User blog:Amazamazing/Kingdom of Ends: How It Ends

Hey. So.

I had every intention of actually writing and finishing A Kingdom of Ends, but I stopped writing -- and I stopped writing hard. I cannot offer a 100% guarantee that I can even finish this story. However, it's a plot very close to my heart and I'll always be insanely proud of it.

I've "written" the whole thing, so to speak, but I don't want to post it unless it's fleshed out into what it was always meant to be -- a satisfying and very COMPLETE story. Unfortunately, that means that you guys might just never get to read it.

However, I can provide what is a detailed plot outline that basically walks you through what the whole story would have been and where all the characters (sort of) end up. It's not Legitimate Writing in any way, and by no means do you have to read it if you don't want to. I just feel really bad about promising this huge epic story and then leaving it at three chapters forever.

Anyway, enjoy!

A Kingdom of Ends, and how it ends
So, where did we leave the story off?

Princesca has been cursed and basically retconned out of reality so that Thomasine is the princess and no one can remember who Princesca even is. If you ever expected any explanation about the witch, I'm sorry but there isn't any. It's just a magical lady who stole her mother's face for a while because cruel tricks like that are played sometimes.

Most of chapter three plays out as Princesca wandering the streets as a pauper and finding reasons to be mad about everything. Near the end, she's about to get robbed (and possibly worse) when Revolt Charming comes into her rescue. Chalk it up to a damsel-in-distress instinct or really just the fact that she hasn't eaten anything at all but we end with Princesca fainting.

Now for real this time -- please enjoy!  Here be spoilers for A Kingdom of Ends

We continue with Princesca in the Winter house, being tended to by Signe's mother. Princesca wakes up with a lot of feelings, most of it being shame since the last time she saw Signe's mother, she was still the princess. She orders Lady Winter to leave. Very rudely, for someone who isn't princess anymore. At that, Revolt comes into the room. There's a lot of pointed monologue about how much Princesca hates his accent. In pretty much the entire story, really. He also calls her princess a lot. This leads to a mostly expository explanation about how and why Revolt can still remember who Princesca is.

Basically, Revolt remembers because Revolt isn't from that realm. He's from Ever After. The same rule partially applies to Signe and her father. Though they can remember who Princesca is, that's only because they know her from outside Tudor England. Basically a reminder that the Winters (save for the mother) are out of place here, since they're from Three Musketeers and not PatP. However, the father-daughter duo are still affected by the magical retcon. They have false memories of the "Princess" Thomasine.

During the first dinner with the Winters, Signe talks to Cess about what life in the palace is like now that Thomasine is the princess. Life is better and everyone is happier. Signe is kind of harsh about it, though, and Revolt gets mad at her. He tries to comfort Princesca, and this is where we get the chapter title. ("Your existence has been erased, princess. They've never known you. That doesn't mean that they're happy without you.")

Signe has her helping around the house, because lodging is not free and on some small level maybe Signe enjoys this. Cess and Revolt walk around the gardens a lot, or they watch Signe practice one of her hundreds of hobbies. There's a lot of tense interactions I can only describe as "Princesca and Signe being mean while Revolt eats popcorn in between them." Eventually they figure out that the only way for Cess to break the curse is to get the pauper -- Thomasine -- to vouch for her and admit that she is not the real princess. Which would be a lot simpler if we didn't have magic now, huh?

A few more days in the Winter house with the trio brainstorming ways to get Thomasine to admit in public that Princesca is the actual princess. There's a prolonged bit where Revolt suggests true love's kiss as a possible way of breaking the spell. Signe shoots down the idea really quick and closet lesbian Francesca Tudor is kind of flustered at the thought. She's not into the idea of having to kiss Thomasine but, you know.

There's some cute Winter House trio filler (like Revolt teaching Cess how to use a sword) but we have a plot to get moving! It's been a few weeks and an invitation comes up in the post, detailing an 18th birthday gala for Thomasine, followed by an investiture ceremony the very next day. Basically this just means that Thomasine will be publicly declared as the heir of the throne. It's like a coronation but tinier. All in all, the Winter House trio need to move quickly.

