"-Sleeping Beauty from Chapter 66!"
With a loud POOF! Ana found herself in front of a cottage, the one that Sleeping Beauty was living in and by what she guessed, the red-head had arrived on the day the Princess was going to pick berries, not knowing that her caretakers (the fairies) were preparing a birthday party.
Taking a deep breath in, Ana walked into the house (which was surprisingly unlocked and quiet) glancing around and expecting a fairy to pop out or something.
"Hello? Anybody home?" She called.
All she got was silence. Ana sighed and felt uneasy in her stomach.
This was a Fairy Tale world, after all, who knew what would come out and get her?! Plus, the term 'Happily ever after' didn't always apply in these things, so who knew if she'd make it out alive if she ran into someone or something dangerous here.
"Okay, if there are any fairies here, please come out because I could really use a wish to be granted now." The blue-eyed girl called out.
She continued to explore the house, biting her lip every time she heard the tiniest of noises, even when she was the one making them. She couldn't help it, she was nervous and afraid of creepy, abandoned houses that were supposed to be all happy and cheerful because fairies and a princess lived in them.
But the place looked like the castle did after everyone fell asleep for a 100 years.
"I'm not a fairy-"
Ana gasped and looked around, spotting her reflection in the window and that of a boy's standing next to her, but when she looked, there was no one there.
"-but I could help you."
Her mind slowly processed the voice and she gasped in recognition.
"Robin?" She questioned.
"In the flesh, or rather, soul." He chuckled.
"What's going on? Wasn't Sleeping Beauty supposed to be out picking blueberries while her fairy friends prepared for a party?"
"If you were in Chapter 203, then yes, they would be right about now."
"So I got the story wrong and ended up somewhere I have no idea about?"
"No. This is Sleeping Beauty, or rather, the more gruesome version of the fairy tale."
"Wait, there were other versions?"
"Yep. This one was written by Giambattista Basile and I'm not so sure if you'll like it."
"Do you know the story? If you do, tell me, I kinda need to know who I can and can't trust here, Robin."
"Okay, but you won't like what you hear."
"Just get on with it."
"In Giambattista Basile's version of Sleeping Beauty, the sleeping beauty is named Talia."
"At least someone was smart enough to give her a name this time."
"Yeah, I guess, but anyway. By asking wise men and astrologers to predict her future after her birth, her father (who is a great lord) learns that Talia will be in danger from a splinter of flax. The splinter later causes what appears to be Talia's death; however, it is later learned that it is a long, deep sleep."
"So far, it sounds the same, when's the change coming around?"
"Right now. After Talia, or Sleeping Beauty, falls into deep sleep, she is seated on a velvet throne and her father, to forget his misery of what he thinks is her death, closes the doors and abandons the house forever. One day, while a king is walking by, one of his falcons flies into the house. The king knocks, hoping to be let in by someone, but no one answers and he decides to climb in with a ladder. He finds Talia alive but unconscious, and after crying aloud that he is unable to wake her, he carries her to a bed and rapes her."
"He WHAT?! He's gotta be the bad guy, right?! There's no way a good guy would do that, not in bloody Hell!"
"You're find out if you're right in a minute. Afterwards, he leaves her in the bed and goes back to his kingdom. Though Talia is unconscious, her body gives birth to twins-one of whom keeps sucking her fingers. Talia awakens because the twin has sucked out the flax that was stuck deep in Talia's finger."
"She got pregnant in her sleep? And when did she get that flax in her finger?"
"Yes and no one knows. When she wakes up, she discovers that she is a mother and has no idea what happened to her. One day, the king decides he wants to go see Talia again. He goes back to the palace to find her awake and a mother to his twins. He informs her of who he is, what has happened, and they end up bonding."
"She liked him despite the whole 'I raped and impregnated you in your sleep' thing?"
"From the looks of it. After a few days, the king has to leave to go back to his realm, but promises Talia that he will return to take her to his kingdom."
"Let me guess: Things start to go downhill from there, right?"
"Right again, Ana. When he arrives back in his kingdom, his wife hears him saying 'Talia, Sun, and Moon' in his sleep. She bribes and threatens the king's secretary to tell her what is going on. After the queen learns the truth, she pretends she is the king and writes to Talia asking her to send the twins because he wants to see them. Talia sends her twins to the "king" and the queen tells the cook to kill the twins and make dishes out of them."
"WHAT?! How can a woman do that?!"
"I don't know, but then again, this is a fairy tale. She wants to feed the king his children; instead, the cook takes the twins to his wife and hides them."
"Thank goodness."
"Agreed. He then cooks two lambs and serves them as if they were the twins. Every time the king mentions how good the food is, the queen replies, 'Eat, eat, you are eating of your own.' Later, the queen invites Talia to the kingdom and is going to burn her alive, but the king appears and finds out what's going on with his children and Talia. He then orders that his wife be burned along with those who betrayed him."
