New Sleeping Beauty Twist

[VladJunior]

My twelve year old daughter came up with a short story using sleeping beauty as the background idea, but all twisted:

 

A young lady, looking no older than sixteen, lies in state on a bed of soft cushions, encased in a chamber of glass. Her bed rests in the middle of the throne room where all who come before the King and Queen must pass to gaze on her inert form. She is perfect. She is flawless. She is beautiful. She has been asleep for eons, millennia.

 

Nobody remembers how she was laid so peacefully in the glass chamber or by whom. The writing on the outside curtain of stainless steel and on the etching in the glass is in an ancient language, unspoken and unknown. The stories told in the kingdom range from wild rumor to passably plausible. She is an angel from heaven. She is a princess whose heart was broken by a mean prince. She is a victim of a witch's deep magic. No, it was an evil fairy. No, it was her parents who were jealous and couldn't stand that she was so beautiful.

 

She can be rescued. She can be awaken.

 

But nobody really knows how.

 

For thousands of years the people of Grimmundy have peered at her perfect shape, her perfect hair, her peaceful face, and wondered: Who is this Sleeping Beauty?

 

The prince of Grimmundy thinks he knows the answer. He has discovered a tale of love and deceit. Where this young lady was to marry a handsome prince, just like him. But before they could be betrothed, an evil fairy, who was jealous of her love and who wanted to marry the prince herself, came and cast a spell on her. On her sixteenth birthday, she pricked her hand on the needle of a spinning wheel, and fell into a deep, deathlike sleep. 

 

But she can be rescued. She can be awaken.

The young prince, only just sixteen himself, conspires to break the glass and awaken the sleeping lady whose name he knows not, but whose beauty has captured his heart.

 

One night, while the rest of the kingdom sleeps, the young prince makes his way to the throne room in the heart of Aurora Castle. In his trembling hands he holds a torch and a knife. Nobody has been able to scratch the glass or dent the steel. It sits as unblemished as its occupant while the prince shuffles close in the midnight hour. He takes his time. No rush. He stares at her face, at her smile and wonders, "what does she dream of?"

 

Setting the torch on the floor, prince holds the knife above his palm. Strange shadows begin to play on the columns of the room. But the prince doesn't notice. He is focused on the prize. He knows this will work. It is what the story requires: sacrifice and love. He can offer both.

 

Without hesitation he pulls the knife across his left hand, drawing a thin line of blood. He squeezes his hand shut tight and holds it over the glass just above her chest that still rises and falls in that slow, hypnotic way. Blood is required, the story goes. Only one willing to spill his own blood for her can destroy the glass barrier.

 

One drop reaches the glass and he sees a sizzle. Two drops. Three. And the glass shatters. Not onto the princess. The glass simply parts in pieces around the container. The prince is cut. He is bleeding now from many more shallow cuts from the exploding glass. But he does not notice. His gaze is transfixed on the beautiful sleeping lady.

 

This is it. The moment of proof. Is the story real. It must be. The glass broke. And now, the kiss of one who loves her.

 

The prince bends down and kisses the sleeping lady softly on the lips. He pours all of his love, passion and hope into the kiss. It is a sweet kiss. Softly done and steadfastly made.

 

The prince opens his eyes to see the lady staring at him. It worked!

 

The lady rises, causing the prince to step back. "I saved you, my lady. With the kiss of true love you awake! Please let me help you down."

 

The lady stares open mouthed, as if in awe, at the prince and then her eyes scan the room. The prince can see intelligence in those eyes. She is taking in the sights and sounds, the aromas and the feelings in the room. Her hands caress the soft pillows of her mattress and then the fabric of her dress. Slowly, her hands rise to her head and her hair. Her mouth turns from awe to... annoyance?

 

With surprising speed and grace, Sleeping Beauty slides off of her bed of over a thousand years and stands before the bleeding prince. Her savior. The man who woke her from the sleep of death.

 

She looks him up and down and notices his smile, his good looks, his desire for her,... and his knife. Without hesitation, she grabs the knife from his hands and stabs him in the gut. In perfect Grimmundy, without a hint of an accent, she tells him, "Thank you for waking me. Your services are no longer needed."

 

She jerks the knife out as the prince slumps to the marble floor. She steps over his writhing body and walks towards the two thrones at the head of the room. The prince manages to look up at her and gasp, "Why? I saved you."  Sleeping Beauty does not turn to look at him until she sits on the throne... the King's throne.

 

"Who are you?" The prince asks, not believing the cold, hateful gleam in her beautiful eyes. He knows now that she is a killer. She is not good, but evil. And she sits on the throne of the kingdom as though she is familiar with it. Now the prince knows, but it is too late. Blood is required, because nobody would ever bleed for her. A kiss is required, because who would love and kiss the devil. "What have I done?" he thinks as his life grows dim.

 

"Who am I? I am the bringer of death, the true fear. I am Aurora, daughter of Eve. And I thank you for waking me. My kingdom is at hand."

[maxal she/her]

I absolutely loved it. Poor prince   And princes coming to life as fully fleshed characters are one of my pet peeves, so I really enjoyed reading it. Nice twist at the end, I guessed the princess was evil, but I didn't think she'd kill the poor prince.

[Zathoth]

I like it. I love twisted fairy tales, and this is very interestingly twisted.

[Nyali she/her]

That was great xD I love re-purposed fairy tales. Some friends of mine ran a game full of them - in that game, Sleeping Beauty was a vampire in torpor.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

That was quite good. Like others here, I'd guessed that there was something bad about waking Sleeping Beauty, but the reveal at the end was definitely satisfying. 

[VladJunior]

Thanks for all of the positive feedback. I let my daughter read the comments. She told me she wanted to do some more foretelling with light and shadow but didn't work it in. Like maybe the bed is in perpetual sunlight or lamplight, and then the shadows creep in at the end to surround the throne. I think it works as it is. She got the idea after reading the Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis. She said that the Ice Queen reminded her of Sleeping Beauty.