At the Cottage

By: Lovely girl 10

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that deals with Sleeping Beauty. Disney is the rightful owner to this fairy tale, I only own this fic.

I hope all of you readers like this story.

Briar Rose could not think straight as she covered her eyes and cried inside the room. She had been recently told from her aunts that she was the lost princess Aurora, who is to return to the castle upon her sixteenth birthday.

However, after looking at her reflection in the mirror, after when her aunt Flora placed the mysterious royal crown on top of her head, Rose wanted to dash out of the room and abandon the castle which was to be her real home and run toward the cottage where her handsome stranger awaits.

'What did I do to deserve this!' Rose thought to herself as her sobs continued. She never asked to a princess in the first place, even though her aunts Flora, Fauna and Merryweather told her that she is.

She also never asked to be betrothed to a prince who she has never met before, yet she wished deep down inside that this was all a bad dream and that she will wake up back at the cottage. No matter how many times she pinches herself, no matter if she closes her eyes and tells herself to wake up; she knew that this nightmare was not done with her yet.

She heard Aunt Flora telling her sisters to leave her alone before they attempted to comfort her. "Let her have a few moments alone." Rose heard the door creaking open and close as the fairies left the room.

Rose stared at the door for a few moments before standing up from the chair. If she wanted to meet her handsome stranger again, she needs to escape from the castle without being noticed by the fairies.

She began to look around the room as she observed everything from the pictures to the architecture and to the curtains. She also was completely ignoring the strange will-o-wisp that was forming in the fireplace.

The young girl walked toward the bed and stripped the mattress of its precious sheets. She then tied the ends of the sheets to create a long rope. Next, she took down one of the curtains and added that to her rope.

Part one of her escape from the castle was complete.

Rose turned to the mirror and started to wrap her long golden hair into a ponytail. She also decided to lose the high-heeled shoes since they were already making her feet hurt, so she flung the shoes to the empty mattress with only one swing from her feet.

She walked over to the balcony and tied the rope to the edge. Before she placed her cloak over her head, Rose took the crown from her head and threw it away from her. She slowly climbed down to the little town below, oblivious to the mysterious tune that tried to call her back into the room.

In the hallway, the good fairies Flora, Fauna and Merryweather were talking about what to do next. Now that they brought Aurora to her real home, and kept her in the cottage for sixteen years, the curse from Maleficent would be broken right?

"I am still not sure about Rose marrying this prince…" Merryweather told as she magically jumped for a second.

"Now, now," Fauna shushed and patted her younger sister on the shoulder. "That's not for us to decide dear."

"Besides, she will learn that she is the princess that this kingdom has waited for so long…" Flora said as she paced. "Once when she meets her parents, the King and Queen, Rose will eventually see that being a princess is a good thing-."

Fauna interrupted, "That reminds me, Flora. Do you think that we should tell King Stefan about the boy? The boy that Rose had just met?" She clung to her wand as she waited for her oldest sister to answer.

"I think we have already told Aurora about what will be happening. She will not see that boy again, she will marry Prince Phillip, and she will be happy as she should be. End of story." Flora explained with a smile.

She moved toward the door and listened. "Princess Aurora, have you calmed down now?" There was no answer, only silence. "Rose?" Flora opened the door and went inside.

The red fairy gasped with surprise as she saw the mess in the room. Fauna and Merryweather came inside and were just surprised as their sister.

"S-She's gone!" Flora stuttered.

"Was it Maleficent's doing?" Fauna asked.

Merryweather grunted in annoyance at the two fairies. "If it was her doing, we would've known that it was her." She was right on that explanation since there was no obvious sign of the Mistress of all Evil's work in the room. "And to add to that, it looks like Aurora left the room herself without us watching." Merryweather added. She turned to the balcony and showed the two older fairies the sheets.

