Sleeping Beauty
Once upon a time, in a beautiful and glorious city nestled high in the mountains, there lived a wise king and a fair queen who wanted a child. One day, their wish came true. A beautiful baby girl was born and she was named Zoe Orimoto. A few days after the princess's birth, a grand party was held at the palace. People from far and wide were invited to attend the marvelous celebration. Even the Seven Good Fairies were asked to come. Everyone was having a wonderful time while celebrating the baby princess. The King stood up from his throne and raised his hand and all of the guests turned their attention to him.
"Attention, everyone! It's time for the event you've all been waiting for. Time for our guests of honor to give their gifts to our little princess," The King announced.
"That's right, darling. Now the oldest of the group shall go first, the second oldest, and so on. In your own time," The Queen added proudly, nodding her head at the Fairies.
The Seven Fairies nodded their heads and smiled back at the King and Queen as they made their way towards the gilded cradle by the two thrones where the tiny baby princess was laying, all standing in a single file line.
The first to go up was a male fairy with brown eyes and hair, and he wears a red shirt and shorts, and red wings. He looked at the baby and his wand began to glow. "My gift to the princess is surpassing beauty," the male fairy announced as he cast his spell upon the baby.
The next fairy stepped up. This one was a female fairy with gold-brown hair, pale skin, and amber eyes. She wears a yellow-gold butterfly necklace with a sleeveless chrysanthemum dress along with a yellow belt and yellow wings. She activated her magic as well. "My gift to the princess is the wit of an angel," the fairy declared, casting her spell.
The third fairy was a second male fairy with brown hair, brown eyes, and tanned skin. He wears an orange costume. His wings are also orange. "My gift to the princess is grace in all of her ways."
The fourth was another female fairy with blonde hair and wears a green dress with green wings. "My gift to the princess is a true sense of humor."
The fifth was a third female fairy with short blue hair and blue eyes. She wears a blue dress with blue wings. "My gift to the princess is a kind and friendly disposition."
The sixth was a third male fairy with tan skin and purple hair. "My gift to the princess is loyalty and bravery."
And the final and youngest fairy was a fourth female fairy with indigo hair and a dress. Before she could cast a spell, however, everything was suddenly interrupted by the front doors bursting open by a great gust of wind, followed by a deafening buzz and a cloud of dark green smoke. When the buzzing stopped and the wind ceased, a slim and graceful female fairy appeared. Her eyes were remarkably dark green and she wears a dark purple eyeshadow. Her eyebrows are black and they show her emotions very well. There is a dark birthmark on her right cheek, under the eye. There are dark purple ribbons tied around her arms. She wears a dark purple dress. Her wings are light and dark purple. As she slowly approached the King and Queen, the people cowered in fear and trembled as the fairy passed by.
"Good day, everyone. What a glorious affair you have going on," The fairy spoke, her voice seemed to echo in everyone's minds. "I see everyone has managed to come. Nobility, royalty, and even the rabble. How quaint."
"What are you doing here, Laverna?" The red male fairy demanded.
"Yeah. What do you want?" The blonde fairy in green asked.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm here for the celebration, of course. Although I feel rather distressed at not receiving an invitation. Where are your manners?" The fairy dubbed as Laverna replied.
"You are not welcome here!" The fairy with short blue hair shouted.
The room was deathly silent. No one moved or made a sound. That is, until Laverna chuckled before suddenly breaking into wicked, booming laughter."Oh dear me," she laughed. "How terribly awkward. I just thought that the invitation was lost in the mail, that's all."
"Laverna, why are you here?" The King demanded.
"None of us can't really imagine that you're truly offended, can we?" The Queen said.
"Oh Heavens no, Your Grace! You know what? I have a brilliant idea. Just to prove to you all that I mean no harm, I shall bestow a gift on the child as well."
Everyone gasped in terror, especially the Six Fairies who were huddled together near the thrones of the King and Queen.
"No! Keep your gift! We don't want it!" The King exclaimed."Come come now, Your Majesty. It will be quick and painless. I promise you."
