On the
edge of the countryside there lay a modest kingdom, fighting to remain in
existence. King Frederick and Queen Aveline, the kind monarchs, were beginning
to grow older and uglier. They had no children; Aveline was barren and could
not bear a child and because of this, she fell into a deep depression that no
one could shake her from. The only way for their kingdom to flourish once they
were gone was for a child of theirs to marry into another kingdom, but since
this could not be so the townsfolk wept and mourned in despair, knowing they
would have to find somewhere else to live without their beloved king and queen.
One
beautiful spring day while Aveline was wandering around in the wood as a
therapeutic way to cope with her deep set depression, a frog hopped across her
path and gazed up at her with bulging wet eyes. She sighed and made to move
around it, but it sprung up and clutched her leg with its slimy feet.
Shrieking, she kicked it off and attempted to stomp it into the dirt, but a
voice stopped her.
“Dear
Queen, do not be afraid! I bear news - good news, great news! Calm yourself and
you shall receive it,” said the frog.
The
Queen screamed again, but the rumbling voice of the frog caught her ear with a
few specific words.
“Within
the next year you shall bear a child, the most beautiful girl in all the
kingdoms, and then you shall keep your own kingdom alive,” the frog continued.
“She shall marry a prince and bring you glory.”
Aveline
ran back to the castle and bolted herself into her chamber, equivocating
whether to believe the words of the frog or not. Finally she decided it
couldn’t hurt to believe she could bear a child, although for all her years she
could not, and told the news of her stroll to the king. His reaction was the
same as hers – it couldn’t be possible and yet, what have they got to lose in
believing the words of this frog? Anything could happen – magic was not unheard
of throughout the kingdoms.
A few
months passed and it seemed that the frog’s words were coming true. The queen’s
belly became swollen with a child. Through the duration of the pregnancy,
Aveline’s depression lifted and she was as joyful as ever. The king was delighted
to see this change and held a great banquet for when the child was born; he
invited everyone in the kingdom, even the seven Elder Faeries. However, the king
decided against fetching the Elder Faerie that was nearly on the outskirts of
the kingdom, as she had wronged the monarchs more than she had helped. The last
thing he wanted was for something to go wrong and have their precious child
given an abhorrent gift.
The day
finally came and Aveline birthed the radiant baby girl, naming her Aurora. She was
darling, with eyes like the summer sky and hair of light silk. The king and queen
instantly fell in love with her and wanted to show everyone what a gift she
was. And so the banquet was held, filling up the dining hall to the brim with
happy folk, music, and food. Soon the time came for the Elder Faeries to bestow
their gifts upon Aurora and in turn each one gazed upon the babe and gave her
virtue, beauty, and riches among other things. The seventh was preparing to
give her gift when the doors to the hall burst open, revealing the uninvited
Elder Faerie.
“It
seems you have started the festivities without me,” she purred, hobbling toward
Aurora’s cradle. She squinted her beady eyes at the child and sneered. “Since
you have deigned invite me, dear King, I shall bestow your darling child with
the most glorious gift I can give. On her eighteenth birthday, she will give
into her curiosity and prick her finger upon a spinning wheel, falling down
dead.”
The
gathered crowd gasped and began shouting protests which the Elder Faerie
quieted with a glare. She wheezed out a horrific laugh as she watched the
terror on the king’s and queen’s faces. Aveline stumbled over to the cradle to
hold her child close to her bosom. The Elder Faerie disappeared in the blink of
an eye and left the hall speechless.
The
seventh Elder Faerie spoke softly, reminding them that she still had something
to give. The king pleaded with her to take back what the uninvited Elder Faerie
had done, but the seventh said it could not be done. She could only soften the
sentence. With that, she turned the fate of death into a deep sleep that only
an expression of true love could break. Immediately following this, the king
ordered every spinning wheel to be burned.
As
Aurora grew up, her parents kept a very close eye on her, which she despised
greatly. They never allowed her to wander further than the castle walls even
when she longed to venture through the woods and explore. Her heart was caged
and she didn’t have many friends – this made her crazy and depressed much like
her mother before.
At last,
one of the maids that had come from a distant kingdom to work at the castle
decided to sneak little Aurora outside in order to let her be free. However,
she did not know about the spinning wheel and Aurora’s fate, so she thought the
King and Queen were being exceedingly harsh on the poor teenager when she so
much desired just to go outside and dance among the trees. Every night she
heard her longing and crying out to the starry sky to take her away. Her soul
was trapped and needed the nourishment that freedom provided. The maid pitied
her and so disguised her as a maid and let her out the back toward the forest.
Aurora thanked her continuously, her face lighting up in a way that the maid
had never seen before.
