The Castle’s Princess

Shirley

She walked down the street ducking behind each tree and summersaulting in the gaps between the trees. Like a the stereotypical knight(on a budget of course), she was dressed in boots, a coat, and her brother’s Batman costume - the kind with fake squishy muscles. She had covered it all over with tin foil so she was shiny. I even helped make the sword which was cardboard and also covered in tin foil.

I watched her from my window as she approached my house. She tumbled/rolled through the grass of my front yard and ducked under the branches is the weeping willow beneath my window. I watched the tree while singing until her head popped out of the leaves. For a second I wanted to laugh, but I stopped myself, so I wouldn’t ruin the mood.

My house is the castle, and I, obviously, am the princess. She calls up from below, “Princess, are you ok?” What a silly question... “No, I’m not ok!” I shout back down to the tree “I’m a helpless princess stuck in a castle. Why do you even need to ask me that?”

Micky

“No, I’m not ok! I’m a helpless princess stuck in a castle. Why do you even need to ask me that?” She yells back at me.

If you’re in a castle already, why do you need to leave? And it ruins the game more when she asks me why I do things wrong than me actually doing whatever it is wrong. I don’t understand why she can’t just play along.

I’m dressed as a handsome knight, and sweating my butt off in these leggings and this Batman suit. It’s 72 degrees outside today, and the only good thing about the costume is that the tin foil reflects the sun. I wish I could be the princess in the cool tower wearing a flowy dress and the tiara on top of the wig that looks like Rapunzel’s hair. Instead I’m stuck on the ground and in a tree wearing clothes meant for halloween in the middle of summer covered in tin foil because Shirley told me only she could be the princess because she had a pretty princess dress and besides she’d said, it was her house that looked like a castle not mine. So I let her be the princess. Every. Single. Time.

Shirley

She should know the routine by now. I think to myself. “Why do you always mess up? You do it on purpose don’t you! You should know what to say by now because you are always the knight!” I holler down to her. She gets little winky tears in her eyes, and I think she might cry.

“I know what you want me to say, but I don’t want to be the knight anymore. You’re always the princess because you say you’re more beautiful and it’s your house that is the castle and you own the dress, but I’m hot from wearing this Batman suit, and I want to be a beautiful princess too, but you won’t let me, and I’m tired of saying the same things over and over again, so I say different things to make it interesting!” She yells up at me.

“Well, you can’t be the princess because you have a guy name!” I shout back. “Plus you’re too ugly to be one!”

“At least I’m skinnier than you!”

“Well at least I have blonde hair and not red hair!”

She turns pink, which does not compliment her red hair, and disappears under the leaves of the tree. A second later, I see her running down the block and turning the corner dropping the Batman muscle on the sidewalk as she runs.

Mickey

I run away as fast as I can. She called me ugly, and she doesn’t think my red hair is as pretty as her blonde hair. I sit down on the sidewalk and rub the sleeve of my shirt under my nose and sniffle. Maybe she’s right. I should never be the princess. I’m only good enough to be the knight. I sit sneaking tears for a bit thinking I should go home, but I don't. Not yet.

I hear a soft cough behind me, and I turn to see Shirley back in shorts and a tank top standing behind me. She holds out the dress and tiara to me, and I stare at them. When I don’t take them, she sits down netxt to me and stares across the street. “I’m sorry for being a J-word.” She says earnestly, and I pay attention. “I know...”

Shirley

“...I can be unbearable and mean sometimes. I need to get better at sharing and being nice to others. I just wanted you to know, I want you to be the princess from now on. I’m giving you the dress, but we might have to tie it up a little bit because you’re a little shorter than I am.”

She looks at me now instead of the concrete sidewalk, and I look away, so I don't regret it.

Mikey

“You are letting me be the princess?” I gasp. “Yes. And I want you to keep the dress too. You can borrow my castle whenever we play.” She tells me. I wrap my arms around her middle and my voice gets all squeaky. “Thank you so much!” I squeal. She picks up the tiara and puts it in my red hair where it catches the light just right and sends a sprinkle of rainbows scattered over the sidewalk. “It was meant to be...” she trailed off in awe while staring at the rainbow covered ground.

Shirley

I felt like such a good person, and it felt nice. I gave her the dress and tiara, and she looked so happy like I turned her into an actual princess. She looked like The Little Mermaid sitting there with the tiara on her bright red hair. She looked so pretty, and for a moment I felt really jealous. I’ll never tell her she’d make a great Little Mermaid, but I do tell her...

Mickey

“You’d make a great dragon!” She suddenly exclaims as we walk back to her house. I squint at her with my nose scrunched up, and she continues, “Your hair could be like the fire the dragon breaths out. Ooh ooh! If it’s a windy day, it would look like there’s a dancing fire around your head!” She seems so excited, so I just laugh and say, “I guess I’d make a pretty good dragon.”