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A/N: And Story Number Two is Sleeping Beauty, Chalant style!

Zatanna is Princess Aurora, Dick is Prince Philip, Klarion is Maleficent, Megan, Dinah, and Artemis are the three fairies, Giovanni and Sindella are King Stefan and Queen Leah, and Bruce is King Hubert.

Since in the show Zatanna lived in New York with her dad, the name of their kingdom is simply York. Gothame is Gotham.

Once Upon a Time

Chalant – "Sleeping Beauty"

Part One

Once upon a time, there lived a king and his queen. The king's name was Giovanni and the queen's Sindella. More than anything, Giovanni and Sindella longed for a child. Finally, after many years, a beautiful daughter was born to the monarchs. They called her Zatanna, after the queen's beloved grandmother.

Shortly after the princess's birth, King Giovanni and Queen Sindella declared a holiday for the kingdom. The holiday was meant to give all citizens, no matter their class, an opportunity to pay homage to their future queen.

This story begins on that most joyful day.

The citizens of the kingdom of York made their way through the city streets towards King Giovanni's castle. Each man, woman, and child wore their very best clothing. Throughout the crowd of people, uniformed men rode on horses and played trumpets. Many of the countrymen made up songs about Princess Zatanna and how certain they were that she would one day make an excellent ruler. Everywhere one looked there were signs that this was a day for celebration.

King Giovanni and his queen sat in the throne room amid their subjects. The young princess lay asleep in her cradle next to her mother's throne. Queen Sindella could hardly bear to lift her cerulean gaze from her darling, precious daughter. Giovanni smiled at the sight and grasped the hand that was closest to him.

Among the many guests at Princess Zatanna's christening were a lifelong friend of King Giovanni's and his young son, King Bruce and Prince Richard of Gothame.

King Bruce and his son walked towards the seated monarchs. Giovanni got to his feet and approached the other king. He and Bruce grasped each other's hands in a firm handshake.

For many years, King Giovanni and King Bruce had planned for their children to marry and unite the two kingdoms forever. Today they would announce to everyone present that Prince Richard, Bruce's son and heir, would be betrothed to the young princess.

Giovanni and Bruce released their hold on one another. Bruce stepped aside so that Prince Richard could present himself to the king of York.

Prince Richard was a handsome child of about four years old. Much like his father, the future king had inky black hair and bright blue eyes. Though he was on his very best behavior, there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. He carried in his hands an ornate golden box which contained a gift for his future wife.

Queen Sindella got to her feet and crossed to the boy. She led him over to the cradle where Princess Zatanna lay asleep. Prince Richard looked down at the infant rather disdainfully. The prince was no fan of babies.

Up in one of the balconies above the thrones, the trumpets blasted. All eyes in the throne room looked up to see a beam of golden light appear in the room. Three figures materialized from the light.

"Their most honored excellencies, the good fairies! Mistress Megan, Mistress Dinah, and Mistress Artemis!"

Mistress Megan had vivid red hair and milky skin. Her face was kind. She wore a pink dress with a matching cape and pointed hat. She was the middle fairy.

Mistress Dinah was dressed very similarly to Megan, except her color of choice was black. She had long blonde hair and was the oldest of the trio.

Mistress Artemis had blonde hair like Dinah's but her skin had more of an olive complexion. Her dress, cape, and hat were all emerald green. She was the youngest of the fairies.

The trio of fairies made their way towards King Giovanni and Queen Sindella. "We are honored to have you," the king intoned. Beside him, Queen Sindella nodded in agreement.

The new arrivals to the party all smiled at the monarchs before hurrying over to the cradle where Princess Zatanna slept. "The little darling," cooed Megan, who was easily the most maternal of the three.

"Your Majesties," Dinah began, "each of us would like to bestow a gift onto the princess."

A gift from a fairy was not something to be turned down. The king nodded his permission. Megan drew her wand first and drew a large circle in the air with its tip. "I shall bestow the gift of beauty on the little princess," the pink fairy declared. A soft pink shower of sparks fell over the infant princess.

Dinah took her turn next. "Princess Zatanna, I give you the gift of song," she murmured. She mimicked Megan's actions and a small stream of black sparks fell over the sleeping child.

