Merlin Fairytale Series

Chapter 1: Tragedy

Well it's been forever plus 6 months so let's get on with the story!
  
     Paradise was a beautiful and prosperous place, flower-filled meadows nestled between mountains and filled with woods. This land was ruled by King Uther. It wasn't until many years into his reign that he began looking for a wife and queen.
     He didn't plan on falling in love but  he did. He married the beautiful and kind-hearted Anastasia.
     The two were blessed beyond compare but, like most people who were well-off, they were denied what they wanted most. Seven years of marriage and they had no children.
     In their seventh year of marriage, Uther grew angry and resentful toward his wife, declaring that he would remarry and maybe his second wife would bring him more luck than his first.
     Anastasia begged and prayed to every good she knew that she would be granted a child. Her wish was granted.
     Once she started having children, it seemed she couldn't stop. Her first two children were singles. After that, the next three births were twins, one of which was her only son. The rest were all singles until her final birth: the final set of twins. In all, she had 12 daughters and one son.
     Years passed.
     Arthur, Anastasia's only son, married his true love, Guinevere, a princess from another kingdom. It was then that Uther saw the political gain he had access to in the form of his daughters. Half of them were of age (of age meaning at least 16), some of them were close to being of age, and the rest were not quite in that area yet.
     When Uther realized this, he made up his mind to marry off all his daughters and use their marriages to form strong alliances with other kingdoms, thus, giving him absolute power.
     His eldest daughter had been away on a spiritual trip so he settled for marrying Regina off first. She was scarcely married a week before she became pregnant.
     Meanwhile, the twins were married. Next would be Arthur's twin but before Uther could find her a suitable husband, tragedy struck.
     Paradise went to war against another kingdom, though the reason for this has been lost to history. In the ensuing battle, all three married women lost their husbands.
     In the aftermath, the king and queen received news that their eldest daughter had not survived either and the queen grew so sick with grief that she passed in the night. The news of their daughter had turned out to be a misunderstanding, however, and the girl was returned to her father's waiting arms.
     It was at this moment in time that the king made up his mind. He ended all arrangements to marry off his daughters; they were too precious to be taken for granted.
     In addition, he grew to hate and fear magic as magic had been the cause for so many deaths (the other kingdom they'd gone to war against having sorcerers as allies and such).
     Magic was outlawed and those children of his with it were forbidden to use it. In addition, he believed his daughters must be protected at all costs and made arrangements to see it through.
     The younger girls had a governess watch over them while the older girls were constantly under surveillance by guards that followed them everywhere. At all times, a princess must be accompanied by at least one guard or guardian. No man may gaze upon a princess or dare flirt with her without horrible repercussions.
     At night, the princesses were locked up in their room where they could not leave until morning. The king's son, however, had no such restrictions​. He was usually kept to himself but at night, he, his wife, and his children were locked in their room until morning as well.
     So that's what began all the madness but it could get worse and would. But, as they say, the darkest night always comes before the brightest dawn. Soon, the princesses would find their destiny and it would come in a way they never could've expected...

To be continued...