Long ago, there was once a princess called Leonora, imprisoned in her own castle, forbidden to ever go past the gates of the palace. Not shackled at the hands of some wicked captors, but bound by her own parents. Forever marked a disgrace to the reputation of their prestigious castle. Someone to keep a secret if they were to hold their family name.
It wasn't always like that.
The princess was grown with love and care, with everything she ever wanted and deserved. It was a time when she wasn't a burden but an asset, a jewel to be added to the crown of the kingdom. Slowly but surely, the princess grew into a fearless and independent woman just like her parents had wanted.
With the valiance she obtained, she set out to uncover the imperfections she hid for years. She would let loose and bloom like the flowers of wilderness. She boldly voiced her opinions on basic rights of persons, not citizens, but people in their own life . . . people in their own minds. She didn't believe in the boundaries set by the world, in fact, she questioned their very existence.
Sadly, this did not settle very well with the king and queen. What they had sown to be a fearless queen, had become a fearless woman.
The king and queen saw their perfect princess becoming deviant in every sense. This they neither wanted nor accepted.
The last straw was when the princess dared to fall for another woman. The king and queen lost it and imprisoned her, ashamed of what had become of their daughter, afraid she might reveal her mind to the world. The throne was more important than their own daughter. They could not risk losing it.
The princess wasn't sad, for she had a brother who still loved her. No, he didn't know what she had quite done to upset their parents so much, but he loved her nonetheless. To him, the princess would always be his little sister.
He would tell her tales from around the world, all the places he would see, all the people he met, everything that happened. He would narrate her the wonders of the world. Moreover, he would bring her friends. Books. So that perhaps, his sister could read what he hadn't seen, perhaps his sister would live wonders more than him.
He could not defy his parents. He could not gift her freedom, but he could gift her happiness.
Soon, the time came for the prince to get married, so he could succeed as the king. From around the world and among various beautiful princesses, one was chosen- Princess Valia.
Valia was going to have to give this family her life, she would have to take their name, and rule the kingdom beside the prince. She knew this would be hard for her so she sent a humble request. If she could spend some time with the prince in their kingdom, getting to know the people, she could get adjusted to their traditions and culture and blend in the fabric of the people. The king and the queen were reluctant. But they eventually had to agree.
As expected, on the dawn of summer solstice, Valia arrived in the kingdom. Leonora was now limited to her room, only allowed to roam the palace at night so that she wouldn't be spotted by anyone else in the castle.
Leonora didn't want to oblige, but she did so for her brother. Her brother had been her only salvation from eternal darkness. He had gifted her so much, so this she could do for him.
Valia was welcomed by huge celebrations and grand gestures. The princess smiled at all these people that were to be forever engraved in her life. She was doing so for her kingdom, her father had said that the two alliances would form a strong force. It would be good for the people. Valia loved her people. The prince was quite polite and humble, they seemed to get along just fine. If they could get along fine enough to spend their life together, she was okay with it.
Valia laughed, smiled and bowed. She even liked some of the people she met. But she quickly grew tired, and found herself to be relieved when the celebrations ended. Even after the guests had gone to their homes and the rest of the palace fell into a deep slumber, Valia was still unable to rest, regardless of how tired she was. Valia was becoming restless, she just couldn't sleep on a strange bed so easily. Perhaps it would need some getting used to.
For a while she laid there, trying to give in to the sleep that heavily laced her eyes. When it still wouldn't come and she saw the lights of dawn masking the sky, she decided to instead walk around the palace, maybe give herself a little tour before everyone woke up.
Valia snuck past the rooms of the prince, and the king and queen, past the soldiers who were guarding the palace half asleep. She wanted to go to the gardens, they had seemed quite beautiful when she had arrived. However, a guard stood in her way and soon turned to face her. To avoid being seen, she slipped in the throne room. She hid behind one of the pillars in the room, to avoid getting caught by the guard who was on duty there. After a few minutes she dared to look past the pillar, to check whether the guard had left or not.
