There was this little girl who lived a simple life with her happy family. She was just like the rest of the kids her age. She wakes up every morning with a bright smile on her face. She greets her family and happily spends time with them. She helps out with the chores. When she has nothing to do, she plays with her friends in the plaza. They pretend they were powerful adventurers or magicians that were out to defeat the bad demons and the mean people. Then when the sun sets and the sky turns dark, she heads home to eat dinner. After dinner, she washes up and gets ready for bed.

Every night before sleeping, her mom would read her a story. The stories were mostly about how a gallant knight or a kind-hearted prince would set out on a journey full of troubles in order to save a princess or a beautiful lady. At first, these kinds of stories excited her. She would often fantasize being abducted by a big meanie then to be dramatically rescued by a handsome prince. Her eyes would always gleam whenever she saw men who fit her standard of "knight in shining armor".

But one particular night, just when she was about to be lulled by her mother's calming voice to sleep she thought,
"What if a girl knight saves the prince?".
She asked her mother this. To this her mother replied,
"That's not how it works honey."

"why not?" surely if a prince can save someone, then the princess can do that as well.

"that's because ladies are not supposed to fight. You'll understand when you're older" her mother lovingly kissed her forehead before blowing the candle. The little girl was left in the moonlit room to think.

"why can't women fight?"

Years passed, the little girl grew up to be a strong and beautiful lady but still that questioned lingered in her mind.

Why can't women fight?

She diligently trained her swordsmanship and combat skills in the hopes to become a strong knight that would protect the people from harm someday.

'If no knight or prince would save me, then I'm going to save myself' she thought.

She enrolled in the prestigious knights academy of the kingdom. She was the first ever female knight to be recognized as an achiever. She was proud of herself. She was finally taking a step closer to her dream. In a few more years, she would become a knight.

But, the academy did not like that.

The lady may have had the skills and talent to be an exceptional knight someday but at the end of the day, she was still a girl.

Why must women fight?

The students alienated her. They would seat a distance away from her. She would always eat alone in a corner, surrounded by the joyous laughter of those around her. Nobody would partner with her during mock battles nor willingly group with her during theory studies. They were not envious of her talent. They knew they were also talented. They would often mess with her training uniform or her gear. They did not wish to mingle with her because of her image.

"I wonder how she bewitched the examiners"

"she's pretty. She must have done 'something'"

"no matter how much she trains, her body is still weak. Better use it for something else instead"

All these remarks reached her ears.

Her heart hurt from their words but she did not falter instead, she became more resolute.

Why can't women fight? Now she knew the answer.

It was not that they cannot, it was because they chose not to. In this society where there were unspoken rules set on the people, women were restrained by the people and theirselves. They lacked the resolution and determination to break free of the chains that shackled them.

Women can fight but they didn't.

But the lady, no, the little girl will fight. She did not care what other people think or say. She wanted to become a knight. She can fight and she will.

Despite people looking down on her, she trained her body and mind, pushed her limits, and fought with all her might.

Women CAN fight!

The sun rose, the light finally shone down on the battlefield. She let go of the hilt of her sword. She breathed out all her fatigue and anxiety. With her foot atop the demon lord's corpse, from the top of her lungs she yelled.

With the daybreak comes the change. The chains were broken and the rules were changed. The princesses no longer need to be saved by a knight in shining armor. The little girl's name was known to all as someone who broke the world's old ways.

That was the tale of the girl who thought, "Why can't women fight?"



© Merii Hart