LSS: Once Upon A Time

Somewhere in a faraway land
Guarded by dragons and fireworks
Lived Mulan, a warrior who is not to be messed with

Shanti travelled through the dry deserts
And burning sun, her motivation was stronger
Than her fears and her insecurities
Though not all of them

‘Cause that was the reason she actually
Went on this impossible journey
To find herself and learn
Mulan was the answer to one of the
most important questions in her life.

Mulan, knew the feeling of being a girl in a boy's position
Disguised as a son, she went to war
To help out her sick father
As scared as she was, she faced it.

As Shanti arrived at Mulan’s
She saw her training with her husband,
No one other than Shang
Mulan took a break and took place
on a bench next to Shanti

“Mulan,” Shanti said, “I need your advice
I’m a princess, in a prince’s position
They want a strong warrior who can lead the kingdom
Not a pretty girl who has no powers and is cursed.”

Mulan nodded, “I understand your struggle,
And the internal dilemmas that you are facing
In a world where men are the boss
We, women, have to fight to prove our worth
And to set our spirits free.

Look at me for example,
I’ve made a decision to fight as my fathers son
So he would not have to die on the battlefield
A girl can be fierce, a girl can be strong,
A girl can be anything she wants, as long as she believes

Cutting my hair, leaving my family,
Getting training and winning a battle that was never mine
Let me tell you, it was not an easy thing
But I did it.
Believe in yourself,
let no one tell you otherwise

And trust me, there’ll be a lot of moments in your life
Where people will tell you that; this is a man’s job
Or you won’t be able to do it
If you listen to yourself and stay true to yourself
Everything will turn out well.”

Shanti smiled thanking her for this reassuring talk
But there was something else that bugged her
Mulan seemed to know what this was
She chuckled and said, “Come with me.”

As they made their way to the backyard
Mulan took two blades and sharpened them
She fastened her hair with an elastic
She handed Shanti a sword,
“Let me show you how it’s done.”

Both Shanti and Mulan held their blade
Ready for ‘battle’!
Shanti had never fought before,
Let alone with a blade

Luckily, Mulan had, she showed Shanti
How to defend herself and attack,
She learned her that the most important thing
Was defence.
Her advice was, “Don’t attack if you don’t need to.”

Shanti learned combat fighting,
Fighting with a stick, a blade
And discipline.

Mulan also said, “I can give you my finest blade,
The shiniest most sharpest one,
but without practise and discipline
it’s just as worthless as an ordinary one.

Most people think it’s easy to be Mulan,
It’s easy to become a warrior,
Just join the army, it’s not.
That’s the first and biggest mistake

Have a goal in sight, have discipline
And have confidence
That, my dear Shanti,
will get you everywhere in life.

For a warrior’s true strength,
does not come from their muscles,
But instead it comes from their heart
And a strong trained mind.

Leading a kingdom is not an easy job,
Queen Elsa of Arendell, knows all about that,
To lead is to inspire, if a leader fears,
Its people will fear and lose trust.
In war and life, discipline and believe is one of the keys
To live a wonderful and amazing life.

Shanti then said, “Thank you, Mulan, for your light,
For showering me with your wisdom,
I feel strong and your lessons are treasures.”

As Shanti bid Goodbye to Mulan,
She walked with her head high,
In a world where girls end up in a boys position,
Shanti finally had the key to proving herself worthy.

As Mulan had said, Queen Elsa was the next person
Who could provide some more knowledge
Which could help her on her journey to the magic lotus.
There she went again, Into the unknown ❄️☃️

Ursula watched through her magic bubble:
She saw Shanti learning lessons from Mulan,
And she saw Ariel playing with her daughter

She grinned at both of the pictures,
Saying, “It’ll all be mine soon…”
She called upon her eels and ordered them the following,
“I want one of you to give Ariel’s baby
A poisonous kiss and offer her handsome husband,
My oh my, the lovely prince Eric, a cure

I become his wife and Ariel’s daughter
Will be my daughter and life continues
Or the innocent little creature… Dies!
Hahaha, it’ll be an offer he can’t refuse!”
Ursula laughed and looked at
Eric with twinkling eyes.

The other one of you,
Goes to our dear little princess, Shanti.
I want you to give her a warning,
I mean she’s still young,
so I don’t want to kill her immediately.

Give her a vision of all that might become
Of her beautiful kingdom and her precious little family
Oh, and I also have an offer for her,
She needs to give up on her pathetic journey
In exchange for safety of her family,
How will the witch of Hansel and Gretel be happy with her

Good luck my little babies!
Ursula finished.

Months past, my father searched,
Endlessly.
My mother worried, for all those who she loved the most
Were at threat for eternal harm, unhappiness, and pain.

Tears fell like raindrops,
Mountains were immovable,
The sky was filled with darkness
And all roads led to fog.

My father had hope,
He had to.
It was all he had to offer.

Cursed with an amazing blessing of Ice
One that can cruel, but also nice
Somewhere far far away,
A place where it’s always winter and
kids can always go skating
Lived Queen Elsa, between the snowflakes

With a big power, came big responsibilities,
She learned that, the day the news came
That her parents had died on sea
And she had to lead the kingdom

The crown was at first a heavy thing,
To lead an entire kingdom at 18,
Was daunting for Elsa.
But here she is, doing it with pride.

As Shanti made her way to Elsa as Mulan had advised; To get more insights on how to rule a country. She was really glad at how things were going. Even though she was nowhere near finding the magical lotus, she had learned so much already and for that she was grateful and cheerful.

