Once upon a time there lived pretty, petite princess. She lived in a
kingdom occupied by many other princesses, and classically found her prince
charming.
Charming was hardly a difficult attribute to find in this kingdom,
there were plenty about. But unlike the frog-like appearance of his
counterparts, he had managed to blossom, and appeared to befit the title of a
prince, at least in his physical attributes.
So they began their courtship, and in their mutual attraction to one
another discovered companionship in one another. What was next was simple, to
involve the world in their pursuit to make their love renowned. This was when the cracks began to appear in
the prince’s character.
The prince was hardly in a position to be considered as such by the
princess’s family. The princess’s family wanted a King, and not another prince,
in line to the throne. This annoyed the prince, who believed in his worth and
so decided to be patient and let her family witness his worth over time.
The princess knew that the prince was for her, and in her occupied
mind of childhood fairytales believed wholeheartedly in her prince’s potential.
This goodness and naivety colored her judgment, when rumors befell her.
He felt unappreciated, his earnest attempt to betroth his princess,
his efforts were viewed with hesitation and conditioning. He believed himself
to be a prince, but the lack of confidence presented before him, meant he
meandered in self-doubt. This began to play its part and he began to look for
validation of self worth in flirtatious dialogues with other princesses in the
kingdom.
When the princess met secretly with her prince, unbeknownst to her
family, she was reassured by the prince’s devotion to her. After all, the
prince had been practicing his charms on a plentiful of less desirable
princesses. As she rested her head on his broad shoulders, she knew in her
hearts of hearts, that he was without a doubt her prince.
Meanwhile, as the prince cradled her beautiful head in his arms, he
couldn’t shy away from the voices of self doubt that her family had besieged
him with. Her devotion was not enough to quiet his lacking esteem.
This courtship continued, the princess in her boredom decided to
find a job, to help her build her happily ever after with the prince. She was
by in large a simple and uncomplicated girl, ready to move on from her title of
princess to the Queen of her prince charming’s world.
In the midst of this, the kingdom was greeted with a wondrous witch.
She had reluctantly renounced her title as a princess, and could no longer
occupy the pretense of appearing as such. She had felt plagued by the kingdom’s
disposition to make every girl its princess, and every boy a prince.
She had learnt from her pursuits to make every boy her prince
charming, and knew that the magic she sought lay within her. Yet this
realization was not easy to ferment in her core and so she sat in the kingdom’s
Inn, inhaling-exhaling potions of soothing.
Whilst the princess carried on saving up for her happily ever after,
so did the prince. Working in the kingdom’s Inn allowed him plentiful access to
the princesses that walked in looking for amusement. And he was more than
attributed with the charms to intoxicate these young maidens. After all, as
they inhaled-exhaled potions of merridom, their inhibitions reduced, and prince
charming appeared to be the perfect candidate to relish their fairytales
in. Indeed it was not as though he
denied their amusing forthcomings.
Amongst the clouds of smoke, the prince noticed the witch. She in
her intoxication did not become inclined to indulge in the amusements of the
other princesses. This was interesting, he thought. He felt both curious and
challenged by this. In the boredom of the monotonous work that occupied him
whilst proving his worth, he allowed his mind to concoct ways to amuse the
witch.
The witch was inclined towards solitude. Upon her reentry into the
kingdom, she found little that made her want to remain there. While she had
been away, she had somehow managed to become involved in an awkward situation,
which she really didn’t want to discuss. However, as a result she had lost her
beloved broomstick. One day, the witch was introduced to a fairy, who would fly
in her pretty sparkly dresses, with her cute transparent wings, arriving at
this Inn. The witch was curious about the fairy, and so over time, she lowered
her guard and allowed the friendship to a fairy to permeate.
It was the princess’s birthday, and she had convinced her family
that she wanted to spend the evening with her other best princess friends. She
had secretly agreed to meet her prince that night. As she radiated prettiness,
sparkling with a smile she was greeted by a pigeon tapping ever so lightly on
her window. She opened the window, and unwrapped the note on the foot of the
pigeon. It was from her beloved. As she wondered about why there was no parcel
attached, like last year…she paid little notice to the loving note of reassurance.
