Prologue
Everyone in the kingdom of Galatia gathered together in celebration of the birth of Princess Aria. She is the first and only child of King Richard and Queen Gretel. The king and queen have prayed for many years to be blessed with a child and now their wishes have finally been fulfilled. This meant the most grand festival the kingdom has ever seen.
King Richard and Queen Gretel made sure to invite everyone including the elves, the giants, the dwarfs, and the fairies, especially the fairies for they always presented the best gifts for newborn royalty one could possibly imagine. Queen Gretel personally made the invitations for the fairies and made sure that they will receive a special greeting once they arrived. All the fairies were invited, except for one. Myrtle was the only one who did not receive an invitation for she known for giving terrible sometimes even deadly gifts. Fearing for their newborn daughter's safety, the king and queen decided it was best not to invite Myrtle and hoped that she would have no way of discovering the princess's birth. Myrtle lived by herself in a dark tower and rarely made contact with the other fairies so it was unlikely the news would even reach her.
The entire kingdom waited anxiously for the arrival of the good fairies since their attendance is a true honor. Anyone would be quite fortunate to be given a gift by a fairy.
xXx
Adora felt so nervous as she glided behind the other fairies that she could barely feel her legs. This will be the first time she has ever attended a royal newborn's birthday party and expected to present a child of noble birth with a gift. She knew these feelings were completely ludicrous for she is a fairy who possesses magic powers and could give this child anything. Unfortunately for Adora, that only put more pressure on her. She was worried her gift in which she thought of would not be as good as the other fairies's gifts since they were more experienced.
"Have you all thought of your gifts to Princess Aria?" demanded Verna, the head fairy.
Freya, the most eager of them, was the first to respond. "I'm going to give her the gift of beauty, particularly her hair. I want her to be blessed with long golden hair. Oh, and I want her skin to be fair as well and her lips to be rose red. With that, she will be the most beautiful girl in the kingdom in which any prince will be lucky to wed!"
Verna nodded with approval. "Very good, Freya. And what of the rest of you?"
"I will present her with the gift of music. Anyone who hears her playing music will be drawn to it's beautiful tone and with this gift she will be able to impress any prince she desires," replied Thelma more humbly than Freya.
Verna responded, "Just remember, Thelma, to make this gift assist her in finding a prince. That way it will be suitable for a princess."
Adora sighed. All the gifts seemed to focus more on attracting a prince sometime in the future and less on princess herself. Every kingdom in Galatia had either a princess or a prince or both who were destined to be together and would eventually meet, get married and live happily ever after. Sure, every now and then, a princess may eat a poison apple or get locked in a tower with only her long golden hair as a way out but she would eventually get rescued by her prince and live happily ever after. It was all just so predictable.
"Adora! Pay attention." Verna demanded impatiently. "What gift do you plan on bestowing upon the newborn princess?"
"Umm…" Adora hesitated, "I was thinking maybe intelligence."
"Intelligence!" laughed Verna. "What use does a princess have for intelligence? Most princes only care about beauty and some prefer their princesses to be able to play music but none of them care how smart she is."
"I'm sorry, but I thought that these gifts were for the princess, not some prince she may meet one day," snapped Adora before she realized her tone. Verna looked at her in alarm so she then spoke more calmly. "It's not as if she will always be with her prince every moment of the day, especially if he becomes king and has to run the kingdom. Maybe the princess may enjoy reading or exploring during her spare time."
"If your concerned about Princess Aria's free time then give her the gift of sewing or needlepoint. Something appropriate for a princess," replied Verna.
"Fine. Sewing it is," Adora agreed though she secretly planned to give her intelligence anyway. Verna would not dare lash out at her during the celebration in front of the king and queen. Adora would just have to face her wrath when they got back home.
When the four fairies arrived at the kingdom gates, they were welcomed with trumpets and fireworks. Everyone within was applauding as loud as they could. The fairies kept their chins up and proceeded straight ahead to the castle, except Adora who lingered slightly behind admiring all the decorations.
