by Scandiadream scandiadream@hotmail.com
Disclaimer- Magic Knight Rayearth and its characters were created by CLAMP and belong to them. Sleeping Beauty was written by the Brothers Grimm. This version was imagined by ME.
Rated PG
Once upon a time, there was a land named Cephiro. In it lived a king and queen named Clef and Presea. They longed for a baby of their own and wished for a child with all their hearts. One beautiful spring morning, their greatest desire was granted. They had a baby girl with eyes as green as emeralds.
"Her name shall be Emeraude".
King Clef and Queen Presea were so happy about their daughter that they decided to host a large christening party in the palace. They invited everyone in Cephiro. Or at least everyone they knew.
"May she be always beautiful inside and out" wished her
one family friend.
"May she be as bright as the morning star" commended
another one.
However, an unwelcome visitor showed up. Clef and Presea had never seen her before nor even knew who she was, but they trembled in fear nevertheless.
"You want to spend time and energy on your daughter and make her be number one. You think she will get more attention than me? I WILL show you!" the wicked witch, Alcyone, screamed with rage.
Clef gave Presea a confused look. Presea was afraid that Alcyone wanted to be more beautiful and have a more handsome prince than their baby daughter. And she was right.
"On her 18th birthday, your daughter will prickle her finger on the needle of a spinning wheel and she will DIE" Alcyone announced. "Bwahahahahaha! Cephiro will be MINE!" she announced as she left the hall.
Presea fainted, and Clef broke into tears. They could not believe that someone would want to hurt them or their daughter.
But shortly afterwards, a little glimmer appeared. It was a young fairy.
"My name is Primera. Have no fear, your majesties. Emeraude will NOT die. Instead, she will fall asleep until a miracle happens that will be worth waking up for. Then the spell will be reversed".
"Still, I will destroy every single spinning wheel in the castle just in case." Clef announced proudly.
Emeraude was a beautiful child in every way, the apple of her parents' eyes. Everyone was fascinated with Cephiro's darling princess.
"Clef, I'm pregnant! We are going to have another child!"
the queen announced to her husband one day.
And indeed, Presea gave birth to a baby boy. Prince Ferio
was born laughing. And his baptism went very happy.
"Could this baby boy be given to us to compensate for the daughter we may lose?" Clef could not help but wonder.
"Emeraude, where were you?" Clef asked his daughter.
"I was seeing my friend of the forest." Emeraude said
smiling.
Emeraude was a very friendly girl and was kind to everyone.
However, she seemed particularly delighted after going to the forest to
see this special friend.
The years passed. Almost everyone had forgotten about the curse. Emeraude was getting marriage proposal from noblemen of Cephiro and neighboring countries. And she turned down each and every single one of them.
"I cannot marry someone I do not know." Emeraude would
tell her parents.
"Good thinking." Presea knew she did a good job in raising
her daughter.
"Is the princess hiding something?" thought Caldina,
who was Emeraude's handmaiden and friend.
However, that fateful day arrived. Emeraude turned 18.
"Now that I am a big girl, I can wander to the secret
tower. Maybe I will find something mysterious- maybe a treasure or an old
book of legends!" Emeraude thought.
But instead, the princess walked into a lonely closet. In it was a spinning wheel right there in the middle. Unlike most spinning wheels, it shone a silver gleam. But Emeraude had no way to know, since she had never seen a spinning wheel.
"I wonder what this is for"
Emeraude made the mistake of touching the needle.
"Ow, that hurts. Why does that needle hurt so much?"
"Because it is the one that will KILL you!" Alcyone
appeared all of a sudden.
"No, please don't! Whatever I did, I am very sorry! Please
spare me, I will give you whatever you want" Emeraude pleaded with Alcyone.
"It's not what you have done, but what you would do.
You may be pretty and smart and kind, but you will NOT take the hottest
guy in Cephiro from me." Alcyone said.
And as she said that, Emeraude collapsed, and Alcyone
left, convinced that she had won.
