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Once Upon a Time
Chalant – "Sleeping Beauty"
Part Three
When Zee and the stranger finished their dance, he did not let go of her hand. Zee did not mind this in the slightest. The raven haired maiden had realized who this stranger was: the mysterious man from her dreams. She was so enchanted by the thought of her dreams coming true that she did not even consider protesting.
Zee led the way deeper into the forest. She came to a stop at the edge of the same cliff she had been at earlier. Zee and the stranger leaned against the tree trunk and looked out at the spectacular view of the kingdom. The teenage girl found herself resting her head on his shoulder. His arm wrapped around her waist.
"Who are you?" he asked. "What is your name?"
Though Zee admittedly did not know the young man beside her very well, it sounded to her as if he was just as wonderstruck as she was.
"Hmm?" she asked sleepily. She was still enveloped in the delightfully hazy daydream world that she'd been in since her realization. His question made her come to her senses immediately. "No, no, no...I can't," Zee said. The words came tumbling from her mouth.
The man grinned at her rather cheekily. "That's an odd name," he said.
Zee ignored him. She withdrew from his hold and dashed around the tree towards the rest of the forest.
"Wait!" he commanded. "You must come back!" She continued to pay him no mind as she expertly wound a path through the trees. "When will I see you again?" the man called.
"You won't," Zee replied. She hopped from stone to stone across the stream. She just had to get back to the cottage. The maiden could not believe how foolish she had been. Her aunts would be so disappointed with her actions. Maybe they were right to be protective of her all those years. When given a little freedom the first thing she had done was start dancing and talking with a stranger! Maybe Zee wasn't as mature as she'd like to think.
"You mean I'll never see you again?" he asked. He had pursued her into the forest and was now at the opposite side of the small river.
The obvious distress in his voice made Zee reconsider. She was definitely intrigued by her companion to say the least. She'd like to get to know him better and to maybe discover why she'd been dreaming of him.
"Tonight," Zee decided. "I live at the cottage in the glen. It's the only one there." Zee knew that her aunts would not be pleased that she had invited a stranger into their home, but they would be there to chaperone, which would make them happy enough. And, the maiden mused, it was her birthday. She could invite whomever she wished to celebrate it with her.
Zee returned to the spot where she'd left her shawl and her basket. She gathered them up in her arms and continued on her way home.
"I shall see you there!" he promised.
0o0o0o0
Back at the cottage, plans for the princess's celebration were not going so well. Dinah had attempted to frost the cake before baking it. As a result, the batter simply oozed out no matter what she did with it. Finally, the black clad fairy decided to stick the broom handle against the cake to prop it up.
"What do you think?" the oldest of the trio asked her fellow fairies.
Megan and Artemis both looked over at their elder. Artemis, who was already standing with her arms folded across her chest, scoffed loudly at the mess the other blonde had made. The redhead shot Artemis a glare before looking back at Dinah. "It's a very unusual cake," the pink fairy offered.
"The cake will be much more solid once it's baked," the black fairy said. Megan nodded and then looked at where the youngest fairy stood. Artemis still had her arms crossed and there was a scowl on her face. Megan, however, was beaming at the dress she had created.
"How does the dress look?" the redhead asked.
It was Dinah's turn to be a little less than honest. "The dress looks quite unique, Megan," stated the oldest fairy in a careful, measured voice.
To be fair, the dress was unique. The yellow fabric had uneven sleeves, an uneven hemline, and gigantic stitches. It was festooned with several large bows and a fair share of ruffles. The finished project looked nothing like the design in the book.
"I think I improved on the design," Megan said happily. "Of course, it's not quite finished yet. I'm going to add a few more ruffles and maybe some lace..."
Finally, Artemis could take it no longer. She hopped down from the stool she'd been standing on and ripped the poor excuse for a gown off of her body. "This has gone on long enough!" the youngest girl cried. "I think we ought to think of Zee and what she'll think of this awful disaster. Now, this is the last time we'll ever get to celebrate with just the four of us. Shouldn't we make this special?"
Megan and Dinah exchanged a look before nodding. Artemis smiled. "Then let's use magic." And with that, the green clad fairy marched upstairs and returned with the three magic wands. She handed the older fairies their respective wands and kept her own. It felt nice to have it back; sixteen years was an awfully long time. A shower of green sparks erupted from the tip.
"Be careful, Artemis," scolded Megan. She glanced around the cottage anxiously, as if she thought Klarion might appear out of thin air. "Close all the windows and doors," she instructed her fellow fairies. The trio sprung into action. Dinah pulled the window shut and drew the curtains back together, while Artemis shut the top half of the Dutch door. The red haired fairy went along behind them, stuffing rags into the crevices so that no trace of magic could escape from the cabin.