Hopping, she went on the path and made her way to Arendell, Elsa’s kingdom. Suddenly a chilly breeze hit her in the face, but Shanti smiled back. She thought that she had to be getting closer to Arendell, as it’s always cold there.

Little did she know what was lurking behind the trees and what was waiting for her to get to the river, the one she had to cross to be in Arendell officially.

As Shanti hopped further on the path
She saw a little pile of snow
She bent down and picked some up
It was cold against her fingers,
But she liked it

“I’m getting close!”
She said happily and got up again
And continued her journey
Suddenly she heard a branch
crack!
She turned around in a flash
As she looked behind her, she saw nothing
but little piles of snow

“Strange..”,
Shanti thought and walked on,
But watched her environment
Like a hawk
hehehe,
And then she heard giggling
This was all very confusing for her

Was someone trying to kill her?
Maybe they are lost?
I mean it's thick wood.
Luckily, Shanti knew the language of the birds which
Snow White had learned her,
so they could guide her.
But strangers don't…
What if they are friendly?

She knew her journey was dangerous
And that her fairy godmother, Nala,
would do anything to find her
And kill her in order to stay on the throne

hehehe,
There! She heard it again.
Mysterious and scary
The creature was laughing
At her? At something?
What was it!

As the giggling came closer
And closer and closer,
Shanti started running,
And running and running,
This was funny, stupid,
Scary and confusing

Just then Shanti tripped over her own feet
And as she tried to stand up again,
She realised she got stuck in a few branches
And couldn’t escape.

Then a shadow started hovering above her,
It was big and looked scary,
Shanti didn’t look up, but covered herself with her hands,
She wanted to fight, but something was stopping her,
She was scared.

Then she heard, ”Oh Sven! 🦌
Look what you did to her, 🦌
The poor girl is so scared.
Move you big, reindeer!”

This was the same giggling voice
Shanti had heard earlier,
It sounded reassuring now,
So she looked up and saw
No one other than Olaf ☃️❄️

”Hello Shanti dear”,
Olaf said and helped her up.
”I hope you’re okay.”
Shanti got up and freed her leg
And looked at Olaf.
“I’m fine, thank you.
I thought someone wanted to kill me.”

Olaf giggled at this,
“hehehehe
Sorry deary, Sven had this idea,
Of playing a prank on you,
To be wild creatures in the wild.
hehehehe
My bad, Sven apologise now!”

Sven rolled his eyes,
As this was totally Olaf’s plan
And not his, but never mind.

Both Sven and Olaf apologised in the end and accompanied Shanti on her journey to Arendell. Shanti enjoyed the company and talked a lot with Olaf sharing what she had learned and Olaf told her about the beautiful things in Arendell that she had to try out before leaving for the next kingdom.

Shanti thought that the funniest was Olaf's carrot nose and Sven occasionally taking a bite from it. As they arrived at the big river, Olaf explained that Sven was big and strong and he could carry each one of them to the other side one by one. Because the current was so strong that no one survived that swim 🌊

Sven took Olaf first and placed him on the other side safely. Now it was Shanti’s turn;

As Shanti got on Sven’s back, she held onto him strongly,
careful not to let go and fall in the water.
She had a feeling that Olaf and Sven
were going to be amazing friends.
But she also knew that she would have to say goodbye soon,
Because she was on a quest and not a holiday

As Sven slowly took steps in the water
One step, another step and then all of a sudden
Something bit Sven’s leg,
causing him to collapse in the water
It was nothing other, than an evil eel
that Ursula had sent to ambush Shanti

Shanti glided of Sven and into the water
the eel smiled, as his plan was working
She managed to climb on the side
But Sven on the side, was slowly
Sailing away,
Farther,
And farther,
Olaf shouted for Sven to hold his hand,
Which Sven did, but Olaf’s hand was too weak
And sailed away with Sven,
Until he was visible,
And then you could still see him,
And a second later,
He was a tiny dot,
And then he disappeared completely.

The eels plan failed, as Shanti was now on shore again
And she eel could not get to her anymore,
Angry and scared, he returned to Ursula
To tell her what happened to his once successful plan,
How he wished he could change time,
Because he knew he was getting another
Unforgettable punishment from her.

As Shanti sat aside the shore
Watching Sven sail away,
She got tears in her eyes,
For he had sacrificed himself for her,
She was safe and he was not.

Olaf came to her side and
Patted her back with his left hand,
As his right hand had also drifted away,
”Oh dear Shanti, my good friend, Sven,
Will survive, we have to hurry to Kristoff
And the sisters to tell them our story.

