Caw, Caw—
A cacophony of crows stirred the forest to life as a lone figure darted across the setting sun, sticking out like a gem in the mud. She attempted to cross the treacherous Black Forest alone, pushing with all her strength through the thorny thicket.
With a loud thud, she collapsed to the ground. It hurts, it hurts so much.
When the cold chains around her body brushed against the wounds she received during her attempted escape, it hurt. When the overbearing weight of sorrow and despair fell upon her when she was at her lowest, and she tried feebly to hold onto her last shred of kindness, it hurt. She sat in the middle of the birdcage, as she always had, in a princess' palace.
She lost count of the days and nights she had spent in that cage. Perhaps she had always been in this endless darkness, ever since the appearance of that person. The Queen. She saw the girl's beauty as an unforgivable crime. The girl's concession to her fate only begot more suffering.
"Who will save me?" She wondered, dreaming of a savior that did not exist. In the beginning, still clinging to false hope, she would beg the queen to let her go. Now, she only yearned for someone, anyone, to extend their hand. Finally, as the last ray of light faded, she heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching.
Was it her friend the dwarf? No... It couldn't be.
She could still make out a faint visage of her friend, but an unfamiliar, dangerous aura made her frozen with fright. She quickly realized he had been afflicted with the Queen's curse. The cruel ritual had twisted his body into a monstrous frame with immense strength that was slowly consuming his life force. His body, swollen with dark magic, experienced unimaginable pain every waking moment.
"It hurts..." The broken voice whimpered. This time, she was not the one in pain.
As his breathing became weaker and weaker, she slumped down in despair. She began gasping for air as if unseen hands were clutching her neck.
Was this the hand of fate?
Was it her fate to be a stepping stone in the queen's wicked schemes? To lose all of her loved ones, and die alone in a cage? To be a helpless princess who could only cling desperately to the thought of a prince or knight coming to her rescue like some fairy tale?
Was there no escape from this fate that had been written for her since birth?!
Just then, an apple rolled out from the dwarf's loosened grip. She recalled him telling her stories about the apples from the Black Forest; about their power to see into one's heart and distinguish good and evil, life and death. Beyond that, she also knew it was the source of the Queen's sorcery. Before her laid only one path, and so she reached out for the apple.
Crunch—
She gently took a bite of the "cursed apple." Suddenly, the power of the Black Forest surged from her body as a crown of thorns sprouted on her head. And as though pierced by the thorns and driven back, the hands of fate were cast into the shadows.
I reject this fate.
She wiped off the blood from her body, unsure if it was hers or her friend's. But that no longer mattered. With her newfound power, she transformed her cage into a scepter and turned the apple into a new beating heart for her friend. She helped him to his feet, gently and gracefully, like the princess she had always been.
Don't worry, the pain is gone.
No one will ever hurt us again.
