The Princess and the Pea

***The Princess and the Pea*** is a story of two girls switched at birth and a kingdom facing ruin unless the true princess can be found using a simple pea.

## Plot

The opening narration describes how a princess found by a pea was able to bring about honor and goodness that brought the Kingdom of the Heart to a Golden Age. However, later generations would become greedy and prideful which led to wars until King Wyndam was able to bring about peace. With King Wyndam's reign about to end, Court Historian Sebastian Stonebeak (a crow) tearfully notes how the greedy Prince Laird will be crowned the next king of the realm. In a campsite, young Prince Rollo of Arvea exits his tent to find his dog digging up a parchment.

The next day, the people of the kingdom are in good spirits as they tend to their farms and businesses. Crown Prince Laird and his wife, Helsa, comment how Laird will soon be the next king and the people's high spirits will soon be brought down. Laird's escort is soon joined by his younger brother Heath and his wife, Mariana. Upon entering the kingdom, Laird is quickly met with an unpleasant audience, but Heath is greatly welcomed. In the castle laboratory, Heath locates Sebastian and introduces him to Rollo. Rollo presents the scroll he located and asks if it is a treasure map. Sebastian becomes greatly interested in the scroll as it is deemed to be a missing piece of the kingdom's history of the Princess and the Pea as well as their coat of arms. Rollo becomes disheartened when he realizes the scroll is not a treasure map after all and is instead partial instructions of how the true princess with true nobility can be found. Sebastian is upset that the tapestry is missing the most crucial parts of the legend and becomes more concerned when another part reveals that if the true princess cannot be located the kingdom will end during the reign of the eighteenth king; which will be Laird.

Preparing for the coronation the next day, Laird sings about how he will rule with an iron hand and have his way as king until Rollo points out his selfish ways are not how a true king rules. Ignoring the young boy, Laird leaves while Heath attempts to talk sense into his brother. Rollo finds displeasure in knowing that the law of the kingdom states that the first son will be crowned king until Sebastian points out that the law states that the first son who enters the coronation room will be crowned king. The next day, Heath locates Laird searching for his golden shoes in a panic as the coronation is about to begin. Laird refuses to be seen without his gold shoes and orders his brother to retrieve them after Rollo points out how the shoes were left in the coronation room. When Heath enters the coronation room, everyone is surprised to see him and not Laird. When Laird hears the ceremony begin without him, he quickly hurries to the coronation room where he discovers that Heath has been crowned king and learns that the law actually stated whichever son was first to enter the coronation room would in fact be crowned the next ruler. In his first act as king, Heath banishes Laird and his wife to rule over the pig kingdom in hopes that they will change their ways. Laird promises revenge and that he will one day regain his rightful place in the future before he and Helsa are sent away. After watching his brother leave the castle, Heath's wife informs him that she is with child.

Several months later, Laird becomes the father of a newborn daughter. A messenger soon arrives and informs him that, earlier that day, Heath's wife passed away while giving birth to a daughter. Quickly devising a plan, Laird sends a message to his brother claiming that his daughter died and would like for Helsa to care for Heath's daughter. Helsa is sent directly to the castle while Laird takes their daughter and promises to meet her at midnight. In the castle, Sebastian is taking the measurements of the newborn princess when head maid Sasha appears and questions if the feathered historian has managed to figure out the riddle of the pea. Heath soon arrives and gifts his daughter the baby blanket that Queen Mariana had made. Heath voices how he hopes that his daughter will be as kind and loving as her mother was when Helsa announces her arrival. Heath and Sasha give their condolences from believing that Helsa's baby died shortly after birth and how they are grateful for her help in caring for Heath's daughter.

Later that night, Helsa is caring for her niece and forms a bond with her when she reveals that she herself lost her mother when she was young. Laird arrives and Helsa questions if his plan is the right thing to do, stating that their niece is not the one at fault for Laird losing the throne. Laird persuades Helsa to continue with the plan as not doing so would only rob their daughter of her rightful place as princess and heir to the throne. He switches the babies and instructs Helsa to raise their daughter to be prideful, greedy, and spoiled. Before giving Laird their niece, Helsa makes him promise not to harm her on the grounds that they are still her aunt and uncle. Laird promises not to harm the child and will instead give her to a family in the pig kingdom.

