"Your reign has started," said Evalina, her voice brimming with excitement as both sisters reached the sacred circle. "Mowena, I can't tell you how happy I am. Years of waiting, of planning, are finally over."

The Wicked Fairy's eyes gleamed with a dark light as she advanced toward the wand.

"You will never be the fairy queen!" Briar yelled. She clutched the vial tightly, feeling its cool glass against her palm. The sisters turned to her.

The Wicked Fairy rolled her eyes. "Don't waste my time, girl," she spat.

Briar's heart pounded in her chest as she slowly made her way toward the sacred circle. "And I'm not your servant," she declared, her voice growing stronger with each step.

Without warning, Briar leaped at the fairies, her body propelled by a surge of determination. Time seemed to slow as she flung the vial's contents at the evil sisters. The liquid arced through the air, catching the light as it splashed over the Wicked Fairy and Evalina.

The moment the liquid touched them, the fairies froze. Their eyes widened in horror, their mouths open in a silent scream of agony. For a brief, surreal moment, they stood like statues, their bodies rigid and unmoving. Then, as if in slow motion, they toppled to the ground, their limbs sprawled awkwardly.

Briar sprang forward, her heart racing, and grabbed the Wand of Elements. As soon as her fingers closed around it, a torrent of power surged through her, making her gasp. It was as if she had been struck by lightning, her veins buzzing with golden energy that crackled and sizzled under her skin. She felt her muscles tighten, and her senses sharpen. She felt invincible.

She felt dangerous. She felt fearless. She felt supreme.

The wand's energy coursed through her, filling her with a sense of purpose and strength she had never known. And now Briar understood why the Wicked Fairy wanted this power so desperately.

"Sleeping Beauty," the Wicked Fairy's voice thundered. Briar turned to see the fairy pushing herself to her feet, her eyes blazing with fury. The liquid's effect had worn off. "Give me the wand!" she demanded.

Briar faced the fairy who had destroyed her kingdom and cursed her twice, her heart hardened by the memory of her father's monstrous transformation. Hate filled her veins, mingling with the wand's power. "The wand is mine," Briar said, her voice steady and unwavering. For the first time, she stood before the Wicket Fairy without trembling, without fear.

A flicker of fear flashed in the Wicked Fairy's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by anger. "It's not yours!" she yelled. "It belongs to me! I've waited years, centuries, to get it."

"And you will never get it," Briar said confidently, her grip on the wand tightening.

Evalina staggered to her feet. She advanced a step toward Briar, but when she saw the Wand of Elements in Briar's hand, she hesitated.

The Wicked Fairy's face turned a deep shade of red, her nostrils flaring with anger. Briar wouldn't have been surprised if flames had burst from her nose. "I'm asking you one last time," she bellowed, her voice echoing through the shrine. "GIVE ME THE WAND!"

"Never," Briar replied, her eyes locking with the fairy's blazing gaze. "The sooner you accept it, the easier it will be for you."

The Wicked Fairy's face twisted with rage, and she screamed, "Then I have no choice but to kill you!" She raised her wand and sent a lightning bolt streaking toward Briar, its electric tendrils snapping through the air.

But somehow, Briar knew what to do. It was as if the wand guided her. She lifted the Wand of Elements, and it sent out a jet of golden light that met the Wicked Fairy's lightning bolt in mid-air. The two forces collided with a deafening boom like thunder clapping in the sky. The shockwave rippled through the shrine, sending dust and debris flying.

The Wicked Fairy staggered back, her face a mask of disbelief.

"Let's make a deal," the Wicked Fairy said. "I won't make you my servant if you give me the wand."

Briar chuckled, a dry, mirthless sound. "Oh, yes, I trust you with all my heart," she said sarcastically.

"I'll break the curse," the Wicked Fairy offered, her tone suddenly pleading. "Your kingdom won't be filled with monsters. We still have time."

"I know how to break the curse," Briar said. In her heart, she knew the truth. "When you die, the curse will be broken."

