I couldn’t believe it! The stupid frog refused to become a prince for me. Moving on, I decided to review my list again.
Lily’s potential routes to happiness
- Cinderella
- Sleeping Beauty
- Rapunzel
- Little Mermaid
- Beauty and the Beast
- Princess and the Frog
- Snow White
- Frozen
The opportunities I had left were simple. Of course, meeting a beast was unpleasant but surely not as unpleasant as kissing frogs. I also decided to take stock of my adventures so far and try to pin point the reason for my failures. I looked through each fairytale on my list and summarized each ordeal. I read and compared my summaries to a horoscope I acquired when I was in my ‘Cinderella phase.’ I realized I had been going through my list in the wrong way.
“Let life take its course. Relax. You will reach your destiny. Be warned, wishes are fickle beings who obey no man.”
This was what my horoscope said about me. At the time, I was strapped for cash and could not afford a detailed explanation from a fortuneteller. What I paid for was the basic instruction all people who shared my birth month got.
When I first read it, I thought it was all vague nonsense and I continued with the quest of becoming Cinderella. After that plan crashed, I got a new interpretation to the horoscope. I understood, ‘Let life take its course’ as I should assist my life to reach my destiny, grab the bull by its horn, steer my own wagon, and all. That interpretation was now stupid but back then it made perfect sense. I had believed the natural course of my life was to search for my happily ever after, looking for opportunities for a fairytale ending. With that mindset, I had kissed numerous frogs and contacted disgusting diseases!
Now I decided to interpret the horoscope for what it truly was. I would let providence take its place in my life. Go with the flow and all that. My initial idea had been to look for some dwarves and befriend them or find an empty tower and wait for a prince to notice me. Instead of all that, I began to wander about. I went wherever my feet led me.
The first few months after my transformation were uneventful, in the sense that I didn’t met and marry a handsome prince. I, however, busied myself by collecting knowledge and relics from the towns, villages, and kingdoms I passed through. My collection consisted of a very beautiful silver hand-mirror, a book filled with recipes to produce potions for all kinds of things from instant hair growth to dwarf-repellant, a fancy hourglass, and a journal.
My new look on life kept me constantly positive. I couldn’t shake the feeling things were about to change for the best. On a whim, I decided to choose a random recipe from my book and create. The recipe I got was for a laughing potion which required basic ingredients. It included a feather from a sparrow’s left wing, a freshly bloomed hibiscus, slime from a frog’s back, a sprig of parsley, the fin of tilapia, and salt. I decided to set up camp in a forest nearby, as the forest had all the ingredients I needed.
I successfully acquired all for my recipe, and brewed a healthy portion of the laughing potion. I couldn’t know if it was successful unless I tried it on a person. I decided to then sell it to anyone who would tolerate me. This did not, however, happen.
On my way back to the neighboring village I got caught in a net trap. Who could have placed a trap so close to a human settlement? I feared for my soul. I inspected the rope used to make the trap. It wasn’t the kind of rope used to capture wild animals. It was not as rough or strong. It was the kind used by knights to tie up prisoners. This meant one thing. I had fallen into a trap set by cannibals.
I screamed for help but knew it was futile. It was midday; the markets would be filled with busy buyers and sellers. My frantic cries were drowned out by the bustling hollers of happy traders and shoppers. I wouldn’t be missed. No one knew me in this village. My only hope of survival was to be noticed by a wanderer. It was a fat chance. All I could do was to wait. I tried to make myself comfortable but it was pointless. I hung from a tree in a stinky net.
I ended up waiting about six or seven hours; it was hard to tell. My neck felt stiff and my back hurt. I had tried to while away time by falling asleep but I couldn’t. I was continuously visited my curious forest critter, squirrels to be precise. It was annoying. I was lucky I wasn’t visited by any snakes.
As the sun began to set, fear sank into me. My captor would soon come for me. I broke into tears of helplessness. My wails became louder when I heard rough footsteps from afar. My captor was coming to claim his bounty. The footsteps were soon accompanied by gruff harmonious voices. Cannibal feast songs, maybe? I strained my ears to understand what they were chanting.
“Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho!
It’s home from work we go!”
That was the chorus of workers heading home. I was saved! Tears flowed freely as I shouted for help. My cries weren’t heard immediately. I spent about five agonizing minutes screaming. The singing stopped and I sighed. After a moment of curious and confused murmurs, seven men appeared from behind the tall trees. The men weren’t what I expected. Maybe I was really high up in the air or the evening light was obstructing my vision or the forest trees were too tall but these men were short.
“Dwarfs! You’re all dwarves!” I cried. My Snow-White fairytale had come to save me and I couldn’t be happier.
“Of course, we are!” growled one of them. They all had round button noses but he had the biggest nose. They seemed offended by my observation. I quickly apologized and begged them to help me out.
Big-nose scoffed. “And why should we help a dwarfist like you?!”