Now, the following was supposed to appear as bonus content in the future. I couldn't fit it into the story proper because that's written in Princesca's first person point-of-view. Anyway, around the time of the invitation going out, somewhere in rural France, is ex-queen Dominique. All Dominique has ever wanted was power, and originally she would have had it through her perfectly pliant puppet of a daughter. But then she was forced out of court. As emotionally manipulative and morally questionable as she is, Dominique really did love her daughter in her own twisted way. She stayed away from court because it would keep her little girl safe. Princesca's parentage is controversial, and her adulterous mother sneaking in to try and take her back just makes things look bad for the both of them. And that's why she never came back to court. BUT, Dominique doesn't remember having a daughter anymore. So there's nothing holding her back. It will take a few chapters before this development is even revealed but... yeah, that's a plot to look forward to.

Anyway, back to the Winter House. The three realize that they might actually be on a deadline now! Not a problem for Signe, because she's weird and probably enjoys working under pressure. She will figure out how to break Princesca's curse, but maybe easing Thomasine into the idea won't be a bad idea. And even if she wants to help Cess, Signe is petty. She has made it clear many times over the course of the story that she doesn't like Princesca. She's helping because Revolt told her to, because it's really funny to her that Princesca needs her help, etc. Signe leaves for the palace to have a tea party with Thomasine, and comes back and announces that she got Princesca a job at the palace... as Thomasine's personal maid. She can definitely still stay at the Winter House, but she'll have to go to the palace every morning with Revolt and Lord Winter so that she can do her job.

And so, the Winter House arc ends. To be fair, that whole arc is just exposition Tuesday anyway. Cess is now the newest palace maid, for Thomasine of all people. However, the Thomasine we meet might be kind of different from the Thomasine in past chapters. For one, she's surprisingly less confident. That's just Thomasine when she's suddenly on top, I guess? Princesca also finds her dog, who is now tied up in the kitchens. Dipper is well-fed and keeps rodents away from the food, so basically he's fine. He does almost bite Cess when she tries to pet him. That's the last we see of him until the finale.

Cess also accidentally runs into good OG pauper Tom Canty. And he... recognizes her? That's right. Tom Canty knows that she's the princess. They have a badly whispered discussion in the hallway as Tom grills Cess for an explanation. It's clear that he's really out of it and the weeks of his daughter not knowing him is taking a toll on him. Princesca promises that she'll find a way to fix the situation. (Not that Princesca realizes it, but her motives for breaking her curse are suddenly no longer about going back to her old life. And that's the main reason why Tom Canty is not affected by the magical retcon. Signe, Lord Winter and Revolt are unaffected because of their place in other realms and stories, but Tom Canty was deliberately left out. Area Witch Enjoys Poetic Justice and Irony.)

In preparation for the mini-coronation, Thomasine asks for a brush-up on etiquette lessons and all that. Sounds logical enough. In reality, it's because subconscious Thomasine doesn't know any of this and a magical curse can be limited. She's hilariously bad at it and mixes up all the cutlery, and Princesca is kind of cruel about it. Only on the inside though. However, she doesn't enjoy watching Thomasine struggle -- and this feeling confuses Princesca. Empathy. -- and by some miracle, she actually helps her. Cess helps Thomasine out during her etiquette lessons.

There's a lot of Princesca and Thomasine bonding as Cess struggles with reconciling the pauper she believed Thomasine to be, and the girl she's actually getting to know. Thomasine confides in Cess about her uncertainty in being crown princess. Like, there's so many wholes and gaps in her life that confuse her. She confesses that the investiture ceremony was supposed to happen sooner, but she had it delayed to her 18th birthday. King Ed thinks it's because "it's only right" but really it's because Thomasine feels she isn't ready or fit to actually become future queen. That's also why she's taking etiquette lessons.