The evil fairy walked towards the princess's cradle and looked at the baby lying inside. Her twisted wand began to glow sickeningly green as magic began to swirl around the clueless infant. She began to cast her spell.
"All of you, listen well! This little princess shall grow in grace and beauty, friends with all who know her. But, before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, Princess Zoe Orimoto shall prick her finger or foot on the smallest or the largest shard of any crystal and she shall die!" The wicked fairy exclaimed, sending a shockwave of green magic throughout the room.
Everyone was in shock and they were trembling in horror at the fairy. She turned off her magic and laughed triumphantly as everybody gasped in shock. The Queen was now sobbing out of fear while the King did his best to comfort her.
"How about that for a gift?" Laverna asked smugly, whipping her webby wings.
"You cruel, conniving, black-hearted monster!" The King screamed angrily. "I hereby banish crystals from this kingdom! Now how about that!?"
"Oh, we'll see," Laverna replied, looking at her reflection in her mirror. "You have a lot to learn about the power of fairies, especially fairies with dark powers like mine. Trust me, you're out of your league. There's nothing else you can do."
"Wait, Your Majesties! Not all is lost. I haven't given the princess my gift yet," the last Good Fairy said as she stepped forward.
"That's right, you haven't. That must mean there's still hope," the Queen said, lifting her head from her hands.
"But Your Majesty, she's still a young fairy," the yellow fairy said, stepping forward.
"Yes, she doesn't have enough power to undo the curse," the blue fairy nervously added.
"I'm afraid they're right. I can only add to the spell, not change it."
The indigo fairy thought for a moment, then she came up with a solution. Her wand glowed as she approached the cradle and looked at the baby.
"Princess Zoe Orimoto will not die from pricking her finger or foot with a crystal shard, but she will only fall into a deep sleep that will last for a very long time. And she can only be awakened by True Love's Kiss."
She cast her spell upon the baby and everyone applauded and cheered for her, especially her brothers and sisters and the princess's parents.
Laverna just rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Nice try, but you're out of luck," The dark Fairy said, getting closer to her good counterpart.
"You gave away your advantage with that 'True Love's Kiss' nonsense. Sleep she may, but let's see if anyone can get close enough to wake her up!"
And with that, Laverna suddenly disappeared in a bright green flash, leaving everyone in the room frozen in fear or completely flabbergasted.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesties, but it's the best I can do. Oh, don't worry, Princess. I'm sure everything's going to be fine," the Indigo Fairy said reassuringly to the baby who naively cooed.
Even though the young Indigo Fairy said things would be alright, the King and Queen didn't want to take any chances. They didn't want Laverna's horrible curse to come true at any cost. So, they quickly issued a proclamation throughout the kingdom. The King banned all crystals and the act of mining crystals across the land to keep his daughter safe.
Years have passed and Princess Zoe Orimoto had grown up to be a beautiful young woman. However, she remained unaware of the curse or even the existence of crystals. When she wanted to go outside, she wasn't allowed to leave the castle grounds, which she thought was unfair. She wanted to go out and see the world.
It was the Princess's sixteenth birthday and while her parents were away on important royal business, Zoe decided to go out for a walk. Since there was no one else in the castle, she made her way out of the castle grounds and into the open sky. When she made her way outside, she saw that everything around her was so big and vast that she couldn't believe it. But while she was exploring, she spotted something on one of the mountains near the castle. It looked like the entrance to a cave. Being the curious girl she was, she decided to go and investigate. Zoe went to the hole and discovered that it was a cave. And clinging onto the walls were crystals of every shape, color, and size. She gasped and gazed at the unfamiliar yet wondrous sight before her.
"Whoa! Look at this place! It's amazing!" Zoe said in astonishment.
"Why hello, Miss," an unfamiliar voice said.
Zoe whipped her head around, looking for the source of the voice. And soon enough, a tall woman emerged from the shadows wearing a black tattered cloak over her body. The woman approached the princess and she backed away.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Oh, sorry. I'm just an average woman mining crystals day in and day out. Typical boring afternoon," the woman replied.