As the entered the palace King Richard stood up from his throne. "Welcome Verna, Freya, Thelma! Ah, and I see we have a forth fairy now. Come child, what is your name?"
"Adora," she spoke quietly, suddenly feeling quite shy. "I, uh, just finished training to use my magic so this will be my first time giving a magical gift."
"Wonderful!" King Richard beamed. "Just in time for my daughter's birthday celebration. I hope you all have something lovely to give her!"
"We sure do," Verna replied. "Allow me to give her my gift first if that is as Your Majesty wishes and then my sisters will bestow theirs."
King Richard glanced at his wife and then nodded. "Proceed."
Verna floated up to princess's cradle and lifted her hands over the infant's head. "I give to you, Princess Aria, the gift of poise. Good posture will always be natural for you as it should be for royalty."
Adora rolled her eyes. That was so Verna, giving her the most appropriate, yet dull, gift she could think of. Queen Gretel, on the other hand, seemed quite impressed. She smiled at Verna as she bowed down to Princess Aria and then the king and queen and went back to the other fairies.
Thelma went next. "Princess Aria, I give you the gift of music. May this gift bring you peace and joy."
Verna looked at Thelma sharply. Thelma quickly added, "And may it charm any man who's ears it falls upon."
Once again, Adora's eyes rolled. That last part seemed so unnecessary.
After that it was Freya's turn. "Princess Aria, from me you will have the gift of beauty. Let her hair grow long and luscious, her skin be fair, and her lips be red. With this gift any prince will be lucky to have her."
The king and queen smiled and thanked her her while everyone in the courtroom clapped their hands together, softly. Adora then went up to give the princess her gift. Verna looked at her sharply, but Adora's mind was made up. Princess Aria should have something for herself, not some prince.
"Princess Aria, I will give you…"
Suddenly there was a loud bang as the castle doors bursted wide open and a tall woman dressed in black robes with long dark hair entered the palace, with an evil glare in her eyes. Everyone at once knew who it was but no one dared spoke a word fearing the wrath of Myrtle.
"How come I was not invited to this grand celebration for the newborn princess?" Myrtle demanded. Nobody, not even the king and queen would look her in the eye.
Finally after a few, long, awkward moments the King Richard spoke. "Well, Myrtle, we, umm, were not sure if you, um…" he tried desperately to think of some excuse but nothing came to him.
"Did you think that I would not enjoy celebrating the birth of this lovely princess? Did you not think that I, too, would have something wonderful to offer the princess?" Myrtle gave an evil smile and started to move towards Princess Aria. Adora remained by the cradle and decided that it was best to hold her ground. Unfortunately for her, Myrtle was much more powerful than any other fairy and was easily able to use her magic to get her out of the way.
"Princess Aria, I see you have been given beauty, music, and poise," Myrtle snickered. "Fortunately for me, these foolish fairies did not bother to give you and long and healthy life. I hear by declare, that on the day of Aria's sixteenth birthday she will prick her on a spinning wheel and die. Don't even bother destroying of all the spinning wheels. When the time comes I will personally ensure that the princess is near a spinning wheel and she will indeed prick her finger and die."
The whole courtroom gasped clasping their hands over their mouth in horror. Queen Gretel burst into tears and was through herself into her husband's arms as he tried to console her. Myrtle satisfied with everyone's reactions left the castle, the doors slamming shut behind her.
"What are we going to do?" sobbed the queen. "I can't bear the fact that my own daughter will die when she is only sixteen!"
Adora looked up at the distressed parents of this poor infant child. "I still have not given my gift to the princess."
The king looked down at her, his eyes suddenly hopeful. "Please, dear child, is there any way you can take away this curse so that my daughter can live."
