Once upon a time, Ellie had been a kind and beautiful princess. Her days had been innocent and happy. Her life had been lovely.

The princess lived in a beautiful palace with her parents, the king and queen. They doted on Ellie and gave her all that a princess could want. She was truly a very happy, very lucky girl.

Then one day, terrible tragedy struck the kingdom. For an evil witch named Whiskey had come to visit the realm. Yet she was not like most witches, the old and ugly hags who dwell in shadows. No, the cruel Lady Whiskey was a young and beautiful woman with a cunning mind. She wielded the power to afflict men's minds and manipulate them into doing what she wished. And so the evil witch seduced the king, and all his subjects fell under her spell.

At first, the king's affair with the witch was a hidden one. No one, especially the fair queen, knew of the relationship. The lovers met in secret. They enjoyed each other's company often, yet it still was not enough for them. Their love was so ardent that they wished to spend every moment of every day together. At last the witch brazenly declared that she no longer cared whether or not the queen knew of the hidden romance.

The queen was, of course, heartbroken to learn that her husband loved another. Yet the king cared little for her feelings and refused to leave his mistress. The queen, resigned to her husband's wishes, shrouded the princess in darkness and kept her ignorant of all that was happening. Ellie was told that all was well, and that the kingdom was under no curse at all. And so Ellie proceeded with her life as normal, in her blissful state of ignorance. Yet she was all alone, and sadder than she ever realized. What a poor, lonely girl she was at heart...

At last, the devilish witch grew tired of the queen's presence interfering with the relationship. She wanted to be alone with the king and have him all to herself. She prepared herself and made herself more beautiful than she ever had been before. The king was amazed by her charm and listened to every word she said. He took a gun that the witch had given him and crept into the queen's bedchambers at night. The princess Ellie was there with the queen that night, because the witch had frightened her earlier.

With a loud clap of thunder and a crack of brilliant lightning, the queen was dead. The king saw her and realized what he had done. Then he knew how evil the witch had been, and how she had tricked him.
There was another storm, and the king was soon dead beside his faithful wife.

Ellie watched from her hiding place in the shadows. No detail of the gory event was spared from her. As she crouched in the darkness she began to weep. All that she loved and knew best was taken away from her in an instant. Ellie had never been made to feel pain or sadness or want before. For this to be her first sorrow was too much for the princess to bear.

A stuffed bird sat on a shelf in the princess' bedroom, a gift from the king and queen. Its feathers were as brilliant red as the royal blood. The frightened princess pulled it from the shelf and hugged it to herself tightly. As the tears rolled down her cheeks, she made a promise to herself. She would never allow herself to love anyone again. She would never see someone she loved be taken from her again, for she would never love anyone again. And so, sweet and gentle Ellie sealed her emotions within herself and became the cold and distant Eleanor. Her heart was broken and frozen within her, but she wore a mask, convincing the world that nothing could harm her.

No one knew the turmoil and pain that lurked behind the face of the once-happy girl. And no one ever would.

What a poor, unlucky girl...