Some time ago, I read about this fairy tale writing competition. I decided to participate. I wasn’t sure what I wanted my fairy tale to be about, and I kept going in circles, until I watched the news and was inspired by it. While my story didn’t win the competition, I do want to share it with you. Want to know what it’s about? Read on!
Once upon a time there was a country that almost perished. Here is what happened:
A young girl called Ava lived in a small village. Her father was poor, and her brother worked far away in the King’s palace. She missed her brother terribly, and desperately wanted to leave this village. Nothing ever happened, and the people were so boring. Every day she dreamt about the capital, where her brother lived. His letters told her about so many beautiful things: all the people walking around, the fingerlicking good food, and the music that was playing on every street corner. She wanted to move to the city, but she couldn’t. She had to work for her father all the time.
Until one day a stranger visited the village. He was seated on a white horse, his boots were of the softest leather, and he wore an exquisite red coat. He had sparkling white teeth, voluminous blond hair, and the most beautiful blue eyes Ava had ever seen. She fell in love right then and there, and ran towards this divine appearance. The stranger smiled at her brightly for two full seconds. After that, he murmured something to his horse and sped away. He had not spent two minutes in the village.
Ava longed for this wonderful, gorgeous man for days on end. All her thoughts were about him, even though she didn’t know who he was. She asked her friends, and they giggled that they had seen Prince Luke too. So he was a prince! Of course! She dropped her work, said goodbye to her father, and walked towards the capital, where he lived.
After a couple of days she had reached the city. She knew she was close to her prince, because everywhere she looked there were leaflets with his face on it, scattered throughout the city. Some people deliberately stepped on his face, or spat on it, which angered her. After walking around for a bit she stumbled upon a house adorned with an enormous poster of the man of her dreams. His hair was like molten gold, and his eyes seemed to look straight at her. With a trembling hand, she knocked on the door, and was welcomed by a crowd of girls.
She had arrived at the Prince Luke Headquarters, where all his fans lived. Ava told her story, and found out that she wasn’t the only one who had ran away from home. Each day, more girls like her joined the cause. Prince Luke often visited the house to sign his autograph on pieces of paper and body parts, and to ask for help. He had just visited, and had left flyers. The girls had to distribute them, so everyone could see how amazing he was. If they saw that face, they just had to love him.
Ava picked up a huge pile of flyers, and handed them to every person she met. She stuck them to the walls, laid them on tables at restaurants, and put them in mailboxes. She returned to the Headquarters in no time, asking for more flyers. She had been more productive than anyone else, and that’s why the board decided she could stay.
Ava worked really hard for her prince, and loved every minute of it. After a couple of weeks, Prince Luke showed up for real. Ava was beside herself with joy, like many other girls who had never seen him up close before. He looked at each girl individually, piercing them with his perfect eyes.
‘My dear girls, my loyal fans, I need you,’ he said.
‘We’ll do everything for you!’ the girls shouted simultaneously.
‘As you might know, there are some people who don’t appreciate me as much as you…’
‘Outrageous! It’s a disgrace!’ some girls shouted.
‘… And that’s why I want you to tar and feather my enemies. That’ll teach them!’
After his speech, during which he assured his girls he was so happy with their support, that his enemies spread lies about him and, therefore, were evil, and here was the list, he jumped on his horse. Most girls started boiling tar and plucking chickens excitedly, cackling about their perfect Prince. Ava fidgeted with a chicken, but she wasn’t entirely convinced this was a good idea. She knew that tar could burn your skin quite painfully. On the other hand, she was desperate to show Luke how much she worshipped him. The latter won.
After a couple of hours all the girls walked back, feeling very pleased with themselves. They had scared those people witless, and Luke would be so proud of them. However, there was little time to fantasize how Luke would royally reward each of them, for he was waiting for them at the headquarters. He wasn’t smiling now, and his hair was messy.
‘Girls,’ he said, his voice slightly higher than usual, ‘I need your help. The king has disowned me. You have to show him that this is unacceptable. Avenge me! Set fire to the palace! Nobody may survive!’ And he ran away.
The headquarters exploded with indignation. Some girls started to cry, but others were angry: if you were against Luke, you had to die! But Ava’s voice had left her. Her brother lived in the palace. And she hadn’t even seen him since she had come to live in the city, because she had to work for prince Luke all the time. And now Luke demanded her to kill her own brother? He had done nothing wrong. Luke couldn’t do this to her. Luke wasn’t a really nice man. Luke must never become king.
This is what could have happened:
The girl could have swarmed towards the castle, taking the guards by surprise. They would have kicked them, punched them, and perhaps even killed them. Then they would have scattered all over the castle, setting fire to the kitchen (including Ava’s brother), the royal living rooms, and the library. They would have searched for the King, and found him in no time. They would have hung him from the highest tower, and proclaimed Luke their new King.
Instead, the course of history was changed by one girl who realised where her true loyalty lay. While the other girls were sharpening their knives, Ava crept out of the house. She looked at prince Luke’s picture on the wall one more time, but this time she only felt disgust. Clearly she had awoken from that dream. She ran through the streets, towards the palace. Once she was there, she embraced her brother and told him everything that had happened. He sent a messenger to the king, who had his son arrested.
Prince Luke was banned to a deserted island, all by himself. His fans had to clean up the city and pick up all the flyers they had distributed. Ava and her brother were royally rewarded, and their father moved in with them in the city. As Ava grew older, she couldn’t help but feel ashamed at the way she was behaving when she was so desperately in love with Prince Luke. The next time she fell in love, she made sure to find out what kind of person she was dealing with. Eventually she met the right person, who had no ambition to be king. They married, had lots of chickens, and lived happily ever after.
What do you think of this fairy tale? Let me know in the comments! If you want to write your own version, take a look at this post! Also, make sure to follow me for more fairy tales and other bookish posts!
The Open Book 