What caught her eyes was entirely different from what she was expecting. Light sun rays were seeping in through the windows in the room, giving it a beautiful golden glow that highlighted the beauty of the room.
On the throne sat a young woman, she looked to be around her age. She was hanging on the throne quite carelessly, her back to one arm of the throne while her legs over the other. Her drape was sprawled on the floor, her head rested on the back of the throne while she quietly read a book, illuminated by rays of the seeping sunshine. She could've been a thief but the guards stood right there, as if it were quite normal.
The woman was so immersed in her book that she didn't even realise that one of the guards was calling her.
"Princess Leonora!" A guard walked up to her, shaking her to get her attention.
"Huh? What?" she asked, confused as if she had half forgotten her surroundings. Valia stared at her in amusement, before she realised that the guard had called her a princess. Now it was her turn to be confused as that would make Leonora the Prince's sister . . . if that was so, why had she not attended the celebrations?
"It's dawn, you should be getting back to your room before the others awaken. Also, the queen would not be happy to spot you sprawled out on the throne," the guard urged.
"Five more minutes, Antonio, please," the princess whined letting her head drop back while she stared at Antonio upside down. The sunlight glistened her face aesthetically.
"You know I cannot allow that, Princess," Antonio spoke firmly.
The princess made a weird attempt at puppy eyes which made Antonio roll his eyes. Valia let out a chuckle, making her quickly clamp her hands on her mouth and hide behind the pillar again.
"How is this fair?! I can't even roam the castle now! All because of that princess! What if she decides she likes my room? What're they gonna do then? Lock me in the bathroom!? The palace was all I had, Antonio! And now that good for nothing princess- which by the way I haven't even seen- has managed to take that away from me too!" Leonora cried in exhaustion but got off from the throne nonetheless.
Antonio's expression turned full of sympathy for the princess as he looked down to the floor. "I am sorry, Princess Leonora, but I can do nothing more than follow orders."
"Oh, Antonio, I know it's not your fault, for what it's worth, I'm grateful for you not being as harsh as the previous guard." The princess smiled vibrantly at him.
Antonio gave her a small smile and Valia watched them leave the throne room.
When she was sure they had gone, Valia too slipped back into her room. She thought about the words that the princess had spoken, and how it was somehow her fault that the princess was now confined to her room. She would not let this be. She would not be the cause for someone's suffering. So she decided on a little plan for breakfast.
After that, she fell into a peaceful slumber.
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In the morning when everyone settled down for breakfast, Valia waited for Leonora to arrive too . . . maybe she had just misunderstood the whole situation. She never arrived and everyone was about to start eating, dishes had already started to be served.
"Uh . . . won't your sister be accompanying us, dear prince?" As soon as she asked her question, all eyes turned to her.
"Pardon, Princess Valia? I believe I didn't quite understand your question," the queen asked, barely trying to keep her voice straight. Everyone seemed tense and uncomfortable.
"I meant Princess Leonora, Your Majesty. I didn't quite understand why she didn't attend the celebrations yesterday, I assumed maybe she was busy. But she's absent at breakfast too . . . is it because she doesn't like me?" Valia spoke, putting in all her charms.
"Wha—oh no no dear, you're quite a lovely person," the queen assured her and then turned to her son, "Arthur . . . why don't you go see where your sister is?"
Arthur smiled at his mother, got up and went to invite his sister. He did not know how the princess had come to find out about his sister but he couldn't stress on the fact. He could already imagine Leonora's relief at getting to step out of her room. If there was one thing his sister didn't like, it was confinement. Ironic how day by day they seemed to grow tighter and tighter on her.
"Leonora?" Arthur knocked at her door. He had to knock twice before his sister finally appeared, her eyes fixed on a book. The prince had to clear his throat to get her attention.
"What?" the princess questioned him, still not quite looking at him.
"You've been invited to breakfast, hurry up we're all waiting." Arthur beamed at his sister as her eyes widened with disbelief.
