DISCLAIMER: Once again, I don't own the fairy tale, you know the rest.
Author's Note: Thank you to all of you who reviewed. Remember guys, it only takes a second! And thank you for the suggestion. I think those of you who worried about the romance will be pleasantly surprised. I'll try to update steadily.
~~Chapter Four~~
The morning of the christening dawned bright and clear. Queen Marigold hummed happily to herself as she fussed about the royal bassinet. The Queen had refused to allow the baby to be placed in a separate nursery, and had insisted that it be kept in her room. King Frederick drew the line at putting the baby in bed with them, and therefore had to endure his wife's nocturnal habit of getting out of bed twelve times a night to check on the child.
There was nothing but joy about the palace this morning. The Princess had been born three days prior and now that the kingdom of Eldron finally had an heir, and the Queen was removed from her state of depression, all tension was finally lifted from the castle.
King Frederick sternly eyed his wife, and Queen Marigold reluctantly returned her baby to its crib. The ceremony was about to begin.
A short, rotund, young gentleman, with a wart at the tip of his nose came forward and bowed first to the Royal Family, and then to the crowds. "Your majesties, lords, and ladies, we are ready to begin." There was a brief pause as a scroll was slipped to the King and Queen. They began to read, "We, King Frederick Adalbert Conrad and Queen Marigold Christaine Hermia, royal sovereigns of the Kingdom of Eldron, Imperial Majesties of the Sigwin Islands and proud parents of our firstborn child do present to you, our people, your Princess---Briar Rose!"
There was a roar of applause and the King exhaled sharply and raised his eyebrows towards his wife, "Goodness, I hope we never have to say all that at once again." The Queen nodded in agreement, but something else was bothering her. She had a nagging feeling that she had forgotten something. Something important.
Once again, the pudgy man stepped forward. Marigold couldn't help but stare at his wart as it wiggled when he spoke. Up, down, side to side, the little white hairs on top quivered and it seemed to-"Mari!"
Startled, she replied, "What?"
Frederick whispered into her ear, "You're supposed to announce Rose's Godparent!"
Marigold briefly glanced around. The hall was silent. Everyone was staring at her. The thought faintly registered in her head that she had invited three hundred and twenty seven guests to the ceremony and that that meant there were six hundred fifty four eyes staring at her, waiting for her to speak. Marigold lifted another scroll from the hands of the page and read, "We, the crown of Eldron, have appointed our Chief Royal Wizard, Lord Maximus Dominicus as Godfather to our baby, Princess Briar Rose. We ask that Maximus come forward and present a gift to our child."
No sooner had Maximus stepped forward towards the cradle when there was a crash of thunder that shook the stone walls of the Great Hall and a squall of wind ripped several tapestries from the ceilings and knocked many guards off their feet. The Queen was thrown back against a wall and as King Frederick rushed to help her a bolt of lightening struck the center of the room. Lords and ladies shrieked as their hands and robes were scorched by the flames.
The lightening reduced it's self to silent red flames and as the outline of a woman appeared in them they died out completely. The woman within the flames was dressed from head to foot in black robes. Bone colored wraps covering her arms on the insides of her sleeves gave her the appearance of being mummified. Her skin was paper white and her lips, set in a thin line were crimson red, almost as though she had drank blood and it was still fresh upon her mouth. Her raven black hair was pulled tightly up to the iron crown upon her head that gave her the appearance of having horns. Her eyes shone scarlet and seemed to bore right through the King and Queen. In her right hand she held a tall, twisted, iron staff. "My, my, if this isn't more pomp and finery than I have seen in three hundred years."
Marigold picked herself up off the floor. There was a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. The King was looking rather bewildered and gave his wife a questioning look. Maximus crossed between the woman and the baby princess. "What do you want Sylvanna?"
The witch fairy chuckled slightly and a cruel smile spread it's self over her face. "Why I merely came to grant the child the gift I promised her mother nine months ago. Strange that I was forgotten so quickly."
The King gasped and turned to his wife, "You didn't tell me."
The Queen picked her baby from the bassinet and faced Sylvanna. "Thank you, but you've done enough. You've given us so much already." Her body shivered with fear but her eyes were serene.
"Now who said I was here to give?" Sylvanna whispered. She attempted to approach the Queen but Maximus cut in front of her.
"You shall not harm this child." His eyes turned and icy blue and Sylvanna retreated a few steps.
"Don't worry Maximus, I won't touch her." There was silence and the witch fairy proceeded with a wicked grin spreading over her face, "In fact, I give you my word that I will not so much as lay a finger on the child."