Once Megan felt that the little home was properly blocked off, she started to hand out assignments. "Dinah, you make the cake. Artemis, you'll clean up this mess. I'll make the dress." The pink fairy pointed her wand at the trunk. The leftover yellow velvet floated out of the trunk.
Dinah bustled back into the kitchen area once more, leaving Artemis to heave a dramatic sigh. Once again, she was bossed around because she was the youngest. The green fairy directed her wand at the broom, mop, and bucket that were leaning in one corner. "Megan says clean up the room," murmured the green fairy.
Immediately, the cleaning products sprang to life. The broom began to sweep itself across the hardwood floors. The mop followed along after the broom, dipping itself into the bucket and scrubbing the floor in the broom's wake.
Megan was busy making the dress. The canary colored velvet had been shaped into a long, flowing skirt. The matching bodice quickly followed. With another flick of her hand, Megan attached the two pieces together.
The oldest fairy was consulting the recipe book again. "Just do what it says in the book," the black clad woman instructed the ingredients. The bag of flour marched over to the mixing bowl and poured itself in. The eggs cracked themselves and a large wooden spoon began to mix the concoction.
The cabin and birthday celebration were really coming along. The floors were clean and the cake had been baked with a swish of Dinah's magic wand. The black fairy was decorating the lavish dessert with lilac colored frosting, humming to herself. Megan, meanwhile, had just added the second sleeve to Zee's gown and was working on adding some lighter yellow trim.
Artemis made a face. "Yellow," she muttered in a disgusted tone. She pointed her wand at the garment. "Make it purple," the youngest blonde commanded.
"Artemis!" shrieked the redhead in a scandalized voice. Megan promptly turned the dress back to yellow. She glared daggers at the green fairy as she did so.
This only made Artemis feel even more determined to have her way. She aimed a stream of purple sparks at the gown once more. The pink fairy dove in front of her creation, turning her peasant garb violet in the process. In retaliation, the pink fairy turned Artemis's clothing bright yellow.
The two younger fairies continued to engage in a silent battle. In next to no time, almost everything in the cottage had been turned yellow or purple. And despite Megan carefully boarding up the cottage so that no signs of magic escaped, there was one thing she hadn't thought to cover – the fireplace and the chimney.
0o0o0o0
Teekl, Klarion's familiar, was still out doing his master's bidding. The familiar was nearly done searching the kingdom. He did not much like the idea of going back to the Forbidden Mountain empty handed.
But as the large brown cat made his way through the forest, he came upon the cottage where the three fairies had escaped with the infant princess so long ago. Curious, he watched the house for a few moments. And as he watched, the familiar saw the sparks begin to fly out of the chimney.
Teekl knew the signs of magic when he saw them. A slow, evil grin crossed the cat's face. He darted off through the woods closer to the house so that he could observe. He hoped he would soon be able to tell Klarion the good news.
0o0o0o0
Back inside the cottage, Artemis and Megan were still fighting over the color of the dress. Both fairies had taken to hiding behind various objects to keep their clothes the proper color and trying to transform Zee's gown to the hue of their choosing at the same time.
Eventually, the green and pink fairies both aimed their magic at the dress at the exact same moment. The result was a garment that was half yellow and half purple. Megan let out a gasp. "Look what you've done," she scolded the younger girl. She pointed her magic wand at the dress. The purple spots seeped away, leaving only the yellow behind.
"That was just as much your fault as it was mine," Artemis shot back defensively.
The redhead opened her mouth to reply, but Dinah shushed them both. "Stop bickering, you two, and listen," the oldest of the trio commanded.
When the argument ceased, both of the younger fairies heard what Dinah had heard. A lovely, clear voice was singing a song. The owner of the voice did not sound far away at all. The voice was also instantly recognizable as-
"Zee!" exclaimed Artemis. She pointed her wand at her clothes and changed them back to green. Megan changed her own garments back to her usual bright pink.
"We've wasted enough time," the redhead stated. She draped the dress carefully over one of the kitchen chairs while Artemis hurriedly arranged the dishes in the cabinet and Dinah lit the candles. Megan glanced around the cabin and saw that everything was back in its proper place. "Everyone, hide!" she ordered.
Artemis decided to hide on the staircase, which was not visible from the door. As the blonde fairy crept past the others, she pointed her wand at the dress, transforming it once more from yellow to purple.
"Aunt Megan! Aunt Dinah! Aunt Artemis!" Zee's voice called as she drew closer to the cottage. The door creaked open and the maiden came bustling inside. She hung up her shawl and placed the basket of berries by the door.
When Zee saw the surprises the fairies had left out for her, she let out a gasp.
