"I'm not the perfect princess, am I?"

No, she wasn't. Princess Elena was a princess in name only. But in her mannerisms… it had always seemed to her like she could hardly control herself. When she tried to act demurely, she ended up shuffling with the gait of an old peasant. When she tried to compliment someone, she ended up saying something rude and offensive. She enjoyed her drink and her food a little too much, and her only real joy came from riding horseback, wind in her hair, shoes off.

But she denied herself as much as she was denied. With her spirit, she could be a headstrong woman, constantly butting heads with those around her but she tried. She tried so hard- whenever she saw her father's graying hair, or Grunhilda trying to smile at her. She tried by putting on the shoes she couldn't walk in, and by eating as delicately as possible. By acting like a princess.

She wasn't. Princess Elena was not Princess Elena. She was just Elena, and that's all she'd want to be. Some days, the longing to be normal almost drove her to tears. But she kept her head high, and her hand to her heart, hoping (praying, silently, in her dreams) that she was just growing- that maybe her mother had been just like her. That she had grown into a delicate, eloquent queen, and that maybe Princess Elena, the ugly duckling, could transform into the magnificent, married, Queen Elena.

Queen Elena of Camelot.

Maybe. When she laid her eyes on the young Prince Arthur, with chivalry in his eyes, golden hair and a strong chest, Elena thought that maybe his presence would force her to change. He was so good, and noble, and she knew that he was trying too. Trying very hard, because, like he said, he'd never met his mother, wondered if he was like her, trying because King Uther's hair was graying as well.

They were very similar like that. People with good hearts. People with strange pasts they couldn't describe. But they were also very different. Because Arthur was Prince Arthur in his very walk, in his speech, and in his soul. Princess Elena, with her frizzy hair, could never be more than girl with a title. And it broke her heart to see him trying to be with her.

Because she wasn't spritely enough, wasn't dainty enough, wasn't pure enough or pretty enough.

"It is my sincerest hope that you, Princess Elena, share in these dreams. With this in mind, I would like to ask you to do me the honor of being my wife."

Oh Arthur. She did share in these dreams. To live up to her father, to make her kingdoms proud and strong. Princess Elena knew that this was not the way to do that. While it may bring prosperity to their lands, it would bring pains to both their hearts.

She sat in front of her mirror, and a burp forced its way through her lips.

Elena hated being like this. Couldn't even control her wind. The truth way, he didn't love her. He didn't, couldn't, understand her. And he very barely respected her. She couldn't do that to him.

And she couldn't do that to herself.

But she went to bed the night before her wedding, expecting her life as she knew it to end the next day. That is was princesses did- for their country. But Elena, for once in her short, tormented life, wanted to be happy.

A/N: So I just watched this episode, and really loved it. I felt so bad for her- she seemed very sweet, just a pawn in a game. Even though introspective pieces aren't the most fun to read, they are extremely cathartic to write.