Maximus eyed her with suspicion, "Then you may leave," he remarked coldly. Something seemed to pass between the two. No one could ever quite put their finger on what it was, but it was as if the most powerful beings in all the land were fighting an inner war inside their minds. Then Sylvanna spoke.
"Your little princess will die."
"You can't do that!" Maximus bellowed, "It goes against the laws of magic! You cannot murder someone with a single spell!"
"You're correct. I'm not going to kill her now. Instead, she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel before midnight on her eighteenth birthday. That, o' demoted one, will be her downfall," there was a brief pause as Sylvanna smirked and allowed this to sink in. "And you know what the worst part is? You don't know when it's going to happen! It could be in six months, it could be in ten years, it could even happen tonight while you are asleep in your beds, just inches from her."
Maximus advanced towards her and raised his staff screaming, "Sylvanna you witch!" Then there was another crash of lightening and Sylvanna vanished from the Great Hall.
For a moment all that was to be heard was the frightened whimpering of those who had been scorched and the scuttle of healers about the room bandaging burns. Then Maximus sighed and turned towards the King and Queen. He gently took the Princess from her mother's arms and caressing her tiny pink hands murmured, "I cannot lift this curse for you my child. I am not strong enough to do it. Perhaps I am not meant to. For nothing happens in this world without Fate's hand in the doings. But I can give you just a little bit of help. You shall not die from this spindle. You shall only sleep until true love's kiss awakens you. For love is the only weapon we have that Sylvanna does not possess."
Maximus handed the child back to her mother and the King cried in a booming voice, "Let every spinning wheel in this kingdom be burned!"
"Your majesty, be reasonable, a conflagration will do nothing!"
"Don't tell me to be reasonable Maximus, my only child is not going to end up a victim of this curse!"
"Ashes to ashes sire. She came from Sylvanna."
"I will not sit here and watch my child die!" King Frederick's voice echoed through the castle and he flew from the hall declaring, "Every spinning wheel in this kingdom shall be burnt by sunset!"
Pages flew from house to house collecting the wooden tools of death and before the dying rays of the sun were extinguished they had been burned to the ground. It is strange of the human nature, that when we fear danger, we overlook the one place where the peril is strongest, within our own walls.
Author's Note: Thank you to all of you who reviewed. Remember guys, it only takes a second! And thank you for the suggestion. I think those of you who worried about the romance will be pleasantly surprised. I'll try to update steadily.
~~Chapter Four~~
The morning of the christening dawned bright and clear. Queen Marigold hummed happily to herself as she fussed about the royal bassinet. The Queen had refused to allow the baby to be placed in a separate nursery, and had insisted that it be kept in her room. King Frederick drew the line at putting the baby in bed with them, and therefore had to endure his wife's nocturnal habit of getting out of bed twelve times a night to check on the child.
There was nothing but joy about the palace this morning. The Princess had been born three days prior and now that the kingdom of Eldron finally had an heir, and the Queen was removed from her state of depression, all tension was finally lifted from the castle.
King Frederick sternly eyed his wife, and Queen Marigold reluctantly returned her baby to its crib. The ceremony was about to begin.
A short, rotund, young gentleman, with a wart at the tip of his nose came forward and bowed first to the Royal Family, and then to the crowds. "Your majesties, lords, and ladies, we are ready to begin." There was a brief pause as a scroll was slipped to the King and Queen. They began to read, "We, King Frederick Adalbert Conrad and Queen Marigold Christaine Hermia, royal sovereigns of the Kingdom of Eldron, Imperial Majesties of the Sigwin Islands and proud parents of our firstborn child do present to you, our people, your Princess---Briar Rose!"
There was a roar of applause and the King exhaled sharply and raised his eyebrows towards his wife, "Goodness, I hope we never have to say all that at once again." The Queen nodded in agreement, but something else was bothering her. She had a nagging feeling that she had forgotten something. Something important.
Once again, the pudgy man stepped forward. Marigold couldn't help but stare at his wart as it wiggled when he spoke. Up, down, side to side, the little white hairs on top quivered and it seemed to-"Mari!"
Startled, she replied, "What?"
Frederick whispered into her ear, "You're supposed to announce Rose's Godparent!"
