Prince Eric quelled the urge to pick up Elizabeth and swing her around the room. Instead, he kneeled before her and prepared to say the words he had been rehearsing over and over. “Lady Elizabeth, I want to ask you if you would be my bride. Will you reign with me as queen for the rest of your life?â€?

“Yes, I’d love nothing more!â€? said Elizabeth, fighting to keep herself calm.

So foolish and fickle are the hearts of young men.

Elizabeth strode through a flurry of pink rose petals as she left the church, Eric’s hand in her’s, a few weeks later. They left the town after their marriage for a short voyage at sea before Eric’s coronation.

....

When they returned, a messenger alerted Elizabeth with a grave face that her stepsister had been found, dead, on a forest trail.

“It was very strange, your highness,” the messenger adressed Elizabeth, “Resting in her palm they found a tiny carriage pulled by white horses no larger than crickets.”