Flash Fiction: March 18, 2025
The writing prompt: Write a story about a princess and her transformation into a villain.
Once the princess could no longer see the castle in the distance, she breathed a sigh of relief.
While she had enjoyed her life of royalty, no one knew the despair she had carried silently throughout the halls of the castle. Day in and day out, the princess would effortlessly glide across its extravagant wings with a glowing smile. It was her defense against a ruthless court that waited with bated breath for the slightest crack in her demeanor–anything that could be pried wide open to destroy the reputation her family had worked so hard to build.
What her family hadn’t understood, however, was that her prestige mattered little in her eyes. As wonderful as her life had been up to this point, the princess knew that her day would come–the moment she now found herself in after removing her tiara.
The prior evening, she had waited for the last echoes to die in the hallways of the magnificent castle. After everyone had fallen into a deep slumber, the princess carefully hung her tiara on her bedpost. Just as gracefully as she had glided through the halls of her vast home, she dove into the depths of her wardrobe. There, the flowing dress she was wearing slid onto the floor. Within moments, the princess’s body was now shrouded in black from head to toe. She ran a hand down the side of the leather bodysuit before slipping on a pair of matching gloves. After zipping up her tall boots, she was ready to go.
The rope ladder that the princess had swung over her balcony in the wee hours of the morning was still intact. As quietly as possible, she slung the sack she had packed over her shoulder. The priceless royal heirlooms, gemstones, gold, and pearls rattled in protest, but nothing could stop her from reaching her future.
Come daybreak, she knew her title would be removed as quickly as she left. For now, though, the princess just wanted to focus her eyes on the horizon—to make sure the castle was really no longer there; to remember that the only walls now surrounding her were her own.