She was not impressed, and instead busied herself in opening the other parcels
that awaited her. Flowers, chocolates, jewelry, clothing, aaah validation she
thought, she did matter.
The prince had overslept. He knew today was very much like the previous
day, nothingness accompanied by a late shift. As he waited for a loving
reminder from his princess, he was disappointed to find that there were no
pigeons waiting. He wasn’t surprised; his princess was known to behave
irrationally for no apparent reason. He wondered what she had a concocted in
her mind about his shortcomings today. As he recanted the events encircling his
interactions, he was bemused by his chance interaction with the witch. He had
begun to make her smile, a rarity in the Inn.
The witch was finding it difficult to keep her guard up; she knew
her residency in the kingdom would be temporary. Therefore the forging of
friendships was a luxury she didn't want to become accustomed to, only to have
it wither away. Yet the fairy was a persistent kindness, whom she could not
keep at bay. She sparkled with hope and satisfaction, qualities which the witch
feigned being. In reality, the witch knew she was choking in bewilderment and
disappointment at having misplaced her broom, thereby losing her ability to
fly. The witch and fairy’s conversations carried on to the late nights, as
their barriers came down. While the witch tried to anchor these fortresses from
reaching their demise, the fairy merely sparkled and twinkled as she lowered
her guard. In fact the witch was sure the fairy fluttered higher and higher as
their conversations continued.
As the fortresses lifted, the witch began to engage in the reality
that she was living in. Her conversations with the fairy had made her hopeful,
wanting to embrace her new life in the kingdom. And so, when the prince stood
before her, jokingly refusing entry into the Inn until she said his name, she
was amused. He smiled, his gigantic stature leaning over her, and she found
herself leaning in. And there it was, mutual attraction.
The princess could not understand, it was now evening and still no
news from her beloved. No present even. How inconsiderate she thought, she knew
how to play this game. She knew he had forgotten and so decided to not set herself
up for disappointment that night, rallying her fellow princesses she headed
towards the place where she knew she would find her beloved.
As evening stretched in to the kingdom, the prince yawned at the
thought of having to serve the folk who had filled the Inn that evening.
Unimpressed by the self-entitled Arabian princes, he wondered how birth in to
wealth had set them up for worldly luxuries. These princes were coupled with
groups of rude kingdom bois who were loud and rowdy, putting on an unwelcomed
pantomime for everybody in the Inn. Although he knew a few people from the
latter crowd, he no longer felt he could relate to them. He spoke momentarily
with them, but noticed the fairy entering and decided he’d rather not lose his
good standing with her. As he went in to the back of the Inn, wondering where
the regal witch was, he was pleasantly surprised by the smiling witch.
The witch was used to visiting the Inn in the afternoons, there was
a mellowness in the atmosphere allowing her to read, watch tv-shows… and thanks
to the befriendment to the fairy, converse too. Today she had altered her plans
to fit the fairy, who had sparkling plans which meant she was not free until
the evening. And so as she went in to the back to sort out the potion
concoction she was used to, she decided she wanted to try something different.
As she tried one of the potions the Inn master was recommending, in walked the
prince. She smiled, and returned to the conversation about changing her potion
preference. She was unsure about the new concoction and didn't want to commit
to it, the prince found this amusing, and offered to share his potion with her
during his break.
The prince took the carefully prepared potion and joined the witch
and fairy. As he sat with them, he was interested in the conversations the
fairy and the witch busied themselves with. He interjected with inquiring about
how the two ladies were yet to be betrothed. By the kingdoms standards, these
ladies always sitting in the Inn unaccompanied by princes was a rarity. The
fairy told him about her once upon a time, comfortably and confidently while
the witch was less comfortable in sharing. She kept her story short and didn't
want to appear like the damsel in distress. The prince offered the potion to
the witch, staring in to her big eyes, ridiculing her in an attempt to make her
feel more comfortable. Then he did what was used to his charming ways,
complimenting the way she looked. She smiled and attraction grew more.