We just cannot risk losing time,
Kristoff will surely find a way to get Sven back.
How I miss him already, if I could give up
My elegant carrot nose for Sven,
I would in a second.”

~~~

As the eel returned to Ursula’s side,
Telling her about his embarrassing moment
Ursula was not all to happy about that
“So, you are telling me that
You poisoned the wrong creature?”
The eel nodded as he looked down
“I can’t blame you though,
Reindeers are delicious,
But that’s not the point!”

The eel shivered at her screaming,
“Did you even say the threatening words
To the sweet little Shanti?”
The eel shook his head again,
“You little! Oh my seas,
Do I really have to do everything myself?”

She slammed on the table
Causing the eel to startle and
back away for a bit
“Anyway, let’s see what your brother is up to,
And do not even think I forgot your punishment!
I will definitely deal with you later, you little maniac.”

Ursula turned to her magical globe
And saw a mirroring of the other eel,
In the fountain in Ariel’s palace
She smiled deviously and said to
the eel standing next to her,
“Watch and learn from the pro’s.”

Just then Eric entered the royal garden
With his baby daughter in his hands
Ursula already fangirled over him
She watched with a glow in her eyes
Every single move of him
As he played with her, Melody,
He sat down on the edge of the fountain,
Totally oblivious to
the poisonous eel swimming around

Just then as Eric let Melody’s hand
Slide in the water as he knew she loved the water
As much as her mother, Ariel, did
Melody was the spitting image of Ariel,
Except for her hair and eyes, those were Eric’s

The eel took his chance and bit Melody’s hand
At the same time he shocked Eric with his tail
Causing him to pass out as Ariel got a vision
One which said the following,
“Give up that baby girl,
Give up that handsome prince,
Do a nice little swirl
And turn to the ocean once again,
Get your tail back
And your beautiful singing voice,
Give up your life,
All for Ursula, the great,
Dear Ariel, the foolish little mermaid,
If you want to save your handsome lad,
Give him to me”

Ariel’s eyes widened as the vision ended
She ran outside to find Eric passed out
And Melody turning into a baby mermaid,
With a tail and no legs

As this ended, Ursula looked at the other eel
And said, “See, this is how you do the job,
And how you don’t disappoint me, idiot!”

She smiled to herself once again,
“Eric, is finally mine,
I need to get my hair done,
Also some manicure and pedicure
And I’m good to go.

What are you waiting for?
Start calling my hairdresser!
Tell her I want seashells and
Glowy worms, do not forget
My pearl necklace!

Phor

The coronation had arrived at last.
The sun had barely crept above the horizon
when I was already getting ready,
the hairdressers and stylist in my quarters,
making sure I was going to look elegant and magnificent on this day.
The dress swooping to my feet like a breath of wind,
my rippling hair cascading down my back like a waterfall.
I looked like a queen,
now I just had to become one.
I stepped gracefully into the carriage,
with intricate gold vines and flowers crawling up the sides.
As we proceeded through the streets,
I could hear the cheers and shouts of the citizens
coming out of their homes just to see the procession,
and I could see the smiling faces and waving hands
illuminated by the shining sun,
and I poked my head out, waving back.
We continued through the cobblestone streets,
the carriage wobbling slightly,
hearing the cheers of the city outside,
and the melodies of the trumpets
and the beats of the drum.
It was then when it dawned on me
that the old monarchs left in a carriage
and the new monarch was coming in one too.
Their destination was death,
but my destination is the rest of my life.
All eight wheels turned and turned,
but only four of them will survive.
One carriage awaiting grief,
one carriage awaiting joy.
And it was then that tears started to form in my eyes,
in the middle of my happiest day, I was crying!
I quickly retreated back to my velvet seats
and tried to hide my sadness as best as I could.
I reminded myself that I was going to become a queen,
and gain the power to rule a whole kingdom,
and was going to be even more known throughout the whole kingdom!
My tears started to fade, and I quickly wiped them from my face
and smiled gleefully, as if nothing happened.
By that time, we were almost reaching
the place where the ceremony was going to happen.
It was a tall building that used to be a chapel,
but was abandoned and later repurposed as
the official Coronation Building,
and was not used for anything else.
Its bricks were old and slightly worn
but still intact, nonetheless.
The stained glass window panes with religious depictions
were replaced with emerald-colored geometric patterns.
A large bell sat at the top, looming over the building,
waiting to be rung.
The carriage came to a stop.
It was time.
The coach opened the door and I lifted my skirt and stepped out.
I could see crowds of people cheering outside the chapel,
perhaps more ecstatic than those who were cheering from their homes.
I smiled and waved back,
amazed that people could be so excited.
I walked towards the chapel,
seeing the other royal subjects getting out of their carriages,
which rode behind mine.
My sister as well as my cousins came out as well.
My advisors followed behind me as we approached the entrance.
The double doors of the chapel were open,
guarded by two men who smiled and nodded as we entered.
As I walked through the doors, I gazed in awe
at the overwhelming number of people situated in the pews.
People from all around the kingdom, outside the kingdom,
and everywhere in between could be seen from corner to corner.
Their faces in delight and happiness
were like a dream come true
and made me feel as if I was already queen
even though the ceremony had not even begun.
The chapel was decorated with
roses and other decorations of black and red
to match my dress and signify that it was me who was being crowned.
As soon as I reached the back of the chapel,
the ceremony began.
It seemed to be even more time consuming and boring
than it was in the rehearsal,
but I reminded myself that all this was happening
so that I could become queen.
I made an oath,
and a few people gave speeches
about the kingdom
and my parents.
I was also given a robe
that was tailored for queens only.
Finally, it was time to be crowned and enthroned.
My chief advisor had the job of placing the ancient crown on my head.
It had a gold frame that was decorated with cut emeralds,
and it sparkled and glittered in the light.
As it plopped on my head,
I could feel its velvet touch graze my scalp,
and for a moment, I felt what I always dreamed,
as the one and only royal queen or Eastlake,
the one queen to rule an entire population,
