Zoe: The Queen of Mia and Midday

Zoe was a little girl who loved nothing more than pretending to be a queen. She would tie her hair up in a neat bun and put on her fanciest dress, complete with a crown, and parade around her room ordering her loyal subjects (her dolls and stuffed animals) to do her bidding. But one day, Zoe's mother had to go out and leave her at home alone. Zoe decided that this was the perfect opportunity for her to be a proper queen and rule over her entire house. She got to work straight away, setting up a throne in the living room and arranging all her subjects (the dolls and stuffed animals that is) around her. Zoe began to give orders, "Bring me my tea." She said, to her loyal subject, Bear, but Bear didn't move. "Bear, did you not hear me? Bring me my tea!" But Bear still didn't move. Zoe grew frustrated, "Why isn't anyone listening to me?" Just as she was about to shout again, there was a knock at the door. Zoe panicked, she couldn't greet someone as a queen dressed in her fancy dress and a crown. She quickly ran to her room to change, but as she was running, she tripped over a stray toy and fell, knocking over the vase on her bedside table. Zoe felt the tears welling up in her eyes until she remembered the advice her mother gave her. "Always try your best and never give up." Zoe took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and decided to try again. She changed quickly, put her crown back on, and went to greet her guest. To her surprise, it was her mother accompanied by a beautiful princess. "This is Princess Mia," said her mother, introducing the guest. "She's here to invite you to a party at her palace." Zoe was over the moon with excitement. Finally, she could be a queen for real, and she didn't have to pretend anymore. The day of the party arrived and Zoe put on her finest dress. She was excited to see all the other queens and princesses at the party. There was one queen, however, that stood out. Her name was Midday, and she was the queen of all the lands. Midday was very stern looking and had a powerful presence. Zoe was in awe of her, and she wanted to impress her. So, she walked up to Midday and said, "Hello, I'm queen Zoe, and I'm so honored to meet you." Midday looked at Zoe for a moment and then let out a big laugh. "You're a queen?" she said, chuckling. "You're not even old enough to wear a crown properly!" Zoe was embarrassed at first, but then she laughed too. She realized that while entertaining fantasies of royalty is fun for children, in the real world, being a queen requires much more than fancy clothes and titles. As they laughed, Midday leaned down to whisper something in Zoe's ear, something that Zoe would never forget. "Mia and Midday," she said. "Remember that, young queen. Always try your best, and with a little bit of luck, you can become a queen of your own kind." Zoe smiled. She may not have been a real queen at the party, but she knew now that she was queen of her own life. Mia and Midday, she repeated in her head, and the words gave her more strength and confidence than any crown ever could.