In the Land of Weird
(I should add here that this story is completely made-up and has nothing to do with a psycho-boss I worked for in the past.)
Once upon a time there was a Pretty Princess who wore beautiful clothes and ate beautiful food. She lived in a Pretty Princess Palace and never had to work a day in her young life. One day, the Pretty Princess was chosen to rule a new land. She was chosen after two other Ugly Duckings declined the opportunity because the Queen of the land of Weird had taken too long to send them an email.
Pretty Princess arrived at the Land of Weird and smiled at her servants. She nodded and laughed, she ate with them and shared with them. Her servants thought they had gotten lucky, but they would soon find out how sadly mistaken they were. You see, the Pretty Princess hid within herself a deep and horrible ugliness. The sickness made the Pretty Princess lie and manipulate, it made her incapable of listening or trusting or being honest. She became secretive and stole the worst thing you can possibly steal: credit for a job well done. The Pretty Princess was so secretive about her real self, that nobody knew it even existed. Except of course for the Queen. You see, the Queen had a terrible secret too. She carried this very affliction within herself and upon discovering it in the Pretty Princess, she set out to make the Pretty Princess as deceptively horrible as the Queen herself. So effective in their falsity, their loyal subjects never suspected a thing.
Until one day, the Pretty Princess revealed her true self. She arrived at her palace and to the astonishment and bewilderment of those around her, she wasn't pretty anymore. Her face was quite the same, but there was a new truth to it. Her words no longer matched her actions. Her servants who had been thanked and congratulated and treated so sweetly were suddenly bleeding from the Princess's knives being tossed at their backs. The Pretty Princess would run and hide and take cover immediately after letting a shiny dagger fly towards one of her servants. For a little while, the servants had no way of knowing who was making them bleed. In fact, slowly, one by one, they disappeared into the world of Normal. Some went quietly and others loudly. Some were yelling and some were running. The remaining servants would hope to see them again and find out about the mysterious Princess and what had happened.
One by one they disappeared until only one servant remained. The servant tried to speak to the Queen, but this only made things worse. The servant was unaware of the horrible pact between the Queen and the Princess. There was much shock and awe one day when the Queen herself was disappeared from this particular corner of the Land of Weird. In her place the Land of Weird plunked down not another Queen but a King. He wore hipster glasses and a beard, he carried a backpack instead of a briefcase. He was the Queen's physical opposite but sadly, the servant was too far gone. She could no longer trust this land or the rulers that existed there. She was certain that the King would be unable or unwilling to help her.
Without the Queen on her throne, The Pretty Princess grew to become increasingly unhinged and terratic in her behavior. Her Perfection had taken over the land of Weird where the servant worked. No matter how hard the servant tried, there was never the right color on her signs or her paper, she could never get the right words in the exact order or the right food ordered and set up at exactly the correct moment. The servant was yelled at and reprimanded but never in person. The Pretty Princess was not good at speaking to her servant directly, she liked to send her letters and notes though. Every morning the servant was faced with several reminders about how horrible she was and how nothing she did was good enough. She became so fearful that she couldn't make a decision any more or do any of the things she used to be so good at.
As the days went by, the servant became sick. Her body hurt, she couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat. She was constantly afraid of the Pretty Princess and her scowling gaze. The servant decided one day that she could no longer work for the Pretty Princess, so she quit. As she stepped out into the sunlight after turning in her servant keys, she felt as though her old self was waiting outside the gates of the kingdom she had slaved at. She slipped back into her skin and remembered that she was good and capable and confident. She gazed at the tower where the Pretty Princess held court and took a big, deep breath. She was free now to go into the world and do all the things the Princess could never do. She would look people in the eye and speak the truth, she would treat others with understanding and kindness, she would allow others to succeed and learn to accept her own limitations. The servant and all of those before her would take with them one very important lesson: A truly Pretty Princess allows her actions to match her words.
The servant thought that perhaps that was the end of her story. But as luck would have it, there is an epilogue...
Two years later, the Servant (who was no longer a servant at all) found out that the Pretty Princess had displeased the land of Weird so much that they cast her out.
The servant and all of those who went before her were glad to hear of this. There was much merrymaking as the former servants were reminded that they were never horrible or inept or that they were unworthy. In fact, they had all found themselves much better off after leaving the Land of Weird. Each growing to become not Queen or King or even Princess, but Human. And Humans do one thing better than any other living creature, especially Pretty Princesses: they survive.
