Sleeping Beauty

A retelling of the old tale

           Silently the princess slept. Her oval face framed with silken curls of spun honey. In a gown of satin scarlet she lay in bed whose soft canopy enveloped her as if to guard the innocence beneath. Clutching the book of “Romeo and Juliet,” she slept soundly while her full lips twirled into a single, gentle smile. The girl was still a child, barely sixteen. Even though her body looked like that of a young woman’s, she was a naive child none the less.

            This surprised the faerie that stood guard over her. Her hair was of crimson fire, resembling a flame sitting atop a woven dress darker than night. Her wings were sealed with sharp talons and dark webbing while a crown of wicked, twisted thorns lay atop her head, writhing into a chaotic jumble. However, this was not the feature first seen. If you were to look at her you would noticed her face above all else. Where the princess’ features were soft and gentle, the faerie’s were sharp and long. She was beautiful. Painfully beautiful with eyes of dried blood full of hate. Her lips scowled as she gazed at the girl.

            “She was supposed to die…” muttered the faerie to her self. The woman smiled at the memory of the child’s birth. All of the faeries were invited to the fest. The faerie who lived in the river, the faerie who lived in the trees, and even the faerie who lived in the castle, protecting them from harm. All the faeries were invited… except for her self that is. The royal family had invited all the faeries except for the oldest one whose magick was far superior to all the rest. That was why she cursed the babe. A curse so terrible she would surely go to hell if she was mortal. A curse of death to fall upon her on her sixteenth year. However, the other faeries intervened and now the girl slept, waiting to be awakened by the kiss of true love.

            Scowling deeper, the faerie turned walking through the dark chamber towards the back till she reached the looking glass. Gazing at her reflection she smiled at the face of beauty smiling back… till she saw the reflection of the sleeping maiden. The maiden seemed to glow with an inner beauty touched by innocence. This light shined through the darkened chamber. The princess’ beauty called out to the thorny tendrils, who meant to keep all out, even more so than the sun. The light that radiated from her caused them to bloom to satiny roses where thorns used to lay. The faerie struck the mirror, shattering it, and turned to the cursed spinning wheel. The object who had failed to inflict her curse of death, delivering a blessing of sleep instead. The faerie glared at it as she tried to think of a new curse to deliver the death. A death she believed the girl so rightfully deserved.

            While the woman schemed, the girl dreamed, peacefully unaware of the hate directed towards her. Her slender lips spread into a deeper smile. A smile hinting to the contents of her dream. A smile so sweet that another rose bloomed, spreading its sweet fragrance into the room. The aroma was carried by a gentle breeze, which carried the perfumed air out of the window. It went down the thorny vines, enticing more roses to bloom, adding to the strength of the scent. It went down the tower, through the courtyard, and down the gate, onto the field where it met a single knight. A knight from a neighboring kingdom. A prince who was preparing for battle, readying his self to storm the castle. As the scent reached his sensitive nose, he looked up towards the tower. Straining his eyes towards the window he nodded and closed the helm of his helmet, covering the course, black hair as it shielded his eyes. Sword sheathed and latched to his belt, he urged his horse to gallop to the castle. A cursed castle where many had died and rumor said a sleeping beauty silently lay.

Reviews

[AK]

Beautifully written. You have a flair for wonderful description and you seem to make all the princesses redheads and have something related to roses giving you a totally different style of writing which I really like. Great work Alex!