The witch was not impressed by the loud conversations taking place
in the Inn that evening, convincing her that this kingdom held little for her.
When the prince joined them she was shrugging off the attraction she had felt
for him earlier that week. Unfortunately for her, he reminded her of a
character from a fairytale she watched earlier that week. As he sat there
bantering with the fairy, she fell in to montage of moments that she had subconsciously
stored. A collection of the compliments the prince had made to her.
-
the time he had noticed she had
worn a new earring
-
every time she wore her hair pulled
back off her face, he said it looked nice
-
the time where he swore,
sitting beside her and then apologized for using such language
-
the time he said she looked
like an angel
-
the time when he stood before
her, gesturing to her to remove her headphones just to say she looked glowing
that day
-
the time he said she looked
like a mint chocolate
-
the time when he had invited
her to watch a fairytale with him
-
how her eye shadow matched her
attire
The prince looked at her, and offered his potion, and the witch
could not help but smile recalling these thoughts. She was suddenly surprised
to see little butterflies appearing around her, she quickly waved them away,
and quickly handed the prince’s potion back to him. What was in the potion that
made her react this way?
The princess stretched her dress out, as she was about to enter the
Inn that night. She looked good and she knew it, her prince would so regret
ignoring her on her birthday. As she
walked in with her princesses loudly and giggling like little girls, the
Arabian princes glared at them, while the rude kingdom bois said inappropriate
things to one another about them. The princess looked around eagerly for her
prince but to her disappointment could not see him. A pigeon with a red tape
and a parcel flew in, tapping her ever so gently. She knew the red tape around
the pigeon meant that this was an undelivered message and all of a sudden
realised that her prince had not forgotten her gift. She unwrapped the parcel
and found the necklace that she had hinted to him about all those months ago.
As the prince waited for his princess, he was yet again disappointed
to find her not there. No pigeons in sight. He excused her lateness,
accrediting his beloved to her girly tendencies of looking perfect. Thinking of
beauty, he recalled how the witch looked at him that evening, as he handed her
the potion. Her eyes had glistened ever so slightly and her smile was different
to all those other times he had conversed with her. Could she like him? But
what if she did, he didn't, he thought. She was attractive, there was no doubt
about that, but he was taken, well kinda taken prince. Butterflies started to
appear around him and he realised that he did like her.
A panicked princess walked up the street that had come to be known
as their spot. It was here where the princess and fellow princesses had seen
the prince playing sports that day… as they stared at him one of them decided
to send him a pigeon praising his “skills”. As the unknown pigeon flew onto the
pitch, preventing him from scoring that day, it did point out who the message
was from. As the pigeon stretched out
its wing, identifying the group of princesses, the princesses screamed and
flee. Unfortunately the princess had not worn suitable foot attire that day,
and as she stumbled to run too, her heel pinched into the grass and she
stumbled. Charming casually jogged over, with a big grin on his face,
unnecessarily moving his hair off his face and smiled at her.
The witch was bantering with herself that night, as the fairy
conjured up a carriage. The fairy inquired about her preoccupation and the
witch just shrugged off her feelings. But then the butterflies appeared and as
the witch waved them away, the fairy could not help but notice this behavior.
The witch knew she would have to explain this bizarre behavior. Who knows, she
thought, maybe the fairy could help.
The princess was relieved to find the prince still waiting for her,
aaah confirmation of his affection for her she thought. As she walked up to
him, she noticed his preoccupation; he was bizarrely waving in the air. She
straightened herself up, making the beautiful twinkle around her neck visible
to her beloved, but he was yet to notice her, or anything else. She apologized
for her lateness, and explained how the pigeon was late in delivering the
parcel. She justified her lateness, and as she did the prince just stood and
hugged her tightly.
As the prince hugged her, relieved the butterflies were no longer in
sight, he heard the princess explaining how she had visited the Inn that night.