and the most important person in the kingdom.
But suddenly, I felt the unexpected weight of the crown on my skull,
and realized that this might represent
how the entire kingdom’s fate rests on me.
On my decisions.
On my opinions.
On my words.
As the trumpets roared
and people across the whole kingdom cheered,
I wondered to myself,
Am I really ready for this?
Just when I started to rethink what my life would be like until I die,
I was instructed to sit on the Coronation Chair.
It was an even more ancient wooden chair,
tall and dominating,
with carved gold olive trees at the bottom.
It was no doubt, a chair fit for a king or queen,
and when I sat down,
it was as if I could feel every previous ruler
running through my blood.
All the spectators cheered as loud as their voices could stretch
to see their brand-new ruler with her crown and her throne.
At that point, I could not wait for the ceremony to end,
but of course things don’t work out like that.
My chief advisor approached me
and gave me news that was devastating.
He told me that they were making
a new event in the ceremony
where the ruler gives a short speech
on what they, in general, plan for the country.
Nat had been right.
I should have prepared something,
anything at all,
But I did nothing.
I simply sat
and watched my stylists fix my hair
and watched the seamstresses make my dress
and laid back as if ruling an entire kingdom was nothing.
I was at a loss for words
at a time that it mattered most.

She woke up, feeling stiff.
She had slept just off of the side of the road,
out of sight from any passing by
She had dealt with the beast
And it had provided her with a source of food
To eat along the way
And no more travellers would disappear along this path

She had no idea how long it would take
To find another town or city
So she walked
Until someone else came along
They stopped just ahead of her on the road
And a young man poked his head out of the side

"Would you like a ride?
The city is a bit aways
And by the looks of it you've slept in the wild"
That was nice.
Were all these people this nice?
Not knowing her name might add to that though.
She nodded, and got in with a thank you

"Where are you from?
I've never seen someone
Who'd walk instead of ride
To another place."

And so, she told him the name of her town
He shook his head and apologized
He hadn't recognized it
And the sinking feeling returned
She continued to talk with the man
And to her surprise
They talked the entire way to the city

Where the north wind,
Meets the sea, There’s a river,
Full of memories

As Shanti and Olaf
Made it to Arendell
To Elsa, Anna and Kristoff
They told them the tale
With their heads facing the ground

Shanti apologised
As it was her fault that
Sven fell into the river
She didn’t know anything
About Ursula’s evil plan

Kristoff, reassured her
That Sven was a diamond
In the rough and if
Anyone could survive
It would be him

He would set out first thing
In the morning with some
Other people to go look
For him and he told Shanti
Not to worry

But how could she not?

On the other hand,
Anna set out with Olaf
In order to find him a new hand

While Elsa took Shanti
Inside the ice palace
For a warm cup of chocolate milk
And the entire reason
She set out on this journey

“Tell me, princess Shanti
Of Ragnapur, what brings you
To Arendell?”

“Please, just say Shanti.
I wanted to ask for advice
On ruling a kingdom.”
Shanti explained.

Elsa nodded,
“One of the tricks is
Not to see it as ruling a kingdom,
But as leading a kingdom.

Ruling it can make you a dictator,
But leading it means you are going
To stand with and for your people
Trough Snow, Rain and Sun,
To make sure everyone sleeps on a
Full stomach and that the crops are enough.

Leading it means, you accept the people
And the people in their turn accept you.
It is a daunting task, I won’t lie to you,
But it is not an impossible one.

I’ll give you an example,
Through my life story:
In Arendell, I was born
With magical powers,
A gift of Ice

My powers were wild,
Uncontrollable and dangerous
In a silly game, I accidentally
Froze my sister, Anna, heart.

The trolls helped my parents
And told them it’s better to keep
Me in isolation so I don’t hurt anyone
And if I had to be around people,
Better with long gloves.

How I cried in my room,
I couldn't play with my sister anymore,
As I had hurt her.
This scared me so much.

I feared my gift, I feared my curse
I locked it away, swearing I would do
Anything to protect my loved ones
From me.

Days turned into months
and months into years
My life became worse
And sad and most of all
Depressed

The day of my crowning,
I unleashed a heap of ice
Scarring my people
I ran away
Not wanting to instil fear in people
I thought i would be better off alone
Without anyone like before

But as Anna came to my door once again
“Do you want to build a snowman?”
I pushed her away and almost killed her
With a blast of ice to her heart.
She got saved though.

But that teached me,
That i did not need to fear the ice within,
I embraced it and that’s how my reign started
I made skating places for people,
Brought my very own snowman to life, Olaf,
And with practice and time
I found control in the unknown.

Know that this is not something
The mind can do it on its own.
It needs the heart to lead
Let it guide you, in the frozen air.

Elsa raised her hand,
creating a delicate snowflake,

“Leadership is not a simple art,
It’s not something you learn in one day
It’s something that develops itself
After days and years of experience.

Do not think it’s easy,
‘Cause as I said before,
It is not.

You will face disappointment,
You will face betrayal,
You will face mutinies
But stay strong
And trust in yourself, in every choice.

With every failure, you will learn and grow,
Search for a balance in what you believe
Search for a balance between
the crown and what’s in you.
Duty calls for sacrifice,
But don’t let it turn your heart to ice.

Take moments for yourself to breathe,
Listen to yourself and balance your duty.

After what happened in your kingdom,
Your people are going to need a strong leader
Decisions can be hard and tough,
But make the right ones and everything will work out.

Fear will come, it’s part of life,
But look it in the eyes and see it as a strength
For in your fear, lies the extra length your willing to go
To make sure everything turns out right.

Remember, Shanti, to be brave,
Find courage and keep it close,
In your trials, you’ll find your way
And lead your kingdom to glory.

Your heart, dear Shanti, is both ice and fire,
A blend of elements which can both hold you back
And be your strength
Listen to it and you will surely reach your goal

With these words, Elsa took her leave

As Shanti exited the palace,
she went on her way to find someone
Who she knew had a drive of fire in her heart,
No one other than Merida known as Brave

