Forced to follow, destined to lead.

Once upon a time there was this princess, the princess was named Catherine. Catherine lived in a castle on a hill. She was raised to wear pretty dresses and pink bows, she was elegant and gorgeous. Her parents were the king and queen, so they were extremely rich.

Sounds like she had a perfect life, right? Wrong!

When the day meets the night, Catherine would be in her room, questioning everything about herself. Asking herself, what is wrong with me?

She kept it hidden until a few months later, Catherine met a girl. Catherine ran away from her home, in a dirty shirt and some ripped jeans, very different from how she was normally seen. Her parents kept pushing her to wear tons of make-up while she didn't want to, so she snapped.

Catherine ran through the streets, until she bumped into someone. In all her anger, she forgot to watch out! The girl fell backwards, onto the pavement.

"Watch where you're, hell, are you blind or something." The person who Catherine had bumped into kept cursing while she stood up from the ground.

"I'm so sorry!" Catherine said, her voice sounding sincerely apologetic.

"Wait..." The girl dusted off her dirty clothes and inspected Catherine. "Who are you? I think I recognize you from somewhere..."

"Well..." Catherine chuckled. "I'm Catherine, and I'm a princess."

"Oh." The girl looked shocked. "I'm, eh, Artemis."

"Nice to meet you Artemis."

Artemis and Catherine continued to have secret meet-ups, Catherine learned that Artemis was some sort of rebel and loved doing dangerous stuff, Artemis learned that Catherine wasn't your basic princess. They became best friends.

But the nights that Catherine was crying didn't lessen, they only got worse.

Who am I? Who do I want to be? Who am I meant to be?

She just kept asking herself questions she couldn't answer.

But then, on a sunny day in the summer, Catherine and Artemis were running through the woods. Artemis brought her mountain bike, Catherine brought some food so they could have a picnic.

They had fun until Artemis spotted a mysterious figure heading their way. "Cath, who's that?"

Catherine's breath hitched in her throat. "It looks like... but it can't be... right?"

"Who?" Artemis' eyebrows pulled together into a concerned look.

"Dad?!" Catherine's father was coming their way.

"Catherine Sharice Maxwell, come home immediately! What are you even doing here?" Her dad was furious. "Who is that piece of garbage?"

"That is Artemis! Don't call her that, she's my... friend!"

Her father was shocked, his face red from anger. "Come home. Now." He dragged her home by her arm, Artemis looked at Catherine's devastated expression with pity.

Will they ever see each other again?

A few days later, the king and queen had decided to hire a witch to "fix" their daughter.

Catherine was locked into a room, terrified she looked at the queen who came closer and started whispering the curse.

"You, Catherine Sharice Maxwell, will never misbehave again. From now on, you will have to do what everyone says. You will never be rebellious, but there is a catch! If you find your true self before the age of 18, the curse will be broken, if not, you'll live like this forever. I doubt you'll ever see me again, so goodbye, may your paths lead you to the place you're meant to be."

Stunned by the curse, Catherine could do nothing but watch the witch as she flew the scene.

What did that mean?

"Catherine, come here!" Her dad yelled, and before she could even say 'no', she was already walking to her dad.

What is happening?

"Seems like it is already working..." her dad snickered as she stood in front of him. "Turn around." Again, before Catherine could even reacted she stood with her back to her father.

"Why can't I resist?" Catherine exclaimed in horror.

"From now on, you'll be my little doll, princess."

Months and months passed, Catherine was unable to leave the castle. She couldn't run away, because when he dad said 'go to your room', she couldn't do anything but obey and head to her room.

Catherine was missing Artemis, who she had grew close to. She missed their adventures and she missed their laughs, she missed the way that Artemis would make her feel, free and... loved.

Deep down, Catherine was hoping that Artemis would find a way to sneak into the castle and save her, every night, she would dream that they could run off into the sunset together.

A few days later, Catherine was asleep until there was a soft knock on the window. "Artemis?" She asked hopefully as she got out of bed.

"No, Santa Claus, open the window, please." Her voice was muffled through the glass. Catherine immediately obeyed. "Why didn't you visit me, Cath, you knew where to find me?"

Catherine sighed "I do, but... I can't run away, because I'm cursed..."

Artemis looked confused at her. "What do you mean, 'you're cursed'?"

"Every time that someone says I have to do something, for example, turn around, I immediately turn around. I can't even resist." Catherine sighed. "Try it out."

"Oh, ehm, grab my shoulder." Catherine's hand launched to her shoulder and grabbed it. "Ouch, stop" Catherine let go, they both blushed a bit.

"Do you understand now?" Artemis nodded and looked at her feet.

"I have an idea, Cath. Are you okay with running away?" Catherine eagerly nodded. "Good, go pack your bags then."

Catherine started packing her bags, packing stuff that she will need and some stuff important to her.

"Let's go."

Catherine and Artemis ran through the castle, their feet tapped along the cold floor as they ran away. They counted their luck as they made it out, it seemed like no one woke up.

"I can't believe I'm free..." Catherine looked at Artemis and grabbed her hand. "Thank you for saving me." Her voice was soft and her face sincere.

"It's my pleasure." Artemis grinned and readjusted the bag on her shoulder. "Come on, let's go before they notice you're gone"

Catherine nodded and they ran away, after a while, they ran out of breath. Artemis looked back, the castle just being a little dot now.

"Come here." Artemis' heart fluttered in her chest as Catherine looked at her. "Hi."

"Hi." Artemis put a hand on her cheek and gently caressed is.

"Is this okay with you?" Catherine nodded as their face came closer and closer and... they closed their eyes as their lips touched. Their lips fitted like they were meant for each other. As they pulled back to get some air, Artemis giggled, and stroked Catherine's rosy cheek. "Let's go on, we still have a journey to go."

"No." Catherine breathed out. "C'mere."

She pulled Artemis closer as their lips met again, fireworks exploded inside of them as their lips moved in sync. And as Artemis' hands found their way to Catherine's hair and Catherine held on to Artemis' waist, the faint morning light of the upcoming sun shined upon them.

The curse was broken.