"Crystals? That's what these things are?"
"You don't know about crystals?! They're probably some of the most beautiful things in all the land! They're big, sparkly, intricate, and absolutely stunning!"
"You got that right. I wonder why my parents didn't want me to come out here. It's awesome!"
The stranger smiled. "Bet you can't run like a pro."
"What?" Zoe asked.
"I said I bet you can't run like a professional."
"Are you kidding me? I AM a professional!"
"YOU? A pro? You've gotta be pulling my leg."
"No way! I'm the best running this kingdom has ever seen!"
"Please. I've seen slugs faster than you."
"What's THAT'S supposed to mean?"
"No running team in the entire land would accept a prissy little girl who could never run through an entire cave and back to the entrance unharmed in one day.""Hey! I can run through this cave and back here in ten seconds flat!""Prove it.""Why should I?""What's the matter? Chicken?""Okay, that's it!!"Without missing a beat, the young princess ran straight into the cave as fast as she could, with the stranger watching her from afar. As she flew, Zoe dodged and ran past every crystal in her path and finally made her way to the end of the cave. She didn't have time to admire her reflection in the semi-translucent wall because she had a bet to beat. She immediately ran back towards the entrance.And she was nearing the cave entrance, however, it was almost sunset. That was when the stranger's wand lit up and she blasted a beam of magic at a crystal on the ground and a small piece broke loose from it and it fell onto the princess's foot, thus pricking it."Ow! My foot!" She cried in pain.But before she could do anything else, Zoe suddenly lost all of her strength and she fell to the cave floor with a loud thud and her eyes shut. The cave was silent. The princess lay in the dirt. Her eyes closed, her body unmoving. The cloaked woman walked over to the unconscious girl and removed her cloak to reveal Laverna."Hmph. Looks like I was right, Zoe. You couldn't run through that entire cave and back in ten seconds flat," she chuckled.She broke into triumphant laughter and she vanished in a bright green flash. The wicked Fairy's curse had finally come true. Princess Zoe Orimoto had pricked her foot and had fallen into a death-like sleep.After the sun had set and the King and Queen returned home, the castle guards quickly found the princess asleep in the crystal cave. They brought her back to the castle to tell her parents the grim news. So the royal couple lay their daughter to rest in her bed chamber where could sleep peacefully. Soon, they called the youngest Fairy for help."I'm afraid we're too late. The curse has already come to pass," the King said solemnly."Yes. There's nothing left we can do," the Queen added tearfully."Wait. Don't you remember? True Love's Kiss?" the indigo Fairy asked."Oh yes! Well, I'm sure we can find somebody who could..." the King began, but he was cut off by the indigo Fairy."Oh no no no no. I'm afraid you can't. You'll have to wait a little while," she said."How long?" the Queen asked."I'd say a hundred years.""A hundred years?! But you don't understand! When she wakes up, everybody here would've passed on! Everything she loves would die! The entire kingdom would be gone! What do we do?"
The indigo Fairy thought. Then she smiled. She came up with another solution.
"Hey, why don't I freeze everyone exactly as they are now? So that way you, the Princess, and everyone else can sleep together until her true love finally comes."
She activated her magic and she sent a shockwave of light indigo magic throughout the entire kingdom. There, everyone was either frozen in place like statues or asleep just like the Princess. When the indigo Fairy finished her spell, Laverna suddenly appeared in the room.
"Nice try, Cookie," the dark Fairy said.
"Why thank you," the young indigo Fairy said, looking away from her counterpart.
"But you're forgetting one thing. I possess magic too. More powerful than yours."
"So?"
"So, I have a little something I'd like to add."
Laverna's wand glowed and soon, an entire forest of enormous razor-sharp jet black crystals sprang up from the ground, surrounding the village and the castle and growing to great heights. The indigo Fairy looked out the window and turned to look back at Laverna, glaring at her darkly.
"You know something, Laverna? You are the most evil, most cruel, black-hearted fairy I have ever known!!" she screamed.
