Once upon a time, in the very distant land of Kansas City, Missouri, there lived an interesting girl with an interesting life. This girl was named Venus. You see, the only family she had ever known was her father and her two older siblings, Satonya and Remiford. The both of them were always close to their younger sister, taking care of her and treating her as an equal. Her father, however, did quite the opposite. To put it bluntly, he was a narcissist. Always acting as though everything and everyone was beneath him. Constantly trying to mold his children into being carbon copies of himself. He had all the control, and Venus desperately wished to escape his grasp. Regardless, she and her elder siblings continued to play by his rules. Well, at least they pretended to. 

Truth be told, all three siblings had somewhat of a secret agreement with one another. Despite their father restricting them from the outside world, they all had their own special interests outside of what he would ever allow them to indulge in. Satonya wished to create and build a social business platform to her own specifications. Remiford wanted to be a professional gamer and influencer. As for Venus, she wanted to be a fashion icon, designing clothes that would make her millions of dollars. She was already beginning her work in the secret attic above her cramped bedroom. 

That’s where our story begins. 

“What are you making, V?” Remiford questioned, resting his chin on his hands.

Satonya and Remiford sat beside Venus’s desk, observing her move the needle and thread steadily through a pink strip of velvet. A small speaker playing Lana Del Rey’s top hits echoed in the background. 

“A dress. I’m going to add some glitter. Maybe bedazzle it with hearts,” Venus replied, humming to the tune.

Satonya was scrolling through Instagram, when suddenly, she got a notification. 

“Oh, my god, guys. There’s gonna be a party at UMKC tonight. Should we go?”

Venus whipped her head in Satonya’s direction and gasped.

“Uhm, yes!” Venus beamed.

“Ehhhh… I’m not really up for going anywhere tonight. Also, there’s no way father would allow that,” Remie sighed. “You know how he is.”

The two girls dropped their shoulders and sighed as well. 

“You’re right. Then again, does he allow anything other than having us clean up his messes for him?” Satori muttered. 

The room fell silent for a moment except for the music playing. Venus stopped sewing and looked at the floor solemnly.

“He can’t keep us here forever, you know,” Venus finally spoke up. “He doesn’t let us have friends over, he doesn’t let us wear what we want, he doesn’t let us listen to the music we want to listen to, and he doesn’t even let us eat any food unless we know for a fact that he likes it. There has to be some sort of breaking point.” 

Later that evening, the family sat at the dining table and ate their food in an awkward silence. Their father cleared his throat aggressively and sneered over at the three siblings. 

“So, I heard you three playing that god awful pop music earlier.”

Satonya, Remiford, and Venus all remained silent, trying to avoid eye contact. 

“You’re not gonna say anything, huh? Not one of you?” Their father hissed. “I raised you all better than that.”

Satonya whispered quietly, “It was just the radio, father. We didn’t choose the song.”

“Don’t you lie to me!” Their father roared angrily. He pushed his chair back and stood up, looking at the three with flared nostrils. “You all can clean up dinner since nobody wanted to help with the cooking. After that, you’d better go to bed.” He stomped out of the room and began climbing up the stairs, huffing loudly with each movement. 

Venus tossed and turned in her twin-sized bed, switching simultaneously from pulling up the covers to throwing them off of her in annoyance. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get that party off of her mind. 

This is ridiculous, Venus thought to herself. What would I even wear?

Suddenly, an idea came to her. She glanced over at the bedroom door, listening for any noise or voices coming from outside. Her eyes then moved to the entrance of the secret attic.

What SHOULD I wear? 

Venus climbed up into the attic and eagerly made her way to her collections. She sifted through the clothes, from flared jeans to bedazzled tops. Slowly, her options became limited. That’s when she looked over to the sewing machine and remembered the dress she had finished up earlier. She snatched it up and admired its decorative glitter and smooth material. Venus reached down and pulled open a drawer, grabbing a pair of pink Ugg slippers she had designed a while back. 

This is perfect. Casual but stylish.

After what seemed like absolute ages, Venus had finally finished getting herself ready. She topped her makeup off by brushing a light layer of glitter underneath her eyes and on her cheeks. She climbed out of her bedroom window, cautiously stepping onto the ground and checking her surroundings.

“Oh, shoot,” Venus realized. “How the hell am I supposed to get there?”

Out of nowhere, a cloud of pink smoke poofed in front of her, and a woman dressed as an English teacher with blonde hair and a small book appeared.

“Hey, girl. Put your phone in the caddy, I’m here to talk to you and grant some wishes… or something like that,” the woman stated.

Venus jumped with surprise. “Who are you?”

The woman smiled at her. “I’m your fairy Godcollier. I came here because I noticed you needed a bit of help getting to the rizz function.”

“Fairy… Godcollier? Hold up, is this real?” Venus questioned in shock.

The Fairy Godcollier rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Yes, Venus, this is real. Now quit pussyfooting around and let me do my thing already. You need a form of transportation, right?” She glanced down at her book and began thumbing through the pages. “Ah, okay. Here it is. Rizzity rozzity razzle dazzle!” She pointed her finger, and out came a hot pink limo with a driver already waiting inside. 

“NO WAY!” Venus squealed, jumping up and down with excitement. 

