Disclaimer: I don't own Saiyuki.
Sleeping Beauty
Roles
Princess Aurora - Rinrei (a doll in her baby form)
Prince Philip - Homura (Koryuu as young Philip)
King Stefan (Aurora's dad) - Kougaiji
Queen (Aurora's mum) - Yaone
King Hubert (Philip's dad) - Dokugakuji
Three Good Fairies - Flora - Sha Gojyo
- Fauna - Cho Hakkai
- Merryweather - Genjo Sanzo
Evil Maleficent - Ni Jianyi
Maleficent's raven - Bunny doll
Maleficent's goons - Son Goku
Nataku Taishi
Lirin
Samson the horse - ?
Majordomo - Komyou Sanzo
Narrators - Zenon and Shien
The roles are given by our producer/director/script writer/prompter, Jiroushin.
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Sleeping Beauty
Duk! Duk! Someone tapped the microphone.
"Testing, testing, 1 2 3," Shien said. There was the sound of shuffling papers. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our play, Sleeping Beauty."
"I know, I know," Zenon's voice boomed. "Jiroushin is not very original. He..."
"Let the play begin," Shien interrupted.
The red curtain rise. The stage is decorated as the throne room. Kougaiji as King Stefan sat grandly on the throne with Yaone as the queen sitting on another throne. A cradle painted gold stood beside Yaone.
Zenon cleared his throat. "Long ago, in a faraway land, King Stefan ruled with his beloved queen. For many, many years, the royal couple had hoped for a child."
"Finally," Shien took over, "their wish came true. They named their new daughter Aurora, after the dawn, because she filled their lives with sunshine."
Suddenly, a song filled the auditorium.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You made me happy when skies are gray
You never noticed how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
"What the - "
Then, quite clearly even without a mic...
"Kono baka saru!" Sanzo yelled. There was a BANG!
"Ite..." Goku groaned. The music stopped abruptlly.
"Ahem!" Shien coughed. "Zenon."
"Right," Zenon said. "The king and queen were so pleased that they declared a holiday to celebrate Aurora's birth. King Hubert, who ruled the neighbouring kingdom, arrived with his young son Prince Philip."
"A mighty ruler and a generous neighbour, King Hubert," Komyou Sanzo as the majordomo said. "And his son, Prince Philip!"
Dokugakuji, dressed up as the plump King Hubert, marched on stage with a huge grin plastered on his face. A surly-looking Koryuu dressed as the young Prince Philip followed.
"The two kings were the best of friends," Shien narrated as Dokugakuji and Kougaiji greeted and hugged each other. "They thought it would be a wonderful idea if Philip and Aurora would one day marry."
Koryuu looked disdainfully at the bundle inside the cradle which was supposed to be the new born baby princess.
"The last guests to arrive were the three fairies," Zenon took over.
"Their most honored and exalted excellencies, the three good fairies!" Komyou Sanzo as the majordomo said. "Mister Flora, Mister Fauna, and Mister Merryweather."
Jiroushin had very bad headache at the moment. He blinked after listening Komyou Sanzo's part and thought the splitting ache in his head had done something to his hearing.
Meanwhile, Gojyo, in red robes (Flora), came on stage followed by Hakkai, in green (Fauna), and Sanzo, in blue (Merryweather). The three of them bowed to Kougaiji and Yaone on the throne, or at least Hakkai did. Sanzo jerked his head irritably and Gojyo merely nodded. Then they went over to the cradle with the doll in it.
"Isn't she sweet?" Hakkai said with a wide smile.
"Em," Gojyo said. "Each of us may bless the child with a single gift," he said, sounding as if he'd swallowed the whole script. "My gift shall be the gift of beauty!"
He waved a golden baton over the cradle. "I wonder if I could ask her out when she's grown up," he added thoughtfully.
"Tiny princess," Hakkai said, waving his own golden baton. "My gift shall be the gift of song."
It's now Sanzo's turn as Merryweather. He sighed. "My gift to this stupid doll is..."
At the side of the stage, a fan propped up was on for the wind effect.
"Before Merryweaher could finish, the door blew open, thunder roared, and the room grew dark!" Zenon continued menacingly.
Ni Jianyi, looking even more like a mad scientist than ever now with his hair done and his black robes, came from back stage with his bunny doll.
"The wicked Maleficent appeared," Shien took over. "So did the bunny doll."
"Quite a glittering assembly, Prince Kougaiji," Ni Jianyi said. "Oops," he added unconvincingly.
"It's King Stefan," Jiroushin sighed.
"King Stefan," Ni Jianyi said with a wide grin. "I really felt quite distressed I didn't receive an invitation."
"You weren't wanted," Sanzo said with annoyance. "Just turn around and get out, crazy scientist!"
"Was that in the script, Kougaiji-sama?" Yaone whispered.
