Drips and Drabbles

Faith, Hope, and Courage

A/N This is more of a Fairytale than a short story. 

Once upon a time three sisters lived in a small cottage by the river that flows through the kingdom of Escutcheon. The sister's names were Faith, Hope, and Courage. They helped lonely travelers in need of Faith, Hope, or Courage. The three sisters were very beautiful and each helped around the house.  One day Faith was working on the small garden that grew flowers and vegetables when a young man walked past.

"Please miss. Where is a place I can rest? For I have been traveling for a long time and are hungry and thirsty." Faith stood up.

"My sisters and I have a place for you. Come in and rest your head." She said walking over to him. She escorted him inside and showed him her room. It had a small bed and a window at one side of the room. He lifted his heavy pack and set it on the floor. He was tall and tanned. His brown hair matched his brown eyes and he had a bit of stubble on his chin.

"Come downstairs to eat." Faith said and hurried away to see her sisters. Soon the table was set. Hope had made roast chicken and potatoes from the garden. The stranger sat at one end of the table and the sisters at the other. The man told them that he was afraid that he would never make it to his destination and the sisters took pity on him.

"You need courage." Courage said. "I can give you that." The man looked up. Courage took a drink from her gold cup and the water turned to gold.

"This is the water of courage," She handed it to him. "Drink and you will have courage." The man drank from courage's cup and was filled with courage. He set off down the road the next morning. Promising to come back. A couple of months passed and the man came back. He was thankful for the gift they had given him last time and so offered to them to come and live with him at his house which was bigger than theirs. They reluctantly agreed and off they went. The three sisters lived in the huge house for quite a few months.
Eventually, the man realized how valuable the sisters were and wanted them for himself. So he locked them away in a cottage far into the forbidden forest from which no one returns.
The sisters worked and waited for years hoping that they would be rescued. One day a young man was wondering in the forest lost and came across the cottage. He went to the door and knocked. Hope quickly ran and opened the door for the stranger.
"Please miss, I am lost and have no hope of finding my way back. Can you help me?" He said his hat in his hands. Hope was worried that the man would be like the last but finally led him inside. At dinner, he told the girls his story. He was a Duke traveling from his kingdom to this one to see the prince but lost his way.
"Can you help me?" He asked the sisters again. They exchanged glances.
"We don't know the way out of this forest but I can give you what you most need. Hope. But in return, you must come back in ten years time and free one of us." Hope said and the man agreed. The sisters drew water from the well and poured it into Hope's bronze cup. She drank from it and the water turned to bronze. The man drank and he was filled with hope. He left the next morning and soon found a way out of the forest.
Years passed and the sisters waited for the man's return. But the man never returned. The sisters felt like they would never be set free until one day another young man knocked on the door. Faith opened the door to reveal a young merchant that didn't trust himself to be able to get out of the forest.
"How may I help you?" Faith asked.
"I'm lost in the forest. Can you help me?" Again Faith wasn't sure about the man but decided to trust him. He stayed for supper and Faith offered the drink of Faith in her silver cup for the same deal as last time. He drank and had faith. He slept in a spare room then left in the morning. And he too made it out of the forest. Another ten years passed but the man never came back.  The sisters swore that if another man came to them they would turn him away. A few years later the young prince was walking in the forest but got lost. He wandered for days until he made it to the cottage. He disguised himself so they wouldn't recognize him and knocked. Courage opened the door and greeted the prince. He saw her and immediately fell in love. He asked for her help but Courage remembered what she had said to her sisters. She looked at the earnest face of the man and decided to help him. She let him drink from her gold cup with the same promise as last time. He stayed a night then left and found his way out of the forest. Nine years passed and the sisters thought that the man was just like the other two until one day the prince came riding up to their cottage to save Courage. He freed her by winning a bet with the rich man that enslaved them and carried Courage off to the castle. They were soon married and Courage became the princess. Life at the castle was very pleasant but she worried about her sisters and began to wear away. Her husband asked what was wrong and she asked him to go and free her sisters. He loved her so much that he went and tried to make the same deal as last time but the man got so angry that he attacked and the prince had to kill him. He ran to the forest and freed Faith and Hope and brought them to Courage. She became well the minute she saw them and they all lived at the castle for the rest of their lives.
The End.
A/N I hope you enjoyed this short Fairytale. Please tell me what you think for it is my first try, and I would love to hear what you think!