Fauna sighed with relief and despair. "Well, it is a good thing that she wasn't with Maleficent…"

"Whatever are we going to do with the girl? She is going to see the very man that we told her not to go see…how are going to explain this to King Stefan?" Flora mused with fear. The King would be heartbroken to know that his own daughter left the castle to meet with a stranger.

"That's simple Flora," Merryweather told. "We have to tell the King. The answer is staring at us in the face and we are just too dumb enough to go to the source." The blue fairy used her wand to wag it at Flora and Fauna.

"Care to explain a bit more, Merryweather?" Fauna asked in a curious tone.

"It is clear that Rose wouldn't listen to us when we first brought her here, so I think that we should have the parents go talk to her." Merryweather stated in a satisfied huff. She then flew out of the door and planned on going straight to the King and Queen.

Rose went through the small town that was connected with the castle as fast as her feet could carry her. After having a successful escape from the tower, all she needed to do at that moment was to get out of the town and go into the forest.

She even made sure that nobody, absolutely nobody, would recognize her through her dark blue cloak. It didn't take long for the girl to find the exit, and for that relief, Rose smiled. Once she leaves the kingdom behind her, Rose can finally have a personal confrontation with the handsome stranger.

Once she had entered the forest, Rose breathed in some air and broke into a run. She figured that in the forest she didn't need her disguises anymore so she flung the cloak off her and unwrapped the ponytail so that she can feel the ever so welcoming breeze flow through her hair.

As she ran through the forest, Rose began to think through her thoughts about the stranger that won her heart in the woods. The only thing that forced her attention back onto herself was the dress as it almost threatened to make her trip.

'I can't have this dress slow me down.' Rose thought as she began to use her inner strength to rip the dress. Satisfied that the bottom half of the dress was now right to her knees, she then ripped the sleeves on her arms. (The sleeves had to go because she mostly likes short-sleeved dresses). She continued to run toward where the cottage was waiting for her.

Almost out of breath, Rose went inside of the cottage and closed the door. The cottage was dark and it almost looked like it was abandoned for many years. Rose walked up the stairs and began to strip her gold necklace and the strapless blue dress and hid them underneath the pillowcases. Next, she took out her grey dress with the black corset and her white petticoat and black headband.

Meanwhile, Phillip was riding Samson through the forest as he was whistling the 'Once upon a Dream' song. He remembered where he was going to meet the girl of his dreams, so he tried to look around the forest for the cottage.

"If you see the cottage Samson, give me a sign." Phillip told his companion and was glad that his horse nodded. In no time, they found what they were looking for.

Phillip got off his horse and walked over to the door. He raised his hand to the door and began to knock. "Coming!" The girl's voice called from inside of the house.

The door opened and the peasant girl came out with the same clothes he seen her with. Phillip smiled, "May I come in?"

"Yes, you have my permission." She giggled and led him inside.

Phillip took a seat on one of the chairs right by the table as Rose gathered some candles and set them on the table.

"Shall we start a decent conversation by introducing ourselves?" He asked as he watched the girl. "Of course, my name is Rose, Briar Rose…and you are?" She slowly spoke as she looked for a few matches in order to light the candles; so far, she found nothing of the sort.

"Phillip." He said as he helped her search for the matches, and he successfully found them in a hidden compartment. "I believe you are looking for these…" He handed the matches to her.

"Thanks Phillip." She replied and got the candles lit.

"It is my pleasure to help out a pretty lady like yourself, Rose." He commented with a bow. "Have you lived out in the forest your whole life?"

Rose nodded, "Yes, for sixteen years." She unknowingly rested her head on his shoulder and Phillip took that opportunity to hold her close. "Phillip, can I tell you something. I think that you should know what happened after we had our first encounter."

Phillip's eyes widened in surprise. Then he calmed down as he told her, "I will do my best to listen." He rubbed his finger on her cheek as he stared into her violet eyes.

Rose took a deep breath and explained, "When I got back to my house, I was expecting to see my aunts after when I got the berries. That was until I discovered to my fascination that there was a three-layered cake and a very fine blue dress that would seem to fit me like a glove. I realized that when they wanted me out of the house, they were really setting me up for my sixteenth birthday."

