This post was written for a prompt ‘Once upon a time, there lived a young princess with extraordinary powers’ It’s a slightly different rendition of the popular fairy tale ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’.

Once upon a time, lived a Queen, proud and mean. She ordered for a young princess in the palace to be banished into the jungle and killed secretly. The princess survived somehow and returned to the palace.

Queen was furious. How come you are still alive?

But My Lady, why you want me killed, what did I do to you?

You are the prettiest girl in the world and I can’t bear to stand that! Queen sniggered, her face contorted and turned red in anger.

Said who, My Lady? None told me! They said I’m too fair and delicate and my hair a shade dull and not long enough, nose a little crooked, and I weigh few pounds more…

Now the Queen was startled.

Uh but the mirror, that magical mirror said this to me every day. You the princess, fairest of all.

Ohh that’s the mirror of opinion, My Lady. I have one in my room too! The Mirror of Judgement. It makes me feel bad about myself, almost every time. It compares me to every girl around and makes me feel diminished about my body, my visage my beauty, my…my whole self..

But I thought you would be the happiest little girl…My mirror says you are the fairest of all….I am so jealous of you, so jealous that I wanted you killed!

Do you see we are both in a prison My Lady, our boundaries have been defined, to the confines of this room, in the frame of magic mirrors. We have limited ourselves in our relative existence. When I went out into the jungle, I saw a whole beautiful world out there. I made friends, I built a house, I even grew fruits! Oh there was so much more to explore!

Oh..Really.. I never peeped outside the window, it’s just next to the mirror, so engrossed I was, burning in the fire of jealousy.

Both the women walked up to the window. Cold breeze gushed through their hair. The view from the window was beautiful and breath taking.

The vast expanse of the royal kingdom lay in front of their eyes. As if it was beckoning them.

My Lady, you are the Queen of this land. You wanted me killed so I don’t inherit the wealth. But even if I did, I wouldn’t have any rights to rule. I would still be in the palace, asking the gold framed mirror the same question you ask every day, trying to find my worth in the reflection of opinions thrown by others.

My Lady, you are strong and capable, and you have a will of iron. Take over the royal duties, please claim your power and your kingdom.  Go on, be the real Queen you are. You don’t need any heir. For ages, we have been pitted against each other. We are like pigeons fighting in a caged ring. Let us join hands and break free. Let us fly together. I am you ally, I am your battalion and I know that every woman and girl in the kingdom will join your battalion. I don’t want to live my life gazing at that mirror. You lead, My Lady, show me the way.

And one day people will tell a different story: Once upon a time, there lived a young princess with extraordinary powers. She broke the mirror and shattered a few glass ceilings.

‘This post is part of Blogchatter’s CauseAChatter’ (https://www.theblogchatter.com/causeachatter)