Days pass, and Cess just keeps struggling, emotionally and sometimes physically. Revolt visits a lot to check up on her. So does Signe, but she's haughty about it. Princesca and Thomasine continue to bond. Once, specifically, about her mother. Thomasine goes on this tangent about how her "father", the King, can't seem to find himself a decent woman. Cess asks what that even means, which leads Thomasine to talk about King Edward's first wife Dominique. Cess is in denial for the rest of the chapter. She escapes to the Winter House to get more details about this. Lord Winter gives her the full details of how and why ex-Queen Dominique was exiled.

Princesca doesn't go back to the palace that night. She's sitting outside in the garden then Signe shows up. Princesca asks if Signe knew about her mother. When Signe says yes, Princesca says something about how it's no surprise that Signe hates her. She must be just like her mother. They discuss feelings. "I know you think that I hate you." There are certain feelings.

...Okay, how about we cut that here.

While cleaning in the palace -- big congrats to Princesca, by the way, for finally learning her way around a broom -- Cess walks into her room. She's surprised to find that it's all still meticulously kept. The bed is made and there's not dust on any surface. In a moment of indulgence, she lies back on all her pillows and takes it all in. Then the King walks in. This conversation is kind of awkward, and even Princesca is surprised by how flustered she is. She asks him who is staying in the room.

"No one is staying here. Not yet, anyway. This room is waiting for someone, and until then, I'm going to keep it this way." It's a really emotional moment, but the King apologizes really quickly and orders Princesca to get out of the room. This really affects Princesca though. Did that mean that some part of her father remembered her? Or, like Thomasine, felt like something was wrong? This is but step one on the Princesca's journey to learning that her father actually loves her.

Finally, we come to the climactic events of the story. It's Thomasine's birthday. I know we've had a ton of time-skips over the story, but I swear this next part will take place within like a week and it will go over multiple chapters. That's how eventful it is.

It starts with Princesca and Revolt talking outside the ballroom, as Cess airs out her anxiety about the gala and ceremony. If Thomasine is publicly declared crown princess, will Cess still have a chance to break the spell? The original story is supposed to end at the coronation. Will Tom ever be able to look at his daughter again and actually see his daughter? Revolt doesn't reassure her, for some reason. Instead, he offers for his brother Rogue to bring them both back to Ever After now that the summer is ending. He tells her that at least in Ever After, people will know who she is and that's she's a princess. Princesca declines, saying that this is her kingdom and her story. They have a cute bonding moment. "You deserve to walk into a ballroom like a princess, you know." "And how exactly do I do I that?" Revolt extends his hand, "With a prince, of course." Eyes will roll.

Thomasine's birthday gala! Signe and Revolt are there and Princesca is paying maybe too much attention to the details of how Signe looks. I wonder if that means anything. Princesca directs her attention towards things that actually need it, like Thomasine -- who she's supposed to be watching over especially since she's like a personal assistant. Cess sees a middle-aged man, definitely dad age, who is wearing a mask and he approaches Thomasine and asks for a dance. Short tangent about how dumb it is to wear a mask at a party that isn't masquerade-themed. Thomasine goes for the dance, but Princesca's natural state is expecting the worst from other people. She's concerned and suspicious but this time she has good reason to be and is actually 97% correct in how worried she's supposed to be.

Princesca starts wandering the ballroom, looking for Revolt or Signe because she needs to tell someone about her concerns and no one else takes her seriously but the two of them. She spots Tom instead and figures that it's not a dumb idea to talk about Thomasine's safety with Thomasine's father. She's about to walk up to him, when the ballroom doors swing open and a bunch of armed guards pile into the room.

...

...And that's everything for today because this turned out to be longer than I expected and I am really sleepy. Honestly, I really hope I don't forget to update this, too. The plot thickens and will continue to thicken tomorrow. (And if you're impatient, I can just tell you the rest over Discord but I can't promise that it will sound coherent.)