After the whole “Frozen” saga at the ball, my life returned to normal. Normal in the sense that my village had become a winter wonderland; Princess Isabel ran away and turned the Kingdom’s forest into an icy mountain. Our kingdom was thrown out of balance into fear but I couldn’t care less. My life was more agonizing than before the ball fiasco. I guess it was bearable because I had hope of a happily ever after.
To be honest, my theory was still valid. Unfortunately, I’m not amongst the chosen few maidens to have a magical end but the princesses were living a cliché fairy tale life. I wasn’t afraid of the deadly winter my kingdom was thrown into. I knew the gentleman Princess Donna was with was a crook with ulterior motives. I knew the princess would eventually marry a commoner. The only difference between their story and its original was that the King and Queen were alive. They might as well have been dead because nothing else changed in their story.
A few weeks after the ball, the kingdom returned to its normal state. The royal family embarked on their happily ever after. I couldn’t help but ask myself, “What next?”
This couldn’t be it for me. I couldn’t continue living this wretched life. Surely, my story wasn’t over. There had to be something great and magical waiting for me somewhere! Regardless of the Cinderella flop, I had a little hope. I wasn’t going to allow myself settle into the mundane life of being a slave who married a slave and gave birth to slaves.
I decided to start my research all over. I went through other fairy tales in detail, trying to find the one best suited to my life. The Little Mermaid was crossed out for obvious reasons: I wasn’t half-fish half-woman. The Snow-White approach was also a little far-fetched. For one, Snow White was young and extremely beautiful. Not to be pathetic, but I wasn’t exactly an epitome of female beauty. Besides the chances of me being a princess and meeting 7 dwarves were quite slim. The Rapunzel story was one of my favorites but my shoulder-length dark-brown-hair did not fit the bill at all. I had never even visited a tower not to talk of being locked up in one.
The more I researched, the more it became pointless. I just didn’t fit any of the requirements to be a princess. After my father passed, I suffered insomnia so becoming the Sleeping Beauty was not going to happen. Finding a beast to fall in love with just like Belle from Beauty and The Beast was a little too risky and desperate, even for me.
Two years passed and I was slowly consumed in my desire to find happily ever after. My stepmother, Lady Méchant, passed away. My stepsisters found husbands and moved away. I remained in my family house. Luckily, I was left with the house and what was left in it. I basically spent those two years researching and waiting around for fate and destiny to happen.
Then, I decided it was enough! I had to get up and grab the bull by its horn. Obviously, the magical happily ever after wasn’t going to visit me in thus small village. Besides, this was Cinderella’s (Queen Ella) kingdom. By staying back in my family home, I realized I was preventing myself from happily ever after.
So, I left.
I wasn’t sure where I was headed but I was prepared for it. I made a list of all the possible fairy tales that could become my story along with discoveries about their characteristics. I decided to start by becoming sleeping beauty. I was aware I wasn’t royalty and I had no fairy godmother but I was determined. I would venture into the nearest kingdom which had a royal family without an heir.
That ambition soon crashed. The first kingdom I stumbled upon seemed to be a ghost town. Everywhere was covered in dust and cobwebs. The houses seemed to be empty. Shops were all closed. The market place was filled with rotten food. I saw no animal, pet or livestock. I stayed in the kingdom for about two weeks in an abandoned little cottage which had a small backyard garden. I tried to understand what had happened to the people in the kingdom. I decided to visit the royal castle in the village.
On the grand gate, there was an announcement pasted on it.
“Come one, come all! Come and celebrate the sweet 16 of the Princess, for she has evaded the evil witch! Rejoice with us on this 6th day of April 1400 AD.”
1400 AD? That was twenty years ago. This kingdom has been dead for twenty years?! How? I decide to let myself into the castle. What I saw blew my mind away.
The path from the inner gates to the doors of the ballroom was filled with unconscious guards and staff. Everyone had passed out! They were all breathing so at least they were alive. The ballroom itself was an eyesore. It seemed as if everyone in the Kingdom was in this very room. At the center of the room, a beautiful young maiden slept in an opened glass case.
This couldn’t be happening again! At least this meant I was most definitely not sleeping beauty. I could cross that possibility off my list. I didn’t waste another moment in that ghost town. I ran for my life. If this was Sleeping Beauty’s Kingdom, it meant Maleficent was not too far behind. The evil witch had not noticed me throughout my stay so I wasn’t going to jinx my luck.
After escaping the ghost town, I decided to review my list.
Lily’s potential routes to happiness:
- Cinderella
- Sleeping Beauty
- Rapunzel
- Little Mermaid
- Beauty and the Beast
- Princess and the Frog
- Snow White
- Frozen
I hadn’t included all the fairy tales I knew about, like Merida, Mulan, and Pocahontas. Those tales were just too daring and required me to roughen up a little. Of course, finding a beast to fall in love with was less challenging than experiencing what Merida went through. However, I was a lady-like lady. I didn’t have the energy to be anything else.