Aurora
ran into the forest and threw herself down upon a pile of leaves, giggling with
joy. The creatures of the forest were attracted to her and enjoyed the freedom
with her, jumping around and twittering along with her songs. She loved it so
much that when she returned to the castle, she begged the maid to let her go
out at least once every week, to which the woman agreed. What harm would be
done? She was just a curious child in need of the adventure.
Every
Tuesday evening when the king and queen were occupied in a meeting, the maid
snuck Aurora out. One night, Aurora ran into a boy about her age in the wood
playing much like she was. At first she didn’t know how to react, but then he
smiled at her, stuck his hand in the mud by the stream he had been playing in,
and threw it at her. A mud fight began between the youngsters and instantly
they were friends. When it was time for them to leave, they promised they would
meet each other in the wood every Tuesday and play.
This
pattern carried on until they were older, Aurora on the edge of eighteen and
the boy, Philippe, nearly twenty. All that time, however, neither of them
thought it important to disclose that they were heirs to their respective
kingdoms – in their eyes they were just friends, not a prince and princess.
Aurora’s parents and Philippe’s parents had no idea of their relationship.
On
Aurora’s eighteenth birthday a huge feast was held in her honor and she
received many gifts. It was a fun day, but she couldn’t stop thinking of
Philippe and wishing he were there to celebrate with her, but of course she
could not tell her parents about him. That would lead to many questions she
didn’t want to answer and she didn’t want to get the gracious maid in trouble.
That
evening, after everything was over, Aurora went up to her bed chamber and got
dressed for the night. She walked out onto her balcony to overlook the forest
that had helped raise her and noticed a door that she couldn’t recall ever
being there before. She crossed the balcony and opened it, stepping lightly up
the spiral staircase until she reached the top. There in the room sat a
spinning wheel, but she didn’t know what it was. Finding the thing wondrous and
intriguing, she went over to it and examined it, running her hands over the
wheel until she accidentally poked her finger on the needle. She fell to the
ground, eyes closed, chest moving slowly up and down. It wasn’t until morning
when her mother was calling her down to breakfast that she was found. Aveline
wept as the servants laid Aurora down in her bed.
In the
next Tuesday that passed, Philippe awaited Aurora’s presence for hours,
wondering where she could be. Having watched her go in a specific direction
when she left, he sought her out. At last he came upon a kingdom where the
castle was overgrown with thorns. He found this strange, but when he ventured
further into the town, the people all seemed very sad. He asked for Aurora many
times and each person turned their face away in sorrow. Confused and
frustrated, he thought perhaps he could get an audience with the monarchs,
seeing as he was a prince, and ask them if they knew of the girl.
A
handful of people were standing outside the thorn castle looking very grim. He
approached them and introduced himself. The king and queen came forth, eyes red
and cheeks sad, and inquired what a prince from his kingdom wanted there.
“Aurora,”
he said firmly. “I am searching for a girl by the name of Aurora. Do you know
where I might find her?”
Aveline
began to weep and the king consoled her before turning piercing eyes on the
boy. A short interrogation was had and Philippe confessed he had been seeing
her in the forest every Tuesday. The king told him that she was unreachable and
in a deep sleep; he’d have to forget her and move on. Philippe, determined now
because of the impossibility, asked him which room was hers and promised to
save her. Frederic, at the end of his rope, allowed the boy his permission but
held the sinking hope in his heart that he would die trying.
Philippe
borrowed a horse, galloped back to his kingdom and gathered a small force with
weapons to cut through the thick thorns surrounding the castle. In haste, he
returned and began hacking away, steadfast and certain he would prevail. The
rest of the men in his force didn’t have much luck, but Philippe managed to
find a doorway and chopped with his sword until it gave. He stormed through the
dining hall and searched the castle, never stopping even when more thorns grew
up ferociously through the ground and tore at his clothes and skin.
Finally
he got to Aurora’s chambers, blood dripping from multiple gashes over his body,
one coloring his cheek. When he gazed upon her he smiled, and said, “Aurora…all
that time we spent in the wood and I could never tell you, but now, I have no
fear. I love you, Little Briar-Rose, and I want you to be my Queen.”
Caught
up in the passion, he bent over and kissed her delicately on the lips. Her blue
eyes slowly opened and cleared themselves of sleep and when she saw him, she
smiled too.
“Philippe,”
she murmured, “that would make me so very happy.”
Immediately
the thorns withered and died away, leaving the castle free once more and the
town rejoiced, knowing the spell was broken. Both kingdoms were overjoyed that
their only children had found love and didn’t hesitate to throw a wedding.
Aurora and Philippe were married and their kingdoms became one. They lived on
happily for the rest of their days, always taking time to walk through the
woods that had brought them together.
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A creative assignment written for my English class last semester. We had to take a fairy tale and modernize it/put our own twist on it. As is obvious, I chose Sleeping Beauty, which is probably my favorite fairy tale.
The tone is supposed to be a bit silly and out there - hopefully I did it right. Anyway, enjoy.
V
