Once Upon A Time... Part 1

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there lived a little princess.  She was beautiful, joyful, talented, full of grace, and everything a princess should be.  Her parents, the king and queen,  loved her desperately and not a day passed that they didn't surround their little princess with their beautiful love for her, and they loved her well.   The little princess blossomed under their tender mercies and gentle guidance and all seemed well.

Daily, the king would twirl her and whisper to her, "Do you know how beautiful and special you are?"

She would giggle, the way little girls are prone to do, and respond, "Haha, Yes, Papa." as she threw her little arms around him and squeezed him tight. "You always tell me that."  And the little princess believed him with her whole heart. He was her papa and he had never lied to her. She knew he could be trusted and in her wee eyes, he was the wisest, most handsome man in all the world.

She would smile into his eyes and his heart would fill with adoration for his precious daughter and he prayed that she would always believe him like this, For he knew there would come a day when other influences would enter into her life. Other influences who tell her things that were untrue about herself and try to convince her that she was less than who she was created to be.

Every night her mama and papa would tuck her in to her lavish princess bed, pray over their precious daughter and shower her with hugs, kisses, and affirmation. Every night the sweet princess would drift of to sleep with the love of her parents echoing through her identity and sleep was sweet.

~~~~~

One day, a few years later, when the princess was older, her papa was away and could not dance with her as he usually did.  Her mama tried to fill his shoes, that day, but they both ended up in giggles because, sadly, the queen was not as skilled at twirling as the king was. After a few failed attempts they ended up in a pile of petticoats and laughter on the floor.

The young princess laughed as she helped the queen up off the floor, "It's ok, mama." She dusted and adjusted her own wayward skirts, "I can imagine that he is here and we can still dance together."

The queen smiled warmly at her precious daughter's polite dismissal. Many times she, herself, had done that very thing, danced with the king in her memories, and tenderly she swept a stray curl from her daughter's lovely face and tucked it back into place. How very blessed was she to have such a wise and beautiful daughter! With a nod and an affectionate squeeze, the queen left her daughter to twirl and dance with her own memories.

The princess watched her mother leave the room and when the door clicked shut, she smiled into the floor length mirror, curtsied gracefully, and took the imaginary hand of her papa and they danced. They twirled skillfully all over the room and she laughed and enjoyed the memory of him.  Periodically, she would spin across the mirror's gaze and she would catch a glimpse of herself, skirts in full swing, arms held high as if being held by her father's strong arms, and she would smile.

"Do you know how beautiful and special you are?"

The words danced across her thoughts and she leapt into the air as smoothly and skillfully as a ballerina and landed gracefully in front of the mirror. As the dance slowed to a sway, she found herself gazing into the mirror and again, she heard him whisper what he aways did, "Do you know how beautiful and special you are?"

She smiled into the face of the girl smiling back at her, thinking how beautiful and special she looked. The princess curtsied and bowed her head.  She raised her eyes to meet the eyes of the girl the mirror one final time before she left her room to follow the curiosities of young girls, but when she looked into the mirror again, the beautiful young princess was not there!  In her place stood a homely, unkempt image of a girl with wild hair and eyes. Her teeth were yellowed and crooked and her clothes were ill-fitting.

The young princess gasped and fell backward firmly onto her backside in her fright.

The girl in the mirror fell backward, too.

She covered her face and her eyes to shield herself from the frightening image that was staring back at her.

The girl in the mirror did this too.

Timidly, the young princess raised her arm.

The girl in the mirror raised her arm.

The princess touched her face.

The girl in the mirror touched her face.

Anxiously, slowly, the princess crawled toward the mirror and the girl in the mirror got closer and closer.

"Surely, this can not be?" thought the princess.  "Surely this is not..."

She stretched her hand toward the mirror "...me...?"