“Now remember, Venus,” Fairy Godcollier warned, “you must return by midnight, for if you do not, I’ll count you as tardy, and you will have to get a slip from the office.”

Venus tilted her head sideways in confusion. “Huh? What office?”

“Nevermind, forget that last bit, but be back by midnight. Spells like these are temporary. Have fun rizzing!” With that, Fairy Godcollier disappeared into thin air. 

The thirty-minute drive seemed as though it lasted for hours and hours. When Venus finally arrived at the party, Venus practically jumped out of the car. Walking inside the front doors and taking in the lively scenery made her feel like a stranger in a brand new place. It was truly a sight to behold. The sound of people talking, dancing, and laughing filled Venus’s ears. Colorful, flashing lights strung up above the tall ceiling and filled the atmosphere with a euphoric glow as she stepped down the staircase slowly, getting a feel for everything. She felt all eyes turn and land on her. She began to feel a sense of anxiety wash over her. 

Maybe this was a mistake. 

Were people judging her? No, that wasn’t it. They were… admiring her? Yes. They were.

Groups of people smiled at her, looking her up and down in awe. She shook her nerves away and confidently descended down the stairs. She made her way to the drink stand, grabbing a Dr. Pepper. Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see a handsome young man grinning at her awkwardly. From the fidgeting of his hands and the way he failed to look her in the eyes, she could tell he was more nervous than she was. 

“Uhm… hi. I’m sorry if this is weird, but I saw you from across the room, and I just wanted to say I think you are very pretty. I also really love your dress.”

Venus felt herself blushing slightly from the unexpected compliment. “Oh, thank you. I made the dress myself.”

The young man’s eyes widened. “You made it yourself? That’s amazing!” He extended a hand awkwardly. “I’m, uhm, Prince Good-Looking. I know it’s a weird name. You can blame my parents for that.” 

Venus chuckled in response, shaking his hand. “Nice to meet you, Prince Good-Looking. I’m… uhm.. Glitter… uhmm… Venus,” she stuttered, feeling nervous. 

“Glitter… Venus? That’s an odd name. Not like I can judge though,” Prince Good-Looking tilted his head sideways and smiled. 

The song slowly faded out for a moment, and a new one began. Venus recognized the song almost instantly.

“Oh, my gosh. They’re playing “Born to Die.” I love Lana Del Rey,” she beamed from ear to ear. This caused Prince Good-Looking to smile softly at her.

“No way, you like Lana too? She’s one of my favorite female artists.”

“Of course. She’s my idol.”

Prince Good-Looking giggled and extended his arm to her, bowing. “Care to dance?”

Venus took his hand as he led her to the dance floor. The dance felt as though it was straight out of a fairytale, with Prince Good-Looking twirling her around. The two moved their feet in unison, smiling and wrapping their arms around each other. The chemistry between the two caused every other person on the dance floor to move back and make space for them. The only word to describe their energy was magical. Venus felt like she was on top of the world with every second he held her close. However, that feeling ended shortly when she glanced at her phone and realized it was nearly midnight. 

“I.. I have to go,” Venus announced before quickly turning around and running up the stairs at the speed of light, not even realizing that one of her Ugg slippers fell right off her foot and tumbled down the stairs. 

“Wait, where are you going?” Prince Good-Looking shouted. He attempted to chase after her, but there were too many people crowding around for him to see. He looked down and dove underneath people and retrieved the slipper that had fallen off of her. “Glittervenus, your shoe!”

It was too late. She was already gone, and Prince Good-Looking was alone once more. 

The next morning, Venus woke up with a sense of hopefulness. Even if it was only for a night, she had finally been able to escape her father’s grasp. She felt refreshed. At the same time, though, she longed for Prince Good-Looking. The memory of them dancing together passionately rang through her mind like a wake-up call. She needed to see him again. 

*Knock knock knock.*

Venus shot up from her bed. She peeked through her window- and there he was, holding… her slipper? Her slipper! He had found her! Venus threw the covers off of her and reached for the bedroom door, but it was locked.

“Oh, no,” Venus whispered in a state of panic. “Father.” 

She heard the familiar voice of her father opening the door and greeting Prince Good-Looking in that oh-so condescending tone she had heard her entire life. 

“Good morning,” Father smiled through gritted teeth. “How may I help you?”
“Uhm.. good morning, sir. I- I was wondering if… Glitter…Venus lived here? I have her slipper,” Prince Good-Looking replied nervously. 

Venus tried desperately to break through the door. Pounding and pulling, she used every ounce of strength she had. “Prince Good-Looking, I’m in here! I’m here!”

“I’m sorry, but there is no girl here with that name,” Father was just about to close the door on Prince Good-Looking before he heard glass shattering from the other room. Venus jumped out of her bedroom window and ran into Prince Good-Looking’s open arms. They embraced each other passionately. Father’s face turned a shade of red as he seethed with rage. Prince Good-Looking took Venus’s hand and the two of them ran off together, not looking behind even once. 

ONE YEAR LATER

Venus and Prince Good-Looking got married, and they now live in a large mansion together. Satonya and Remiford have rooms of their own, and they are extremely close with Prince Good-Looking. Their father is nowhere to be seen. Some say he’s still looking for them to this day, but regardless of that, they all lived happily ever after. The end.