I've just realised that this has turned into a drabble rather than the types of stories I normally write. Eh, a first time for everything, right?

This is for Epochal Eclipse's Fairytales challenge and, hopefully, you can guess what my prompt was. Hopefully.

Hope you guys like it :)

Fairy tales had never really been an important part of Artemis' childhood.

She remembered when she had used to believe in them; when she'd dreamt about being swept off her feet by her very own Prince Charming or waking up to the man of her dreams. Then, year after year, tragedy after tragedy, her faith in her dreams began fading. She didn't see the point in being told stories about girls who were just so luckily born as princesses and luckily found their man and luckily got their happy ending when her own life was just...not like theirs.

And so, Artemis refused to believe in them.

While her classmates pranced around and pretended to be princesses or fairies, she'd sit there and scorn at their antics. When her teacher told stories that began with 'Once upon a time' and finished with 'Happily ever after', she'd scoff at the tales being told to her; at the lies about how real life would turn out just like that when she knew it wouldn't.

In real life, Sleeping Beauty would've been left there to slumber for eternity; Snow White would've been killed by the hunter; Belle would've never fallen in love with the Beast; Jasmine's father would've never let her marry a street rat and Cinderella...

Artemis especially despised the tale of Cinderella.

She hated how the girl just happened to have a fairy godmother; how she just happened to make the Prince fall in love with her; how her life had just happened to have ended perfectly. All this while Artemis' own life fell apart and where was her fairy godmother? Where was her prince to save her from everything? Nowhere because she didn't have one. Because real life wasn't like fairy tales. Because not every story ended perfectly.

Yet, Artemis still had a tiny ray of hope left in her.

After all, weren't the heroines often forced to be or do something they didn't want to be or do at the start? However much she denied liking and believing in fairy tales, she still had a little bit of faith in them. Maybe she would find her very own prince and maybe, just maybe, everything would work itself out.

But, in the meantime, she wouldn't sit around and wait for her Prince Charming. Artemis had better things to do than that. If anything, her prince would be saved by her.

And her Happy Ending wouldn't be by luck or chance; it'd be something she created; something she worked for; something she would achieve.

Sorry if it seemed a bit rushed or too repetitive but I kinda ran out of ideas halfway and I had to keep re-reading it to get inspiration.

So yeah. Thanks for reading, hopefully you'll have liked (loved?) it and please leave a review. Thanks :D