It was far later than Lillian ever dared stay awake, though exhaustion was the last thing the queen was feeling despite the many late nights she'd endured the past couple weeks. They'd spent many nights meeting with people in secret, paying them inordinate amounts of gold only to be disappointed and send them off with even more to keep them quiet. Eventually her husband had admitted he knew of a solution. The solution that they eagerly awaited. They silently crossed the empty hallway. They had requested no one enter this part of the castle after the sun went down, guards were posted in all entrances, doors and windows locked tight and curtains firmly closed.

Lillian gently opened the door to her young daughter's room. There was a single candle lit beside her, casting a glow on her face. As they entered the Fairy Godmother gasped at the sight of the sleeping child. Creasing her features, the queen looked hesitantly at their guest, though her husband only seemed to be glaring at her.

"My goodness, the poor little thing," the fairy cooed, rushing over to the child's bedside. "An ogre." She transferred her gaze to the couple.

"Yes." Harold's voice was blunt.

"Uh- Do not be afraid of her," the queen interjected quietly. "She won't harm you, the monster is only her exterior, we do not believe it has affected her brain."

"Of course." The godmother wasn't fazed by the child. "She's... she's..." she beheld the sight, crossing her brow for a moment, "sleeping so peacefully," she concluded.

Lillian watched their guest staring at her daughter, though after a period of silence she looked back to her husband. With their previous guests he had been very vocal, hot on their heels most of the time, following their every move like a lost puppy. But this time, he stood further away, only transferring his glare from the fairy to their daughter and back again. It set the queen at great unease.

"We would be incredibly grateful if you could reverse the spell, or fix it somehow." Lillian spoke for her husband.

The fairy nodded at her, concern spread over her face. Lillian looked back to Harold. He was acting strangely. She wondered if she should feel differently too. He finally met her gaze, his features softening somewhat. He slowly approached her, putting an arm around her. Lillian held onto him, looking to their child once more.

"Are you sure she's trustworthy?" the queen whispered, prying into his thoughts.

Harold hesitated. "Y-yes." He seemed defeated.

She gave him an odd look, he only returned her with a smile that was too forced, his eyes still sad. It struck the queen as incredibly strange that he kept the magic user a secret until everyone else failed. Lillian feared he was keeping a bigger secret from her. She fixed her attention on the person in question. The fairy was looking closely at her daughter, benevolent concern unwavering from her face. The queen couldn't see anything harmful about her, perhaps she'd find out the manner that affected her husband so much in time.

Lillian left Harold's grasp and wandered over to the bed. She gently placed a hand on her daughter's cheek, smiling at her softly for a moment. "She's not suffering when she's like this, is she?" The queen asked the question she was dreading the answer to.

"Of course not," the godmother reassured her, placing a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. Her bright pink lips parted into a smile. Lillian looked to her, there was something so strange about her. She claimed to be the answer they were looking for, after so many wise and renowned magic users had turned them down. But… she just didn't look quite the part. Her makeup was overdone, a little cakey. Her blonde hair was swept up and looked a little too stiff. The clothes she wore were bright and certainly when looked at from a distance would seem fancy, but close, Lillian could tell the opposite was true. She'd come out of nowhere, no one had ever heard of her before. She seemed awfully new.

"Can you do anything?" Lillian withheld her judgement. She reminded herself, being new didn't make someone bad.

"I believe so." There was an odd twinkle in her eye. "Do we have space to discuss?" She looked down at the sleeping child. "We wouldn't want her to wake."

Harold dragged his heels into the lit room with the fairy and his wife. If anything, he'd have preferred to stay with his daughter, confess everything to her sleeping state and apologise profusely. He'd spent the week feeling sick and not sleeping. He tried his very best to ask of every powerful magic user he could find. Everyone but her. He realised people would find it an odd coincidence that she would be the only person who could do anything. Half of him was very tempted to point this out and ruin her. It would be the comeuppance she deserved for what she did to his beautiful daughter. Though, she would only take him down with her. And that was exactly what he deserved too. But a corrupt husband and father wasn't what his two loves deserved. He had to see it through, do everything the winged traitor asked of him, and help everything be fixed… for Fiona.

"Why this is wonderful..." The fairy godmother couldn't contain herself as the door was closed behind them. "A blessing upon this family!" she exclaimed, a grin spread over her face. Though this only confused Lillian further. "Your daughter has been gifted a fairy tale."

"Uh... What do you mean?" Lillian pried further.

"Of course, you have to take the opportunity first." The woman raised her eyebrows at the queen. "But, with my magic I can twist this curse into a positive."

"You're removing the curse?" Harold was suddenly hopeful.

"No-no, of course, I can't do that, but I can add something to... soften it." She raised her eyebrows at them. Lillian prompted her once more, as she wanted. "I can change it so the curse is broken by a kiss." Lillian suddenly looked at him, he knew why. Their own fairy tale involved a magical kiss. Her interest had been truly captured. Of course, his wife had no idea that the fairy godmother also knew why she was convinced by that detail.

"When can you add this?" His wife was eager.

"Oh, soon, soon!" She laughed. "But we have so much to discuss first. Future prospects, maximising the impact of this fairy tale, and of course my payment."