I scrunched my nose. “What is a dwarfist?”
“A dwarfist is a person who disseminates-uh-I mean discriminates against dwarfs,” said a dwarf with round glasses wedged on his nose. It was the silliest term I had ever heard but I kept that observation to myself.
“I promise, I am not a dwarfist. I am only a damsel in distress!”
“And we are simple workers returning home. Good bye!” Big-nose scoffed and stormed off. The other dwarfs followed him.
“Wait! You can’t leave me like this, please. I’m hungry and achy. I don’t want my captor to find me here!” I begged.
“You’re out of luck, young lady. These ropes belong to a fierce man-like beast and only a fool would rescue you. You’re on your own!” The dwarf with glasses (‘four-eyes’ is what I nicknamed him) said.
“The dwarfs I’ve read about are more caring than you bunch…but if a man-like beast is coming for me, I don’t need your help anymore. You can leave me here!” I said.
“Crazy dwarfist!” muttered big-nose.
Four-eyes shrugged. “Uh- well, suit yourself.” He seemed astonished but left with the others.
A man-like beast! This was amazing. I figured the whole Snow White approach was a little far-fetched for me. Finding dwarfs proved to be easy but getting an evil stepmother queen/witch who was obsessed with beauty seemed like a lot of work. If my captor truly was a man-like beast, I could go through the Beauty and the Beast route easily!
So, I shifted about in my net and waited patiently for my captor. I didn’t wait long. The forest trees began to shake, birds flew from their nest in fear as growls sliced through the normal nighttime sounds. The beast approached.
I giggled in fear and excitement. It felt like I was walking up the stairs to the ballroom again. Butterflies went rampant in my stomach and I forgot all about my discomfort. The silhouette of a bear, standing tall on curved hind legs with a wide head and chest, pointed ears and slim waist, stood before me. He lifted a lantern up and growled when saw my face. He raised his gigantic paw which cushioned long sharp claws and slashed it in my direction. I squeezed my eyes shut in fear he’d strike me. Instead I landed on the ground in a loud thud! He had broken the net with only his claws. The pain of the fall was a welcome feeling. It helped wake up my stiff limps. I sighed and stretched on the ground.
“Get up. Follow me. Don’t run.” His voice was cold and sounded like a never-ending growl. “I’ll catch you. Stay quiet.”
I couldn’t see details of his face but some of his features couldn’t be concealed by combined dim light of his lantern and the moon. He was covered in long curly fur and had two sharp incisors sticking out of his mouth and stretching down to his jaw. His nose looked permanently flared and had rather distracting hair sticking out of it. He really was an ugly fierce-looking beast.
“Hurry up. Don’t stare!” He stormed away.
I scurried to gather my belongings: the laughing potion, some leftover ingredients, my trusty book of potions, silver mirror, a matchbox, a tiny pot and spatula. His steps were long and large. I had to run to keep up with him.
He didn’t talk much but I tried to start a conversation with him, nonetheless.
“What is your name? My name is Lily.”
Silence.
“Do you live here in the forest?”
No reply.
“Can I quickly return to the inn where I stay and grab the rest of my belongings?”
“No.”
“Why not?! I hope you have suitable things for me. I don’t even have a lot actually.”
The beast abruptly stopped and turned to face me. “You are not a guest. You are a slave. I am your captor and your owner. Now be quiet!”
“Rude!” I muttered.
I, however, remained quiet after that. I didn’t want to annoy my future husband. After all, I wanted him to fall in love with me. It was quite a long walk to the beast’s fortress.
I couldn’t make out the details of the fortress but it was a grave-looking gothic castle. It exuded intimidation and fear. I couldn’t help but feel like I was orchestrating a horrific death for myself. He had called me a slave which was quite scary. The inner castle was dimly lit but it was bright enough for me to see clearly. The beast led me to an endless-looking spirally stairway. I gulped deeply. Surely, Belle had not gone through this kind of emotional torture from her beast, had she?
“Starting tomorrow morning, you will look over my garden and keep my castle clean. You will speak when spoken to and ask no questions. You will not and cannot escape. You may ask for a favor, which I will grant based on how I feel, once a week.” The beast stated as we climbed the stairs. I was mute with fear.
“This will be your sleeping quarters. I will open the door every two days so you can do your duties. I will punish you by starving you if you break my rules. Questions?”
We had reached the top of the stairs and come to a sturdy-looking metal door. The beast unlocked the door and pushed me into a stale spacious room. It consisted of a single metal-framed bed with gray sheets, pillow and blanket, a bathtub and toilet hole, a kitchenette with two metal cupboards, a charcoal stove and a small window.
My mind buzzed with questions but my mouth refused to utter them. For a month, this was my life. The mute slave of a grumpy beast! I was half-dazed most of the time. I was reliving my days as a slave to my stepmother. The only difference was the beast wasn’t as malicious as Lady Méchant. Instead, he was icy and emotionless.