Several years pass and Heath's daughter, Daria, has grown into a kind and beautiful young woman while being raised by her lazy stepfather and stepmother. While her stepparent's spend most of their time sitting in bed, Daria takes care of the farm and its animals with the help of her three pig friends; Hungry, Princess, and Fearless. In the castle, Laird's daughter, Hildegard, is raised as Heath's daughter but is very proud and spoiled. She refuses to hear any stories of her 'mother', Queen Mariana, and spends most of her time demanding bigger and better things from having been raised by Helsa to believe that she is the royal princess and that a true princess shouldn't accept anything but the best. Hildegard is given twenty feather beds from Sebastian but is unaware of the pea he slipped in under one of them. When Sebastian inspects the pea later that night, he narrowly escapes attack from Laird's falcon. After seeing how upset Heath is at Hildegard's behavior, Sebastian feverishly continues to try to solve the mystery of the legend of the pea.

A grown Rollo arrives at the castle in hopes of finding a bride. He becomes interested in Hildegard, but Sebastian advises against it due to Hildegard's spoiled and pampered ways. However, Hildegard soon spots Rollo and instantly finds him quite handsome. She becomes fully enamored when Helsa reveals that Rollo is the prince of a large and extremely wealthy kingdom. Rollo attempts to escape Hildegard's request of marriage, but Hildegard quickly gives chase through the kingdom to find him. Arriving in the village, Hildegard encounters Laird though quickly dismisses him as a peasant and continues to try to locate Rollo. Laird praises Helsa for how Hildegard has been raised and learns that she wishes to marry Rollo. Laird accepts the idea though he believes that Hildegard will need a few lessons on deceit in order to trick Rollo into marriage. Hildegard spots Daria tending to her horses and quickly stops her while enforcing her authority as princess. After Hildegard leaves, Laird locates Rollo and tries to convince him that Hildegard is actually acting out under stress at having to live up to Queen Mariana and is actually a kind and understanding person. That night, Helsa informs Hildegard that she is her true mother. Hildegard is furious at the truth of being born in the pig kingdom but quickly accepts being part of her father's plan to take over the kingdom.

Out in the woods, Rollo meets Daria after attempting to prevent her from running into a bear only for her to save him instead. In the ruins of a lost castle, Rollo falls for Daria's beauty and kind nature but ultimately leaves when he has to continue to find a princess to marry. He visits numerous kingdoms to meet the available daughters of the reigning monarchs but finds each one to be shallow, selfish, and only concerned about their own interests. Sebastian, having accompanied Rollo on his journey, returns to the castle to continue to try to figure out the legend of the pea and tells Heath about Rollo having fallen in love with a peasant girl. Heath decides to have Sebastian take a message to Rollo with the proclamation that if Rollo will marry the peasant girl, he will disinherit Hildegard and make Rollo his heir. Helsa, having listened to their conversation from a hidden passage behind a painting, sends Laird's falcon to stop Sebastian from finding Rollo and to take the message to Laird. Their plan to stop Sebastian succeeds and Laird learns that his plan to return to power is in jeopardy and decides to do away with Daria. He rallies the people of the pig kingdom and convinces them that Daria and her step-parent's are the one's to blame for the hardships that have befallen the village.

Daria is chased out of the village and takes refuge in the castle ruins. Laird has the villagers start a fire to flush her out but Rollo finds them and hurries into the fire to save Daria. Sebastian, having landed in the castle ruins after trying to escape Laird's falcon, regains consciousness and locates the entire legend of the pea. He learns that a true princess would be so sensitive from the needs and worries of others that she would be able to feel a pea when it is placed under twenty mattresses. Rollo finds Sebastian and gets them out of the fire. He collapses in Laird's arms while speaking Daria's name but Laird claims that he said Hildegard's name. When Rollo awakens in the castle, Laird convinces him that he had claimed to want to marry Hildegard before he passed out. Heath, happy that Hildegard has become like his late wife, is pleased to accept their union. Laird tells Rollo that Daria died during the fire before Hildegard announces that she has started the preparations for the wedding, claiming that the ceremony will take place the moment that Rollo is able to get out of bed.

