I Want to Be a Princess

Written by Snow Fox
Edited by Bleye and Rin Yukiohara

"I wanna be a princess." Sophie laid down on the bed, sinking into the pillow.

She stared at the ceiling, counting the gems as if they were stars in the sky. Alice sat down by her side, playing with her own golden hair. She was a real princess! She had a kingdom, lots of riches, a beautiful castle to roam around in and design, pretty dresses as far as the eye can see... she had everything! She was also blessed with beauty to rival the queen herself... and even magic powers.

It wasn't fair.

Sophie wanted to be a princess too. She kept dreaming about it since she met Alice in that run-down town in the forest. She wanted to be a princess so bad... but she knew she couldn't. She wasn't born to be one. At least, that's what everyone kept telling her. Everyone but the real princess.

She kept telling me that she was also born like me, and that one day I'll make it there but... it was hard to envision it.

Sophie turned around and buried her face in the pillow, grumbling. "I'll never be a princess at this rate!" she protested impatiently, despite knowing full well that it will take a lot of time and training.

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?" asked Alice, still playing with her hair.

"I just want to be one... I have finally accepted what I want to be and it seems to only make things worse..." she replied, rolling over towards the princess who was now looking at her.

"But.. you are already my princess." she said quietly.

It took a moment for the words to sink in, and then:
"What!? W-w-what do you mean?" -Sophie stuttered and blushed- "explain yourself!".

Alice just laughed at her reaction. "I said, you are my princess."
"-But I'm not!"
"-Yes you are. you're my princess, who's trapped in a tower".
Alice clapped her hands gently, and the lights from the gems began to change. The room glowed brighter and began to alter itself. When the light settled down, Sophie opened her eyes. She wasn't at the castle anymore, nor the kingdom. She was at the top of a dark-bricked tower in the middle of the weeping woods.

"What's going on?" she shouted from the tower window, and noticed a bright figure standing at the garden's entrance.

"See? I told you! You are a princess trapped in a tower, and I shall be your beautiful knight in shining armor that's here to help you!" Alice's voice crackled like thunder in the wind.

"You definitely got the beautiful part down, but where are your armor and weapons?" Sophie yelled down towards her, causing Alice to laugh again.

Sophie pouted. "Well, you'll need them, this place is heavily guarded!".

As soon as she said that, the shadows started creeping in; Sliding on the garden's roads, rising up, manifesting into despair if it could take a physical form. From the darkness stepped somethings that could only be described as monsters! Their gray skin slowly rotted away as they were standing. Razor sharp claws at least half a meter long. Lifeless eyes filled with nothing but doubts, and fears, and blind rage. Their growls were primal, and they moved by an instinct to prevent the princess's advance, to protect the tower.

The garden itself was not to be out done by the shadows. The withered rose bushes magically extended their branches, creating a painful looking thorny wall. The long dead trees leaned down as if they gained sentience, attempting to block Alice's path.

"That's... bad..." Sophie whispered, worried for her friend.

"That? That's nothing for an amazing knight like me!" Alice winked towards the tower's window, and she clapped her hands again.

Bright white light burst from the tip of her fingers. She pointed towards the ground and drew a circle of light around her feet. The circle beamed upward towards the skies! Veiling her behind shiny rainbows. Her silly pink bunny slippers shifted and strengthened into golden metal boots, while her frilly nightgown stretched and turned into a fluffy armored blue dress with gold decorations. Her hair flowed around her as if she were underwater, shining as bright as ten-thousand suns. She stretched her arm forward grabbing the air, and pulled back out a shining bright silver and gold broad sword in her hand. Her blue eyes glittered like the stars above. She was magical.

Alice struck a pose, and the light around her dimmed.

Sophie was in awe, 'the princess is using her powers... for someone like me??'

She watched as the warrior princess jumped, dashed and sliced through the night horde. They were nothing before her! Not even a minute later they all crumbled down to dust. With the grace of a swan and the strength of a bear, Alice sliced through the thorn walls created to keep Sophie isolated. She jumped up and started climbing up the tower.

Sophie was excited to be rescued, of course, but something felt.. off. She felt like she was sinking into the floor, and her vision slowly grew dark. Her skin turned into deep violet scales, nails turned claws, and two small wings grew from the back of her shoulders.

"I-I'm a monster..." she said, before her consciousness fell deep below the floor. Sophie lost control.

Alice reached the top of the tower, and jumped through its window. Her sword lit up the dark-bricked room. There was a queen size bed decorated in a gothic manner, an empty closet, and a dark wood table with a half written book on it. But... Sophie was nowhere to be found.

"Princess! Rest assured I have come to save you! You can step out of your hiding place." but there was no answer.

It was quiet... too quiet.

Something crawled up the wall behind Alice, and disappeared into the darkness. The princess moved slowly through the darkness, warry and skittish. Something in this room was not right...

Alice could hear the giggling of a girl echoing through the walls, the footsteps of something beyond human. Someone, or something, was here with Sophie all this time.

A shadowy figure stepped into the light. She looked like the girl she had come to save... but shrouded in darkness and covered in purple scales.

"Hey... Alice..." The figure said in an ominous tone. "I'm sorry to break it to you, but Sophie isn't a princess to be rescued. She is nothing but a monster to be slain."

"You're making this really difficult, you know?" Alice snarled toward the shadowy woman.

"You didn't possibly expect slaying a monster would be easy?" Not-Sophie replied, moving towards her.

Sophie's nails scraped the wall, making a high-pitched screeching sound.
Without hesitation, Alice dashed forward, surprising Not-Sophie by tackling her to the ground and pinning her down.

"Who said anything about slaying?" Alice whispered, as her head was leaning closer and closer to Not-Sophie's lips. She was so close... closer than anyone else had ever gotten before...

"Time out! Time out!" screamed Sophie, protesting. "What do you mean by I'll defeat her by seduction?"

The two stepped out of their imaginary world, and returned to Alice's chambers.

"Well, I did plan to rescue you, but then you started with the whole 'I'm a monster' thing, so I knew I had no other choice. After all, I said I'll be your knight in shining armor." Alice said, winking. "Though, I could get stuck in the tower with you if you'd prefer."

Sophie's pouty face melted away, the two girls started laughing, and a warm and fuzzy feeling filled the two. Sophie may not have been born a princess, but neither did Alice. So the two will continue to dream, and work towards making that dream a reality. They will have each other's back. Will Sophie ever get to become a princess? Well, that future is in her hands, but with the guidance of Alice and the rest of her friends, one day, that dream might become true.