"But . . . I thought I was supposed to be non-existent?" she asked in a hushed voice.
"Well you can't be non-existent to someone who already knows about your existence. Lucky for you it seems like Princess Valia does. So hurry up and make an excuse as to why you weren't present in the celebrations yesterday," the prince ushered his sister.
When they got to the dining area, the queen was sitting, looking heavily discomforted while the king glared at her, warning her to behave. Leonora ignored her parents, put on a pretty smile for the princess and warmly greeted her.
"I apologize for not being present at the celebrations, I . . . wasn't well and thought it best to rest," Leonora explained.
Of course, Valia knew that she was lying as the princess had looked quite well to her when she had seen her sprawled on the throne.
"I hope you're well now, shall we start?" Valia smiled. And so everybody got to eating.
Once everyone was finished, Princess Valia asked if the prince would show her around the castle today.
"I'm sorry, Valia, but some work came up unannounced, I'm afraid I won't have the time today," the prince apologized.
Great, Valia thought, we aren't even married yet and the prince already doesn't have time for me.
But she kept her smile. An idea popped into her mind, this could be the perfect opportunity to get to know the princess.
Valia had decided that Princess Leonora was a mystery, one that she was going to enjoy solving.
"It's fine I understand, but surely Leonora can show me around right?" The princess asked with a hopeful voice.
Before Leonora could speak, the king interjected, "That wouldn't be of need, dear princess, I will arrange someone from the staff to show you around."
"But why someone from the staff? I don't mean to disrespect you, Your Majesty, but in my family we don't use the staff to show around the people that are important to us." Valia smiled slyly. The king grunted at this and glared at his daughter as if it was her fault that they were in this situation. At last, he reluctantly nodded.
Just as they were about to leave the queen pulled aside her daughter, "Don't you dare spoil this," she warned but the princess just winked at her and pulled out of the grasp to catch up with princess Valia.
"Well, what would you like to see first?" Leonora smiled at the princess vibrantly. She hadn't met a new person in a very long time so she was buzzing with excitement. Maybe she had been too harsh to blame the princess so soon.
"Wherever you lead first." Valia smiled as she could clearly see Leonora twitching from excitement.
While Leonora showed her around the palace, Valia noted one thing. The princess loved to chatter. She could barely shut up long enough for Valia to answer her questions and would then resume chirping like a bird.
"You talk a lot, don't you?" Valia laughed as they roamed in the gardens.
Leonora's face went red at the comment and she immediately shut up, "My apologies." She wanted nothing but to make the princess happy for the sake of his brother. That couldn't be done if she offended Valia.
"No no, I quite enjoy it. Everyone here is so formal, if I'm being honest, it's a breather to be around someone so talkative." Valia smiled at her. Leonora sighed in relief, glad she hadn't done something wrong.
"I wouldn't know," she answered honestly, which only added fuel to Valia's suspicions. Valia frowned at her curiously.
"Are your parents hiding you, Leonora?" she asked. Valia wanted to know what was wrong with Princess Leonora. Something in her wanted to help the princess very badly, as if it was her responsibility to right the wrongs for the princess.
"My parents are ashamed of me, Princess. I think too freely for them to contain my thoughts. So they contain me physically, bound in this castle for all eternity," the princess answered with all honesty, gazing out the castle window with a dreamy look.
"What could you have possibly done to earn this punishment?" Punishment did not seem the right word to Valia, but it was the only polite word she could think of.
Leonora smiled at Valia sadly, her bright mood now hidden by a cloak of sadness. "I dared to fall for someone they didn't approve of."
This did not sit well with Valia. She decided she no longer liked the royal family anymore. It angered her to know that they would treat their daughter so badly just because she had fallen in love. Valia knew that love was the one thing no one could tame nor control.
Valia felt better when the princess told her of her brother's kindness and his gifts. It pleased her to know that the princess wasn't suffering completely, that she still had someone who loved her.