"Well, in that event, I'd best be on my way," Ni Jianyi said. "But to show I hold no ill feelings, I too have a gift."
Ni Jianyi pointed his bunny doll's hand towards the cradle. "The princess shall indeed grow in grace and beauty," he said. "But before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die!"
"Oh, no!" Yaone as the queen cried. Ni Jianyi laughed and slowly disappeared back stage. Kougaiji realised that he'd dug his fingernails deep into the arm rest of the throne. Jiroushin won't be too happy when he finds out.
"Don't despair," Hakkai as Fauna said. "San - I mean - Merryweather still has his gift to give."
"Hm!" Sanzo as a very grumpy Merryweather said. "I can't break the stupid curse but I can help. If the princess is clumsy enough to prick her finger, she will not die. Instead, she will fall into a deep sleep, and awake only when true love's kiss breaks the spell."
Kougaiji as King Stefan stood up. "Burn all the spinning wheels in the land!" he ordered.
"King Stefan ordered all the spinning wheels in his kingdom to be burned," Shien narrated. "Even then, the three fairies worried about Maleficent's curse. Finally, they convinced the king and queen that the little princess would be safer living with them in a cottage hidden in the forest."
"Your Majesty," Hakkai as Fauna said. "The princess would be much safer living with us in a cottage hidden in the forest. Let us care for her till her sixteenth birthday."
"Alright," Kougaiji as King Stefan said after a pause. "Take care of Aurora. We shall see her again on her sixteenth birthday."
The red curtain dropped.
"The three fairies disguised themselves as mortals and raised Aurora as their own," Zenon narrated. "They called her Briar Rose."
The curtain rose. The glittering throne is replaced with a dark and spooky one. Ni Jianyi in his black robes stroked his bunny doll. Goku, Nataku and Lirin in their costumes stood in front of him.
"But as the princess's sixteenth birthday drew near, Maleficent grew more and more frustrated," Zenon narrated.
"It's incredible!" Ni Jianyi, as the evil Maleficent, said to the supposed goons. "Sixteen years and not a single trace of her! Are you sure you searched everywhere?"
"Yes, we did!" Goku as goon#1 said earnestly. "We've searched all the cradles in the land!"
"All of it," Nataku as goon#2 pressed.
"Yup, we did!" Lirin as goon#3 said, nodding her head.
"Cradles?" Ni Jianyi echoed. He faced his bunny doll. "Did you hear that, my pet? They searched all the cradles in the land!"
Ni Jianyi started laughing. He threw his head back and cackled maniacally. Goku, Nataku and Lirin nervously followed.
Suddenly, Ni Jianyi stopped. "You fools! Idiots!" he shouted.
The three of them scattered. All of them ran off stage. Ni Jianyi sat down on the black throne. He looked at his precious bunny doll.
"You are my last hope, my pet," he said with his cigarette between his teeth. "Search for a maid of sixteen with hair of sunshine gold and lips red as a rose. Go now and do not fail me!"
The red curtain dropped. Shien turned on his microphone. The curtain rose and a cardboard cottage with cardboard trees replaced the spooky castle throne.
"Meanwhile," Shien begin narrating, "Aurora had grown up happily in the cottage, never knowing about the curse or even her real name."
Rinrei was sweeping in front of the cottage.
"For her sixteenth birthday," Zenon's rougher voice took over, "the fairies planned a party with a special surprise. They decided to send her picking something so she would not discover their plans."
Gojyo, Hakkai and Sanzo hurried on stage with a basket and a shawl.
"Dear," Hakkai as Fauna said, shoving the basket into her hands as Gojyo wound the shawl around her. "We want you to go pick some berries."
"Berries?" Rinrei said in astonishment as the three of them pushed her away. "But I've already picked berries yesterday."
"Don't go too far," Sanzo as Merryweather growled.
"And don't speak to strangers," Gojyo as Flora added.
"Rose always enjoyed looking for berries," Shien narrated. "She loved walking through the quiet woods where she would sing about her dream prince."
Rinrei started singing. Her voice soothed Jiroushin's still aching head.
"It so happened that a prince was riding through the forest," Zenon took over abruptly, "and he happened to hear Rose singing."
Out came Homura on a horse, or more specifically two persons in a costume. After swaying to and fro, Homura had enough. He slid down.
"What now?" Jiroushin groaned. He felt as if someone is pounding a hammer at his skull.
"Why can't we just get a real horse?" Homura said.
"Yeah!" a muffled voice said.
"Save us from this hard work and shame," another muffled voice said.
"It's stuffy in here!" the first voice said.
Somewhere, the costume unzipped. The two voices belonged to...
A/N: A cliffhanger, a cliffhanger!! Sorry, but I just love cliffhangers, especially if only I know what's coming up next!
