AN: I must apologize to all of those who are receiving an authors alert from me and expecting something of a different caliber to this. I will not be completing any old or publishing any new GG stories. At least for the time being. Please do read this story however, as it is something I have quite enjoyed writing. I plan to (possibly) follow this up with at least Cinderella's story.
After Happily Ever
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i. Doctor and the Waking Beauty.
Butterflies brushed against the walls of my stomach as I knocked on the large oak door. It towered dauntingly over my head and its width more than matched my height.
"Come in," commanded a smooth, melodic voice. The sound relaxed me somewhat as the large door swung open before me.
I hesitantly made my way into the well lit room. The walls were made of stone as ancient as the soil it was built upon and the floors were covered in thick, rich rugs that gave the room an inviting and warm feel despite its size.
At one end of the room sat the owner of the beautiful voice. She sat in a large red armchair by a roaring fire and looked positively melancholy. Despite her sadness, however, she was quite the stunning specimen. She had long rich hair like spun gold and pale delicate features with big, blue doe eyes.
"Princess S-Sleeping Beauty?" I questioned.
"Yes," she said, "Call me Princess Beauty."
"Of course," I said, "Princess Beauty. You beckoned my assistance?"
"Yes, Doctor, I do need your aid."
She looked so tired and helpless from her spot before the fire that I couldn't help but be drawn closer towards her. Her voice had a lifeless tone about it that left a listener mourning for the loss of liveliness it once had.
"I'm pleased to be of service, Princess Beauty. What troubles you?"
She met my eyes but maintained little focus. "I can't sleep Doctor. Not one wink. The second my eyes close the images surround me. I can still here the noise. I can hear the fire burning all the time."
She shot a look of disdain towards the fire she sat before.
"Would you like me to put it out?" I asked her politely.
She scoffed, "If I were to cater to my fears I would freeze to death within hours."
"I'm very sorry Princess Beauty," I said, "Tell me how this all started."
She sighed wistfully, "I'm sure you've heard the tale. I pricked my finger on a spinning wheel. It was drugged I suppose; something like that. I was so heavily asleep that I have no memory of what came next. Not until Prince Charming came at least. It was love at first sight-"
"Do you still love him?" I asked eagerly.
"Of course I do; More than anything."
"Then what's the problem?"
"It's the insomnia!" She cried, "I'm so scared that I'll fall asleep again and never wake up. It's a hell I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. God forbid I ever wish to sow again."
"What do you want me to do for you, Princess Beauty?" I asked her.
She paused, "I'm not really sure, Doctor. I can't take your medicine. I wont fall asleep again. I just need something for the pain. I need something to make it go away when it gets too much."
"What do you mean, it gets too much?"
I was too curious for my own good, but the Princess did not hesitate to answer.
"I do love Prince Charming, you mustn't ever doubt that. Only sometimes, as horrible as it is, I wish that he'd never bothered to save me."
I was shocked, "Why?"
"Because it was the last good night's sleep I'll ever have."
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ii. The Little Mermaid All Grown Up.
"I hate you!" Ariel screamed, throwing the sparkling fork at Eric's head.
"If you would just shut up for one moment and think about the economy!" Eric cried in frustration.
"Screw you and your Triton-damned economy! You're stupid port is going to cut off my kingdom's access to the rest of the sea!"
"They have the whole ocean to their disposal," said Eric, "I, on the other hand, have to do what's in the best interest of this Island and that means receiving goods from America. Thousands of people are relying on the profit this port is going to bring to this city and to their families."
"Well, thousands more are going to be cursing the famine and poverty it will be creating down below!" Ariel snapped.
"What am I supposed to tell the public? That they're going to have to starve to death next winter because I refuse to relocate some fish? God Ariel, you're so naive!"
Things had been fine between Ariel and Eric for a month or so. In fact, you'd never seen a couple so in love. They would spend hours wordlessly gazing into each other's eyes. Then the words came; therein lay the problem.
Ariel took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself.
"I may not have been raised up here, but I do know what it is like down there and if you think for one moment that I will tolerate your blatant disrespect for my culture then you better think again mister."
"Your culture?" Eric spluttered, "Your culture? What about my culture? I've never said a word about all the embarrassing stuff you do. You started crying at dinner with the O'Reilly's last night because they served salmon. How was I supposed to explain that to Frederick O'Reilly? The man's the Brittish Ambassador for crying out loud! And don't even get me started on your weird cutlery fixation. I've seen the creepy junk you hoard beneath your mattress."
"At least I show some interest in what goes on up here. I'm not some obnoxious fool who thinks he can do anything just because he's some hoity-toity prince!"
"Dammit!" Eric growled in frustration, "Maybe if you'd opened your mouth a little earlier I wouldn't have been stupid enough to marry a wench like you!"
Ariel's eyes sparked with anger, "Oh trust me, there's not a day I regret more than the one I married you."
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iii. Snow Charming and the Six Dwarves.
"Life in the cottage was never the same after Dopey left," recalled Happy. Although they're not too sure if the name suits him so much anymore. The atmosphere was too morbid for much happiness.
"You have to feel sorry for him though," said Doc, pushing his glasses up as he did so, "The poor bastard."
Grumpy let out a scornful scoff, "Feel sorry for him all you like, I reckon he had it coming to him. He always followed her around like a stupid love stick puppy that one. He was always trying to steal kisses from her, should've known better than to trust a girl like her."
"What's that supp-supp-SUPP CHOO! What's that supposed to mean?" Sneezy sneezed.
"Nothing," Grumpy said, "Just that she's a fool for leading him on like that and he's a fool for following."
"You can't blame him really..." Bashful put in timidly, "I mean, he was in love with her. There wasn't much he could do about it."
A yawn came from the corner of the cottage and Sleepy rolled over in his armchair, but didn't add to the discussion.
"He wasn't that bright," Doc said with a shake of his head, "It wasn't anyones fault. He was young and silly; Snow White couldn't have done anything."
"She could have had some respect for the man's feelings," Grumpy grumbled.
"She was happy," Happy said withe a wistful sigh, "You can remember what it was like back then. We were all happy and she was in love. She didn't know how Dopey felt about it all.
"Please," Grumpy scoffed, "even you were jaded enough to see what was going on and you're supposed to be the happy one."
Happy let out a disgruntled noise but couldn't disagree.
"I can't even go out into the garden anymore," Sneezy sighed before sneezing, "All I can see is his face as he walked away."
"You couldn't go out there anyway. You're allergies kick up the second you step onto the grass."
"ARRRCHOOO!" Sneezy agreed, "But that's not the point. I just hope he's okay."
There was a general murmur of agreement among the dwarves before they all fell silent.
Their eyes all simultaneously found the window with wistful gazes before Doc had enough.
Doc closed the curtains and flinched as Sneezy reacted to the dust the motion kicked up.
They couldn't stand waiting any longer.
