I still remember the last words my father ever spoke to me.

"You are my princess."
And quite frankly, I believed every world my father spoke. I was a princess.

I waited patiently for my prince to come for me -- everyone knows that a princess needs a prince -- but after twenty-two years of waiting around, I decided to take things into my own hands.

This is my story.

After deciding to take my fate into my own hands, I knew that the fastest way for me to ensure my prince and my happily ever after, was to study the ploys and strategies of the princesses who had gone before me.

I started with the oldest story I knew.

The first step in luring a prince into your chambers, is to have chambers into which to lure him into. Thus, I set my mind to the task of designing and planning the castle that I would have built for me. The plans did not take long to complete, but the building of it was another matter all together.

After several months of building my castle out of the rocks and lumber that surrounded me, I finally had a dwelling to call my own. I sat upon the large chair that temporarily served as my throne until I could have a proper one made, and thoughtfully tapped my chin. I wondered what the next step would be. I twisted a lock of dull brown hair around my fingers and studied my now calloused hands. If a prince was lured up to my castle in search of a princess, he would never think that I would be the princess he was searching for -- it was time for a makeover.

I jumped out of my throne and paced along the stone floor. I would have to color my dull hair raven black and soften my skin and color my lips as red as a rose. I would have to avoid the sunlight in order for my skin to become pale white and I would have to find some servants to do my bidding.