0o0o0o0
Zee had rushed through the woods as fast as she could. She couldn't wait to tell her aunts all about the lovely day she had had and the enchanting man she had met. Zee had hoped she could persuade her aunts to allow her new acquaintance to join them but the maiden had also thought of a few arguments in case they were less than enthusiastic about the idea.
Zee stopped short, however, when she saw what was waiting for her. On the table was a four layered cake with purple icing. Sixteen candles were already lit atop the cake. Next to the table was one of the kitchen chairs. A gown in a deep purple color had been carefully arranged on the chair. The garment was a very fancy one. It was something Zee would have pictured a queen or a princess wearing, not someone like her.
Nevertheless, the raven haired youth seized the dress, letting out a gasp as she fingered the soft velvet it was made from. Zee twirled around the kitchen. This truly had been the best day of her life. Everything had been so perfect up to this point.
Now her three aunts appeared. Each of the three older women beamed at her. "Happy birthday!" they shouted in unison.
"This is wonderful," Zee declared happily. "Oh, thank you! Thank you!" The young lady carefully placed the dress back on the chair before spinning around again. Deep down, she knew she was probably too old to be acting in such a giddy way, but Zee didn't care. "Just wait until you meet him," she told the trio. Zee began to hum the song she and the stranger had sung in the forest.
The other women exchanged a wary glance. "Him?" Dinah repeated. The black clad woman wore an expression of disapproval. "Have you been talking to strangers, Zee?" the oldest of her aunts demanded.
"Not strangers. Just the one," the maiden replied. Zee did not usually talk to her aunts so cheekily, but she was not thinking clearly. She was still caught up in her daydream. "And really, Aunt Dinah, he's not even a stranger. We've met before."
Megan and Artemis started to mirror the older woman. Looks of dread had been etched onto all three of her aunts' faces. "Zee," Artemis said, sounding scandalized.
"When did you meet this man?" the redhead questioned.
Zee began to hum again. "We met once upon a dream," she answered. The raven haired maiden seized Artemis by the hands and began to dance around the cottage with her.
This left her older aunts to conspire together. "She's in love," Dinah murmured.
"It's terrible," Megan added.
These words got through to Zee even in her dreamlike state. "What's so wrong with that?" she questioned. "I am sixteen now. I'm old enough to marry if I choose."
Dinah's blue eyes focused on Zee. "It's not about your age, my dear," she informed Zee. Her voice was kind again.
The pink clad redhead added, "You're already betrothed, Zee."
That was news to Zee. She clapped a hand to her mouth. How could she have been betrothed and not know about it? Surely her aunts would have told her. To find out that she was betrothed on her sixteenth birthday was the kind of ugly surprise Zee was certain she'd never have.
"To whom?" Zee asked eventually.
"To Prince Richard of Gothame," the green clad blonde supplied. Of the three, Artemis looked the most sympathetic.
Confusion washed over her. "That isn't possible," Zee breathed. "If I were to marry a prince, I would have to be a-"
"A princess," the three older women chorused together. "And you are," Megan added. "You're Princess Zatanna."
Zee had heard the name in passing before. It was common knowledge that the princess of York had been taken away from King Giovanni and Queen Sindella shortly after her birth, though the reasons for this were never quite agreed on. But never in her wildest dreams would Zee have thought that she had been the princess all this time.
Artemis patted Zee's arm. "Tonight we're taking you back to your mother and father."
"I'm afraid you won't be able to see the boy you've met," Dinah stated. There was a touch of regret in the oldest woman's voice.
Tears pricked at the princess's eyes. "This is not fair," she cried as the tears started to fall. She brushed past her aunts towards the small staircase at the other end of the cottage. "I can't believe what you've done to me!" Zatanna hurried up the stairs and into her bedroom. She threw herself down on her bed, sobbing into the pillow.
Downstairs, the three fairies were exchanging worried glances. "I thought she'd be so happy," the pink fairy spoke up timidly.
"She'll get used to it," Dinah replied sagely. "When she learns that this was all for her protection, she will understand why we have done what we have."
The green fairy was less than convinced. "This is an awful lot to tell her all at once," the youngest blonde remarked. "Maybe we did go about things in the wrong way. Why should she have to marry some prince who she doesn't even know? If the boy from the forest makes her happy, then who are we to stand in her way?"
"She's a princess, Artemis," Dinah said in a tired voice. "There are certain responsibilities that come along with that. For Zatanna, marrying Prince Richard is one of those responsibilities." The black fairy turned to where the dress and cake sat, now forgotten. She picked up the gown from the chair. "Zee will need to get dressed. We'll have to leave soon."
Dinah started toward the staircase with the gown still in her hands. Artemis, however, took the dress away from the elder fairy. "I'll help her," she said firmly. She turned on her heel and marched up the stairs.