~~~

On the other hand Ursula
Sat in the dressing chair
Humming to the melody of
“Part of my World”

“What do you think?
Blue or purple shells?”
She asked the hairdresser.

“I think purple, definitely fit with your lipstick,
But if you want I can do a -”
She was interrupted by Ursula,
Who said, “Absolutely right!
Let’s go with blue, it’ll make my eyes shine even more.
Do not forget my eye-shadow, do that one green.
I’m going to look so pretty!”
She squealed.

Ariel ran to her husband and daughter,
Melody, was gasping for air,
She had gills now.
Ariel scooped her up in her arms
And placed her in the fountain
When she quickly became normal again,
But much to her dismay, Ariel’s legs
Changed to a mermaid tail too.

Ariel was way too large for the fountain,
As she tried to wake Eric, he was in a deep slumber,
As she got her gills too, she knew she needed the water,
The ocean was too far away, she would never make it.
By the time she made it to the door,
She had passed out.

Sebastian witnessed it all and was so angry
He turned even more red.
He crawled towards Eric and
pinched him with his sharp scissors.
“Ouch!” Eric shouted and woke up.

Sebastian pointed towards Ariel
And Eric ran towards her,
“Ariel!” he knelt next to her,
“What happened?”

Sebastian face palmed himself
And tried to tell him that she needed the ocean,
But unfortunately Eric didn’t speak Crab language.

A maid came and knelt down beside him,
She said to Eric, “She needs the ocean.
Look at her gills,”
Eric too face palmed himself, “But of course,
She’s a mermaid.”

He picked her up and ran outside
the palace towards the ocean.
As he arrived there he walked in the water
His pants getting wet, but he didn’t mind
And slowly Ariel regained consciousness.

Phor

I sat there, without the ability to form words
or thoughts
or any kind of hope.
What was I to say to the whole kingdom?
That I had not planned my monarchy yet?
That I had no idea to rule and lead everyone?
I inhaled as many times as I could,
hoping that an idea would come in along with the air.
Somehow it felt harder to breathe
with this crown weighing me down.
My dress suddenly felt very thick and heat-insulating
and I began to sweat.
I nervously walked up to the podium
gazing at the oceans
of anticipating eyes
waiting for their new leader to say something wonderful.
I smiled warmly because maybe that would make my words sound better.
And I began to speak.
("I am honored to see all of your faces here today")
I started to stall by taking a long time to address my audience
("Many of you might be farmers or merchants or teachers")
praised them, hoping that would make them feel better as well
("You all have been amazing citizens, and I cannot wait to be your queen")
acknowledging their struggles,
("You have traveled so far to get here,
worked hard to earn enough money to scrape by")
and of course talked about my parents and their legacy
("My parents, your former monarchs, would be proud of you all
standing here, united, as one kingdom,
as that is what they always dreamed")
because remembering good people takes their minds off these things
("I hold them in my heart and soul
as I lead this country towards the future
for the betterment of our people")
Finally, it was time to start the real speech.
I knew I had so say the most vague but meaningful things,
such that hey would think I had a plan,
but I really did not at all.
("My goal is for every citizen to be happy here,
and knowing that their life in this kingdom
is one that they made memories
and shared laughter.”)
Compared our current state of our kingdom
to the kingdom I envisioned
("My parents worked hard to make sure this kingdom thrived,
but I want to make sure our kingdom prospers.
Everyone will not only be simply living,
but they will be living a life that is free of control
and the life, put simply, that you would like for it to be.
Whether you choose to fish in the river
or shelves books from all over,
you will pursue what you have always had in your heart,
and you will succeed.")
At this point, everyone was applauding
and I considered that maybe I wasn't doing so bad after all.
The sound of cheers and clapping
was like windchime playing melodies in the breeze.
But while I was basking in the wonderful sound
of the joy of our kingdom's people,
my people,
something extraordinarily terrible happened.
All of a sudden, I couldn't think of anything else to say.
I had been stalling for some time,
but my speech was still quite short.
What else was there to say?
Everything that came to mind was either strange
or completely irrelevant.
It was like climbing a ladder,
and right before the last one,
you forget how to climb.
And you stand there,
waiting until you have any idea on what to do.
I just kept breathing, because that was the best thing I could do.
I had to say something!
Anything!
So I did...
but I didn't finish my sentence...
and it just sounded like it was confused.
And everybody waited
but I could not come up with anything.
My thoughts were lost in a cloud
one that was drifting away ever so slowly,
and soon I would not be able to see it.

628 words

Growing up, everyday was a fight…
Literally.
I was small, half human, half wolf,
Not enough of anything to be loved or accepted.
I had to fight every single day
to stay in the wolf pack.
I was a disgrace to them,
known only as the boy whos father left
them for a human,
once a leader, a heartless creature,
turned soft, which lead him to his unfortunate death.
hated by many, i had to learn how to survive,
since the day i was born.

i tried to approach the village,
but being such a small wolf, they chased me away.
"But I am one of you!" I yelled,
trying to explain that my mother was Sarah-Lynn,
the most beautiful woman in the village,
at least she was, before she died.

they despised me,
the children chased me away with their farming tools.
the other wolves laughed at me.
"i will never be like you," I told them,
which was followed bvy more laughs.

they only kept me because i was small.
i could sneak around, quietly,
to spy and gather information from other wolf packs.
i couldnt hunt, i couldnt climb or run fast like them

"all i want is to be human," i would say to myself.
my whole life, on a quest, to find the most hated person in the land,
searching endlessly,
almost there, but always out of reach.

someday,
i will be human.
someday,
i will know love.
if the fairy godmother can make me human,
perhaps she could bring my parents back too.
we will all be together, finally,
the way it was supposed to be.
someday,
i will finally be able to lay down my tired head and rest
on my mothers lap,
wrapped in my fathers arms.

someday.