He pulled her away and looked at her, annoyed. She was dressed to perfection,
her face glowing with attraction, and this did not impress him. How could she
have gone to the Inn dressed this way? After all, the Inn was filled with dirty
princes that night, who must have noticed his beloved. How could she have
thought that he had forgotten, after all he had sent the pigeon? Sure he had
set an automatic reminder for the day, and partially forgotten, but she didn't
need to know that. He made her feel guiltier, and as she began to tear up, he
embraced her and told her that it was okay. Even though it wasn’t. Not
completely.
The fairy giggled, as the witch looked utterly pathetic in her admitting
feelings for the prince. As the fairy tried to console the witch, a pigeon flew
in to the carriage. The fairy’s sister was inquiring about her whereabouts, as
she had received news that a fight had broken out at the Inn. The fairy told
the witch about this, the witch becoming concerned about Charming and his
safety. When she reached home, despite advice from the fairy to leave the
butterflies be, she decided to send a pigeon to Charming.
As the prince closed the carriage door, holding out his hand for his
princess, a pigeon floated in. He noticed the black band around the pigeon, an
unknown had sent him a message, he took the note and stuffed it into his
pocket. He walked her to the wall near her house, which would conceal him from
the princesses’ family and wished her a good night. He walked towards the
carriage, kicking a pebble, expressing his annoyance at the actions his
princess had taken that night. He didn’t understand why she would behave in
this way, how could she have been this insecure of his feelings for her. He
wanted to marry her, now if he could, had the King not set so many conditions
on their betrothment, devaluing his worth. He knew how to be a King too, at
least far better than the Arabian princes from the Inn that night, those Arabian
princes who had no doubt ogled at his beloved – but why did she go there? At
this point, another pigeon flew in from the Inn manager who explained how there
was fight at the Inn between the two groups, but thankfully nobody got hurt.
This enraged the prince even more.
The princess kept the necklace on as she got in to bed, and was
happy to see a pigeon tapping at her side from her prince. As she smiled at the
pigeon, gently taking the note, she remembered the sweetness in her prince’s
embrace that night. The note was not sweet, it expressed the prince’s annoyance
at her having visited the Inn that night and how she could of gone dressed that
way. It informed her that a fight broke out between the two groups as the
Arabian princes behaved disrespectfully towards one of the princesses there.
This was not true, but the prince wanted his beloved to understand the danger
for a princess to go these places unaccompanied. She replied apologetic and
sent lots of kisses, reassuring him of her devotion to him.
As the witch got into bed that night, she was wrestling with her own
self. Why did she send that pigeon to Charming? What was she thinking? If he
did get hurt, then she would learn about it in the morrow, but no she had to be
a chump and express concern for the Charming working at the Inn! It had been
several hours since she had sent the pigeon, and she felt completely
obliterated by the feeling of vulnerability. He was…is a soon to be betrothed
prince, what was she expecting from this situation? There was no situation, she
told herself, and as she did so a tiny butterfly appeared and sat on her nose.
The witch thought it was cute and a definite improvement from the bundles that
were appearing in the Inn that night.
The prince was satisfied by the reply he had received from his
princess, and as he undressed he remembered the note he had stuffed in his
pocket earlier that night. He could not hold back a cheeky grin, as he learnt
who it was from. He replied instantly, reassuring the witch that he was okay and
that nobody got hurt. He was flattered to learn that she cared enough to send
him a pigeon, and quickly added her to his contacts.
The witch smiled in her sleeped state to learn that Charming had
sent her a pigeon back. When she went to the Inn the following day, she began
to always notice Charming in her peripheral vision. And as days rolled by, the
days that Charming wasn’t there began to affect her. Was it the bundles of
compliments he said to her when no one was around? Or was it because she actually
liked him? But how could she like the smooth-talking lady charming Inn prince?
He was so immature, but so tall… it must have been the new potion she started
inhaling and exhaling, the one that the prince would make, that must have been
the reason for this internal diatribe. And so when she went to the Inn that
day, she decided to inhale-exhale the old potion. She stood in the back,
knowing her Charming, I mean Charming would not be there, he wasn't working
that day, unbeknownst to her she had learned his schedule.
