Cold Hearted

Once Upon A Time

Y/n's P.O.V

There was once a story that I loved to read when I was a little girl. When I first read it, I thought it was strange how one person had the power to change someone. But as I grew older that same thought was now a reality that I found myself doing from time, to time, to time, until... I didn't know who I was. As a young girl I was able to be one person around certain people and change within a snap of a finger the instant I met someone new.

It was a great story, reading about it as a little girl. Especially when in the moment it was just that, a story to read and let your mind wonder and imagine the scenarios that were made up. Then the story started to become more and more real as the years went by.

At the age of 5 im running around playing pretend, playing dress up and tea parties. Now at the age of 20, im still doing all those things. But there is no playing pretend. Not anymore, at least. Playing as my father has told me, is for children. I, well I dont remember the last time I was a child.

How did that story go again; I wonder.

Once upon a time in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the Prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind.

But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the Prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away—although she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for true beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress.

The Prince tried to apologize but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. As punishment she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there.

"You have until the eve of your twenty-first birthday to become as beautiful on the inside as you were on the outside. If you can learn to love another—and be loved in return—by the time the last petal of this rose falls then the spell would be broken. If not, you would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair, and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?

Right, of course. How could I forget such a good story. It always found a way to pop into my head whenever my mind decided to wonder. I never really understood the story. Or at least, I always tried to look at it differently. Like, why did the beggar woman get mad at the prince for not letting her in. If the prince was 10 years old at the time clearly he knows about stranger danger.  He shouldn't of been punished for not letting a random stranger into his home. And secondly why is a prince answering the door in the first place. Where are his servants.

It doesn't take long for that story to take over my thoughts. It was a good distraction from the outside world. 

Maybe that's why I loved reading so much. Why I loved to imagine myself in those worlds, thinking as myself part of their adventure no matter what. From the fairy tales I read as a little girl, to the ones filled with more action more... heroes. The ones were we create our own power in order to change. 

Those were my favorite. Because the stories in the superhero books, the hero doesn't start off with a happy beginning but they get to help people and be part of something bigger and better. They start to get happy, don't they? They start to get recognized by the people who didn't care for them. They start to get... appreciated. But unlike the superhero stories, the fairytales had something that I did want. A happy ending. 

The superheros might have the cool powers, and the best action story, but at the end they sometimes don't get a happy ending. And I read a lot of comic book and story books. There are so many stories where the brave hero decided to give their life to save the day and because of their sacrifice the good guys win the survivors all cheer and everyone lives happily ever after. But the hero never gets to see the ending. They'll never know if their sacrifice actually made a difference. They'll never know if the day was really saved. In the end they just have to have faith. Not a very happily ever after ending for the hero.