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The two princess bonded over many days, they grew close to each other, almost inseparable. Whenever the prince would be doing his duties, the two would talk about all wonders of the world, of Leonora's adventures before she had been shunned in the castle, about Valia's beautiful kingdom and her favourite places in the world.
This did not go unnoticed by the king and the queen. Day by day, they watched the two princesses grow closer and closer. They watched the same emotions swirl again in Leonora's eyes that had been when they had first found their daughter's biggest flaw.
They watched her fall in love again.
They could not allow their son's life to be ruined like that. They could not allow their daughter's secret to reach one more pair of ears. The king and queen decided they had to arrange for the wedding to take place sooner. This had to be done to avoid the two women from growing any closer.
Valia did not mind this. No, she had not yet fallen in love with the prince, but getting married in the kingdom would mean that she could keep her friendship with Leonora. If it meant she had to put up with the king and the queen, so be it.
The guests were to arrive within a week, the preparations for the wedding were to begin immediately. Everything was going well, except for the one important thing.
Leonora had locked herself in her room. This time neither the king nor the queen had commanded her to do so, and hence, Valia couldn't understand why the princess had abruptly stopped talking to her.
Sadly, Leonora knew very well why she couldn't talk to the princess anymore. The news of the wedding had hit the princess heavy in her heart. Yes, she had known the whole point of Valia staying in their kingdom was so that she would know whether or not she wanted to get married to Leonora's brother, but this did nothing to soothe the ache that laced her heart.
No, she hadn't meant for this to happen, but once again she had fallen in love with somebody she couldn't have. Moreover, it was her brother's to be wife. How would she look him in the eye if he found out that his sister had been so treacherous to fall for Valia out of all people? After everything he had done for her, how could she take this away from the prince?
She felt bad for cutting off from Valia, she knew that she was worrying her, but she knew that the princess would eventually forget and stop trying to talk to her. After all, Valia had a wedding to fill her mind with. She was nothing more than a friendly company to Valia, and because now her family would too arrive for the wedding, she wouldn't be needed anymore.
Valia however, was not going to let the princess off so easy. If Leonora wanted to close the doors, she would climb through the window to get to her. She needed to know the purpose for her sudden disappearance.
So three days before the wedding, that is exactly what Valia did. She climbed into Leonora's room through the window only to be greeted by a sight she hadn't thought she would ever see. All anger was now gone from Valia's features as she looked at the princess who was looking at her with eyes widened from disbelief and tears streaming down her pretty face.
"Wha—what are you doing here?!" Valia was surprised at Leonora's angry question.
"What do you mean what am I doing here? You refused to open your door and let me in. The window was the only option I had!" she retorted back with equal anger filling her voice.
Princess Leonora had no right to block her out all of a sudden and then on top of it, be the one who was angry. Leonora stared at Valia in utter disbelief. She was surprised that the princess had cared enough to barge in through her window, especially with it being only three days before her wedding. But everything aside, she had no answers to give to the wave of oncoming questions.
"I don't have anything to say to you, Princess, it would be better for you to leave. You have a wedding to worry about," Leonora told her firmly and took hold of Valia's wrist, dragging her to the door.
However, before she could reach it, she was harshly pulled back causing her to slam roughly into Valia, sending them both falling to the floor.
Leonora's breath hitched. Their faces were now too close to each other but it was as if Valia wasn't realising this at all.
"Why are you not talking to me anymore?! What have I done wrong?!" Valia demanded angrily.
Leonora got off of the princess, ignoring the question, and went to reach for the door again. Valia once again took hold of Leonora's wrist, but this time she didn't pull her, just stopped her from moving any farther.
"If you tell me honestly, then I would leave and never trouble you again," Valia spoke firmly. She had no intention of keeping her promise. She just wanted to know what it was so she would be able to solve the problem.
Leonora couldn't tell. Not because she was afraid for herself, but her brother. If she told Valia, then she might decide not to marry him anymore and return to her kingdom. The trouble was, that the princess was so adamant on knowing, that Leonora didn't know how else to make her go away.