She took a seat next to Phillip and continued, this time in a sad tone. "The one thing I thought was the biggest mistake of my life was when I told them about you. You see, I was told to not talk to strangers, but with the way that you held me in your arms, the way that you made me feel safe, I knew that you were my dream prince… They had to make up this crazy lie that I was a princess and that I was never to see you again, all because that I was betrothed to a prince who I have never met before in my life!"

Rose raised her right hand to her head to calm down her nerves before she finished, "It may be true that being married to a prince would be any girls dream come true, but for me…I already have my prince, and that prince was you, Phillip. After when the fairies brought me over to the castle, I immediately figured out how to escape without them knowing. I never wanted to be a princess in the first place, so I left the castle without a single glance back. My love for you kept me going and it returned me to the cottage here."

Phillip nodded and gave her a small smile. "I know exactly how you feel, Rose. Before I came here, I went over to the castle to visit my father. Just like what your aunts did, he didn't approve of my relationship with you. But I didn't care of what is expected of me, so I left in order to find you."

Phillip continued, "That also reminds me…Rose, I actually am a prince. A real prince." He earned a surprised expression from Rose. "Yes, Rose, I may not look like an average day prince, but I do have most things that other princes don't."

"Like…" Rose led on as she waited for him to continue. He rubbed his hand across her arm as she relaxed in his touch. "Well, I have a really cool girlfriend instead of a princess. And, she is the best thing that has ever happened to me…"

"You are also the best thing that has happened to me, Phillip." Rose commented. She silently said a 'thank you' toward the sky for she was happy to know that her dream prince was actually a prince.

Her daydreaming came to a halt when she heard a horse neighing from outside of the cottage. "What was that?" She curiously asked as she moved toward the window. Outside of the cottage was a magnificent white horse with a black mane and tail. "Oh, that's my horse, Samson." Phillip explained as he stood up to look outside with her. "He and I have a very special bond. Would I ever tell you that when I heard your wondrous singing I convinced him to help me find you? He is a loyal friend he is."

"Can I have a closer look at your horse?" Rose asked as she turned to him, clasping her hands in an eager way. Phillip nodded, "I don't mind a bit." Phillip rushed outside first to get Samson acquainted with the girl. Rose quickly blew out the candles so that no one would suspect that she was there. She later on went outside to take a look at Phillip's horse.

"Samson, I would like you to meet Rose. Rose, this is Samson." He introduced as he waved his hand from his horse to his girl and back again.

"Hello, Samson." Rose greeted with a wave of her hand. The horse nodded to tell the girl he said 'hello' and gave Phillip a mischievous smile. "Yes, I know, boy. She is quite a catch." Samson's master told as he was getting the saddle ready.

"Where are you heading off to?" Rose asked as she noticed that he was getting ready to leave. "To the castle. And you are coming with me, Rose." He stated his answer as he offered his hand to her.

Rose was silent for a few moments. If she was to return to the castle, the fairies would be sure to scold her for running off without them knowing, or worse… "Okay, Phillip. But I don't want to be there for too long." She warned in a soft voice. Phillip got her up unto his horse and he followed afterward as Rose was getting comfortable on riding a horse.

Phillip clicked his tongue to tell Samson to start prancing. The couple took the time to look around the forest as they slowly rode to the castle. Sometimes the prince could hear Rose singing to the forest as he led Samson through the forest. "I still gotta admit, Rose, you probably have the most beautiful voice in the whole world." Rose looked at the prince and thanked him for his compliment. The castle was within their site.

Back at the castle, King Stefan and Queen Leah were waiting in their usual throne room when King Hubert came up to his long time friend. At the same time, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather flew into the throne room and awaited His Majesty's orders.

King Stefan asked the fairies about his basic fatherly concern over his daughter. "How did raising our Aurora go? Is she alright? She didn't give you too much trouble did she? Have you brought her home?"

