the princess who forgot to be a fairytale
when princess audrey is born, there is no christening.
"it is foolish to christen one so young." her father declares. "my wife and i want to give our child the free will to worship whomever she wishes to, or perhaps none at all."
but the kingdom know better.
audrey's first word is "love."
her first smile is shared with her parents.
but her grandmother sees it all.
audrey is six years old, sitting on her grandmother's lap as the rocking chair moves back and forth.
grandmother's smile is warm. grandmother loves her. everyone loves her.
"listen here my child, whatever you do, promise me you won't dare cross a wicked fairy. they never forget and they will seek vengeance." grandmother whispers.
audrey smiles back and says "of course i won't, grandmother" because she doesn't know what vengeance means.
when audrey asks her mother what vengeance is, mother's eyes widen in horror.
(mother refuses to speak with grandmother for a long time, after that. audrey doesn't know why.)
audrey is seven when she first meets ben.
their parents are busy talking about 'boring grown up stuff' and so she and ben kind of get stuck together by default.
he is nice enough, she supposes, and he doesn't laugh at her when she asks to play pretend.
"ben is kind, isn't he?" mother says happily.
audrey nods.
"would you like to marry him one day?" father asks jokingly.
audrey shakes her head - because ugh, boys are gross - and father laughs.
audrey is ten the first time she hears her mother sing.
it's her parents thirty-year wedding anniversary.
there is no ball, but instead a small celebration at their palace. the ballroom is mostly empty, except for the three good fairies, audrey, and her grandmother.
"i know you, i walked with you once upon a dream." mother sings, and floura tears up.
fauna waves her wand, and her mother's dress begins to change colours - pink to blue, blue to pink - over and over again.
"don't tell the fairy godmother." fauna whispers.
"i won't." audrey breathes.
she is so transfixed by the song, that by the time their dance has finished, audrey hasn't moved a muscle.
"what does the song mean?" audrey asks.
"true love." merryweather answers.
that's the moment that audrey learns to associate love with music.
audrey is fourteen and beautiful.
she knows it, embraces it even, because mother always said that beauty is nothing to be ashamed of.
(mother would say that, becuase her knick-name was "sleeping beauty", but still.)
a lot of boys, and even a few girls, ask her out, but it's only ben's invitation that she accepts.
he is, after all, her best friend, and mother found true love with a prince, so perhaps she can too.
audrey is fifteen when she learns about the isle of the lost.
the history professor's eyes are grave, as he gives the brief history of the villians, and when he comes to a wicked fairy named "maleficent", audrey shivers.
ben squeezes her hand. "she can't get to you anymore, audrey. my dad made sure of that."
audrey bites her lip. "i know, but..."
"it's okay to be scared. sometimes, i'm even scared of my own dad." ben admits.
because ben isn't like her. his mother fell in love a beast, the villain of her story, and he fell in love with her. he doesn't get it.
with audrey, the wicked fairy was just that: the wicked fairy. she had no good side, she had only darkness.
just the thought of her makes audrey want to take a bath, or throw up. maybe both.
"and the villain's children and grandchildren and so on, shall remain on the island with their parents, until their deaths." her professor concludes.
ben suddenly looks confused, and a little angry. "why?"
the professor looks at ben like he's stupid. "because, they only know of evil. the poisoned apple doesn't fall far from the tree, after all."
ben clenches his fists, and it looks like he's about to retort when audrey tells him "ben, don't."
ben sighs. "when i'm king, i'm going to fix this. i mean, their kids haven't even done anything wrong. they can't be all bad, can they?"
but audrey isn't even listening, she just puts her head in her hands, and goes back to staring out the window.
when audrey finds out maleficent's daughter will be going to their school, she screams.
but only when she's alone, so no one else hears her.
they can't have their perfect little princess being sad, can they?