Looking at my list, I discovered I still had a lot of ground to cover. Fortunately for me, my aimless travel led me to a swampy area. I decided to try my luck at finding a frog. This was a tricky situation. The fastest way to find a prince and avoid diseases from kissing frogs was to find a good witch.
A small town lay on the outskirts of the swamp. I interviewed the natives and was soon directed to a creepy looking hut which housed the oldest townsman. The hut stank and was murky. The old man lived in it. He was an herbal doctor but had no magical powers. He thought I was crazy after I explained my dilemma to him. He, however, told me he knew nothing about a prince who was turned into a frog. He advised me to move on with my life and face reality. I ignored his advice. Obviously, he knew nothing about fairy tales and the powers of true love’s kiss.
I stayed back in the town for two more weeks. My mornings and evenings were spent searching for and kissing frogs. I tried to stay away from poisoned frogs but that was futile. I had to take a break from my search when I fell ill. The old man treated me to the best of his abilities and scolded me continuously for my “stupidity.” I was not discouraged. I knew my frog was waiting somewhere for me.
My recovery was swift so I returned to my swamp search. The evening afterward was the foggiest I ever experienced. The air in the swamp seemed thicker than usual. I could hardly see my own hands. I couldn’t breathe and started to lose consciousness. I thought, “This is the end. At least I died trying.”
“Hello? Are you alright?” A faint voice called our out to me.
I wasn’t sure how long I was out but it felt like a long one. I blinked a couple of times to see more clearly. I tried to remember what had happened. Yes, the fog. It had completely cleared.
“Are you alright, Miss?” The voice was clearer now but it was quite small. I looked around but there was clearly no one around me.
“Down here,” it said.
To my utter amazement, I noticed a tiny greenish frog staring at me with its moist beady eyes.
It croaked. “Don’t scream. Or hit me.”
I yelped in celebration and did a crazy little dance. I had found my frog! My frog prince! Take that, silly old man! A snatched the frog off the ground and nestled him in my palms.
“Finally!”
The frog shrank in my palms. “Uh, what is going on here?” He seemed curious, and a little afraid.
“My word! It was so hard to find you but I’m glad I found you before I died. Thank God I don’t have to kiss anymore disgusting frogs!” I cried. I proceeded to explain everything to him. He joined in my excitement. He was finally going to be free from the curse!
Without further ado, we both puckered up for the kiss that was about to change everything. I squeezed my eyes and brought the frog to my lips.
*Kiss*
I blinked. Nothing happened. The frog’s lips were still puckered. I kissed it again but this time with my eyes wide open. Nothing!
“Are you sure you’re a real prince, because nothing is happening?”
“Let’s try again.”
We did but there was no sparkly magical light or transformation. I only looked like a crazy girl kissing a frog. I desperately pecked all over the frog’s body until it protested. I couldn’t understand what the problem was. I had found the frog! Why wouldn’t he just become a prince?! Was my heart not pure enough?! I couldn’t say I loved him. I mean I love the idea of him but that should have been enough, right?
Defeated, I returned to my rented room in the town with the frog. We had nothing to say to each other and decided to sleep. We both hoped that maybe the transformation would take place while we were asleep.
A week flew by and nothing changed. Marco as I named the frog, seemed to be more depressed than I was. I decided to pack up and leave the town. I even crossed out Princess and the frog from my list. Marco was angry with me for giving up and hopped away after an outburst. Honestly, I didn’t care how he felt. I still had a lot to do and I wasn’t gaining youth with these passing years.
As I approached the gates leading out of the town, I noticed a dark-skinned maiden with short curly black hair. She held something in her hand and took it close to her lips. That something happened to be Marco.
She kissed Marco, and suddenly literal sparks began to fall. What the—? Marco disappeared from her palms and transformed into a handsome prince. He exclaimed happily and kissed the girl again. I was going to lose it!
Really? Really! Why was my life so unlucky? For crying out loud, I found the frog! Couldn’t fate just pity me and rule in my favour? How could my life be so jinxed? First the Cinderella flop, then the Frozen saga, the Sleeping Beauty ghost town and now this.
I stormed past Marco and his new boo. He didn’t even notice me, as he was locked in a tight embrace with her, filled with too much joy.
For good measure, I turned back and shoved them both into the nearby pond, which circulated the exit of the town.
Besides, it wasn’t á la mode to have a husband who was turned into a frog.
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/en/woods-autumn-woman-girl-meeting-1524606/
*á la mode a French expression which means fashionable.
PERSEVERANCE is used by permission of the original author, Ifeoluwa Ogúnyinka
Author bio:
Sinmisola Ogúnyinka is a pastor’s wife, mother, writer and movie producer. She has a university degree in Economics, and is a Craftsman of Christian Writers’ Guild. She lives with her family in Pretoria, South Africa.
Blog: www.sinmisolao.wordpress.com
Twitter: @sinmisolaog
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