Shanti walked on the path again

Ariel swam around in the ocean again

She was content with all the advice
she had received until now

She was scared for the warning
She had received until now

There was hope for the future

There was no way she would make it alive

She smiled and walked on

She cried and clung on Eric

Would her people be happy?
once she was leading

What would happen to her daughter?
Once she was gone

As Shanti reached the fast river again,
She knew she had to cross,
on her own this time

As Ariel reached her father again,
She knew she needed help,
She wouldn’t make it on her own this time

She closed her eyes for a second
And used all the power inside her
In the hope of making a bridge

She closed her eyes for a second
And faced the higher power above her
In the hope of finding help

She believed in herself,
She accepted her flaws and strengths,
And took a deep breath

She had lost believe,
All she could see were the flaws,
She sighed

Magically, a bridge of Ice
Was formed over the river
As Shanti opened her eyes again,
She let out a shout of happiness
“Yes!”

Naturally, a portal of water
Was opened to the palace
As Ariel looked around again,
She let out another sigh of sadness
“No.”

She took a step
When she was sure it was real
She ran to the top!

She took a stand
When she was sure it was real
She told her story

She looked down and saw
the fast flowing river
She was safe now
But Sven was not

She looked around and saw
Her friends and family
She was safe now
But her daughter was not.

As she reached the otherside
She smiled and snapped her fingers,
The ice bridge disappeared and
It erupted into a blast of firework

As the others listened to her story
Ariel waited for an answer,
“You left us, for true love,
that too a human.”
“You left us for legs.”
“I’m not all too sure,
That I want to help.”
Were their answers

Shanti walked further
In search of Princess Merida.
She was glad with the way things were going

Ariel sank further
In search of help, she had failed
She was terribly sad with the way things were going

Shanti was totally oblivious
To the dark eyes who were
Lurking behind the glass bulb
And waited for her to reach Merida

Ariel was totally aware
That Ursula was
Watching her
She waited for Ariel to give up Eric

This was a great plan, she thought

This was a terrible plan, she thought

She was half-way her journey
And had already found part of herself
She had to find Anastasia too,
To get the map for the magic lotus

She was nowhere near the end
And had already lost herself
She had to find Melody too,
To make sure she was safe from Ursula

Shanti tried out other things too,
Like asking the birds for apples,
Like making roller skates out of ice,
Like believing in herself

Ariel tried other possible things too,
Like asking Poseidon for help,
Like working with her own magic,
Like not giving up on her family

Did it work?
Yes!

Did it work?
No!

Phor

My brain searched for words in a panic,
but how does one find a fish
when you cannot find a pond?
I had to wrap up the speech somehow,
It would be short,
and definitely not sweet,
but I had been standing at the podium
waiting for my thoughts to respawn.
(“I hope, that as your queen,
you will find your days here
filled will countless delights
And I will enjoy my time as well.
As your queen.
Uhh, I mean, seeing you all with your smiling,
bright faces all across the kingdom.
If that may happen.”)
It sounded awful, but I quickly said my goodbye.
(“I hope you will all continue
to be amazing citizens,
which, of course, you already have been.
I bid you farewell and a wonderful day.”)
The sound of applause rung through my ears
as I smiled,
even though my stomach
felt like it was churning butter inside.
I felt relieved and awful all at once,
and all I could do was pretend it was all okay.
I noticed some people looked a little concerned about me,
but I tried to ignore them,
lest I feel worse than I already was.
I saw my chief advisor
giving me a worried look,
but I still smiled.

The carriage ride back to the castle was lonely and worrying. I could not help but stay in a panic mode, because my mind raced with thoughts about the next course of action. I had to plan something for my kingdom, because I had done none of that whatsoever. And I had to be fast. It was already a little clear that I was not prepared, and Nat would probably roll her eyes at me when I get back, but I have to start planning out this project that I haven’t figured out yet.

304 words

As Shanti wandered on the path with her roller skates (made out of ice of course), she reached the end of a thick forest. Just as she was about to head out of the trees, several arrows were shot in her direction. None of them hit her though, thank the heavens, she thought. Some were shot in the centre of the trees, in apples or some missed.

There was an open field where several redheads were standing with a bow, a quiver and arrows. As Shanti took a step back, someone yelled,
“Backs straight!
Aim and lock your target,
Take a deep breath
And shoot!”

Again several arrows
went past Shanti
into the background
of the forest

She stepped forward
Her red hair wild and free
In the highlands where bears roamed
Lived Merida, a grown girl
as brave as one could be

With a bow in hand and a strong spirit
She roamed the woods, where she belonged
She walked up to Shanti and gave her a tight hug

Shanti returned the embrace.

”I know why you’re here, Shanti.
I received a letter from Anna saying
You would stop by for advice.”
She smiled and gave a sign to the students,
“That’s a wrap people,
We’ll continue next week!”

