A Wigwam for a Goose's Bridle

I sing along with her, that this is not a fairy tale,
and I am not your princess. She is not completely mistaken.
You see, this is a fairy tale, but we tend to forget
that fairy tales need villains and conflicts,
mistakes and misunderstandings. We want
the happy ending, but it is sweeter
juxtaposed with the danger of the journey,
those moments when we thought
all is lost.
I am not your princess. A clever twist
on tales as old as time: the villain
convinced the princess that he was her hero,
offering to save her from the dragon he feared.
The joke’s on you.
Even at my weakest, I was never a damsel in distress,
and even when I trembled as the breath of my dragons
washed over me, I viewed them
with respect and curiosity. In these modern stories,
the princess saves herself, on a jet black stallion
with a white star and a stocking,
because we no longer rely on dated stereotypes
to understand the narrative. And this,
this was one of those campaigns
that could be resolved with non-combat options,
and this princess built a character
high on wisdom and charisma
who could tame the dragons with insight and persuasion
while you turned up with swords.
And now, I am not anyone’s princess,
I am your Queen, only you are not in my court,
and my happily ever after is not a guarantee
of health or wealth or lack of tears,
but of process and progress,
and I can level up without the knight
who kept falling off his damned horse.