Princess Briar flew up the grand stone steps of the castle tower, her little fairy maiden, Raisa, fluttering behind her. Today was her sixteenth birthday, and her father the King had permitted her to explore the castle to her heart's desire. She had never seen the towers of the castle, having been protected all her life from even the smallest of dangers. Even now Raisa had been sent along to be sure she was never in danger. My parents worry too much, she smiled, It is as if they think I should die from the tiniest prick of a needle.

Upon reaching the top of the staircase, Briar found a large wooden door. She smiled brightly in anticipation and turned to the fae. "Shall we see what lies on the other side, dear Raisa?"

"It seems quite mysterious." Raisa inspected the door, tracing her delicate fingers along the aged wood. Her tiny features furrowed into a soft frown. "I have never known this room existed. It is as if..."

"Oh, come along, Raisa! I do wish to see what is behind this door." Briar set her hand on the door handle, pushed it open and entered the small mysterious room.

The room was not quite so exciting as Briar thought it would be. In fact, it was quite simple and drab in appearance. The stone walls were only ten feet in length, and old straw lay in musty heaps in three of the four corners. In the fourth sat a woman, haggard and wrinkled with age, beside an old wooden spinning wheel. At the sight of the young princess, the woman smiled and beckoned for her to come in.

"Hello, my dear. And who are you?"

Briar waved Raisa away and moved to stand before the old woman. "I am Her Royal Highness, princess Briar." At the sound of the name, the woman perked up, dropping the straw she was spinning to clasp Briar's delicate hands in her own rough ones.

"Oh, dearest majesty! How kind of you to visit me, an old, humble woman. I am sincerely honored beyond all words."

Briar beamed with joy, then turned her gaze to the ancient spinning wheel. "And what is this, dear lady?"

"Do you not know? 'Tis a spinning wheel."

Raisa started at the name, fluttering her little wings as she flew before the princess to inspect the object. "A spinning wheel? Oh, no, no! Princess, we really must be going. I have important news to tell the King. Please, princess, I beg you to leave with me at once."

Briar ignored the sprite and peered closer at the wheel, in awe of the beautiful thing. "I have never seen one before."

"Oh?" The old woman replied, her voice not at all surprised. She swept up a handful of straw from the floor. "Then would you like to see how it is used?"

"Princess..." Raisa urged.

"Yes. Yes, I would love that." Briar knelt beside the woman, watching her weave the straw into part of the side of the device and push the wheel so that it spun furiously. The old woman's bony fingers were nimble, keeping the straw taut as it spun through one side and out the other. Briar's eyes widened as she witnessed the yellow straw come through and wrap around the bobbin, no longer straw but golden thread shining like the sun after a storm.

"How did you do that?" She exclaimed, overjoyed at the magical thing she had witnessed.

"'Tis easy, dear princess." Replied the old woman. "Would you like to try?"

Briar's eyes lit up. "Me? Oh, yes!" The woman stood up from her chair and beckoned for her to sit down.

"Princess, I beg you not to touch this devilish thing!" Raisa flew to hover directly in front of Briar's face. Her little eyes were round with fear. "You must come with me. This entire room does not feel right. Have you forgotten the curse?"

"Oh, nonsense." The princess laughed, sitting down in the rickety chair. The old woman leaned close to her and handed her a small tuft of straw. "I am in no danger. The curse said I would sleep if I should prick my finger. See? There is positively nothing sharp on this wheel. No needles, no knives, no-"

Raisa's eyes widened as she watched Briar moved to set her hand upon the wheel. "No, princess! Wait!" But the princess had already rested her fingers upon the cursed device. The ancient wheel had become worn and rough over time, and pieces of the wood had splintered. The princess unwittingly lay her hand across such a piece, pricking her finger on one of the tiny splinters which only Raisa could see. Instantly the princess started, staring at the tiny drop of blood trickling from her finger. She raised her frightened eyes to her little fairy friend. Her eyelids drooped and her head began to swim with drowsiness.

