Once a Princess carefully reconsidered her plan as she sat in her designated chambers. The spell that bound her to her lover had been cast with malicious intent long before she was born. The irony of the situation was not lost on his brilliant mind. In fact, it was like being in love although the truth was that – deep down, she and the crowned prince realized on some level that they were trapped together. Their families were very close when they were young. She and the prince had spent hours together as children before her father's kingdom was invaded by the Sardinians. Once they became adults, the pull of fate bound them together as they progressed through royal court rituals and committed themselves to each other for eternity. The spell itself was the curse of the traitor sorcerer Xzavier, who had declared to the king, "Your grandson will destroy your kingdom." He will have the "wisdom of Solomon", great physical strength, and a complete lack of morality or compassion for your people. He will rise to power because your son will marry the most beautiful and insightful woman in the kingdom – not the lady designated by the stars to be the mother of the next king and this union will mean the loss of the royal line. Xzavier had sold his loyalty to the Sardinians, but paid for it with his life after his denunciation and quick conviction at his trial. With this story in mind and with regret, Princess Valerie took parchment, ink and a pen from her drawing desk, inked the quill and began to write in smooth, perfect calligraphy, "Dear John", a- she began. The following words were few in number and chosen with meticulous care based on the last few months of research in the castle court journals...... middle of paper ...... were brief. As an afterthought, he picked up a white rose obtained during another walk in the garden and handed the parchment and rose to the waiting raven. Princess Valerie was in her room when Ivan flew through her window and onto the drawing table. She was surprised to see the note and stood up. Only John could convince the raven to cooperate, but he had remained remarkably silent for weeks as if he had stopped loving him. The message opened in his hand almost of its own accord. “Dear princess, now I know why. You are a braver person than I could ever be. Know that I forgive you. But remember, eternity is long and my love is up to the task. sparkling dew on the petals of pure white rose.