Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Happy Pride Month! Ever since Wonderland’s story round I’ve wanted to do this. The tale is slightly altered from the original to make less “Taming of the Shrew”-ish, and more in line with Mary-Lu’s epiphany. Enjoy this wholesome break from the usual forest terror!
PLOT:
The gang is caught in another storm after being released from Pips' imprisonment. They find another cottage in the woods and a kind old lady invites them in. She only asks for a story from each of her guests as payment. Zahina asks her if she knows anything about "Ossian", a name Mary-Lu recalls from the strange letter she found in the Witch's room. The woman also reveals a bit more about the original deal between the Forest Spirit and Thornwaithe. Arya asks Mary-Lu to speak with her in private, but she puts her off; Pips' interrogation has caused some doubts about Arya's innocence to rise, and she doesn't want to be alone with her just yet. The old woman then approaches Mary-Lu for a tale. Mary-Lu tells her a fairytale from her childhood about "King Thrushbeard", a monarch who earned that unflattering nickname from a proud and witty princess. When the princess refuses to apologize for insulting her guests, her father marries her off to the next beggar that comes to the castle door. Her new husband moves her to a hovel overlooking the grand palace of King Thrushbeard, whom the princess regrets mocking. Now forced to make a living like everyone else, the princess sells pottery out on the streets until a nasty prince destroys them and insults her like she did her suitors. The princess' husband comforts her as she sits among the ruins of her pots, but now she must become a scullery maid in King Thrushbeard's castle. One night, the king throws a ball that she watches hidden behind a curtain. The king arrives - and it's her beggar husband all along! He admits he wanted to see if there was a humble and good heart hidden behind her sharp tongue, and they marry in splendor. Her story done, the woman asks Mary-Lu what the message is, and she comes to an important realization regarding Arya. She approaches her in the bedroom, and says she understands why she killed the fairy if she did it - and even if the knife she gave her winds up in her back next, she can't change the fact that she still loves her.
Happy Pride Month! Ever since Wonderland’s story round I’ve wanted to do this. The tale is slightly altered from the original to make less “Taming of the Shrew”-ish, and more in line with Mary-Lu’s epiphany. Enjoy this wholesome break from the usual forest terror!
PLOT:
The gang is caught in another storm after being released from Pips' imprisonment. They find another cottage in the woods and a kind old lady invites them in. She only asks for a story from each of her guests as payment. Zahina asks her if she knows anything about "Ossian", a name Mary-Lu recalls from the strange letter she found in the Witch's room. The woman also reveals a bit more about the original deal between the Forest Spirit and Thornwaithe. Arya asks Mary-Lu to speak with her in private, but she puts her off; Pips' interrogation has caused some doubts about Arya's innocence to rise, and she doesn't want to be alone with her just yet. The old woman then approaches Mary-Lu for a tale. Mary-Lu tells her a fairytale from her childhood about "King Thrushbeard", a monarch who earned that unflattering nickname from a proud and witty princess. When the princess refuses to apologize for insulting her guests, her father marries her off to the next beggar that comes to the castle door. Her new husband moves her to a hovel overlooking the grand palace of King Thrushbeard, whom the princess regrets mocking. Now forced to make a living like everyone else, the princess sells pottery out on the streets until a nasty prince destroys them and insults her like she did her suitors. The princess' husband comforts her as she sits among the ruins of her pots, but now she must become a scullery maid in King Thrushbeard's castle. One night, the king throws a ball that she watches hidden behind a curtain. The king arrives - and it's her beggar husband all along! He admits he wanted to see if there was a humble and good heart hidden behind her sharp tongue, and they marry in splendor. Her story done, the woman asks Mary-Lu what the message is, and she comes to an important realization regarding Arya. She approaches her in the bedroom, and says she understands why she killed the fairy if she did it - and even if the knife she gave her winds up in her back next, she can't change the fact that she still loves her.
