LMB ft. Michelle Budge

A Fairly Accurate Tale

Once upon a time, a long time ago, a young girl accepted an invitation to join a prince on an adventure.
She worked very hard to buy a golden ticket and secure a seat on the magic Eagle that would take her to faraway lands. (The Prince already had his ticket so promised to meet her there). After 90 days working three jobs, sometimes 18 hours a day, she bade her family farewell and left her homeland to explore faraway kingdoms.

The Prince was initially pleased to be reunited with his love. He had found it hard to share a home with other young women from around the world while waiting for her. She took him at his word, was quickly escorted to another dwelling and never met the young women. For a fleeting moment, this struck her as strange. The young girl had hoped to meet them and to explore the amazing city their passionate reunion took place in but the Prince was keen to travel further afield. Never mind she thought, I can return one day.

Another small disappointment followed. The Prince confessed that, due to attending several festivals, craic and ceilidh to fill in his time while waiting for her, he had spent all his gold coins. The young girl believed the Prince to be her One True Love, so she told him not to worry, that she would share her gold coins with him.

As they began their adventure the young girl noticed the Prince was prone to dark moods. Some days, he barely spoke to her, others he showered her with affection. It was quite confusing. Because he had spent all his gold coins, they kept their adventures simple, sleeping in forests, washing in streams and eating cheap pasta.
Sometimes the young girl caught a glimpse of a magnificent cathedral or a palace she had heard of and dreamed of one day visiting. But due to their circumstances, these often had to be bypassed in favour of simpler outings, which was a shame.

Still the young girl was reasonably happy to be seeing the world and all its wonderous sights. Except for the days when the Prince got angry with her. On those days, dark clouds chased them over country roads and along city lanes. The Prince would sometimes go off alone for hours drinking in local taverns with other travellers, leaving her to look after the coach. She didn't mind too much except when he didn't tell her where he was going or when he would be back. Other times, he would leave her at the side of the road and speed off on the coach as tears spilled down her sun-kissed cheeks. But he generally came back.

After many weeks and months, they returned to their homeland, ready to work hard again and live a happy life together.

But the Prince's dark mood only got worse. He took a job in a far-off town. When he came home, he was tired and distant. Sometimes his anger was overpowering, and he would hold her tightly against a wall or lock her outside their cottage on cold winter nights. And that was okay too. Nobody noticed the bruises on her arms, and she had found a blanket outside and managed to stay warm until he let her back inside.

One day, the young girl heard the postie dropping mail at their home. The sun was shining, and she skipped down the driveway to find a brightly coloured card sent from a far-off city. It was not the Prince's mother as her handwriting was smaller. Nor was it her own mother's writing. Curious, the young girl opened the letter. Her knees crumpled and her stomach lurched as she read the contents. On pretty pink paper was a short letter for the Prince from another, younger girl in the far away town. In the letter the younger girl declared her love for the Prince and her wish that they could be together soon.

That night, her face freshly washed and her hair brushed, the young girl gathered her courage together and showed the letter to the Prince. Initially the Prince vehemently denied her claims, accusing her of disloyalty and banging his fist loudly on the table. When the young girl pointed out the letter contained some very personal information, the Prince conceded. They had met. But only once. He cried and asked the young girl if she would accept his hand in marriage.

The young girl went to bed, but she did not sleep.

The next day she travelled to the faraway city and visited the younger girl who, although surprised, confirmed that she had indeed had a relationship with the Prince and that they had met more than once.

She returned home, heartbroken.

The Prince was waiting outside. When she told him what she had done, he became very, very angry. Once his anger subsided, the Prince invited the young girl to spend the night with him, so that their story might end on a positive note.

The young girl declined his offer, and he left the cottage very, very, very angry.

From that day on, the young girl swore she would never ever rely on a prince to make her happy. She would make and save her own golden coins and learn to be kind to herself. These things did not come to pass immediately but they did eventually come to pass.

And the much wiser woman lived happily ever after.
 

Bio- Michelle Budge

Firmly settled in Brighton, Dunedin. Mum and Step-Mum to four pretty gorgeous young adults/adults, Nan to 2.5. Married. Love the beach, surfing writing, my dog, music, photography, and road trips. In a former life, worked as a journalist and a PR. Saw the light,now a secondary school teacher. Read more via www.mysimplicitynz.wordpress.com and see stuff on Instagram via @mysimplelifenz or ​https://www.instagram.com/mysimplelifenz/

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