"Raisa...help...me..." She slumped in the chair, the dark magic having done its work. That was what Raisa had felt, why she had frowned upon seeing the door. The horrid magic. She had not known, but the magic of the curse had concealed the room until this sixteenth year of Briar's life, thus saving one wheel from the destruction to protect the beloved princess.

Raisa screamed and flew to the dormant princess, her wings fluttering violently as she cried out to her. She begged the old woman to hurry and inform the King and Queen. The old woman only laughed. It was a calloused laugh, evil and full of scorn. As she straightened her posture, a strange and terrifying transformation occurred. Magic swirled about her as she grew from an old hag to a dark villainess. Ebony horns protruded in evils whorls from her head, and her skin turned a pale green, standing out from the purple and black cloak that appeared from the air and wrapped around her. Her yellow eyes shone with triumph as she laughed at the tiny fairy.

"You tried so hard to save your beloved princess! You thought she was safe from the curse, but she was never safe from me!" With a swirl of her scepter, she vanished from the room, leaving only the echoes of her poisonous howl to taunt the fairy crying over her dear princess whom she could not save.

The King had decreed that all the royalty, staff and servants of the castle be put to sleep by the fairies of the land until the hundred years passed and the prophecy was fulfilled. At the time of Briar's slumber, the fairy Merryweather had looked into the future and had seen a young prince who would come to awaken the princess. This was the prophecy, one which would endure a century until the time came for it to be completed.

➖

Years passed by, and time long forgot the castle and of the royalty and their servants who had fallen asleep. Vines as thick as trees had grown up around the castle, concealing it from view. Jutting from the vines were thorns like knives, threatening any who dared to come near the wall of vines. The story of the princess' curse became a folk tale, a legend for the villagers to tell willing passersby. Only the oldest of the villagers, the few who had been mere babes at the time of the slumber, knew the tale was true. Their parents had told them the story time and again until they had passed on. And though many believed it to be only a story, few dared to step near the wall of thorns, and none had successfully broken through to see if the castle indeed existed.

On a fine day in the hundredth year, a stately young man riding a dappled steed entered the village. As he rode through the dusty streets, the villagers watched and whispered amongst themselves. Is that the prince? Is he the one the fairy spoke of who would save the princess? The man did not stop until he had reached a cottage at the edge of the village, whereupon he dismounted and entered the abode, leaving his horse to graze on the soft green grass outside. The cottage was a humble one, holding bedroom, kitchen, and washroom all in one room. A little bed stood in one corner, a shelf and basin in the other, and a table with three chairs stood in the center. To the left of where the young man stood, a short elfin fairy dressed in green was rocking to and fro in a rocking chair. He dusted off his cape and rapped on the doorframe, announcing his arrival.

"Mistress Merryweather?"

The rocking stopped, and the fairy turned her head toward his voice. "I...I do believe I recognize that voice. It is so...familiar. But, oh, you sound too young to be Prince Henry. Who are you then?"

The young man smiled and moved across the one-room cottage to stand beside her. "I am his grandson. I am Prince Phillip."

The fairy's milky white eyes filled with tears, and she reached out her hands, searching to clasp his own. He held his hands out for her, and she found them and gave them a squeeze. "Oh, has it been so long? You finally came, just as I knew you would."

The Prince smirked, not quite sure of what he was hearing. "What do you mean, dear fairy? How did you know I would be here?"

"The prophecy told us."

"Prophecy?"

"Of the princess, of her curse. She sleeps in the castle on the hill. Surely you saw it while you were traveling."

"I saw a curious structure upon the hill," Phillip affirmed, gazing confusedly into the fairy's time-worn face. "Though I saw no castle, nor a princess with a curse."

Merryweather cocked her head to one side. "Then why did you come?"

"My father, King Christopher, bade me come here and meet you. It was...it was his dying request." Phillip lowered his head. A mere few months had passed since his father had died. He had lent the throne to his brother until he should complete his father's request and return. "He commanded that I find you, that you would tell me of a vital task which I must complete. One that would require the whole of my power to complete."