Artemis stepped forward after Dinah moved away. She too raised her wand to give a gift, but was interrupted before she could speak.

The interruption came in the form of a cold wind blowing the doors to the throne room wide open. There was a flash of blue lightning. Several ladies screamed. King Bruce gathered up Prince Richard and held onto the boy tightly. Giovanni stepped in front of his wife protectively.

There was a cackle as the hall lit up with a brilliant blue flame. The flames dispersed and left a terrifying figure in their wake.

It was an imp named Klarion who called himself the Lord of Chaos. He had pale blue skin, jet black hair with a set of horns atop his head, and a thin frame. A brown cat with glowing red eyes was draped around his shoulders.

"Klarion," growled Artemis, "what are you doing here?"

He spoke in an unpleasant, nasally voice. "Well," he sneered, "what do we have here? Nobility...gentry...royalty..." The imp narrowed his eyes even further at the trio of fairies. "And even the rabble."

At this comment, Artemis clenched her fists. She attempted to fly towards the Lord of Chaos, but Dinah took hold of her cape and held her back from attacking.

Klarion stroked his familiar's fur. "I was very upset that I did not receive in invitation to this excellent party you're throwing, King Giovanni." He sneered the king's title with utmost disdain.

"You are not welcome here," Artemis spat.

"Not welcome?" Klarion repeated with mock surprise. "Then I suppose I should be on my way."

Queen Sindella cast a sidelong glance at the infant princess, who was still asleep in her cradle. "And you're not offended, my Lord?" she asked with trepidation.

"I should think not, Your Majesty," Klarion replied. "To show you that I bear you no ill will, I too shall give the child a gift." He turned his dark gaze to where Princess Zatanna lay in her bassinet.

The three fairies dove in front of the bassinet in an attempt to protect the young royal, but it was no good. "The princess shall indeed become graceful and beautiful. She will be loved by all who know her," Klarion stated, "but on her sixteenth birthday she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel...and die!"

There was an anguished cry from Queen Sindella. The distressed monarch shoved the fairies aside and plucked her daughter from the cradle. She held Zatanna close to her heart, as if that alone could shield the baby from the curse.

"Seize him!" roared King Giovanni.

The knights scrambled forward to do as they had been ordered, but they were no match for the Lord of Chaos. With another sinister laugh and a snap of his fingers, Klarion disappeared into the ether.

Silent tears streamed down Sindella's face. King Giovanni patted her hand gently. A grim expression had settled over the ruler's features.

"Your Majesties," offered Megan in a timid tone, "there may still be hope. Artemis still has a gift to give."

Giovanni's face brightened. "You can undo this wicked curse then, Artemis?"

The green fairy's gray eyes were downcast. "I cannot, King Giovanni," she admitted. "Klarion has powers far beyond anything we fairies are capable of. But I can alter the curse's effects." Queen Sindella held out the child so that Artemis could work her magic. The youngest fairy hesitated.

"Do your best, dear," Dinah encouraged.

Artemis took a deep breath. "Little princess," the fairy murmured, "if because of this demon's trick a spindle should your finger prick, a ray of hope there still may be in this, the gift I give to thee. Not in death but merely in sleep the fateful prophecy shall keep. And from the slumber you will wake when true love's kiss the spell shall break." With these words, a shower of green sparks fell over the princess.

The other fairies smiled at Artemis. They were proud of what she had been able to do. Both monarchs thanked Artemis profusely but neither appeared to be truly comforted by the new prophecy. "Bring me every spinning wheel in the kingdom," Giovanni ordered his men. "We will burn them all. No harm must be allowed to come to my child."

The knights saluted the monarch and marched swiftly from the room. Queen Sindella still stood with the princess in her arms, her face pale and wet with tears. The gentle queen stroked the ebony colored fuzz that covered Zatanna's tiny head and murmured to the princess that she needn't worry.

As the hours passed, many of Giovanni's soldiers came back with spinning wheels. The king personally saw to it that each one was reduced to mere ashes. Still, the good king had a horrible feeling that all of these precautions were simply not enough. Klarion was cunning and malevolent. If he wanted something badly enough, he would get it. And now he wanted the princess's life.