As her fingertips touched the cold reflective glass of the mirror, the frigid lie of the homely girl in the mirror traveled through the princess's finger tips up her arm and into her very heart, chilling her to the bone. She clutched her chest and gasped in pain as she fell away from the mirror. She hid her face and could not bring herself to look upon the fat, ugly image in front of her, but she could not erase it from her mind.

Tears filled her eyes as her father's voice echoed loudly in her heart, "Do you know how beautiful and special you are?"

"He lied to you..." The girl in the mirror snarled..."You are NOT beautiful. You are NOT special."

"But..." the princess argued thru her tears, "But Papa said....."

"Of course he would say that," the reflection lied, "He's your father...No one. NO ONE thinks you are beautiful. You are UGLY. You are FAT."  The betrayal was real and the princess could hardly bear the weight of it.  She sobbed into her hands afraid to move for fear that she might see the image that had so unexpectedly intruded upon her innocence.

The queen heard the cries of the distraught princess and rushed in to the room.  She found her daughter curled up on the floor opposite the mirror and in a flurry of swishing skirts, the wise queen hurried to her daughter's side.

"There, there, darling!" The queen gathered her daughter into her arms and kissed her messy curls. "What happened, my love...? Why are you crying...?" She looked searchingly into the princess' eyes.

Ashamed, the princess buried her face into her mother's warm embrace, "I...I...I just miss Papa..." she lied.

The queen was not convinced, but she comforted the princess and decided to wait and take her concern to king upon his return.

The happy day came and the king returned home, but this time, only the queen was there to welcome him.

He scanned the length of the great entrance hall, "Where is my dance partner??" He chuckled.

His playful eyes settled onto the queen's saddened, concerned ones and immediately he was full of fear for his daughter.

"What has happened?" He demanded anxiously.

A tear slipped down the queen's lovely cheek, as she recalled the scene she had walked into days before and the many attempts to speak to her daughter since.  "She is not the same and I do not know why nor what has happened. She will not speak of it and..." She paused, carefully choosing her words, "She will not see you."

The king was taken aback. Not see him? He was her hero...Her dance partner...Her best friend. Not see him? Surely the queen was mistaken.  Unwilling to believe this, the king bounded up the expansive staircase and the queen followed solemnly.

Playfully the king tapped upon the princess' closed door, but there was no response.  He attempted to turn the knob and found the door locked.

"Sweetheart, I'm home! Come let's dance! I have learned a new one that you will love! You will feel as though you are flying. Come! I can hardly wait to show it to you!" Again, he tapped; two, three, four times more as the queen quietly approached, and still there was no answer.

"Darling?," the queen pressed her face against the door, "Darling, your father has come home and he has missed you! He is like a silly child, dancing from foot to foot, waiting to see you!" Her eyes met the king's in hopeful expectation. She forced a laugh, "Haha! You should see him! It's quite a sight!"

"Yes!" the king chimed in, as he did actually begin to hop from foot to foot evoking a real smile from his bride, "Yes, you should see me! I can't stand myself!"

Yet their smiles faded as they could hear the faint sounds of muffled tears through the door.  Their hearts were broken and they felt utter helplessness.

"Darling, please open the door," Pleaded the queen.  "Let's us in?"

"Go...Ah ah ah..WAY!" stuttered the forlorn princess from inside her barricade.

The king bowed his head in confusion and the queen took his hand as they slowly left the door of the child they cherished so much.

Inside her room, the princess turned away from the door separating her from her parents and stared into the mirror at the homely waif glaring back at her.

"That's right...." the mirror girl hissed, "I'm the only one who really knows you...who loves you enough to be HONEST with you....they have LIED to you for YEARS. I will protect you...from everyone. I am you're only safe place."

~~~~~

Years passed, and the little princess grew into a lovely young woman, full of grace and everything a princess should be. With the passing of time, she allowed herself to become a part of castle life again. She was kind and gentle and the kingdom and her parents adored her. But there was a pain in her eyes that could not be explained nor extinguished, and at first, only those closest to her ever caught a glimpse of it.