She placed a hand around Shanti’s shoulder
And walked with her towards the hut,
Both Shanti and Merida were eighteen
And were like sisters in their early childhood
But after a while the were taken back
to their own kingdoms

Because their kingdoms were in danger
Both of them were seven
when they last saw each other
As they were walking together now
“Sister Vibes” returned

Back in the hut, Merida offered Shanti
Something to drink, Shanti accepted it
And showed Merida her new Ice Powers
Then she asked, “Merida, my closest friend,
“How did you become so fearless,
That you live now with neither worry nor fear?
Eleven years ago, we were scared of walking in the grass.
To avoid sores we always asked Caleb to catch us butterflies
And Pocahontas to send us flowers.”

Merida chuckled at this remark and thought of what Shanti was saying. Every word was true. They would sit by the window and eat (stolen) honey while waiting for Caleb to return. Other days they would run around on the balcony and several seconds later a breeze would bring flowers and drop them in their hair on the ground and as a confetti in the sky. That was Pocahontas' signature style, the flower confetti.

Merida smiled, “My dear friend, with pleasure I will
Help you prepare for the ruthless world outside,
I’ve changed a lot, I’m glad to know that one of us has not.
Learn to grow and survive
Only that way you will thrive.
Get a goodnight rest and we’ll start tomorrow.”

Shanti thanked her and gave her
Long lost friend one more hug
And then retreated to her own hut.

As she lay on a bed made of large coconut leaves
She stared at the stars in the sky
She used to watch them with her mother,
Now she was reminded of her
A tear slipped from her eye,
How she missed her.

She was so far from home,
She knew she could return
Anytime she wanted to,
But she had a quest,
She had to help Ragnapur,
Her kingdom.

Several nights ago:
Shanti’s mother was standing beside Shanti
And stroked her cheek, “My brave girl,”
She said to her as she cried, tears of joy,
“The kingdom will forever be at your service,
For what you are about to do now.
Know that it will not be a fast trip
And most of all not easy at all.

If it’s too much, you can always come back to me
No one will be mad if you return,
It’s not failure, my darling, it’s a sign of carrying
Burdens that are actually not even your responsibility
So don’t be afraid to look back
And take several steps back.
I will welcome you with open arms
And you will walk with your head held high
Saying, ‘I tried mother, I tried.’ ”

She kissed Shanti on her forehead
And opened the window, “Now go,
before someone sees you.
I’m proud of you Shanti,
And I know your father is too, secretly of course.”

She winked at Shanti and waved to her
until she couldn’t see her anymore.

Shanti smiled at the stars one last time
And went to sleep, she had a heavy day ahead of her.

~~~

On the other side Ariel was sitting in a big tub,
Her green tail half sticking out, Eric sat beside her,
“My love, we will find our daughter.
I promise you, I will do anything in my power
To make sure she arrives home safely.”

Ariel sighed and ran her fork
through her red sleek hair
“I don’t know what to do, Eric.
My family had abandoned me,
I’m stuck with my tail and
What Ursula wants… it’s just…”

“Impossible.” Eric finished,
“There’s no way I’m even considering that deal.
I would not leave you and Melody,
Even if the world was burning or
Filled with mermaids and octopuses”

Ariel smiled at this thoughtful response,
“We’ll get through this together.”

“Together.” Eric said and squeezed her hand.
He gave her a kiss on top of her head and closed his eyes.
~

Ursula powdered her cheeks
And then said, “Bring her to me.”

Two eels brought in baby Melody,
She was as beautiful as Ariel,
In a mermaid tail and had her father’s features too.
Her eyes were exploring the new room she was in.

“What a cute little being.”
Ursula said as she smiled at Melody,
“I will take care of you, my darling.”

Melody started to cry as she looked up at the witch
Who had powdered herself and took a shower of make-up
Hoping to convince Eric to be hers.

“Shhhh…. Darling, don't cry.
Your daddy will join us any second now,
And then the world will be mine.”

The next morning as Shanti woke up from a deep slumber, she got ready for her training with Merida.

Her childhood friend once
Her teacher in life now

This was a little weird, but it also felt good.
To learn from someone close
To learn from someone you trust

She got handed a nice leather suit made out of snake skin. A bow and quiver rested in her arms as she walked to the open field towards Merida.

“In archery, focus is the key,
Good morning by the way,
Keep a steady hand and sharp vision,
Feel the bowstring, tight and strong,
Let go and you cannot go wrong.”

Shanti held the bow strongly,
Merida’s guidance helped her through it
As Shanti shot the arrow
She missed her first shot

“Don’t worry,” Merida reassured her
“No one gets it the first time.
Just try again and again and again
With every shot, your confidence in yourself will grow”

Shanti smiled and tried again,
She missed again
She tried and tried a million times
And she did it eventually.

Later on they went to the forest. Merida learned Shanti survival skills that would help her navigate through the forest without fearing for wild beasts or cold nights. Together with some others, they camped in the forest and started their training.

Merida showed her plants to find,
Which ones to eat, and those which were poisonous.
She explained, “Nature gives and gives,
If you know where to look and what to consume
You can live almost everywhere,
even in the most dangerous forests ever.”

They searched for berries red, blue and black,
Nuts, big, small, hard and soft ones.
They learned to track animal based on footprints

Merida said, “Each footprint and each broken branch
Tell a story true and horrible
Or not true and sweet.
The wild can guide you,
But it can also kill you,
So be careful where you step
Or what you breathe in.”

Next they build a shelter. A strong one to keep them safe all night long from rain and wild animals. With branches, leaves and pieces of rope, they made a nice sleeping place.

As they returned to their own place, Merida and Shanti lay in the grass. Not like old times, because then they were afraid of the outside world.

Shanti then asked, “But how can one stay so tough all the time?
And survive in the wild all alone?”

Merida smiled and looked at
the clouds in the sky,
“You know Shanti,
even the brave must learn to bow sometimes
To listen, to love, to understand.
It is as vital as staying strong all the time

No creature should be robbed of their peace
Being bold is amazing, I always say
It’s a blessing and it’s a curse.

Now get some rest, I want to test all that you have learned
I want to see how well your skills have turned out
We’ll have an archery contest
A challenge, me and you.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow, teacher,” Shanti said, chuckling.

The next morning; as promised there was an archery contest
Shanti stood next to Merida
Both held their bows and quivers
They shot at their targets,
And both of them hit their marks
Of course Merida’s were better,
But Shanti was not very far behind.

Merida was proud of her friend,
“Don’t be afraid to show the world
how much you’ve grown and learned, alright?

As for the last lesson;
Which is learning how to rise when
the odds are not in your favour

Bad days will come, that is guaranteed.
But face them bravely and give them your all
Courage isn’t just strength, dear Shanti,
It’s also that extra length to try your hardest.

Storms will rise and paths will be tough
But listen to your heart and you can never be wrong.”

Shanti thanked her long lost friend for all the advice
and went back on her journey.
She was going to Anastasia next

or that's what she though
.... Do not tell her but
Fate has something else in store for her.

