The Pool of Reflecting Water (with a shout-out to MG, SE, and RK)

Once upon a time there was a princess called Princess Mars. Her parents and brother had abandoned her and she was left alone. One day she planned on gathering her friends to have a tea party at noon. But at 12:30 and then 1:00 and then 1:30, she realized that no one was coming and she was truly alone.

She was determined to set forth on a quest for Self-Worth and True Love.

As she began her quest, she happened upon a dark goddess called Goddess Panica who cursed her with debilitating and painful Self-Doubt. This set Princess Mars back but she was tough and kept going. She eventually came upon a lake and sat to rest for a while. Growing thirsty, she drank from the lake but did not realize it was the lake of the Goddess Unmotiva and the water put Princess Mars to sleep for sixteen weeks. She would come to learn, once she was awoken, that this slumber set her back considerably. Sixteen weeks of no productivity and no self-fulfillment feels like failure.

Eventually, Goddess Panica returned and set upon Princess Mars in the form of a terrible nightmare. The princess awoke, startled and frightened, and began to continue on her path. She suddenly met a knight in shining armor on a white steed and he carried her away to what she thought would be her happily ever after. They stopped by a lovely brook and shared a sweet kiss. but the knight turned into a frog. And Princess Mars noticed that her gown was covered in white powder. The steed was in fact coal black and black-maned.

Princess Mars hurried into a nearby hut, in a town called Britannia, where she met a young man covered in soot. She didn't know what to make of him but she knew he had the kindest soul she had ever met, and she bathed him with the last of her water. Unsooted, he stood before her, stunning.

The water she had bathed him with formed a pool in which Princess Mars was able to see herself for the very first time. She had found her True Love and her young man agreed to join her on her continued quest for Self-Worth.