"If you swear to not cancel the wedding," she said reluctantly.
"Why would I cancel the wedding?" Valia asked, perplexed. If anything, Valia had more reasons to cancel the wedding if Leonora kept avoiding her.
"Because . . . just swear it!" Leonora pressed. Valia nodded, wanting the princess to tell her already.
So Leonora snatched her wrist from Valia's hold and told her. "My parents locked me in the castle for a reason, princess. It's not because they were ashamed that I had fallen in love. It was because I had fallen in love with another woman."
All colour drained from Valia's face. What did the princess mean by that? How could she fall for another woman?
"I am not ashamed of myself, nor of the fact that I had fallen for a woman. Love is love. It is idiocy to let something as petty as gender rule who I can or cannot love," the princess said but Valia couldn't seem to hear the words. However, it was the princess' next words that truly shocked her to the core.
"This time I have fallen for you, Valia," the princess' tone was dismissive as if there was nothing more to say. She pulled the door open and stepped aside to let Valia leave.
And so Valia did. There was nothing she had left to say to the princess. She couldn't understand a word, it was as if her brain could hear and register the words but it couldn't give them meaning.
The weight of one revelation stood heavier than the rest. Leonora loved her.
She did not know what to make of that. Valia had never had to face this before. A love confession from a girl. Not just any girl but Princess Leonora herself. The brave and vibrant Leonora who didn't fear the world nor believed in its confinements. Who wished to fly as free and high as a bird. Who would rather be imprisoned than live under a false pretence. Oh how deeply Valia had grown to admire the princess.
Physically confined yet so free in her mind and heart.
Valia didn't visit the princess the rest of the days. On the night before the wedding, she couldn't sleep yet again. It was no surprise, the princess' confession had left her restless, but the night before the wedding, Valia was more restless than ever.
It was her wedding in the morning. Her wedding to Prince Arthur. Her wedding to the brother of the princess who had confessed to being in love with her.
Prince Arthur. Valia and the prince didn't love each other. They were just good friends willing to spend their life together for the sake of nothing better to do. Somewhere between her conversations with the prince, Valia had realised that the prince wouldn't be able to love her with all his heart. Valia didn't know if it was simply because she didn't appeal to the prince in that manner or if it was because his heart belonged to someone else. Surprisingly, Valia couldn't care.
On the other hand, Princess Leonora had confessed to loving her. Actually loving her. All their conversations were filled with so many emotions and wonderments, Valia could never find that in anyone else. Yet. How could she? The princess was a girl. Valia was a girl.
Not the princess and the prince but the princess and the princess.
Tired of all the thoughts, Valia got up, giving up on trying to sleep and decided to stroll through the castle again. She couldn't help but go to the throne room, just like she had on her first day in the castle. She didn't expect to see the princess there. No. She just wanted to visit the memory again.
But the princess was there.
Just like the previous time, sprawled on the throne, this time illuminated by the soft lit candles. Only she wasn't reading a book. Her eyes were closed as if asleep, her hand hung inches above the ground, the book long fallen from her hands onto the ground, lips parted just a little for the small huffs of breath to escape.
"I know you're standing there," the princess spoke, taking Valia by surprise. "What help can I be of to you?" she asked, her eyes still closed.
What help could Leonora be of to her? Valia didn't know. Yet she wanted to talk to the princess. It had been too long since she had heard the princess speak.
She asked one of the questions that had troubled her ever since their friendship began. "Why did you never run away, Princess Leonora? Why be confined by your parents like this?"
Now the princess opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, as if it was to give the answer. After a long silence the princess finally answered, "I had no reason to. The one that I had fallen for, my royally asshole-ish parents took everything from her. She lost everything she had ever lived for, it was only reasonable that her love for me was replaced by pure hatred. When I was imprisoned, I had lost both my parents and the girl I had loved. I only had my brother left. I couldn't lose him too, so I stayed."