Marigold briefly glanced around. The hall was silent. Everyone was staring at her. The thought faintly registered in her head that she had invited three hundred and twenty seven guests to the ceremony and that that meant there were six hundred fifty four eyes staring at her, waiting for her to speak. Marigold lifted another scroll from the hands of the page and read, "We, the crown of Eldron, have appointed our Chief Royal Wizard, Lord Maximus Dominicus as Godfather to our baby, Princess Briar Rose. We ask that Maximus come forward and present a gift to our child."
No sooner had Maximus stepped forward towards the cradle when there was a crash of thunder that shook the stone walls of the Great Hall and a squall of wind ripped several tapestries from the ceilings and knocked many guards off their feet. The Queen was thrown back against a wall and as King Frederick rushed to help her a bolt of lightening struck the center of the room. Lords and ladies shrieked as their hands and robes were scorched by the flames.
The lightening reduced it's self to silent red flames and as the outline of a woman appeared in them they died out completely. The woman within the flames was dressed from head to foot in black robes. Bone colored wraps covering her arms on the insides of her sleeves gave her the appearance of being mummified. Her skin was paper white and her lips, set in a thin line were crimson red, almost as though she had drank blood and it was still fresh upon her mouth. Her raven black hair was pulled tightly up to the iron crown upon her head that gave her the appearance of having horns. Her eyes shone scarlet and seemed to bore right through the King and Queen. In her right hand she held a tall, twisted, iron staff. "My, my, if this isn't more pomp and finery than I have seen in three hundred years."
Marigold picked herself up off the floor. There was a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. The King was looking rather bewildered and gave his wife a questioning look. Maximus crossed between the woman and the baby princess. "What do you want Sylvanna?"
The witch fairy chuckled slightly and a cruel smile spread it's self over her face. "Why I merely came to grant the child the gift I promised her mother nine months ago. Strange that I was forgotten so quickly."
The King gasped and turned to his wife, "You didn't tell me."
The Queen picked her baby from the bassinet and faced Sylvanna. "Thank you, but you've done enough. You've given us so much already." Her body shivered with fear but her eyes were serene.
"Now who said I was here to give?" Sylvanna whispered. She attempted to approach the Queen but Maximus cut in front of her.
"You shall not harm this child." His eyes turned and icy blue and Sylvanna retreated a few steps.
"Don't worry Maximus, I won't touch her." There was silence and the witch fairy proceeded with a wicked grin spreading over her face, "In fact, I give you my word that I will not so much as lay a finger on the child."
Maximus eyed her with suspicion, "Then you may leave," he remarked coldly. Something seemed to pass between the two. No one could ever quite put their finger on what it was, but it was as if the most powerful beings in all the land were fighting an inner war inside their minds. Then Sylvanna spoke.
"Your little princess will die."
"You can't do that!" Maximus bellowed, "It goes against the laws of magic! You cannot murder someone with a single spell!"
"You're correct. I'm not going to kill her now. Instead, she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel before midnight on her eighteenth birthday. That, o' demoted one, will be her downfall," there was a brief pause as Sylvanna smirked and allowed this to sink in. "And you know what the worst part is? You don't know when it's going to happen! It could be in six months, it could be in ten years, it could even happen tonight while you are asleep in your beds, just inches from her."
Maximus advanced towards her and raised his staff screaming, "Sylvanna you witch!" Then there was another crash of lightening and Sylvanna vanished from the Great Hall.
For a moment all that was to be heard was the frightened whimpering of those who had been scorched and the scuttle of healers about the room bandaging burns. Then Maximus sighed and turned towards the King and Queen. He gently took the Princess from her mother's arms and caressing her tiny pink hands murmured, "I cannot lift this curse for you my child. I am not strong enough to do it. Perhaps I am not meant to. For nothing happens in this world without Fate's hand in the doings. But I can give you just a little bit of help. You shall not die from this spindle. You shall only sleep until true love's kiss awakens you. For love is the only weapon we have that Sylvanna does not possess."
Maximus handed the child back to her mother and the King cried in a booming voice, "Let every spinning wheel in this kingdom be burned!"
"Your majesty, be reasonable, a conflagration will do nothing!"
"Don't tell me to be reasonable Maximus, my only child is not going to end up a victim of this curse!"
"Ashes to ashes sire. She came from Sylvanna."
"I will not sit here and watch my child die!" King Frederick's voice echoed through the castle and he flew from the hall declaring, "Every spinning wheel in this kingdom shall be burnt by sunset!"
Pages flew from house to house collecting the wooden tools of death and before the dying rays of the sun were extinguished they had been burned to the ground. It is strange of the human nature, that when we fear danger, we overlook the one place where the peril is strongest, within our own walls.
