31 January 2013
Inspired by #opussweeklychallenge
Confused and scared, the princess stood guard by the hatch waiting what felt like an eternity for her sisters. When they did return she told them about the girl that had been in her room.
There was a pause outside her bricked up door and then,
‘Never talk to that girl again, she is a demon sent to tease and tempt you.’
There was further silence, and the other one spoke, her voice unusually shrill,
‘We are the only people who will ever love you, that demon only wants to use you. If she comes back you must shout for us.’
The sisters left without putting anything through the hatch.
The princess could not sleep; there was a gnawing emptiness inside, she was experiencing feelings that she did not recognise and some of them were quite pleasant.
Hours, maybe days passed without any contact from her sisters. Sleep finally took hold, and with it dreams of breaking free. She was roused by a familiar scent, she sat bolt upright.
Hope was sitting at the bottom of her bed,
‘Shhh, I haven’t much time. I am growing weaker every day, you must listen. Your sisters have cast a spell on us, I have been banished far behind the mirror. You must smash it and free me, you are my only chance. I see your beauty, stay strong..'
Anger came from nowhere within the princess,
‘NO! How dare you, my sisters are protecting me. GET OUT!’
She jumped out of bed and grabbed a rock and threw it at Hope, but it passed straight through her. As it hit the wall behind, Hope disappeared.
She heard the hatch open, ‘What is it Ugly? Has the demon returned?’
The princess told her sisters what Hope had said.
‘You must be purged Ugly, it is the only way. We love you so we will have to punish you.’
For the first time since being entombed, the bricks of the door were removed.
Many hours later, the princess was alone again, rocking on her bed, sobbing. Before Hope arrived things were much simpler and easier to bear, she wished she had never known Hope.
As the sobs wracked her pain filled body, she felt a hand on her shoulder and snapped around but no one was there. Then she caught a trace of that sweet scent:
‘Please do not fear, listen to my words. You are beautiful, inside and out. We can be free if only you would smash the mirror and release us from this curse. I am losing strength and do not know if I will be able to return, but please know I love you and you are worthy of my love.’
The princess stood up,
‘I can’t smash the mirror, it is the only thing I have in this world. It is there to remind me why I must be locked away, without knowing that reason I would be lost.’
The voice was barely audible,
‘Please, there is a world outside. You are a special part of that world. Together, we can see so many things. There are so many people waiting to know us; so many people need us.’
The princess started punching and kicking the walls, but had no effect on them. The scent immediately vanished to be replaced by a stench so vile that it made even her, who was used to the putridity of decay, gag.
She walked over to the mirror and looked directly into her own eyes for the first time in an eternity. The nightmare that returned her gaze crushed her already broken heart,
‘So it was a cruel trick after all! How can anyone be so horrible!’ she screamed, bursting into the first tears she has allowed herself to shed since being locked away from the world.
Once the floodgates opened, she could not control them. An impossible waterfall of misery escaped from her eyes and very soon she was ankle deep in a pool of her own making. She heard footsteps outside, her sisters screeching at her, telling her she is not worth crying over.
She looked down into the lake of tears, threatening to engulf her. She saw a girl she recognised staring back at her. She started to smile and laughed at the image, that copyied her every move.
With every laugh, cracks appeared in her prison walls. Her sisters howled obscenities, but she could only laugh.
She looked into the mirror once more as a fragrant scent returned, spreading warmth and courage throughout her body. A thunderous crack filled the room as the mirror shattered into a million pieces.
The princess lost herself in a hysterical fit of laughter. Images of a happy childhood flooded her mind as surely as her tears flooded the crumbling room, ripping the bricks asunder.
She remembered being hugged by a loving mother, bounced on the knee of a proud father and playing with loyal friends. She remembered hearing the words, ‘I love you.’
She stumbled, as bricks fell into the lake, the screams of her sisters were left behind as she fell through the mirror.
Falling, feeling free, yet feeling fear. Scared to let go, scared to face what lay beyond her prison, she could barely breathe, something was stuck in her throat, choking her.
A familiar scent returned and she felt the touch and strength of Hope…
She is convinced she is about to die, a brilliant white light rushes towards her. She shields her eyes in pain.
With a gasp she sits bolt upright and instinctively grabs at her nose, finding tubes, she pulls them from her, gulping in that beautiful perfume.
Before she can open her eyes, she is grabbed and squeezed by unseen yet familiar arms. She remembers the scent. She remembers her mum.
She opens her eyes and sees her mother’s face, inches from her own, crying. Her mother hugs her tighter as she realises she is lying on a hospital bed, surrounded by machines. Her father is standing above her, tears welling in his eyes, he strokes her hair, his voice breaks as he says,
‘My princess, I love you.’
He gathers her and her mother in his arms. She hears her mother say,
‘Oh, Hope we thought we had lost you my love.’
Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess that lived…
A Fairytale - Part 2 • Opuss № I