Re-take on Sleeping Beauty: The Sorceress

Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there was a beautiful princess. She had hair the colour of the sun and eyes a brilliant cornflower blue. Her lips were a brilliant red, like the rose she was named for, and her skin was a pale ivory. She was the most beautiful girl in the kingdom. However, she was cursed. An evil sorceress cast a spell on the girl, proclaiming that on her sixteenth birthday, she would prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die. Luckily, a good fairy reversed the spell so that the girl and all the people in the castle would only fall into a deep sleep until her prince charming came to rescue her. The sorceress however, angry that she had been thwarted, made a forest of thorns appear to make sure that no one would ever get in the castle and rescue the princess.

One day, a boy from the village walked past the castle. He remembered the stories that his grandfather had told him of being a servant in the castle. Up till now, the boy had never believed him. But when everything looked exactly as his grandfather said, the boy knew that it was all true and the inhabitants of the castle had really been asleep for fourty years. Climbing a tree just outside the castle walls, the boy was determined to get a better look. What he saw made his eyes widen. In the courtyard of the castle, there lay many people, all in the deepest slumber. Looking around, his eyes fell on the tall tower where the princess was supposed to sleep. Immediately, he decided to try to rescue the princess. If she was really as beautiful as all the legends....

Milificent, the evil sorceress who had first cast the spell on the princess, smiled when she saw what the boy was about. It was the perfect opportunity for more mischief. Perfect....

As the boy made his way through the forest of thorns, his clothes became tattered, his face scratched, but his enthusiasm never dimmed. He was determined to reach the princess and wake her up.

Not knowing that he was being watched, the boy was thrilled when he finally made it to the courtyard. He didn't know that if the sorceress hadn't wanted him to reach the courtyard, he wouldn't have.

Getting cocky, he threw back his head and laughed. "I am the best and bravest man! I defeated the sorceress and I will win the princess!"

Milificent was angered by the boy's vanity. "Who is this mortal who thinks he can defeat me?" she asked. "A fool! Well, I'll make sure that he won't want to have the princess," she said, rubbing her hands in evil glee. "He will never be a prince."

It didn't take the boy long to find the enterance to the tower where the princess slept. Thanks to his many hours of climbing up the hills around the castle, the boy was barely winded after managing to climb the hundred and fifty stairs to the top of the tower. "I made it!" he said with a wide grin. "I beat the sorceress and her curse. I will have the princess."

His heart beating fast, he opened the door into a beautifully decorated room. There were tapestries hanging on the walls and red and gold curtains flowing at the window. There was a woven, golden carpet on the floor and...the bed. The boy's eyes opened when he saw the almost see-through pinks hangings hanging around the bed. Through them, he could see the outline of someone who could only be the princess. Rushing forward, his feet pounding on the floor, his heart in his throat, he reached the bed and threw back the hangings to see...he stopped. She was old!!!

Her once beautiful golden hair was now a rich silver. Her skin was still ivory, but there were wrinkles starting to appear on her once youthful face. She was still beautiful but..."You're old," the boy muttered, disgusted.

A silky voice behind him made him turn. "You thought you could beat me?"

The boy turned around and froze. Now here was the princess from his dreams. She had a hard but beautiful face, the same ivory that the princess' was. Her eyes were a coal black and were glowing, her lips a full red and her figure slim inside her flowing green and black dress.

"Are you the princess?" he asked, awed.

The sorceress smiled, secure in the knowledge of her power. She came closer, her long red nails scratching lightly along her pale cheek. "No. I am the sorceress."

"The sorceress?" the boy breathed. "But you-you're beautiful," he protested. He had always imagined that the sorceress would be an old woman, ugly and bitter. He didn't--could'nt--believe that the beautiful woman before him could be evil.

The woman smiled and beckoned him closer.

He came, as if under a spell. He forgot the princess on the bed. She was old while the woman in front of him...she-she was beautiful.

Milificent smiled as he came closer and shook her magnificent raven hair, the light dancing in it and in the boy's eyes. She lured him farther and farther until they were both standing on the balcony. Not even turning around, she stood up on the balcony railing. "Come," she said, her voice soft and seductive.

He came, standing up beside her.

The sorceress lifted her spell then and watched his confusion as he realized that he was standing on the balcony railing. "Foolish boy," she hissed. "You could never defeat me," and with a wide grin, she pushed.

His broken body landed among the thorns, lifeless. His broken body joined the ones of those before him.

"No one, defeats the sorceress."