The Wicked Fairy's eyes widened with shock and fear. She backed away, her wings unfurling in a desperate attempt to escape. "No!" she screamed, her voice filled with panic. She took to the sky, her wings beating frantically.

Briar raised the wand and sent a large fireball hurtling toward the fairy. It struck her left wing, engulfing it in flames. She shrieked in agony as she tumbled from the sky, crashing to the ground in a heap.

"Evalina!" the Wicked Fairy screamed. "Don't just stand there. Help me!"

Evalina raised her wand. But Briar was ready. She lifted the wand and summoned a giant tornado from the earth. The swirling vortex of wind and debris engulfed Evalina, trapping her within its whirling fury. Evalina's screams were lost in the roar of the tornado as it lifted her off her feet, spinning her helplessly.

The Wicked Fairy stood alone in the ruins of the shrine. She looked around, her eyes wide with desperation. She was helpless, just as Briar had once felt, just as her father felt, just as every single human in her kingdom had felt under the fairy's cruel reign.

The Wicked Fairy staggered to her feet, her movements slow and labored. Her once proud wings hung limply at her sides, their delicate membranes tattered and torn. "You think this is over?" she snarled, her voice a low, menacing growl. "You've only delayed the inevitable."

Briar stepped forward, her eyes blazing with determination. "This is over, Mowena," she said. "Now."

Briar's mind was flooded with images of her kingdom's suffering. She saw the thorn monsters. She saw her father, his eyes wild with the curse, throwing the table and roaring like a beast. She saw her mother, her face streaked with tears, crying in despair. She saw the pain and anguish that the Wicked Fairy had inflicted on her loved ones and countless innocent lives.

A wave of hatred surged through Briar's heart, spreading through her veins like wildfire. The pain and suffering of her people fueled her anger, turning it into a fierce, burning rage. All she could feel was hate, a pure and all-consuming hatred that blotted out any remnants of compassion or mercy.

The Wand of Elements seemed to resonate with her emotions, vibrating with a powerful energy. It lifted itself in her hand, glowing with a fierce, multicolored light. Lightning bolts of blue, green, and gold shot out from the wand, their energy crackling through the air with a deafening roar. The bolts struck the Wicked Fairy in the heart, their impact sending ripples of power through her frail body.

The Wicked Fairy screamed a high-pitched, agonized wail that echoed through the shrine. She clutched her heart, her fingers clawing at her chest as if trying to tear the pain away. Her body convulsed, her wings fluttering weakly in a desperate attempt to escape the torment. Then, with a final, shuddering breath, she crumpled to the ground, her body falling limp and lifeless.

Silence fell over the shrine, a heavy, oppressive silence that pressed down on Briar like a weight. She stood there for a few seconds, her breath coming in ragged gasps, her heart pounding in her chest. The air around her was still as if the world itself was holding its breath, waiting for what would happen next.

"She's gone," Briar whispered. The words hung in the air, a final, irrevocable truth that seemed to echo in the space around her.

A sudden weakness washed over her, the adrenaline that had fueled her rage draining away, leaving her feeling hollow and exhausted. Her legs gave out, and she fell to her knees, the wand slipping from her grasp and clattering to the ground.

"Briar!" a voice called out, urgent and filled with concern. Through her blurred vision, Briar saw the fairy godmother rushing toward her. Behind her, a group of fairies followed.

Briar heard their muffled voices, their words a jumbled, indistinct murmur that she could barely make out. She felt their hands on her shoulders, their touch gentle and comforting, but it seemed distant as if she were drifting away from them, sinking into a dark, endless void.

"Stay with us, Briar," the fairy godmother's voice cut through the haze. "You're safe now. We're here. You're safe."

But the darkness was relentless, pulling her under, wrapping her in its cold, inescapable embrace. Her vision dimmed, the world around her fading into shadow until all that remained was a black, impenetrable silence. And then, finally, even that was gone.

_____