"Oh… well we can offer you as much gold as you-"

"No, I only require a small deposit." She laughed lightly. "Endorsement is what I will really need from you; glowing reviews and recommendations. My business will bring me gold, I just need a little help spreading the word." She smiled sweetly.

Lillian looked to him once more. Typically, he was the one discussing these matters. He kept his mouth closed. He didn't want to be the one discussing anything with the person before them. Lillian was in a far better position to bargain with her. He simply raised a brow at her. Silently encouraging her to act on her own thoughts.

His wife looked back at their guest. "Of course," she nodded, "anything. But, how exactly will this addition to the curse work?"

"In one year you shall send dear Princess Fiona away to a tower, the highest room in the tallest tower, no less, guarded by a fire breathing dragon, there to await the kiss of her handsome-"

"No," was the firm reply from his wife.

The Fairy Godmother stopped in her tracks, blinking at her sudden change in tone. "W-What did you say?"

"In one year, she will only be seven." Lillian pointed out possibly the most alarming element to the tale.

"Yes," he agreed. "That's preposterous. You can't send a child away like that."

The godmother's shocked visage faded quickly, she laughed. "Oh don't worry, I have it all calculated out. One year will be enough time to advance her reading skills to a high level, increase her etiquette and speech. The rest will come from books," she explained. "No prince will like a princess who is too educated anyway."

Lillian's face remained deadpan. "I do not care for your calculations," she stated. "My daughter will not leave for a tower in one year. My daughter will stay with me, her mother, until she is of appropriate age. If you continue to insist then I'm afraid our dealings will have to come to a close, you will not see my daughter again, you will not get the glowing review you so desire, and you will not see any successful business in this kingdom."

Harold cringed at his wife's stern words. Of course, he was happy about them, he agreed with her wholeheartedly. But the look the fairy godmother gave her was one that terrified him. The fairy transferred her gaze to him, it was expectant. He gulped. It was clear what she wanted. Perhaps he could convince Lillian, he was her husband after all. But- he thought back to his daughter, seven years old and being guarded by a dragon. He pulled courage from somewhere he thought non-existent… and gave her a single nod.

The godmother's expression soured a little before she took a breath and brightened again. As much power as she had over him, she had none over Lillian.

"Okay, let's rethink shall we. How about you hear my proposal and then we can come to an agreement on an appropriate age, hm?"

Lillian hesitated. "The proposal is that she is away, people will be challenged to win her hand, right?"

"Correct."

"So she will have to be of marriage and childbearing age." His wife then looked to him. "Eighteen," she confirmed.

The Fairy Godmother's expression dropped a little again. "Your highness, I can assure you, your daughter will not be rescued until she is of marrying age," she spoke cooly.

Lillian's stance didn't change.

"A compromise?" the fairy offered. "I know no one else has been able to adjust this curse on the princess. I can. If we cannot find a deal we both accept, then I'm afraid she will be this way forever." Her words were sickly sweet. It put a rock at the bottom of his stomach. "You would like Fiona to be of childbearing age… then why not when she comes of age."

Barely knowing what that even meant, Harold looked at his wife. Her gaze trailed to the ground. She finally locked eyes with him, her mouth twitching into a small smile. "She would be approximately thirteen," she explained gently.

Harold took a breath, it was young, but it was so far off he couldn't even begin to imagine what his daughter would be like at that age.

Lillian looked up, fight still left in her. "If she won't be rescued until she is of marrying age, then may I ask why she must be sent so young? It is important that she finishes her education, thirteen is no age for isolation…"

The Fairy Godmother's eyes softened, she smiled sadly. "It's hard to accept, you're being swayed by your motherly emotions. The decision is better rested in your hus-"

"Would you send your child to a tower so young, Fairy Godmother?" Something snapped within his wife.

The fairy glared at her, for just a moment, before her features lightened again. "Of course," she laughed. "If it was necessary, yes." She began floating around the room. "In the storybooks the struggle doesn't simply last for two weeks now, does it? We're creating a fairy tale for your daughter and it will be a beautiful one. We put her in the tower while she is young. By the time she is of perfect marrying age, the few years will be of great value to her potential rescuers. A lot will come, one will win. And when they do, Princess Fiona will feel accomplished having waited so long for her Prince Charming, you see? The outcome, the freedom, will taste much sweeter to her. All she has to do is spend a few years in a beautiful tower room with all of the books she would ever need."

Lillian looked to him with a sad gaze. The godmother had her hooked with the compromise. Perhaps that had been the plan all along, shoot for more than you think the customer will accept and come to an agreement on the intended deal. She knew how to get her own way after all. But Harold had been watching her disappointment and annoyance, perhaps she was more desperate than he thought. Still, he knew he had no argument, and it seemed his wife was about to give in. In only a handful of years they would be wishing their daughter goodbye, so his enemy's son could break the curse his mother placed upon her.

. . .

A/N: I fear I've picked a really bad time to start uploading these because I'm so busy right now. I'm just uploading the ones I have finished. I have one that explains some of the more ?mysterious? parts of this in the works. Though, I'm sure everyone knows the lore or fan theory behind the curse. I hope you liked And thank you for the reviews and favourites for the last one, that surprised me, you guys are so encouraging!