"Nice going, King-boy."
"Funny. Since the cook actually did not obey the queen, the king thanks the cook for saving his children by giving him rewards. The story ends with the king marrying Talia and living happily ever after."
"Oh, so that little gimmick stayed despite the story?"
"Yep, I found it hard to believe, too when I first learned it."
"So, what part in the story do you think I'm in now?"
"Probably after the twins' birth, that's when I arrived here last time."
"Okay, thanks. I'll see if I can find them."
"Good luck, Ana. For your sake, and your friends, I hope you can do what I couldn't."
"I will do my best and I'll get you out, Robin. You and Simon are getting out with all of us, I promise."
"Don't make promises you can't keep, Ana. Just get your friends and go as soon as things have been sorted."
"Sorry, but you're my friends now, so I'm not leaving you."
"That's sweet, Ana, but get back to the Fairy Tale, or you won't save anyone."
"Okay. Thank you for all the help."
"No problem. If you ever need us, look for something that reflects and we'll be there."
"What are you, reverse vampires?"
"Hardy ha. Just get back to work."
"Yes boss. Bye."
"Bye, Ana."
With that, Robin's reflection disappeared from the window and Ana resumed her searching, feeling a bit more at ease now that she had some information.
A bit of crying entered her ears and led her to the room where 'Talia' was sleeping with her two children with her. Only, as far as Ana knew, that wasn't Talia on the bed.
It was her little Kohai and good friend: Rei Saotome. Her purple hair was all over the place, her amber eyes closed and her normally lightly tanned skin was deathly pale, the only reassurance that she was alive was the steady rise and fall of her chest. The girl was wearing a lavender night dress with puffy sleeves and had a silver chain around her neck with a star charm.
Ana wanted to break down and cry her heart out, knowing that her dear friend had been raped while in this state and that she hadn't been there to protect her, but forced herself not to and focus on what was important: Protecting her and her unnamed children from the evil Queen.
The babies were a boy and a girl from what Ana could tell, the little boy being the one sucking on his mother's finger. Ana smiled at the adorable sight while the female twin cried for her mother, or some warmth to hold her.
At least, that's what Ana guessed since the house was ice-cold, Rei probably was, too. So she did what any kind person would do. She picked up the small girl and gently rocked her in her arms, softly hushing her.
"There, there, little one. Momma's gonna wake up soon, but until then, Ante Ana will look after you, okay-dookie?" The red-head whispered soothingly, the little girl's whimpering stopping temporarily.
She opened her eyes when she stopped crying to reveal that they were the same stunning amber color they got from her mother.
Ana smiled at the child, gently and it was that moment that Rei began to stir, so Ana placed the little girl back where she belonged, in her mother's arms.
"Where… am I?" The confused girl asked, slowly sitting up.
"Good morning Sleeping Beauty, how was your nap?" Ana giggled, smiling at the girl who was about 16/17-years-old.
"My name is actually Blair. Blair Flannigan. And why are there two babies in bed with me?"
"I'd like to know that, too. Did you have any dreams while you were asleep? Maybe they could help us figure out how this happened. By the way, my name is Ana. Ana Taylor."
"Nice to meet you Ana-san and okay. I dreamed that my father though I had died when I fell asleep and left the house one day, he hasn't returned since. And how long was I asleep for?"
"Who knows, but if what you say actually happened, then there's no wonder this place looks like it hasn't been cleaned in 100 years. Any other dreams you had? We'll figure out how long you were out later."
"I remembered a boy about my age coming in, saying something about what stunning hair I had and when he tried to wake me up, I didn't even stir. He screamed out loud that he couldn't wake me up and then, there's nothing but darkness surrounding me. And that's how it stayed until when I woke up just now."
"Well, for your house to get this bad, I'm guessing you've been asleep for 20 or so years."
"20 YEARS?! Oh no, how am I going to catch up my lost time and look after 2 children, I'm only 16-years-old!"
"Calm down, Blair-san, it's not good for your children for you to stress, besides, I'll help you."
"You will. But why?"
"Because that's who I am, so let's give these little guys some names, get you 3 cleaned up and in some cloths. Once that's done, we'll take it from there."
"Okay. Thank you very much Ana-sempai."
"No problem, Blair-kohai."
Blair smiled at Ana and glanced at her two children.
"I'd like to name the boy Sam, or Samson and my daughter I'd like to name her Celena, after my mother." Blair declared.
"Okay then, I think they'll like those names. Now, why don't you take a bath first and I'll clean up the kids." Ana suggested.
The purple-head nodded and moved to stand up, but stumbled, the red-head able to catch her before she hit the flour. Blair chuckled nervously.
"I guess I need to practice some walking before I can get back to my normal life, huh?" She chuckled.
