Anna ch. 1

There weren’t always dragons in the valley. Sure, we have elves, nymphs, trolls, and even an ogre or two. At least I think we still do. After a hundred years trapped in a tower, I don’t know anymore.

How did I get in this tower you ask? That is a funny story.

One day, as I was walking through my village’s marketplace, I was accosted by a witch. She started yelling at me about stealing her prince away. Prince? Like what the heck? I had no idea that I knew a prince, let alone had stolen one from another. I tried to think back on everyone that I knew and had dealt with at that time. I could not for the life of me figure out who the heck she was talking about.

The crazy part is, I did not even do anything worthy of being cursed. At least I do not remember doing anything. I was just minding my own business, walking down the cobblestone road of the marketplace and then suddenly, BAM! There she was. Standing right in front of me. I almost fell backwards as I ran into her.

Then she started calling me by a weird name that I’ve never heard, Esmerelda or something. I tried to tell her I am not the person she thought I was, but she would not listen. She just kept yelling at me and reciting some poem repeatedly. One hundred years later and I still do not know who or what she is talking about.

Yes, you heard that right. I have been stuck in this sort of twisted fairytale world for the last hundred years. Each year is something different. I have visited these fairytale stories multiple times over and they all end the same. I meet a prince. He sweeps me off my feet, literally and figuratively. He shows me the time of my life and just when we get to the first kiss, and he attacks me. Like straight up attacks me.

Then I end up having to fight him off. I said this is a twisted fairytale, didn’t I. I have gotten good at fighting them off too. It’s the same outcome every time. I go to sleep that night after kicking their behind and wake up in a new story. It is a never-ending cycle. It’s almost like being in a twisted movie where you repeat the same day over and over. Except in this one, it’s a different story line each time.

The only way to end the cycle is to find my true love. Since they all end up creeps, I haven’t found my true love yet. Not even sure how I would. I hold out hope though. There’s gotta be a nice guy out there somewhere. Right?!

Currently, I am in this tower, five stories high, with no way out except a window. That doesn’t have a screen and cannot be closed. Ever. The weather is nearly perfect though? So, there is no that.

Every night I see this marvelous lightshow that slowly moves across the sky. I have no idea what they are. Could be aliens for all I know. It sure is lovely to see.

So, I sit here. Day in and day out. On this window seat. Wistfully staring out into nothing. Don’t get me wrong, the sky can be awe inspiring at times. Like when the dragons come out to play. It’s the highlight of my day. I watch as their beautiful scales in various hues of gold, green and blue shimmer in the sunlight. I hear the swooping of their wings as they capture the wind. I feel the subtle breeze as they sail by my only window. In this crummy tower. That is five stories off the ground. Yay!!!

While I sit here. On this window seat. Surrounded by concrete walls. Walls that I am so tired of looking at. I am reminded of the nasty witch that cursed me. If I ever see her again. I am going to make her sorry she mistook me for that Esmerelda, or whatever her name is. My name isn’t even close to that. My name is Anna. It’s weird. In each story, I have a completely different name. I haven’t found out what my name is in this story yet. Cuz, I haven’t met anyone in this story yet.

The worst part is that crazy witch is in every story. The same witch. She dresses differently, she has a different agenda, but it is still the same witch in each story. She makes it clear every time that she will stop at nothing to ensure that I never find my true love. All because she thinks I took away her prince.

In one story, I pricked my finger and fell asleep, for a hundred years. My name in that story was Aurora, but everyone called me Sleeping Beauty. Not sure why.

Another, I had to deal with a haughty Stepmother and two bratty stepsisters. In that one my name was Ella, and those jerks called me Cinderella. All because they found me with dust from the fireplace on my check. That was the worst. So rude!

After that one, I ended up getting serious back issues from stooping to live with seven dwarfs. Oops! I mean little people. They do not like the “dwarf” word. My name in that one was Snow White. I had the perfect alabaster skin and black hair. That story was my favorite. I could sing the best in that one.

Another one, I lost my voice to a psycho octopus. That one was different. My name was Ariel, I had a huge family, and no one really missed me much when the octopus witch basically kidnapped me. I did have a crab named Sebastian, which helped me out.

I gotta say though, my favorite by far has been the genie and flying carpet. That was cool. My name wasn’t much to speak of, Jasmine, but I had a huge tiger as a pet. He liked to bite people who were mean to me. The witch was an ambitious throne stealing dude in this story. He got tricked into becoming a genie and getting locked in a lamp for ten thousand years. Too bad that didn’t last. Maybe I could have gotten out this mess if it had.

This time, however, I woke up with a massive migraine because of the ridiculously long blond hair I have. Like, hasn’t anyone heard of a haircut? This is not natural. It winds around the inside of the tower. I’m walking over it all the time.

Upside is I have met all these different princes. They have all been handsome, with amazing builds. Generous, kind and totally enamored of me. I just haven’t seen one that I don’t think I could live without.

Oh well, I suppose while I am stuck in this tower, I should figure out a way to either get out or get someone in. There are no trapdoors anywhere that I can see. I have had plenty of time to look for one. Not a trapdoor in sight. No chance of getting someone in through the window. Thankfully, I have yet to see that annoying witch.