"I'm afraid that I am unable to completely undo Myrtle's magic for she is far more powerful than I, but I can change it." Adora gained more confidence and looked down at the child. "Princess Aria, you will prick your finger on a spinning wheel on your sixteenth birthday. That part I am unable to change. However, you will not die. Instead you will fall into a deep sleep. Only from true love's kiss, will you awaken." Adora looked up at the king and queen. "I'm afraid that is the best I can do for your daughter."
"Thank you, Adora for doing what you could," Verna said proudly. This was the first time Verna seemed truly pleased with something Adora had done. She looked up at the king and queen. "Unfortunately, Myrtle will still come for the princess when she turns sixteen. If you wish for more assurance on preventing this curse it is best that we take her to a place where Myrtle cannot find her until we find a way to permanently put an end to her evil magic."
The queen looked down at Verna, still concerned. "Where can we hide our daughter that Myrtle cannot reach her?"
"I know of one," answered Verna, "but I must speak with you privately. Please follow me."
King Richard and Queen Gretel both followed Verna into a private chamber. The remaining fairies stayed put looking confused. None of them had any idea what sort of place Verna could be talking about and why it had to be kept a secret. They also did not know if Verna wanted them to follow her or not. Verna then looked back at them. "Adora, come with us. Freya and Thelma stay where you are," she instructed.
Adora became even more confused. Why would Verna want her to come and not Freya or Thelma? She quickly went into the chamber and waited for Verna's instructions.
Verna began, "There a another world and I am the only one that knows how to access it. Not even Myrtle knows of its existence. If we take your daughter there, she will be safe from Myrtle."
"How do we get to this other world?" King Harold inquired.
"I'm afraid I cannot tell you. The fewer people that know the better. If people were to start constantly traveling between worlds then there will be chaos. Adora will be the one to take her if that is alright with you."
The king and queen looked deeply into each other's eyes before Queen Gretel turned her gaze to Adora and spoke, "Your gift saved our dear Princess Aria's life. I believe you truly care for her and therefore fully trust you with her. Please make sure she is safe."
xXx
Adora held Princess Aria close to her as she followed Verna to the entrance to the other world. Verna then stopped and pointed at a lake and stated, "This is the place. This lake does not appear on any maps and is very difficult to locate. This is the portal to the other world. Now, Adora listen to me carefully. You are to take the princess to the other world and find her a warm, loving family to care for her. Stay close to her, but do not tell her who she really is or show her any magic. The people in this other world do not believe in the existence of magic and the princess will be safer if she does not know the truth. I will come find you when Myrtle is defeated and you will then bring the princess back to her family. Do you understand?"
Adora was overwhelmed by all this information. There were so many questions she had for Verna about what life was like in the other world, but she knew there was no time so she just nodded and carried Princess Aria into the lake. Traveling to the other world was probably the most odd experience Adora had ever had. She was surrounded by water, yet she was not wet and could breath just fine. She felt a sudden pull down like something had grabbed her feet and was then thrusted straight up. She held the child close to her chest tightly assuring her safety and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she realized she was standing in a fountain. This must be the other world, Adora thought to herself. She carefully stepped out of the fountain and began to look around at her new surroundings. The fountain was in a dark, empty building that was locked. Adora used her magic to open the door and went outside.
Adora did not know what to make of this world. There were carriages without horses that moved all by themselves, people wore strange clothing, and there were buildings everywhere. There also seemed to be people everywhere as well. It seemed there were more people on this one road then there were in the entire kingdom of Galatia.
Then Adora remembered her mission. She had to find a family to care for Adora. She then spotted a young man knelt down before a beautiful young woman. He took out a small box and opened it. Inside this box, was a diamond ring. Adora could not hear what they were saying but she saw the woman's eyes light up as the man put the ring on her finger and they embraced each other both smiling. Adora smiled too. This must be what Verna meant about a warm loving family. Adora then prepared a letter for the family and found a basket to place Aria in. When she realized the couple was not yet married she waited until they were officially together and moved into their own house. Adora then place the basket containing the princess and the letter by the doorstep, knocked on the door, and then disappeared.