~~~

Ariel was hopeless
She had stayed up for hours
and some more hours
Trying to think of a way to escape Ursula’s evil plan
But when she started, she knew
That this was a game
One played with Ursula’s rules.
And this was one she would not be able to
finish

One way or another
she would lose a beloved
If she chose her daughter, Melody
She would lose Eric
Was it worth it?

Eric had already told her
not to consider it
But was she going to listen to him?
Would she choose being a mother first?
Or would she choose being a wife?

This was a tough choice
But Ariel knew her answer already
“For the greater good.”
Was her reply when she left the castle
Left Eric

---

For Ursula this was a waiting game
And oh she grinned, because she knew
She was the player with the stop and go button
She was the puppet master
and Ariel was her puppet

Once Eric was hers,
She vowed she would leave the seas alone forever
No one would ever have to fear that
they would be cursed at some point.


Baby Melody had not stopped crying and screaming
How she wished her parents heard her
But they did not
If you listen closely, you can hear her cry
If you stand closely by the mighty sea,
You will hear her voice carried by the
waves
That is only: if you listen closely

---

Back in Ragnapur:
Evil queen Nala had given a party
All of the bad people of Grimm were invited
Do note: not the good ones
If a good one came by on accident

The BBQ always had a spot for them,
darling
Hhahahaaa
Vicious, isn’t it?
Delicious too.

Some of them nasty ones would say

Maleficent was holding a cup of red wine
And had a talk with Jafar
Who by the way still wears the funny hat,
dear and the ugly parrot

Talking about parrots, Captain....
No, of course not Jack Sparrow
He is from the Caribbean
We are in Grimm, oh my dwarf!
I mean Captain Hook was there too.

There was chit chatting and laughing
There were jokes about the good people,
The princesses and their friendly friends
All pathetic little beings the evil peeps lost to

Suddenly there was a tapping on glass with a fork
“Attention please,” Queen Nala said,
“My fellow evil people, I have hosted this party
to discuss something with you.
I have a plan to kill the princess to
whom this kingdom actually belongs,
Her name is Shanti, my folks.
Disgusting, I know.

I heard she’s searching for a magical lotus
Which can cure any curse or illness
But!
If we use it right, we can turn it around
And it can turn any blessing into a curse
And anything healthy into an illness
Everything will be at our feet this way
Entire kingdoms, queens, princesses,
Mortals, everyone and everything.

Now, i can’t do everything alone,
So if you want to help me make this dream a reality,
I suggest we assemble and get to work.
Who is with me?”

Ursula was the first one who stepped forward,
“I am. And I’m not afraid of doing so.”

“Very bold,” Queen Nala remarked,
“I do have to mention one more thing,
You can lose your life in the process
If you’re afraid of doing so kindly step aside
And the consequences will follow”

Jafar thought this was shady,
So he stepped aside.
Queen Nala laughed out loud
And summoned a thunder upon him,
Which turned him and his hat
Into a little pile of ash

“So, I think I have made myself clear here,
You join me or you don’t and you die.
Now, I ask again, who is with me?”

Growing up hated made me strong.
I learned to fight,
Not with my weak body,
But with my mind.
The truth is, I was slow and not strong,
But being alone for so long teaches you
A lot of things.

I always had the quest.
I had a reason to fight and not give up.
So every year,
I approached the village…
The human village.
The people who despised me for not being like them.
Not enough of them to be loved,
Or seen as worth of affection,
Like the affection I never received from my own mother.

I used to blame myself every day
For her death.
It was my life that ended them.
And I used to hate my father every day,
For dying,
On me,
When all I needed was another life to give me
A reason to stay.
A reason.
That’s all I wanted.
Love.
Affection,
All I craved but everything
I never received.

So every year,
For as long as I can remember,
I would approach the human village on my birthday.
Perhaps the most hated person was there.
I missed my mother the most on
My birthday,
So I always went to remember her.
It was too much to risk
Being there more than that.
Because a lot of the humans hated me and blamed me for her death.
For the rest of the year,
I would search far and wide,
But never found anything.

There was the boy.
I always went back to watch him grow.
He lived in my mothers old house.
Perhaps we were related,
But he was fully human.
He was loved.
I liked to pretend he was my brother.
I always went back to watch him grow
Every year,
Slightly bigger,
Slightly braver,
Always more than I was