The Forgotten Princess

Once a Princess named Rosephine was riding on her horse when she saw an old woman gathering wood in the kings forest and she shouted at the old woman,
"You shouldn't be taking that wood. This land belongs to my family. You're stealing".
"Would you begrudge an old woman fuel to keep her warm in the winter?", asked the old woman.
But being talked back to by a peasant only made the princess angry and she threatened to have the woman thrown in prison.
So then the woman, who was actually a powerful witch named Calladra, placed a curse upon the princess that no one would remember her before vanishing into thin air and, when she returned to her palace the guards, because they did not remember who she was wouldn't let her enter.
She pleaded with them to let her speak to the king and queen, sure that they would remember who she was but then, when she was presented to them, to her horror, neither her father nor her mother and not even her brother and sister knew who she was nor any servant in her palace.
And when she claimed that she was there daughter named Rosephine, they all thought that she must be mad.
"Though we all pity you, poor girl", said her father, "It is plain that you have lost your senses for we have never had a daughter named Rosephine".
And when Rosephine, in despair, started to weep and become angry, unfortunately, she was forced to leave the palace.
But the Princess had nowhere to go and so she was forced to live as a wandering beggar, her fine clothes becoming more dirty and ragged with the passing days and, while she was a beggar, she met a sailor who quickly fell in love with her although he too thought that she was mad when she claimed to be a princess.
"But even if you are a mad woman who thinks she is a princess I still love you", he said.
"You don't love me", she replied, sobbing, "If you loved me you would believe me; believe that an evil witch cursed me and made everyone I know forget I ever existed".
The sailor kneeled before her.
"Your majesty", he said, "If it will prove to you that I love you then I'll believe everything you say and, whats more, I'll help you break the witches curse".
And the next day the sailor went to the kings forest to find the witch.
He thought that he should dress like a knight if he were to face a witch and save a princess, unfortunately he didn't have a knights suit of armour or a lance or a white horse to ride upon and so he put on an old diving suit, carried a harpoon and rode upon a donkey.
And the witch laughed when she saw him approaching her cabin.
"What are you supposed to be?", she asked.
"I am just a common sailor but I have come to fight you until you break the curse you placed upon Princess Rosephine", he replied.
"Why are you doing this?", asked the witch, curious.
"Because I love her", said the sailor.
The witch seemed moved by this.
"But if I break the curse", said the Witch, "She will be a princess again and a princess won't love a sailor. Are you sure it is what you want?".
The sailor thought for a moment and then replied,
"Yes. I want what makes her happy".
"Well then", said the witch, "Let us fight".
And, saying that, she hurled a thunderbolt from her right hand at the sailor, knocking him completely off of his donkey and onto the hard ground.
The sight of him staggering to get up again in his heavy diving suit made her laugh.
But then he picked up his long harpoon and hurled it at her.
The witch merely waved her hand and his harpoon went spinning round and round in the air before hurling itself back towards him.
Fortunately the sailor was able to dodge the oncoming harpoon and it buried itself deep in a tree but then, while he was struggling to pull the harpoon back out, the witch struck him with a thunderbolt in the back that made him fall unconcious.
Just at that moment, Princess Rosephine appeared and seeing the sailor lying unconcious upon the ground ran over to him and taking off his diving helmet started to sob.
"I'm sorry", she said, "I know you loved me now. I didn't want you to be hurt like this".
But then, suddenly, a man on a horse rode up wearing the uniform of a kings soldier.
"Your majesty", he said, "People have been searching all over for you. The king and queen have been so worried. Are you alright, your highness?".
Realizing that the curse must have been lifted, the princess said, "Yes I'm alright just help me help this man".
And so the soldier and the princess both carried the sailor and he was taken back to the princess's palace and placed in a hospital bed.
"Who is that man?", the King asked Rosephine upon seeing the sailor, "How do you know him?".
"He's just an ordinary sailor that I met", replied the Princess, "But I love him".
"A princess cannot love an ordinary man", said the King sternly.
Hearing this made Rosephine angry.
"Then I am not a princess", she said.
But just then, the sailor started to open his eyes. He was still alive.
Rosephine put her arms around him and smiled happily.
"It worked then", said the Sailor, looking round and smiling as he saw the king and servants of the palace, "You're a princess again; you got what makes you happy".
"The only thing that makes me happy is you", said the Princess.
After that day, the Princess renounced her title so that she could marry the sailor and they retired to a small house paid for by the royal palace and no longer was the princess haughty or rude or uncaring because she had discovered something more important than wealth and title; she had discovered true love.