquire about the issue, but they had not told her where the problem was. They were not sure whether it was the prince or Mary that had the problem. In her mother-in-law's eyes, Mary was barren, and so she began searching for another wife for her son. "I need to carry my grandchildren and play with them," she would often state. She began mistreating Mary, blaming her for her inability to give birth to a son. Mary became extremely stressed that she could no longer afford to get some sleep.
Then one day, during her nightly meditations, she fell asleep and had a dream that presented an idea in her mind. She dreamt that she had run away deep into the forest in search of her father, for she thought that if her father was around, he would give her hope. Despite the darkness in the forest, she kept going deeper and deeper and suddenly until she felt like she could go no more. She decided to rest, and as she was still lost in thought, she saw a small light coming toward her. As the light came closer, she figured out that it was a small butterfly-like creature that had the face of a human. The creature talked to her, narrating to her all of her problems and promising to take care of them. The fairy creature assured her that she was fertile and could conceive, but the problem lay with her husband. Suddenly, the creature disappeared as she got startled from her sleep. She lay on the bed, thinking about what the fairy creature had told her but could not bring herself to understand that he husband might be the one with the problem.
In that society, infertility among men was never discussed, and in the event that a family failed to get a child, the women would be the first to be blamed. Society would hold a meeting in such a case, and another woman would be chosen to give birth, whereas the fate of the barren woman would be left to the fate of her husband. On the contrary, if the problem was with the husband, the people would talk about it in low tones, and the issue was decided at the family level. If the affected son has a brother, the brother would be told to ensure that his brother's wife conceives. In this case, the queen was very sure that her son could not be impotent and kept blaming Mary for the family's inability to get a child.
Mary sat quietly on her bed, thinking about her next steps, when one of the servants walked in and told her that the queen wanted to see her. May obliged and went to see the queen. When she entered the door, the queen welcomed her half-heartedly and directed her to greet another young, beautiful lady whom the queen introduced as the prince's second wife. Mary was shocked. She felt energy escape her body and felt a sharp pain in her heart. She could not bring herself to the reality that she had been replaced as the queen-to-be. She sat down to digest what the queen had said, and each word the queen said stabbed her heart like a sharp knife. She felt useless, and after getting some energy, she excused herself and went back to her room. She cried her heart out as she thought of what she would do next. She did not eat for the rest of the day as a trail of thoughts ran through her mind. Her fate lay with her husband, whom she undeniably loved. However, he was under his mother's pressure to expel her from the kingdom.
When her husband came back in the evening from touring the kingdom, he went into her room and saw her crying. He comforted her and promised that he would not send her away. However, Mary had had enough and began planning how she would flee to an unknown place. She could not withstand the embarrassment that would follow because, in her thoughts, she would be reduced to a servant. She approached one of the security guards who was friendlier to her, and explained her situation. She requested him to help her escape. She had been given an alternative room where she slept alone, so it would be much easier for her to flee. On the night of the fateful day, she slowly opened the door and crept out. The guard had prepared a rope behind the main house, which was rarely guarded. She managed to scale the wall and jump over to the outside, then disappeared into the forest.
Back in the palace, the new wife took up her role but was high-handed. She mistreated the workers and commanded them like her slaves. No one liked her except for one guard, with whom they seemed to get along well. When the prince was out with the king, she spent a lot of time with the guard, but no one suspected anything between them. Unbeknownst to many, she had fallen in love with th...