I finally snapped out of my month-long state of shock and decided to confront the beast. I had to get him out of his grumpy mood and get his romantic ‘lovey-dovey’ juices flowing! The beast’s favorite day of the week was Saturday so I cornered him.
He was in his study, staring out a painting of a family which consisted of a father, mother, and two sons. I assumed it was his family. I still did not know his name so I called him Beasty, which he hated.
“For this week, the favor I request is fully-detailed responses to anything I say or ask,” I said. Unlike his automatic response, a growl of dismissal, he turned to face me and nodded.
“What is your name and who are you?”
“Before I became this ghastly creature, my name was Adam. I was a pompous fool of a prince,” he stated without blinking.
“How did you transform to become a -uh… this form?”
“I was a spoilt brat. I provoked an evil witch and she cursed me to this horrid form. Before you ask, there is no cure or potion to reverse my state. This form is permanent.”
I gasped. “Surely, there must be a way. I’ve heard that true love’s kiss can break any curse.” Of course, I knew his story and I knew he could become a prince again. I was surprised he didn’t know his curse was reversible.
“Oh, that boat has already sailed. I’ve had my chance to be set free but I lost it.” He frowned.
“I’m confused but don’t worry I’m here to liberate you! We can fall in love and live happily together!” I cheered.
He laughed first then replied, “Sorry but you’re too late. I already fell in love with a young lady but it wasn’t reciprocated and I had to let her go. The hurt of my heartbreak caused me to beg the witch to make my condition permanent. If the kindest sweetest most caring woman in the world couldn’t bring herself to love me, then who could?!” He raised his voice, it sounded like a brewing storm.
“No no no! I am here for you! We can meet the witch together and beg her to redeem your human form. Please! I need this. You’re my ticket to a happily ever after, please!” I wailed.
For the first time, the beast exploded in anger. His hazel eyes became onyx, all his claws and teeth grew to double their size. His fur flared and stood straight off his skin. I shuddered in fear as he advanced toward me.
“You foolish girl!” He swung me over his shoulder and carried me all the way back to my stuffy hole in the tower.
He jammed the door and locked it, almost destroying the bolts that held it together. Immediately I could no longer hear his angry stomps, I rushed to the cupboard where I kept my belongings.
During my period of being mute, I had busied myself by practicing my potion-making. The castle was in, what I felt was, the heart of the forest. It attracted all manner of harmless creatures and harbored a variety of plants, both rare and common. I used whatever ingredients I could find, from it all, to make potions. I had sensed the beast would be difficult, so I had some resources stashed away. I searched my book of potions and glanced through the recipe for instant hair growth. Perfect! I had almost everything I needed to make a fairly-stable potion.
I worked swiftly and by late afternoon my potion was ready. It needed to settle for at least six hours but I didn’t want to wait any longer. I wanted to escape as fast as possible. I was going to use the long hair the potion would give me, to form a ladder down the castle. It was an absurd idea but I felt it was my best option. I immediately downed the potion. According to my book, a fully-matured potion would take about an hour to activate. On an empty stomach, I doubted anything would happen soon. I could only pray the beast would not visit me with supper this night. Hopefully, he’d be too angry to come up.
The sun set and it was nighttime but nothing happened. I was afraid but relieved the beast had not come. Suddenly, my stomach began to quiver and my head ached. The potion was activating. I poured important belongings into a pouch I crafted, hung my hair on harness attached to the window and leaned out of it. As I watched my hair begin to grow and flow out the window of the 15-storey tower, I heard the faint familiar stomps and grunts of the monster. ‘No, not now. Please not now!’
I began to frantically yank my hair from its roots to make it grow faster as the beast sounded nearer. My metal door groaned slowly as the beast opened it, my hair was not yet as long as it needed to be for me to make a safe landing. The door fully opened to reveal the beast holding a tray of food.
“I came to apologize. You are a fool but my problems are not your doing.” His head was bowed and I whimpered. He looked up.
We glared at each other for a split second before he realized what I was doing and dropped the tray. He flared up like before and stormed toward me.
Panicked, I dug into my pouch and threw the first thing I touched at him. My old laughing potion. He was disgruntled a second and I used the opportunity to jump out the window. I gripped my hair for my dear life as I slid down the tower. The adrenaline rush shielded me from the pain my scalp underwent.
I was half way down when the beast roared. “You fool!”
It was gut-wrenching roar but its effect was demolished by the silly cackle that following it. “If you don’t get back here, I’ll stew your bones!” He giggled. He even wheezed. The more he tried to talk the more he laughed. The whole situation was ridiculous.
Immediately I hit the ground, I took a blade out of my pouch and messily chopped off my hair. The beast was paralyzed with laughter. By the time the potion wore off, I was already long gone.
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/en/woods-autumn-woman-girl-meeting-1524606/
PROVIDENCE 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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