The prince was not happy that he was told to work that day; he had
stayed out the whole night engaging in merriment. As he dragged his feet into
the Inn that day, he was happy to see the fairy there. This meant the witch
would be around. He went into the back, finding his Inn crush dressed
appealingly. He smiled at her, and asked why she wasn’t inhaling his concoction
that day. The witch didn't make eye contact and sounded flustered. He stood
beside her, and told her she smelt nice. And there it was, she looked up at
him, and smiled politely at him saying thank you. He asked about her day, and
the witch decided let down her barriers and explained her family’s predicament
of finding her a suitor. He found this amusing, and asked her to describe her
perfect prince. As she finished describing him, a very short list he thought,
he smiled cheekily and said it sounded like she was describing him. He made her
blush, and stutter, and then rush out of the back. He couldn't believe it, he
had made the wondrous witch speechless.
The witch rushed out of the back, not completely believing what had
just happened. She knew what was going to happen, and yes it did happen, a
storm of butterflies flew in, fluttering in and around her hair. She couldn't
ignore them, and as she sat down with the fairy, she confusedly retold her what
had just happened. But Charming entering with the fairy’s concoction cut the
story short. He told the fairy that they needed to find the witch a prince, and
it sounded to him that he fit the mold. The fairy laughed at this, and the
witch blushed even more, having no way to respond. The fairy looked at the
witch, who looked completely horrified. She reassured her that this was just a
phase, and that she would get over it. He was a prince, and the witch needed a
King of some sort, someone who already knew himself and did not need the
validation of princesses to pass time.
The prince went home that night completely exhausted. And as he was
about send a pigeon to his princess, he noticed the pigeon that had flew in
from none other than the witch. He knew he had hit a nerve with her that night
and totally loved the attention from what the Inn workers referred to as the
unique witch. He engaged in banter with her, and all of a sudden was surprised
by what he was reading. She told him how she wished he wasn’t so tall, and he
said he wished she wasn't so attractive. She replied saying she wished he
wasn't so cute, and he wished she wasn't so pretty. And as the conversation
continued, pigeon feathers could be found all around both of their rooms. He
finally admitted that he liked her, and she replied instantly with the same
proclamation. He invited her to secret rendezvous and she agreed.
The witch had had a difficult week. In the midst of satisfying her
parents, she had began to see herself through their eyes. An old maiden,
expired… clearly not a desirable princess. And so, anyone who came a-knocking,
prince or otherwise, was dealt to the witch as a suitable prospect. She was told she was being too fussy, too
difficult, that attraction grew after betrothing. The witch knew the falsehood
in these allegations but hearing these things over and over made her question
the value of her own opinion. She missed her broomstick; somehow her conviction
and self-worth had been tied to it. As night came to be in the kingdom, the
witch struggled to fall asleep. She needed a distraction, who but Charming
could provide this?
The rendezvous took place in broad daylight, and as the witch
bantered with her better judgment, a pigeon flew in from Charming informing her
of his whereabouts. Charming had big grin on his face, as the witch walked
towards him. She couldn't help but notice that he looked far better in her
imagination, but it was clearly too late to back out now. There were no
butterflies that fluttered in, and as they sat beside one another it was clear
that Charming was not for her happily ever after. As time passed, days turned
into weeks and then months, the witch realised the worth in her own character.
Conversations with the fairy and other kingdom characters helped reassure her
of her own worth. And as she looked in the mirror she couldn’t help see her
true reflection. She was not a witch at all, she was in fact a fairy, born to
be free from the judgments of the kingdom and as she walked to the Inn that day
she realised that she had grown her own wings.
Her opinion of Charming grew less and less, and although the
butterflies came and went she began to see the reality of the situation.
Charming continued in his charming ways, engaging in merriment with the Inn
princesses, with his flirtatious demeanor making inappropriate comments to her
and no doubt to others. And so, with these new wings she flew far away from the
kingdom, knowing that one day she would return, content that it wouldn’t be in to the arms of Charming. The prince and princess married and lived happily ever
after.