Merryweather reached her fingers up until she found his face, and she gently wiped away a tear which had fallen from his eye. "I am so sorry, dear prince. You have a hard, short road ahead of you, and I am deeply saddened for you."

"Is this road paved by the curse and the sleeping princess you spoke of?"

"Yes." She sighed and leaned back in her rocking chair. "You are the prince who will save her from this curse."

"How?" Phillip whispered.

Merryweather opened her blind eyes, tapping her fingers against the arms of her chair. She had a habit of tapping her fingers when she was preparing to tell a story. And this would be a long and sorrowful one.

➖

Maleficent paced the length of her chamber, the sharp edges of her cloak gliding across the floor behind her. She had seen the horse and rider enter the village and stop at the blind old fairy's cottage. He was a prince, and a brave one at that. She despised brave princes with all of her blackened heart.

"So the darling little prince thinks he can rescue the slumbering princess?" She mused, stroking her long, cruel fingers through the feathers of the raven who was perched on her shoulder. "Well, by now he knows the story of the curse I put upon her. Only a prince can save her, only a brave and honorable one can fight his way to the castle, and..."

She smiled devilishly at her bird, who seemed to grin back with his large beak.

"And only one willing to give his all for her can awaken the princess with True Love's kiss."

➖

Phillip leaned forward and gave his horse a pat on the neck. The beast snorted its admiration, trotting up the hillside toward the overgrown monument of thorns. Merryweather had stood at the base of the hill, listening to the companions' departure. The prince looked back at the village in the valley below, but he was not looking for Merryweather. She had long since hobbled back to her cottage. Instead he was watching the black-cloaked creature trudging up the hill behind him. She was not far off, seeming to be closer and closer each time he looked back. He knew who she was; Mayweather had told him of the evil Maleficent, the one who had cursed the princess and tricked her in a magic-ridden tower on her sixteenth birthday. She would come for him, try to persuade him to turn back. Phillip straightened his posture, determined to not be persuaded.

Within the hour, the rider and steed had arrived at the edge of the gnarled wall of thorn-laden vines. Prince Phillip took one last look over his shoulder at the far-off village and at the villainess mere feet away from him. She stood by his side, her white teeth revealed in a heinous grin.

"Care to turn back?" She cooed. "While you still have a chance, that is."

"I am not afraid."

"Pah! Everyone is afraid of this. The courageous are the ones who lie to themselves and say they are brave when they are not."

"Then I will lie to myself. I am not afraid of you or this task that lies before me. I only wish to wake the princess and restore happiness to the kingdom."

"Happiness?" Maleficent spat, balling her long fingers into a fist. She beat her scepter against the soft earth. "Fauna and Flora died believing in their stupid fairy tale! They thought a prince would save their princess and restore happiness to the kingdom. Do you really believe there will be happiness when you awaken the princess?"

"You are taunting me, fae." The prince growled, drawing his sword to cut through the brambles.

"Taunting? Oh, no. I am simply telling you the truth." Maleficent leaned forward, close enough to whisper in his ear. "Are you willing to lose everything to save Merryweather's dear little princess?"

He furrowed his brow, gripping his sword tighter. "Yes." As he uttered the word, the thorns on the vines disintegrated and soft purple blossoms took their place. Phillip stepped forward, and the vines bowed and parted, forming a passage in which he could walk through to the castle.

Maleficent laughed softly to herself as she watched him trudge forward through the passage. "How foolishly brave of him. Well, I shall have my curse one way or another." She stepped into the passage to follow him, and the vines closed the entrance behind her.

➖

The atmosphere of the castle was thick with ancient magic. All was still as the prince walked through the castle. He encountered many slumbering people, servants, knights and royalty. Some were leaned against walls and chairs, others lay on the cold stone floor. Every person seemed to have remained in the same place as they had fallen, not having stirred in one hundred years.

