A prince I may be,
But the walls of the palace are my prison…
Although I am light and carefree,
Soon the royal responsibilities will weigh down,
Down on me…
As my father says,
My boy, now you must find,
A bride who will stay by your side,
One whom will give you an heir,
Later down the line…
A bride,
I guess it would be nice,
A change.
From all the formalities that surround me…
But my choice,
Would have to be wise…
After all I do not want to be left,
With girl who is only looks,
For that only scratches the surface…
A grand ball to find a bride,
Is what my father requested,
Three days is what I made it,
This should give me some time…
To at least find,
Someone whom is not full of falsity.
But is interesting, sweet, and chatty…
Alas, the first day of the ball arrives,
As do the many ladies,
All of whom have smiles plastered on their faces,
With greed in their eyes,
None of whom interest me…
What a waste of time…
Suddenly the door opens,
A graceful presence enters,
With a slight smile,
And a gentle look in her eye,
She glides down the steps…
Feeling drawn to her,
I ask her to take a dance with me,
We talk a lot as I lead her,
Ever so gently…
The clock hits 12 and then she runs,
All the way to a pear tree,
Although I follow she vanishes,
Nowhere she can be seen…
Then ball night two,
Our chemistry grows,
And she’s even more beautiful than before,
Then the same thing happens as,
The clock strikes 12,
She runs far away…
Now is the last and final day,
I cannot lose her again,
I refuse every lady,
As me and her dance the night away,
She is defiantly the bell-of-the-ball…
Each night I know a little more,
One thing is for sure,
She’s the one,
The one I have been looking for,
Hopefully she will be,
My bride…
The clock strikes 12,
And again she runs away very fast,
A gold slipper she drops upon the stairs,
Looking down at this slipper,
Its size looks fairly unique,
So I make a vow,
To make the woman who’s foot this fits,
My wife, my princess, the queen of my heart…
For how many ladies in this kingdom,
Can have a foot,
This small and delicate…
Going first to the house,
In which the pear tree stands,
I see the sisters,
I know it is not them,
But I already said,
I would let every girl in the kingdom try,
As I am confident,
No girl other than her can fit this shoe…
The eldest tries it first,
Oh no have I been mistaken…
It’s a perfect fit,
But how,
Oh never mind,
My word I must abide,
In my head I curse,
As I help her on my horse…
I must find a way out,
Wait, the doves are singing,
She is not the one,
As I look down at her foot,
I see her foot is bleeding…
Ewww… How disgusting,
Oh well,
The other sister must try,
I suppose…
Darn… It fits her as well,
As I ride away with her,
The doves warn me again,
Tricked again…
I have just about had it,
With these sisters!
But I have to ask:
Do you not have any other daughters?
I mean she has to be here,
Does she not…
Then they call for an Ashputtel,
Now there’s a face I remember…
The shoe fits her perfectly…
Off I ride,
With my new upcoming bride,
And as I pass the doves,
They sing:
That she is my true bride…
Down they fly,
To perch on her shoulders…
And the big day arrives,
To make Ashputtel my bride…
Then in the corner of my eye,
At the start of the ceremony,
Full of lies and deceit,
I see the two sisters,
Walking in celebrating,
Trying to gain some of Ashputtel’s fortune,
Then two doves fly down,
To peck out an eye from each…
Then when the ceremony ends,
As we are walking away,
I see the two lying sisters,
As they walk out of the church,
Full of smirks,
A pair of doves fly down,
To peck out the remaining eyes of the sisters…
Damn,
I hope Ashputtel did not see,
As it was quite horrific indeed…
I plan to protect her,
From any nasty deeds,
So that we may live happily,
My Ashputtel and me…
Elizabeth Han Hopkins 