Megan, Dinah, and Artemis watched from one of the balconies as chaos exploded around them. "We must find a way to protect the princess," Megan said to the others. The pink fairy was especially fond of children and Klarion's curse was simply outrageous to her.

"I did my best," Artemis piped up with a scowl on her face. "What else can we do? You know we don't have a chance of defeating Klarion."

Dinah, as the oldest and most experienced of the trio, wore a calm expression. She waved her wand and a small white teapot and three teacups appeared. "Perhaps we could reason with him," the black fairy suggested. "After all, cursing a little girl over a party invitation is completely unreasonable. We can find a way to smooth things over and get him to lift the curse."

"You want us to reason with Klarion, the Lord of Chaos?" Artemis asked incredulously. "That will never work. There's a reason he calls himself that, you know." The green fairy crossed her arms over her chest.

Megan looked at the older fairy sadly. "I think Artemis is right," she murmured. "We will have to protect Princess Zatanna some other way."

"I wish we could just turn him into a toad," Artemis muttered. "That would solve everything."

Dinah frowned at the younger blonde. "Our magic doesn't work that way. You know we can only use it to bring happiness and good fortune."

The youngest fairy didn't look convinced. "It would make me happy," she replied.

The black fairy opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Megan letting out a soft gasp. "I know what we will do," she announced. "Follow me."

With a wave of her wand, the pink fairy turned herself miniature. The other members of the trio followed suit and followed Megan into the small ornamental box that was resting on a nearby table. "We'll hide the princess away from Klarion," she told the others excitedly. "We could turn her into something that doesn't have fingers so that she couldn't prick herself," the redhead continued. "We could turn her into something like a flower."

Artemis made a scoffing sound. "A flower? Klarion would just send a frost."

Megan's face fell. "That is true," she admitted. "And I'd bet Klarion is expecting us to transform the princess in some way."

"We should do something he won't expect," Artemis put in. "But thinking of something he won't expect is next to impossible. He knows everything."

Dinah's face was thoughtful. "Klarion doesn't know everything, Artemis. He doesn't know anything about kindness or love," the black fairy said.

A grin slowly spread across the pink fairy's features. "Of course!" she exclaimed. "It's the only thing Klarion won't expect."

The blond members of the trio exchanged a confused look with each other. Then they turned their gazes back to Megan and waited for her to explain.

Megan had taken to pacing the confines of the box they were hiding in. "Giovanni and Sindella won't be happy...but it's the only way...we'll need to be very careful...there's an old cottage in the forest..."

"What won't the king and queen be happy about, Megan?" Dinah asked in a careful voice.

"They won't be happy about the three peasant women who are going to take the princess and raise her away from the kingdom until the danger of the curse has passed," Megan stated.

"That's nice of them. Who are they?" inquired the green fairy.

The pink fairy waved her wand. Dinah and Artemis both looked down at themselves to see that they were now dressed in peasant garb. Megan's magic had also taken away their wings. Dinah let out a small gasp but Artemis focused her stormy gray gaze on her redheaded counterpart.

"You can't be serious. You want us to live like mortals for sixteen years?"

"It's the only way." Megan's voice was firm. Still in disbelief, Artemis looked over at the black fairy. It was of no use, however; Artemis could tell by Dinah's face that she was in agreement with Megan.

"I suppose Klarion will never suspect us of doing that," Artemis grumbled. "Alright. I'll help."

The pink fairy beamed and then opened the lid of the box. The trio flew out and then turned back into their full sized selves. Together, the three fairies made their way to where the king and queen sat. Queen Sindella was still clutching the princess to her chest.

"We have a solution," Megan said. "We believe it's the only way to keep Klarion from harming Zatanna. We will take her away from the kingdom until the danger has passed."

The queen gasped and clutched her daughter even tighter. But Giovanni was quiet for a long time before finally nodding. "I am sorry, my darling," he murmured to the queen. "But the fairies are right. It will not be forever."

The fairies turned away so that the monarchs could say good-bye to their daughter. Then Sindella thrust the baby into Megan's arms very quickly, as if that were the only way she could stand to do it.

Dinah cast a quick spell over them so they would be disguised during their journey. And then they disappeared into the night.