"My brother isn't as perfect as he seems, Valia," the princess continued, "He too has dreams of his own, but he represses them as much as I aspire to live them. Maybe to fill in the void I had created. But if I had left, he would have had nothing, he would've been completely stomped by our parents. I couldn't let that be."
Valia took the princess' words in. How did it feel to have been abandoned by both your parents and your love? She felt so angry towards the girl for rejecting Leonora. But what troubled her was the voice inside her mind. Wasn't that exactly what Valia was doing too? Abandoning the princess and rejecting her love?
"Do you not want me to return your feelings?" Valia questioned her.
A small smile formed on the princess' lips. She slid off the throne and walked towards her. "I do. Like every selfish human in love, I do want that. But. I wouldn't ever hurt my brother like this, Valia. It's your wedding tomorrow, I wish you all the best." The princess walked past her to the room's exit, pausing for a moment. "Now that he will have you to take care of him. Maybe now I can run away," she whispered.
Valia had no idea what to do with the storm of feelings in her heart. What was she feeling!? Anger? Hate? Confusion? . . . Love?
Before either Leonora or Valia could leave or even move, they saw the prince step out from behind the pillar, the same pillar Valia had hidden behind on her first night.
Leonora's eyes immediately fell to the floor in shame. The prince had heard everything, and she wouldn't be surprised if he now hated her for falling for his fiancée.
The prince looked at Valia, deep in thought.
Finally he asked, "Do you return her feelings?"
Valia didn't know. Did she?
The prince seemed to understand her silence. "How do you think it would feel, Princess Valia, to never see my sister ever again . . . bound to a man who you do not love?"
This sent a terrifying pang of fear in Valia's heart. How would she feel? To never hear the princess chirping like a bird again. To never see her bright smile that held all the light of the world despite everything.
Valia looked at the princess who was looking at the floor, ashamed of hurting the only person who had loved her all these years.
What was stopping her? A foolish bound of gender?
Was Valia that much of a coward?
"It would feel terrible. As if I'd lose someone I loved," she answered finally. Her answer had clearly shocked the princess as Leonora was now staring at Valia, wide eyed and mouth hanging open.
The prince smiled and turned to his sister. "You have not hurt me, Leonora, do not be afraid of that. In fact, you have saved both me and Princess Valia from being bound in a loveless marriage. I do not love her, Leonora, but you do. I cannot have who I love, but you can." The prince took his sister's hand in his. "Run away together."
Leonora was now crying with silent tears streaming down her face. Her eyes paced back and forth between her brother and Valia.
"But . . . but the wedding? Our parents? You?" the princess asked.
"Do not worry about the wedding, nor about our parents. Run away far from here. Somewhere where our parents would not find you. Live your dreams. You finally can now. Don't worry about me either, I have someone to keep myself from falling apart." He wiped her tears. "Maybe someday, I, too, would find enough courage to run away."
Leonora let out a choked sob and hugged her brother, holding him close to herself. She could not thank her brother enough. Yet again he had given her what she wanted. This time, her freedom too.
Sound of footsteps alerted them, causing them all to turn towards the door to which the footsteps echoed nearer and nearer.
"If we are to run. We have to leave now," Valia urged the princess, taking hold of her hand with no intention to let go. Leonora nodded, slowly allowing her hand to slip from her brother's.
They hid behind the nearest pillar to the exit as soon as the door opened.
The queen stepped in.
"I heard voices here, was it Leonora you were talking to?" the queen demanded stepping close to her son.
The princesses took this opportunity and slipped out of the door behind the queen's back.
Leonora mouthed a 'thank you' at the prince before she and Valia disappeared from his sight. She knew thank you wasn't enough, but she hoped that the prince would see all the emotions hidden behind it. She would be forever grateful for the freedom he had given her.
So the princess and the princess ran away, never to be confined again.
And lived happily ever after.
✨
Out beyond the ideas
Of wrongdoing
And rightdoing
There is a field.
I'll meet you there.
-Rumi
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(Word Count: 5267)