"Thank you, Dearie. But flattery will get you nowhere. I have one last surprise in store for this so-called 'true love.' Just you wait and see," Laverna cackled. And with that, she disappeared, leaving the indigo Fairy alone with the sleeping girl.
"Well, I've done everything I can," she sighed as she looked at the Princess. "Don't worry, Princess. The right person will come. I know it."
Time passed and Princess Zoe Orimoto, her parents, the loyal subjects, and the rest of the kingdom never changed. The Princess lay in an enchanted sleep, waiting for somebody to come. A hundred years seemed to fly by and one fateful day, somebody did come. It was a young prince by the name of Takuya Kanbara. He was walking around in the warm air until he came across the forest of black crystals. He heard many rumors about the crystal forest and he was told about either an evil ghost or a terrible monster that lives down there.
Being the curious young man that he was, the Prince decided to go and investigate. At the entrance of the forest, Takuya looked at the black crystals that towered over him like trees. Although he knew it would be very dangerous, he had to find out if the legend was really true. Before he could walk in, however, he was confronted by a mysterious stranger.
"Pardon me, I do not mean to be rude. But why on this land do you intrude?" he asked.
"Sorry sir. What do you know about a monster or a demon? I've heard that there's one that lives in there," the Prince said.
"Monster? Demon? I should say not. For it is the truth many had sought. Deep within the forest of crystals black, lays a precious treasure most men would try to bring back. There lies Princess Zoe Orimoto in her bed, for she slept for one year times one hundred."
"One hundred years? Princess Zoe Orimoto? It is true?"
"Oh yes, indeed. But beware, good prince. Those who go in this forest have never left since."
Even though the shaman advised him not to go, Prince Takuya walked into the black crystal forest, searching for the castle that contained the sleeping princess. After a few minutes of walking, Takuya suddenly felt that he was being watched. The next thing he knew, he was standing in front of Laverna, who had transformed herself into a large, sleek-looking dragon with ebony scales and large emerald-green eyes.
"Going somewhere, pretty boy?" The dragon asked.
"I'm here for Princess Zoe Orimoto!" Takuya shouted.
"If you want the Princess, you'll have to get through me first. To me, you look absolutely delicious!" Laverna said, looking at the young man and hungrily licking her lips.
Takuya took a sword out of his belt and said, "You don't scare me! Come and get it!"
Prince Takuya and Laverna had a fierce battle. She breathed green fire at the prince many times, but he dodged the blast every time. Soon, Takuya had an idea. He jumped above Laverna and landed on top of a crystal that was sitting right above her head. He took his sword and he struck the crystal with it. When he extracted it, the crystal began to crack and break. Laverna heard the cracking sounds and looked up to see the Prince flying over her head and the crystal that was about to fall. Her eyes widened in fright.
"How do you like them apples?" the Prince smugly said, kicking the crystal with his foot.
And before anyone could say another word, the large piece of crystal fell and it crashed right on top of the dragon's head, killing her. The Prince ran passed the creature and straight to the castle to find the princess. He burst through the doors and ran around the castle looking for her. Then, he ran up a staircase of the castle until he reached a room on the top floor. He opened the door and he saw Princess Zoe Orimoto sleeping peacefully. He gasped as he looked at her. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
Takuya walked over to the bed and gazed at the sleeping girl before him. He then leaned in, lifted Zoe's head, and kissed her on the lips. At that moment Princess Zoe Orimoto's eyes fluttered open and she turned her head to look at the young man.
"Wha...what happened? Who are you?" she asked, sitting up.
"I'm Takuya Kanbara," he answered.
"Are you a prince?" Zoe asked.
"Yeah," Takuya replied.
"What kept you then?"
Zoe then climbed out of bed and wrapped her arms around Takuya's neck in a hug as well as a passionate kiss on the lips. As they kissed, the castle and the village came back to life and the crystals that surrounded the kingdom shattered and the shards vanished into thin air. Shortly after everything was back to normal, Princess Zoe Orimoto and Prince Takuya Kanbara were married, Laverna was never seen in the kingdom again and they all lived happily ever after.
