31 January 2013
Inspired by #opussweeklychallenge
Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who was locked away in a tower by her horrid twin sisters, Mia and Ana.
There were no windows in her sparse prison, only one large mirror that had been enchanted so that any time the princess looked at her reflection, a large ugly ogre stared blankly back at her.
The only door of the cold, dank circular room had been bricked over the day the princess was imprisoned. Only a small vent at the bottom remained, which the twins used to pass rotten scraps of food, when they felt like it.
Each time they visited they would tell the princess she had been locked up for her own good and that they were the only real friends she could ever have and she had to be protected from the cruel world that would never understand her like they did. They also told her she would never be loved by anyone else apart from them; that her ugliness meant that she could never leave and that her parents had disowned her and forgotten about her because she was a monster.
The princess spent her time sleeping as much as her tormented soul would let her and her waking moments were spent imagining a world beyond her prison, where people would not judge her for the way she looked; where she could feel the touch of a lover’s hand on her face or the warmth of a loving embrace.
She could not remember seeing a sunrise or feeling its heat upon her face. She tried to keep track of the passing of days by the change in temperature in her cell, but it was neigh on impossible. She had no memories outside these dripping stone walls and could not remember anything about her parents or the sound of any voice apart from the cackling of her twin sisters.
One morning while she lay on her hard bed, she heard the hatch being opened, she did not even lift her head, but the smell of the slop being shoved through, made her retch. No words were spoken, but she was sure she heard laughter as her sisters left her again. With a heavy hearted sigh, she stood and walked the short distance from her concrete bed to the steaming bowl. As she did she passed the mirror and caught a glimpse of her grotesque body as if to remind her why her twins were doing this for her. She picked up the bowl and turned back toward her bed.
What she saw made her scream in surprise and drop the metal bowl to the ground, sending its vile contents spilling over the moss covered floor.
A beautiful girl was sitting on her bed, smiling at her. The girl stood up and introduced herself:
‘Hello, I’m called Hope, what is your name?’
The princess was lost for words,
‘I.. I don’t know, my sisters have only ever called me Ugly.’
The princess moved backwards, away from Hope, so that her back was pressed up against the cold damp wall.
‘Who are you? How did you get in here?’
‘Please don’t be afraid of me, I’ve been watching you for some time. I mean you no harm. I’m trapped too and I need your help.’
Hope began to cry and as she did so she began to fade,
‘Im sorry, I’ll come back. Please remember you aren’t alone.’
Before the words had left her mouth, Hope vanished, leaving her voice lingering in the dank air.
The princess ran to her bed and checked behind it and round the entire room, even stealing a glance toward the mirror, but Hope was gone, she was alone again. If it were not for the fresh smell in the air she would have thought it was her mind playing tricks. She breathed the delicious fragrance deep into her lungs and it caused her face to twitch in an uncomfortable way, while a strange warmth briefly caressed her heart. She wondered with a pang of guilt, if this was what it felt like to smile.
A Fairytale - Part 1 • Opuss № I