Clef, Presea, and Ferio rushed towards the tower room,
followed by Caldina and Lafarge, the captain of the guard.
"It is too late! My daughter, my poor Emeraude"
"NOOOOOOO!!!!"
"Do not worry, your royal majesties" a familiar voice
said. "Remember the antidote I recited at Emeraude's baptism? Well, now
is the time. Emeraude is not dead, but asleep." Primera said.
"You are correct. And what is it that will wake her up?"
Presea asked with zest.
"A kiss of true love"
"WHAT?" Clef gave an exasperated sigh.
"We're fried" Ferio said as if giving up hope. Lafarge
even shuddered because he knew how things were.
"Look mademoiselle, I don't think that's going to work.
Emeraude is the pickiest person in this country. You probably have seen
her turn down all those marriage offers. It will be a hundred years until
someone she would love back comes by." Caldina stated the facts to Primera.
"It will take a miracle."
"Yes, a miracle of love. And sooner than what you expect.
In the meantime, everyone in this kingdom will sleep".
"Can I stand guard so that nothing happens to the royal family?" Lafarge
asked.
"You will all sleep peacefully until that day." Primera
said. She chanted the words. Ferio happily laid down in the floor next
to the bed where his older sister was now laid to sleep. Clef and Presea
lay on a davenport next to their children. Even Caldina and Lafarge fell
asleep nearby. Everyone in Cephiro fell asleep until nobody was stirring.
Not too much time passed when a carriage entered Cephiro.
Two boys stepped down from it- one was older and taller than the other,
but they still looked very much alike.
"What in the world is that?" the younger brother asked
out loud when he saw that everyone was asleep.
"You go on vacation for a week and look what happens.
Let's go to the palace- someone is bound to know something." the older
one replied.
The two brothers headed towards the palace. Nobody seemed
awake. The guards were frozen in place.
"Zagato, I think someone put a spell on Cephiro. We were
lucky to be away." the smaller boy said.
"Lantis, I think things are even worse than what they
seem. Who would make everyone fall asleep, and why?"
"Maybe the royal family would know."
"Yes, Emeraude would definitely know". Lantis noticed
that Zagato smiled when he said the name of the princess.
But when the two boys reached the tower where the royal
family was, they were shocked.
"EMERAUDE!" Zagato ran towards where the princess lay.
"No, this cannot be. Emeraude cannot be...gone!"
"Please forgive me Emeraude. I was away, and now, now
I cannot be with you. Wait a second, her heart is beating, and she is sleeping,
and there is color in her face." Zagato said with hope.
Lantis noticed the same thing in everyone else who slept
in that room.
"Emeraude, I do not know if or when you will return from
your slumber. But, please know that I love you very much. I was not able
to kiss you back when you were awake. Please let me kiss you now, even
if it is my last one."
And Zagato lowered his head and kissed Emeraude softly on the lips. Lantis looked with hope.
The princess stirred and opened her eyes.
"Have I died and gone to Heaven? Sure looks like it!"
Emeraude said when she gazed at the face of her special friend from the
forest, who now sat next to her.
"No, Emeraude, you are alive. And I am very happy that
you are" Zagato replied. They embraced.
"Sister let a boy kiss her?" Ferio woke up suddenly.
"What did I miss?" Caldina woke up with energy.
"It truly is a miracle of love!" Presea said, happy that
the spell had been broken.
"And who is this fine young man that brought it forth?"
Clef asked.
"Mother, father, this is Zagato. I am very fond of him.
And this is his younger brother Lantis". Both boys bowed to the King and
Queen.
Primera appeared on the windowsill.
"I told you the spell would be broken. Nothing bad happens
that does not come for a good reason."
"And a truly wonderful reason it is" Presea and Clef
had never seen their daughter so happy.
And Emeraude and Zagato got married and they lived happily ever after.
THE END
Notes- Sleeping Beauty is probably my least favorite of the princess fairy tales, since the protagonist does not do much. But I made sure that our beloved Cephirean princess got an intelligent role in this one.