Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty
In a sunlit kingdom, where the breeze carried the scent of orange blossom, Princess Aurora was born.
Her parents, King Felipe and Queen Constanza, held a grand celebration to welcome her. They invited six kind fairies to give their daughter gifts that would light up her life.
“May your beauty shine as brightly as the light of dawn.”
The first fairy proclaimed, placing a silver rose upon the little princess’s cradle.
“May your laughter be a source of endless joy.”
The second fairy murmured, holding out an emerald-green silk ribbon.
The other fairies gave her wisdom, courage and kindness.
“How dare you ignore me!”
All at once, an icy gust of wind blew the doors wide open.
It was Carabosse, the dreaded sorceress, the only fairy who had not been invited.
She raised her blackened staff and approached the cradle.
“Before she turns sixteen, the princess will prick herself on a spindle…”
“…and die.”
A cry of horror rose from the queen.
“Guards! Seize this witch!”
But Carabosse vanished in a dark smoky cloud.
In the midst of the confusion, the Lilac Fairy, who had not yet given her gift, stepped forward and raised her purple wand.
“I cannot undo the spell completely.”
“But I can soften its power:”
“The princess will not die, but fall into a deep sleep… from which only a kiss of true love will wake her.”
A soft violet glow enveloped the little princess.
Years passed as the court destroyed every spinning wheel and spindle in the kingdom.
Yet when Aurora’s sixteenth birthday came, fate found a way to take its course.
“What is this curious thing?”
The young princess asked, discovering a forgotten spindle in a dusty tower.
She barely brushed the needle before a tiny drop of blood welled from her finger.
There was a great rumbling sound, as though the earth’s very depths were twisting.
Afterwards, a silence as thick as the mist fell over the palace.
The king, the queen, the court and the servants fell into a deep sleep, one after another. Even the kitchens fell still, and the birds stopped singing.
Dark brambles and sharp-stemmed flowers grew around the castle, hiding it from the world.
Aurora slept at the top of the tower.
And the whole palace stood frozen in time, waiting for someone who could break the spell.
Beneath the orange glow of the evening sky, a prince rode with his companions through the woods that surrounded the palace.
The thunder of the horses’ hooves and the barking of the hounds announced a hunt.
“There, in the trees!”
One guard exclaimed, pointing to the outline of a deer.
The prince tightened the reins, but did not follow it.
“Go on without me. I need to be alone.”
As his companions left, he drew the sword inherited from his father. Its steel reminded him of a life of duty and an arranged marriage.
“What does everyone expect of me?”
He murmured.
From then on, a young woman dressed in pink began appearing in his dreams.
“What are you searching for, Prince?”
She would ask, before hiding, laughing, in a forest of brambles and roses.
One morning, as the prince wandered through the forest, a purple flash lit up the undergrowth.
From out of the shadows, the Lilac Fairy emerged.
“Destiny is calling you to a faraway place.”
“Who are you? What do you want from me?”
“A whole kingdom lies sleeping under a spell. And the answer you are searching for lies beyond these woods.”
The prince remembered the young woman from his dreams.
“Please, guide me.”
And he set off.
He ventured deep into a forest so thick that the light could barely filter through the treetops above.
“Keep going. Don’t be afraid.”
A voice whispered from a glowing rose.
As he passed, flowers shimmering with violet light opened a path through the undergrowth.
“Are you truly ready to face what awaits you?”
A cold voice rang out.
Carabosse took shape among the dry leaves.
“You have no place here, boy.”
The sorceress dissolved like mist, leaving her laughter hanging in the air.
Then a roar shook the forest.
A dragon with steely scales emerged from between the trees. Carabosse had transformed. Its eyes blazed with emerald fire.
“Show me, young prince, whether your courage is as steadfast as those flowers that guide you.”
The prince gripped his sword.
“I will not let fear rule my destiny!”
He urged his horse into a gallop and faced the dragon, fire clashing with steel.
Fire brushed his armour; the prince dodged the dragon’s claws and charged once more.
At last, he pierced the monster’s scales, and it dissolved into a swirling spiral of black mist.
Exhausted, he leaned on his sword. Then he stood and continued along the path of flowers.
In the distance, beyond the walls of brambles, a castle stood waiting, wrapped in silence.
The prince stopped before a wall of thorns.
“Do not turn back.”
The voice of the Lilac Fairy whispered to him.
He raised his sword, cutting the first stems. With a crack, the brambles began parting before him.
Beyond, he found a silent courtyard. The great hall doors opened before him. Inside, the king, queen, courtiers and servants slept, held captive by the same spell.
A murmur guided him to the top of the tower.
On a silken bed, Aurora lay sleeping.
The prince recognised the young woman from his dreams and bent down to kiss her.
A warm glow filled the room.
Aurora opened her eyes and smiled.
He took her hand.
Down below, sleep loosened its hold. The king, queen and court awoke, the gardens burst into flower, and the wind brought the sound of birdsong back again.
Not long afterwards, Aurora and the prince came before the kingdom to be married.
And so a new life began for both of their kingdoms, and for two hearts that had at last found their own destiny.
And that is all... for the moment.
Til the next tale.