"Probably. Okay, new plan: I make something to eat while you bond with the twins. Once you've eaten, feed them and then we'll all clean up. Sound good?" Ana suggested, Blair nodding in agreement.
The blue-eyed girl smiled and walked into the kitchen and was luckily able to find stuff that hadn't gone bad while the amber-eyed girl smiled at her two children and played with them both a bit.
…
A few weeks later, Blair and Ana were the best of friends and Sam and Celena were two healthy, happy little babies. The King hadn't come back to visit yet, but Ana was prepared for it, just in case the Queen already knew about Blair and had hypnotized her husband into coming down here into the woods to kill her, or something else bat shit crazy like that.
At that moment in time, Blair was washing dishes in the kitchen while Ana occupied Sam and Celena, making silly faces to make them laugh and giggle softly.
They heard a knock on the door and Ana grew tense, knowing that was most likely the King and judging by the color of the kids' slowly growing hair, she could only guess who the King was. Even if it was an educated guess, she could still be wrong, but she wanted to be prepared just in case it was who she though it was.
"I'll get it." Blair called.
Ana got up and grabbed her kohai's arm, stopping her.
"Wait, Blair, what makes you think we should just open the door and prove that someone lives in this house? What if this person wants to hurt you and the twins?" She asked.
"…Let's bring the prying pan to hit them, just in case you're right." Blair suggested.
"I like the way you think, my little Kohai."
"Thank you very much, sempai. Can you hid the twins for me?"
"I'll try, but make sure you bring the heaviest frying pan with you when you open the door."
"Deal, now hid them!"
"Aye sir!"
Ana went back into Blair's bedroom and picked up the twins, taking them up stairs into the attic while Blair grabbed a frying pan and slowly crept towards the door. She opened the door and nearly dropped her frying pan in shock. It was the boy from her dream!
Back upstairs, Ana could hear some light-hearted talking going on and then heard Blair call her down. So, she did as she was told and arrived with the twins in her arms, silently cheering for herself that she was right about who the King was.
The King had bright chocolate brown eyes, tanned skin and chocolate brown hair that was straight in the front and spiked in the back, a mop of orange on top to complete the look. He was wearing his Supreme King armor, but under it Ana spotted his usual Slifer Red uniform. It was her best friend since birth, Judai Yuki.
"And this woman is my good friend, Ana Taylor. She was there when I awoke from my sleep and helped me get back together. And the two children in her arms are my son and daughter: Sam and Celena." Blair introduced everyone to the King and then turned to her fast approaching friend and family.
"Ana, this is Jaden Yuki." She smiled.
Ana put on a smile and directed it at Jaden.
"It's nice to meet you, sir. What brings you to our humble home?" Ana asked, giggling softly.
"Well, you see, I was here before and I felt like visiting Blair-hime again." Jaden smiled, looking at Blair with honest and gentle love in his eyes.
"Blair-hime? As in a Princess?" Blair gasped.
"I had no idea I was friends with a princess!" Ana gasped.
Jaden smiled at the two woman and the children, guilt of what he had done to such a sweet person building inside him.
"I… I need to tell you both something." He stated.
The two women nodded and ushered him into the living room, Blair and Jaden sitting on a couch together while Ana sat in a seat across from them, the twins in her lap, Sam playing with her hair and Celena hugging her brother in her sleep. Jaden took his armor off, setting it nearby and took in a shaky breath.
"I guess you probably want to know where the children came from, huh?" Jaden began, biting his lip and holding his hands together.
"Yes please." Blair said, surprised her sempai was being so quiet.
"Well, you see, about 10 months ago I was on a hunting trip and…"
So, King Jaden confessed to what he had done to Blair and cried as he apologized for it. He also confessed to being the King while telling the story, shocking Blair to the core while Ana pretended to be horror-struck.
"…And here we are now. I'm so sorry for what I did to you, Blair, it was unforgivable that I used you like that, I'm a monster." Jaden sobbed, his body shaking.
Blair stared at Jaden in half-shock half-sympathy and made a decision. She hugged him, surprising everyone.
"I know you're sorry you did that, Jaden, but I'm not. If you hadn't raped me, then I wouldn't have these two wonderful children you have blessed me with and I'm very sure Ana wouldn't be living here with me if the kids hadn't been born. I forgive you, Jaden, please, forgive yourself, too." Blair begged.
Jaden stared at her and then at Ana and his children, who were all smiling at him.
"Since Blair has forgiven you and the kids wouldn't be here if you hadn't done that, I have no choice but to forgive you. However, if you dare try something like that again and I will cut certain body parts off you in your sleep so it won't happen again, okay?" Ana giggled.
Jaden gulped and nodded, everyone laughing at the look on his face, even Sam and Celena giggled at him. The brunette smiled at them all and joined in on the laughing fest, Ana silently thankful that things hadn't been fucked up for this Fairy Tale yet. But when they did, she prayed she'd be ready.