Sadly, as the princess grew older, the pain grew darker and deeper and she began to retreat more and more into a very lonely and solitary place.  Things she used to love to do, were now the cause of great fear and anxiety. People she loved to visit with were now, she believed, only reminders of the girl who never truly existed, and the princess spent more and more time locked away in her room with the only friend she could trust - the girl in the mirror, and the more time she spent with this girl, the more the princess noticed that she didn't have to be in her room in front of her own mirror to speak to this friend. She could carry her with her...in any reflective surface. She would never have to be alone or susceptible to the lies of everyone she was surrounded by.

The king and queen watched at a distance. Not because they desired it, but because the princess demanded it and they were at a loss. They had tried everything to help their daughter, but they could not understand what had happened to their radiant, joyful, confident little girl.  The wise queen knew that what ever had happened, took place on that fateful day so long ago, but the princess would not hear of discussing it.

Presently the king and queen were called away on kingdom matters and a governess was employed to  keep faithful watch over their beautiful daughter, although they assured her that she would most likely never see the princess.

One day, while exploring the castle, the governess happened upon the unlocked door of the princess' bedroom. According to the king and queen, this was unusual and the curious governess stepped across the threshold of the princess' room to be assured of her safety, not knowing that she was the first in many years to do so.

Upon first glance, the vast and exquisite room appeared empty, quiet, cool, and well kept.

"Princess?" The governess called out. "Princess, are you in here?"

The princess, who had been gazing out of her window hidden by the draperies, whirled and stared in horror at this stranger who had invaded her sanctuary.

"Who are YOU?" she demanded.

The governess startled greatly, and then laughed at herself, "Oh, Princess! You startled me! Haha!"

The princess stared at the lovely young woman, not much older than herself, standing in her room.  She was fresh and so full of light and life and her smile illuminated the shadows of fear lurking all around the princess.  She was so pretty....So unlike the princess...It had been so long since she had seen someone other than her parents...and this woman was...different.

"Get rid of her!" Hissed a familiar voice.  The governess cocked her head and the princess looked past the the woman at their reflections in the mirror.

"Did you say something, Princess?"

The princess froze. It couldn't be possible, could it?  Could the intruder have really heard her friend in the mirror? No one else ever had.

"Get rid of her, NOW!" 

The governess whirled around and faced the mirror and stared into the eyes of the princess' reflection.

The princess, cried out, as the beautiful young woman looked fiercely upon the ugly refection staring back at them both.

"JUST LEAVE!!!" She cried, feeling utterly exposed and on the verge of panic.

"No, princess, I will not." The governess stubbornly refused.

"I am the princess and I ORDER you to LEAVE ME!!" The princess was frozen in fear.  What in the world would she do if this woman would not leave??

The two young women stood staring into the reflections of the other for a moment when finally the governess turned her back on the mirror. The princess exhaled in short-lived relief. She watched as the lovely young governess gracefully made her way to the luxurious bed and unceremoniously snatched the heavy coverlet from it and the princess' hands flew to her mouth in utter shock.

"Unfortunately, I am not employed by you, therefore, I do not answer to your orders." she stated quite matter-factly. And with one sweeping movement, threw the coverlet over the standing mirror, blocking the reflection from the princess' view.

Shocked and mortified, the princess clenched her fists in frustrated anxiety and demanded, "What on earth do you think you are doing?!" She jumped toward the mirror to snatch off the coverlet, but the governess backed toward the mirror and blocked her path with arms stretched wide.

"I am here to watch over you while your parents are away and she," the young woman nodded in the direction of the mirror, "is a bad influence on you."

"SHE," The princess hissed and pointed, "IS me." A tear slipped from her eye as the last word of her sentence died into a whisper.

The governess smiled softly, "What was that you said, dear?" slowly relaxing as she watched the princess' resolve waiver.

The princess began to shake, "She IS me....she is me." And she collapsed weeping, into the floor.

The wise governess gently approached the distraught princess and knelt beside her, gathering her in the first embrace the young princess had felt in so very long. The princess felt warmth for the first time in years as she shook with fear over this stranger being so close to her...but it felt so good...surely it couldn't be as bad as the mirror girl had said it was...

"We shall see if she is you, " the governess crooned softly, "We shall see..."

~~~~~~