School Years 11 to 13 Runner-up

‘Once Upon Our Time’

By Siena May Lee

Once upon our time, there lived a young girl called Sophia. She dreamt of bring a Princess, and that one day her Prince would ride up to her house and take away on the back of his horse to his castle. She also dreamt of being a teacher as she loved helping other people.
She was very clever. She read her books all day long.

Sophia also loved dancing and one day she was dancing with her friends at a party when her Prince walked through the door! He promised her a life of happiness and he would buy her anything she desired. She jumped on his horse, and they rode off into the sunset – Sophia was a REAL Princess now. Her dream had come true!

Princess Sophia loved to read, as we know. But Prince Albert told her that she wouldn’t need her books anymore as she wouldn’t become a teacher, so there was no point. She was his wife, a real Princess, and her job would be looking after him now. He looked very sad that she would want to do anything but look after him, and this made Princess Sophia feel very guilty. Of course, he was right. She was being selfish. Prince Harold was so clever, and everyone said how wonderful he was!

She made herself busy, with arranging flowers, cooking lovely food, and baking cakes. But over time, Princess Sophia started to get bored as Prince Albert would be out in the forest all day hunting. She was quote lonely as well because Prince Albert didn’t like her to go out and see her friends. He said there were dangerous people in the forest, and she needed to stay inside so she was safe. He was protecting her. Also, the last time she had gone to a birthday party, she had been a little bit late. Prince Albert had been very angry as she didn’t have his dinner ready. She had forgotten that he liked to have it exactly at 6 o’clock. He has huffed and puffed and folded his arms and kept tapping his foot until she thought he would blow the house down. Prince Albert was such a good husband, she didn’t want him to be angry again, so it was easier not to go out.

On this particular day, she felt bored. Princess Sophia picked up one of her old books. How she missed them! She had forgotten how much she loved to read. Hours passed, totally unaware. The light started to dim. Suddenly, Princess Sophia felt someone watching her. She turned around and there was Prince Albert. But he looked different. His face was cold.
His eyes were dark. He grabbed the book and threw it across the room; it crashed to the floor. She ran for her book, but he pushed Princess Sophia against the wall and held her so close that she couldn’t breathe. “You broke the rules”, he said. “You’ve lied to me”. She was so scared, and she was shaking everywhere. Prince Albert then left the castle.

Princess Sophia didn’t know what to do! She sat and cried and was frightened. She hadn’t meant to break the rules; she only wanted to read her book. But she knew it was her fault, because if she had just done as he had asked then he wouldn’t be so angry. Everyone told her that Prince Albert was the perfect husband. He loved her with all his heart. She was so lucky to have him, what was wrong with her? “Silly Princess Sophia”, she thought. It was all her fault. But why did something keep telling her deep down that this wasn’t the fairytale she had dreamt of?

Prince Albert came home very late that night. He brought her a red rose from the garden, and he was very sorry. He loved her and he said he would never, ever hurt her. All was good again.

Many years passed. Princess Sophia became quieter. She didn't see her friends, and she knew how to follow the rules and they had lots of happy times. But, if she did ever break the rules, then she knew it was her fault and there would be a punishment. When Prince Albert hurt her, he would always be very sorry afterwards.

One day Prince Albert said they had an invitation to a party. "A party!", she jumped around and was very excited as it had been so long! Princess Sophia wore her favourite party dress and danced all night, drank champagne and laughed. It was the best evening they had spent in years! But on the way home in the carriage, Prince Albert became very quiet. Suddenly, he started firing questions, one after the other. "Who were you dancing with?", "Who was that other Prince?", "Why were you laughing so much?". He took her shoes and threw them out of the carriage window! Princess Sophia had to walk to the castle with bare feet, and the stones cut her feet until they bled. The midnight bells chimed. The carriage felt as though it had turned into a pumpkin and the coachmen to mice. What had she done so wrong?

Inside the castle, Prince Albert grabbed her and hit her across the face. As she turned to him, he roared, and fire breathed from his nostrils. He wasn't her Prince at all. He was a dragon! That was the moment Princess Sophia woke up. She hadn't married a Prince. She had married a fire breathing dragon! She had been asleep for 15 years ...

15 years of being made to feel guilty, of being told she wasn't good enough. 15 years of being bullied and alone. He was no Prince Charming.

But Sleeping Beauty was now awake. She wasn't to blame. She finally realised it wasn't her fault!

So, she left. She packed her pretty, pink suitcase and walked across the drawbridge. Who needed a horse?

She lived Happily Ever After.

Judge’s Comments:

A cleverly written tale that charmingly employs different fairytale tropes to convey a harrowing tale of domestic abuse. The style is simplistic and childlike, in keeping with the stylistic forms of the borrowed genre, however the message is clear: the protagonist saves herself. There is no need for the handsome prince, but rather self-awareness and bravery on the part of the princess to make a new life for herself.