running away is freedom. It is the only way to escape the evil queen, it is the only way to escape a worried father at the base of an enchanted tower, and it is the only way to be truly happy.
In this chapter,
the princess fights against her hesitance and the overbearing empathy that drags down her delicate body carried by frantically beating wings.
She struggles to stay airborne as her wings push to be stronger than the harsh winds throwing antagonistic whispers of “you’ll fall” and “you’ll always be weak”, but, eventually, the wings fail and the body, bruised by the evil words, falls.
Broken and unable to resist, the princess is dragged back to the tower by her own fear and anxiety—a traitorous self inflicted punishment laid down so firmly, the princess has no choice but to comply; to concede.
As she stumbles back to the enchanted tower, her legs and arms fatigued and her wings lifeless and dragging behind her, she passes the queen and, though the expressionless woman says nothing, an “I told you so” is written in bold across her irises.
Deflated, the princess nods solemnly and whispers, “I know.”