She already regretted taking a bite from the apple. What choice did she have? Giving in to the witch’s temptation seemed like the only resort. After centuries of deep slumber, she has no clue about the things that have happened to everyone around her.
While her body lies motionless, deep in the dense, dark forest where no human can set a foot, her mind has conjured up a twisted world of her own, which is where she now lives. In the real world, the dwarves and the ever patient prince have long faded away in their graves but in her world, she is living the Tale of Unfair Affairs.
She would frolick around her empire every day, as she was the princess. The white bodice of her dress signified whatever innocence she had left, the pink and purple in her skirt portrayed elements of her naivete and narcissism. She did not have any beauty around her, since she never considered anyone or anything more beautiful than herself due to her vain, egotistical nature. being. Her only treasure was broken dolls and broken cups.
The fiery Mad Hatter was one of the few humanoid emotions in her grotesque, imaginary kingdom. His blood red attire signified all the anger the princess carried within herself against the betrayal of his only friends, the seven dwarves. Oh, how she detested them for failing to keep her safe from the wicked witch. The Mad Hatter knew when and how to play her. The smoke drifting from his tobacco pipe was as frosty and unpredictable as his heart. His only desire was to devour the princess and set her world ablaze, a flame big enough to light the tobacco in his pipe.
The big, grisly beast would always give her strength to overcome the angry storm within her but it was never enough to make her feel like she was in control of herself. Her passion to be with the beast seemed serene and pure on the surface, but the beast only wanted to isolate her from everything else in her world. Alienation and loneliness was all the beast had to offer, in her mind’s eye, but physically, she was still all by herself. Her desolate, sleeping bed of a grave did not have a single morsel of life around it. The affection she shared with the beast would only rise whenever the mad hatter tried to take control of her.
Once upon a time, she was showed love and care towards all, and her life would light up whenever she was with her Cheshire cat. The love and compassion within the princess grew stronger with every purr and meow of the four legged creature. With the prince being there for her all the time, the cat was neglected and was nothing more than a mere thought in the back her mind. Her purr and meows were hollow sounds, emanating from some unknown corner of her grotesque world. She could not even visualize the poor creature any longer. The Cheshire cat knew in her heart that the princess will need her to regain whatever humanity she had left and go back to the way she was once, on her throne in the real, tangible world. The cat always kept an eye on the princess, even from the shadows of nothingness that the princess had plunged her into.
Even in the real, waking world, the princess had very strong sense of admiration and affection for herself. At times, she would not need anyone to talk to as long as she was staring at herself in the mirror. She always envisaged her image in the mirror as that of the strong Queen of Hearts. As the name suggests, the princess was ruling every living souls’ heart in the real world her beauty, vanity and compassion, which ultimately led to the witch tricking her into biting the poisonous apple. With her strong hold over people and other livings, she always took pleasure in making others feel like a disposable deck of cards. She felt larger than life with all the fiery control she had in her hands.
Even to this day, you can still hear the hollow whispers, singing lullabies about the princess in slumber and her Tale of Unfair Affairs
Contributed by Jehanzeb A Khan- who’s alternative ego is that of The Bearded Chef. He loves cooking and cigars and has a jazzy wit!