Phillip stepped over a pair of sleeping knights and walked up the long staircase which Merryweather had said would lead to the room where the princess lay in her slumber. Each step set his heart heavier and heavier; he doubted himself. Surely there was another way, or another prince. Someone else would come along and save the princess. He stopped on the staircase, gazing back to where he had come from. Maleficent was following closely, glaring at him with cold eyes. He set his jaw and turned away. No, he would not neglect his task. His one True Love was waiting for him to wake her. He could not abandon her.

He reached the top step and found himself facing a large wooden door, covered in century-old cobwebs and dust. He swept a hand across the dust, clearing it to reveal the symbol of a rose cut into the door. "Briar." He whispered, tracing his finger around the carven symbol. His hand reached for the handle, and he pushed the door open. Maleficent cackled softly as he entered the room.

The room was ancient. Cobwebs hung in every nook; dust cling to every surface. Yet in the middle of the room, as if untouched by time, was a bed upon which lay a beautiful young woman. As Phillip stepped forward, feeling the magic which had kept the princess preserved in slumber for one hundred years. He stood over the bed, admiring his True Love. How beautiful she was, a smile hovering over her soft pink lips as she slept. Her silky rose-colored dress was framed by the golden hair which lay around her head like a shining halo.

Maleficent stood near the door, staring at him with a calculated gaze. Not long now. She would soon know whether he would abandon his princess or awaken her. He knew the curse which lay upon the girl, and only he could lift it. But would he?

"Dear princess." She heard him whisper. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to the princess' lips. Briar's eyelids flickered as she slowly opened her eyes and smiled up at her prince. Maleficent's mouth curved up in a evil smile. The curse was lifted.

"You have come." The princess sighed. "I dreamed of you, my prince, all these years."

Phillip took her soft hand in his own and smiled back. "I have come."

The princess, renewed with strength after a century of slumber, sat up on the bed and laughed joyously. "We must awaken my father and mother! And Raisa! They will want to thank you and give us their blessing. Oh! How happy-"

Phillip started and took a step backward, arching his back in pain. He gasped for breath, watching Maleficent with pleading eyes. She merely stood where she was, smiling cruelly at his suffering.

"What is wrong, my prince?" Briar stood, setting her hand on his shoulder.

He grasped the post of the bed to steady himself. He smiled painfully in spite of himself. Death did not care for True Love. The curse was acting quickly. He gazed into Briar's frightened eyes, his own filled with sorrow.

"Your Highness, your curse has been lifted, yet mine has begun. You will live in the waking world, and I must take your place in the sleeping world." He winced as the magic swirled around him, cutting into him. "That is why it took one hundred years to wake you. I was the only one willing to sacrifice myself for you."

Tears sprang up in the lovely princess's eyes. "But we have only just met. You are my True Love. You have saved me. You cannot die!"

"I have given my all to save you, my princess." He lifted a shaking hand to the girl's face, wiping the tears from her beautiful face.

"This is not right!"

"I have taken your place. I have fulfilled the prophecy."

"I do not will it!" She cried.

"This is something even royalty cannot undo." He fell to his knees, breathing heavily as the magic enveloped him, tearing into his soul. He painfully lifted his gaze to his beautiful princess. "You were a love worth dying for, dear one."

With one last breath, he collapsed on the stone floor beside Briar, who cried out and took him up in her arms, begging him to awaken. Maleficent laughed, her yellow eyes glaring with cruelty at the limp form of the prince. "This is the curse you wished to lift. You saved the princess, but no one can save you. There shall be no joyous celebrations, no wedding bells, no happily ever after!"

Her cackle grew louder as the dark magic renewed her curse. This time there would be no one hundred years time to save the prince. He had died to save his princess. He would sleep forever as the price for his lifting the curse. The mistress of evil vanished in a whirlwind of darkness, her triumphant laugh echoing within the cold stone hall of the ancient castle.