Through His Eyes

    Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a beautiful young princess with spun gold hair, large blue eyes, and an innocence that had no comparison. Her father, the king, and her, lived in a large, magnificent castle. They resided in a land filled with peace and love, as the King was a just ruler, reigning over the land with mercy and fairness for all. Never once did the King ever rule unfairly, or give evil room to grow root in his subject’s hearts. Unfortunately, even though the King was perfect and the land was pure and full of good, the King’s right hand man, one of his most trusted advisors, became greedy and wanted the fair kingdom for himself. So the advisor plotted and schemed to turn the King’s subjects away from the King and his laws. Spewing lies, the advisor managed to turn many of the King’s faithful subjects against him, saying that the King was keeping them under a law to not do anything they wanted because the King was scared that they would take over the kingdom and because he didn’t love them. The King, disgusted with his former advisor’s lies and greed, banished him and the subjects he managed to sway from the King to the land below, a shadowy place that was not at all pure and good; no, it had all kinds of perverseness and evil and those kinds of things ruled the minds of the people living there. 

    Once the advisor and all of the rogue subjects left the kingdom, they descended to the kingdom below. Once entering that world, all of their beautifulness and kindness left them. They became twisted, grotesque versions of their former self. Cursing the King that had bound them to this kingdom, they plotted revenge. They wanted not only to rule the other kingdom, but to hurt the King in the worst way possible. So they went for his heart: his only daughter, the princess. 

    Through the years, the rogue subjects influenced what the princess saw by inside sources; they made her see her father as a cruel master, a harsh overlord that only wanted to make her miserable. They made her think the rules that he set up to keep her safe from his rogue subjects were unnecessary and wrong; obviously the King was paranoid. 

    Feeling trapped in the castle and believing her father was a horrible person, she plotted a way to escape. Eventually, she found a way to descend to the lower kingdom and believing her father didn’t know, she snuck through the castle one night in an attempt to leave that kingdom, once and for all, planning to never come back. But the King, knowing all, approached her and told her he wouldn’t stop her but he hoped that she would stay as he loved her and always would. He told her that his rogue subjects were affecting her and her beliefs, and that she would be joining them in the rebellion. 

    Not caring whether or not she hurt him, the princess still left that night and for five years she did anything and everything she wanted to in the lower kingdom. She tried it all, drugs, alcohol, smoking, prostitution, begging on the streets, stealing, lying, murdering, street fighting. Anything she wanted and everything she did not want to do she did in order to survive. She had many scars from fighting covering her whole body. She was sick for long periods of time. Her body, because she didn’t take care of it, began to fail. 

    One night, at her lowest point, the princess sat weeping in the alley. She missed her father and the pure kingdom she had left. She missed being taken care of and loved for who she was, not what she could give someone. Sitting in a pile of garbage, crying, at her lowest point, was when her father appeared before her. Shocked at seeing the King standing in a dinghy alley and ashamed of what she had become, she tried to run away. But the King pursued her and eventually caught up with her. He hugged her hard as she tried to push away. The King invited her back to his kingdom if she would only trust him, saying that he missed her. She was very ashamed of her life and what she had done in the past and would do in the future, so she refused, insisting she was too broken for him. The King looked at her with those fathomlessly kind eyes and told her that he loved her, even though he had seen her entire life here and had watched and waited until she was ready to receive him. She still shook her head, knowing that even her father, the King of all things good and pure, could not come to terms with what she had done. 

    In an instant, she and her father were standing in the long, ornate halls of his castle. The King took her by the hand and led her to a door of the far right. Opening the carved oaken door, they stepped inside. There was only one thing in that large room: a very tall mirror. Her father led her to the mirror. Seeing herself in the mirror, she shrank back. She saw what she looked like and hated it; the long, black hair, faded blue eyes, tattoos and scars covering every inch of her body, and a hard look in her eyes that came from surviving on the streets. She wished she could go back but she knew she was doomed to a miserable life in the lower kingdom.

    Cowering, she waited for her father to say something. Instead, he lifted her head then touched the shined surface. In an instant, the image in the mirror of the worn beggar disappeared and in her place stood the princess as she was when she was a child: long blonde hair, large, dark blue eyes, and no scars or grotesque tattoos. She saw innocence in her eyes and love for her father in her heart. 

    Weeping softly, the princess asked why the King was mocking her, showing her what she could have still been if she had stayed in his kingdom. Her father replied that he was not mocking her, just showing her herself as though looking through his eyes.

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About the Author: My name's Ara Camden and I'm a student, a lover of Jesus and food, someone who likes swimming, reading, hiking, traveling, and did I say reading? I am a proud owner of both a dog and a rabbit who hate each other's guts and I love looking at antiques.

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