The Dark Princess

    Once upon a time, there was a lonely princess in a highly populated kingdom. She lived by herself in a majestic castle and wore dark colored gowns. Black was her favorite color so that's what she wore from head to toe most of the time. She got used to being alone but have always felt a void in her life. And one day, someone was going to fill that void for her.
    The princess loved to ramble within the rose garden inside the forest by her castle. She loved the pungent aroma and the blood red color contrasting with the olive green. When she reached out for a big rose with a smooth stem, she incidentally touches the fingers of a man. The princess looked up into his eyes of golden brown over his smile of pearl white. She was truly bewitched by his handsome looks. They introduced themselves to each other and explained their love for rose gardens. It was a very interesting conversation as they instantly shared a connection. It was definitely love at first sight.
    After their greeting, the prince knew that he wanted the princess. He sent her love letters and poems. Then he would send flowers and jewels of various kinds. He did almost anything to seduce the princess. And it worked as she thought of no one else but him. They agreed to meet again by the river at night and when they did, they confessed their love for each other. Quickly, the two wedded and invited the whole kingdom to attend the ceremony. After that, the prince moved into the princess' castle to be close to his new wife. Every day, they couldn't keep their hands off of each other, always cuddling and kissing. Soon the sweetness started to sour when the couple goes to an outdoors ball.
    There, the princess was showered with compliments from unmarried princes. As she basked in the soft soap, the prince grew envious more and more by the minute. She should've paid more attention to him, he thought. He kept an eye on her all night to make sure nothing disreputable happened. Then he couldn't take it anymore. He dragged the princess out of the ball and to the castle. Inside, the two had a heated argument that led to the prince striking the princess. She witnessed and felt a side of her husband that she has never seen before.
    After the slap, things were never the same. The prince would try to charm the princess which would calm her down a bit. But when she would leave the castle -- to visit the rose garden, for example -- the prince would get angry, feeling that she's trying to run away from him. To control his anxiety, the prince purchased a potion which purpose was to decrease stress but it just made him intoxicated with fury. Overwhelmed with rage, the prince would abuse the princess verbally and physically. It went on for weeks at random times of the day. The princess couldn't leave because the castle was her home and if she ran away, the prince would find her and possibly kill her. But partially anticipating to get slapped or spit on was something she couldn't live with.
    Living in fear, the princess decided to prepare herself for the worst. So every night, she slept with a blade under her pillow from a body mirror that broke during an altercation. And once a week or when she could, the princess would poison the prince's potion when he wasn't looking. It weakened him but when he noticed the change of taste, he purchased a new one to use. And that would repeat in a cycle as the princess kept poisoning his potions, eventually giving up.
    Yet one night changed everything. The princess took a look in her bathroom mirror for the first time in a long while. She studied her body and noticed how many bruises covered her arms, legs, neck and face. That image infuriated the princess. She realized that enough was enough. So when the night fell, she went to bed with her husband but didn't go to sleep. When she heard him snoring, the princess sneakily got out of bed and left the castle to cut a rose from the garden. She came back and placed the rose next to the prince's pillow. She stood there, waiting with her blade. Then he turned over and laid his hand on the thorns of the flower's stem. He woke up to the sharp pain taking over his hand. Once he took a clear glimpse of blood, the princess pounced on top of the prince and pinned him by the neck. Then, with all her force, she stabbed her husband with the blade in the chest over and over and over again.
    Meanwhile, a rumor got out in the kingdom that the royal couple was having problems. So every citizen arrived at the castle to check up on them. Before one of them could knock on the door, the princess opened it. As everyone hung fire for what she was going to say, she let her actions speak louder than words could. Therefore, she raised her husband's crown in the air for everyone to see. The citizens stood in awe as they observed the prince's cold, fresh, rose-colored blood dripping from the jewel-encrusted crown.