Once upon a time there was a Pretty Princess who wore beautiful clothes and ate beautiful food. She lived in a Pretty Princess Palace and never had to work a day in her young life. One day, the Pretty Princess was chosen to rule a new land. She was chosen after two other Ugly Duckings declined the opportunity because the Queen of the land of Weird had taken too long to send them an email.
Pretty Princess arrived at the Land of Weird and smiled at her servants. She nodded and laughed, she ate with them and shared with them. Her servants thought they had gotten lucky, but they would soon find out how sadly mistaken they were. You see, the Pretty Princess hid within herself a deep and horrible ugliness. The sickness made the Pretty Princess lie and manipulate, it made her incapable of listening or trusting or being honest. She became secretive and stole the worst thing you can possibly steal: credit for a job well done. The Pretty Princess was so secretive about her real self, that nobody knew it even existed. Except of course for the Queen. You see, the Queen had a terrible secret too. She carried this very affliction within herself and upon discovering it in the Pretty Princess, she set out to make the Pretty Princess as deceptively horrible as the Queen herself. So effective in their falsity, their loyal subjects never suspected a thing.
Until one day, the Pretty Princess revealed her true self. She arrived at her palace and to the astonishment and bewilderment of those around her, she wasn't pretty anymore. Her face was quite the same, but there was a new truth to it. Her words no longer matched her actions. Her servants who had been thanked and congratulated and treated so sweetly were suddenly bleeding from the Princess's knives being tossed at their backs. The Pretty Princess would run and hide and take cover immediately after letting a shiny dagger fly towards one of her servants. For a little while, the servants had no way of knowing who was making them bleed. In fact, slowly, one by one, they disappeared into the world of Normal. Some went quietly and others loudly. Some were yelling and some were running. The remaining servants would hope to see them again and find out about the mysterious Princess and what had happened.
One by one they disappeared until only one servant remained. The servant tried to speak to the Queen, but this only made things worse. The servant was unaware of the horrible pact between the Queen and the Princess. There was much shock and awe one day when the Queen herself was disappeared from this particular corner of the Land of Weird. In her place the Land of Weird plunked down not another Queen but a King. He wore hipster glasses and a beard, he carried a backpack instead of a briefcase. He was the Queen's physical opposite but sadly, the servant was too far gone. She could no longer trust this land or the rulers that existed there. She was certain that the King would be unable or unwilling to help her.
Without the Queen on her throne, The Pretty Princess grew to become increasingly unhinged and terratic in her behavior. Her Perfection had taken over the land of Weird where the servant worked. No matter how hard the servant tried, there was never the right color on her signs or her paper, she could never get the right words in the exact order or the right food ordered and set up at exactly the correct moment. The servant was yelled at and reprimanded but never in person. The Pretty Princess was not good at speaking to her servant directly, she liked to send her letters and notes though. Every morning the servant was faced with several reminders about how horrible she was and how nothing she did was good enough. She became so fearful that she couldn't make a decision any more or do any of the things she used to be so good at.
As the days went by, the servant became sick. Her body hurt, she couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat. She was constantly afraid of the Pretty Princess and her scowling gaze. The servant decided one day that she could no longer work for the Pretty Princess, so she quit. As she stepped out into the sunlight after turning in her servant keys, she felt as though her old self was waiting outside the gates of the kingdom she had slaved at. She slipped back into her skin and remembered that she was good and capable and confident. She gazed at the tower where the Pretty Princess held court and took a big, deep breath. She was free now to go into the world and do all the things the Princess could never do. She would look people in the eye and speak the truth, she would treat others with understanding and kindness, she would allow others to succeed and learn to accept her own limitations. The servant and all of those before her would take with them one very important lesson: A truly Pretty Princess allows her actions to match her words.
The servant thought that perhaps that was the end of her story. But as luck would have it, there is an epilogue...
Two years later, the Servant (who was no longer a servant at all) found out that the Pretty Princess had displeased the land of Weird so much that they cast her out.
The servant and all of those who went before her were glad to hear of this. There was much merrymaking as the former servants were reminded that they were never horrible or inept or that they were unworthy. In fact, they had all found themselves much better off after leaving the Land of Weird. Each growing to become not Queen or King or even Princess, but Human. And Humans do one thing better than any other living creature, especially Pretty Princesses: they survive.
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