Daria and her step-parent's have taken shelter in the castle ruins. Daria has decided to leave for the kingdom and takes Hungry, Princess, and Fearless with her. In the castle, Rollo pretends to still be recovering in order to delay the marriage to Hildegard. Believing Hildegard's act of having changed, Rollo questions if he should marry her but does not get the chance to decide when Hildegard catches him out of bed and orders the wedding to start.

In the kingdom, Daria is still blamed as the one responsible for the hardships that have befallen the kingdom. During the chaos of a rainstorm, she helps Sasha who has injured her ankle when trying to avoid a crowd. Daria and the pig's help Sasha return to the castle and find Sebastian has recovered only for him to learn that Rollo is about to marry Hildegard. When Daria asks if she can rest on the mattresses, Sebastian wishes to see if Daria is able to feel the pea he placed under the mattresses. He finds great joy when Daria announces that she is unable to rest because of something she feels under the beds. When Sebastian announces her as the true princess, he spots a birthmark on her left foot in the shape of a heart; a feature that he remembered taking note of when she was a baby. After confirming the mark in his notes, Sebastian discovers that Daria is Heath's true daughter and the rightful heir to the throne.

Before Sebastian is able to inform anyone of this, Laird intervenes and confines Sebastian to the laboratory. As the wedding begins, Fearless, hiding in a bag that Sebastian was tied to, begins running about and makes his way to the throne room where Sebastian is able to pause the wedding with the claim that Hildegard is not Heath's daughter with the proof being that Hildegard does not have a heart shaped birthmark on her left foot. Helsa and Hildegard shock Sebastian when Hildegard reveals a heart mark on her left foot and tries to continue the ceremony but Rollo's dog licks Hildegard's foot to show the mark is fake. Sebastian once more announces that Hildegard is not Heath's daughter. Rollo sees that Hungry, Princess, and Fearless are present and guesses that Daria must be close by.

Laird suddenly appears while holding Daria hostage. When Laird attempts to kill Rollo, Heath shoves Rollo out of the way and is thought to have been killed when the chandelier fell on him but is still alive. He demands that his true daughter be released but Laird instead continues to hold her hostage and disappear into his secret passage with Helsa and Hildegard. Rollo gives chase with the pig's and discovers the secret passage. He enters the passage way and nearly falls into Laird's trap but Fearless was scared into setting the trap early and therefore spared Rollo. Helsa attempts to escape and Hildegard manages to make it out to a tower with Daria. Rollo tries to free Daria but is nearly knocked over the edge by Laird.

Laird's falcon attempts to finish Rollo but Sebastian is able to stop him when he appears wearing his grandfather's suit of armor. Sebastian attempts to stop Laird but Laird is able to prevent Sebastian from doing any more. Daria takes advantage of Hildegard's moment of distract to escape her and knock Laird off the tower and into the moat below. Hildegard takes an ax and tries to get revenge on Daria for ruining the wedding. Daria nearly falls off the tower but Rollo is able to catch her from where he is hanging off the collapsed railing. Hildegard nearly finishes them off but Fearless appears and is able to scare Hildegard so much that she falls off the tower and is apprehended with Laird by the castle guards.

After Helsa is caught, Rollo introduces Heath to Daria. Father and daughter are reunited. Upon Heath commenting how Daria looks like her mother, Daria excitedly asks to know everything about her mother. Happy that Daria wants to know about her mother, Heath agrees to tell her after the new wedding that is taking place in the castle ruins where Daria and Rollo met.

As the wedding begins, Sebastian feels that a new Golden Age is about to begin.