The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince

At the Lakeside

  At dusk, they found a lake in the middle of the forest. The scarlet sunset's reflection danced brilliantly on the lake's surface. The area appeared safe, so they decided to stay there for the night. After dinner, they spent some time talking.

  "Prince, you read a lot of books, don't you?"

  "Yeah, like books with games you can play with others."

  "Oh really? What's that like?" the princess asked, curious. She was used to playing alone.

  The prince was delighted that she was interested, so he happily explained one of the game's rules. "...So there's a winner and a loser... Okay! Let's play!" the princess said eagerly.

  "Oh, and let's make it so that the loser has to grant the winner's wish." the prince added.

  "Alright! I'm not gonna lose!" said the princess haughtily, feeling like she'd already won.

~~~

  "...I lost." The princess clenched her teeth, blinking back tears, "You know a lot of words that I don't..."

  "Eheh... I read a lot of books," the prince said, sheepishly grinning, "Um... Since I won, can I tell you my wish?"

  "Oh... Y-Yeah..." The princess was still upset at losing, but she regained her composure and waited for the prince to speak.

  "Princess, I-I want to hear you sing." the prince said shyly.

  "What...? Sing...?" Her singing voice, which the prince had come to hear every night, had been given to the witch in exchange for turning into a princess. She hadn't sung once since they'd started traveling together. It was hard to imagine what her singing voice was like now.

  "I love your singing voice..."

  "Umm..." The princess thought long and hard. "If I don't sing, will he no longer trust me...?" She felt pressured.

  "...Okay, I'll do it." The princess nervously cleared her throat, opened her mouth, and started singing. But her voice was nothing like her old one. In fact, it was horrible! The prince looked blank ; she sounded completely different from what he remembered.

  The princess started coughing, embarrassed. "Sorry! I guess I'm exhausted from all this traveling... I'll sing again after I've rested..."

  "Oh no! I'm sorry I forced you to sing... We should sleep early so you can rest." The prince's gentle words cut into the princess, who felt guilty for lying about her voice.

  Dawn arrived. The prince was in a deep slumber, but the wolf remained unable to sleep. She slowly walked around the lake, her head buzzing with anxiety.

  "It's impossible for monsters and humans to get along..." The goat's words replayed endlessly in her mind.

  "I need to stay in princess form," the wolf thought, "I can't be with the prince unless I keep lying..." She felt conflicted about her feelings for the prince and her constant lies. The wolf prodded the lake's surface, as if to erase her uneasiness.

  The water slowly ripples. The wolf glanced at it and saw her monstrous reflection. She heaved a big sigh and prodded the lake's surface again.