"Calm down, honey!" Queen Leah interrupted him and made him settle down. "They only just got here. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, did you bring my baby here?" She noticed that the three fairies were looking down toward the ground and fiddling with their wands. "Is there something you would like to tell us?"

The sudden blare of the trumpets silenced the questioning rulers as they heard the doors open. Right from the entrance, there was Prince Phillip, and in his arms as he carried her bridal style, was Briar Rose.

Phillip announced, "Father, I am proud to present my new bride; Briar Rose! She is the peasant girl that has stolen my heart and who I wish to marry instead of Princess Aurora." Rose snuggled into Phillips chest and only peeked from time to time. She also did her best to look brave in front of the fairies and gave them a taunting look that said 'I already have my prince right here! In your faces!'

King Stefan and Queen Leah were dumbstruck. They never expected that to happen! In addition, they did not know what to say… King Hubert had a look that was mixed with shock and realization. The three fairies, although glad that Rose had returned to the castle, were also shocked among the rest.

King Hubert broke the silence as he told his son, "That's not a peasant girl, THAT'S THE PRINCESS AURORA YOU HAVE FALLEN FOR!" Phillip and Rose looked at him as if he was a madman. However, King Stefan and Queen Leah walked over to the couple as they closely examined the girl that is to be their long lost daughter.

"She does have the same hair as you, dear." King Stefan commented. "And she has the same figure as you."

Rose clung closer to Phillip's chest in order to not look at the new strangers. "Aurora, honey? Aren't you happy to see us?" Queen Leah asked her potential child. She then whispered to her husband, "She is not answering me…" Flora took the opportunity to speak. "Princess Aurora, please talk to your parents." Rose still kept silent and dug her face deeper into Phillip's chest.

"Princess Aurora?" Fauna softly spoke, trying to get the girl's attention away from the boy. Merryweather realized what was going on as she asked in her worried tone, "Briar Rose?" Lucky for the blue fairy, Rose responded to her actual name and turned to face them, but suddenly backed away when the girl furiously glared at them.

Phillip got Rose back on her feet from his hold and whispered to himself, "I guess they were the aunts that didn't want Rose to be with me." He watched as Rose came up straight toward the three fairies and crossed her arms. He also plugged his ears with his hands and awaited the chaos that is expected to happen.

"You know well that I am Briar Rose, right?" Rose asked in an annoyed tone as she stared at the fairies that were getting uncomfortable with the look she is giving them. "Now, I want you to tell the truth to these royals right here that I am not the lost princess!"

"You are the lost princess, Rose. We thought that you would be happy to be back home again…" Fauna told in a sad tone. Merryweather and Flora also tried to tell Rose that what they spoke was the truth.

"We are deeply sorry for what we did to you, Rose." Flora stated in her usual calm voice. "If we had known that Prince Phillip was your handsome stranger, we could've made your life easier than what had happened. We were only trying to protect you from being found out by Maleficent."

Merryweather finished, "Do you think that you could forgive us even after we had deceived you from the very start?" A tear managed to slide down from her eye as she waited for the worse from the very girl that they raised.

Rose's eyes began to soften as she listened to the fairies confession. She then walked closer to them and she slowly embraced them one by one. She turned toward her long awaited parents and gave them each a hug. Although surprised at her action, the King and Queen returned the hug as their happy tears threatened to show. They considered her offer by calling her Rose when she is home, and when she is needed for some princess duties they can call her Aurora, to which Rose agreed.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get this wedding started!" King Hubert announced as he led both Rose and Phillip away to the church. The three fairies and King Stefan and Queen Leah followed behind. As the sun set on her sixteenth birthday, Rose broke the curse that Maleficent made without ever pricking her finger. Sadly for Maleficent, she had to watch as the happy couple were finally wedded. She didn't even bother if they invited her or not.

The End

Author's note:You can review anytime you like. I hope that you all enjoyed this. If you see any mistakes, please feel free to scold me.