This volume is dedicated to Rachel Melcher, who has supported our stories and our dreams constantly and wholly since their very inception. Our lives have evolved and become beautiful through her unending belief that we are capable of great magic. Her friendship is a precious, cherished gift. We love you!

Thank you to Madeline Claire Franklin and Laura Diemer: support, love and awesome doesn't begin to cover it.

There are many more beautiful people than we have space to list, who we appreciate immensely, who make our writing lives (and life in general) a joy. You know who you are. We love you. Thank you for reminding us that magic exists outside of fairy tales.

Introduction

Once upon a time, two girls fell in love… Unfortunately, their kingdoms were very far apart. So, in the beginning, all they had were love letters and stories written by starlight, sent back and forth across the miles. Now, both young women knew the old fairy stories—backwards and forwards, word for word. But within these tales, the prince was always the hero, and two princesses never fell in love. In a sad, bleak time without one another, they longed for a comforting, familiar tale about girls like them: in love. So, stubborn and determined as these ladies were wont to be, they decided to take it upon themselves to change the stories.

When our relationship began, one of the deepest things we had in common was our obsession with fairy tales. To help us cope with the pain of a long-distance relationship, we retold our favorite fairy tales as gifts to one another, reclaiming them from a lesbian point of view. These were the stories we had wished for growing up, as we read and reread our worn, beloved volumes, always seeking someone like us, always failing to find her. Telling each other these changed fairy tales gave us hope that someday we would be able to be together.