Moonlight Dwelling

He invited everyone including the Wise Women in the hopes that they'd be generous to his daughter. There were thirteen Wise Women but the King only had twelve gold plates so one of them was forced to stay home. When the feast was ending the Wise Women came up and gave their gifted the child with virtue, beauty, wealth, and so on until they had given her just about anything a person could wish for. When they had finished the thirteenth Wise Woman came into the hall without greeting anyone and cried out, "When she turns fifteen she'll prick her finger and from that point on your lives will never be the same."

She walked out leaving everyone horrified. Hoping to avoid the curse and shuddering as he still heard the sinister note in her voice the King demanded that all the spindles be burned. They tossed them all on a bonfire that was built outside the palace. Everyone adored Aurora and eventually as time went on the curse was forgotten and life went on. When Aurora turned fifteen her parents were out so she was all alone so she decided to take the time to explore the many rooms and chambers.

She came across an old tower that had a narrow winding staircase. When she got to the top she saw a door with a key in the lock so she turned it and went inside where she found an old woman spinning flax on her spindle.

"Good day," said Aurora.

 "What are you doing up here?"

 The old woman looked up at her with a smile and said, "Why my dear I'm spinning."

"What's that thing that keeps bouncing up and down in such a funny way?"

She wanted to learn to spin too but the second she touched the spindle she pricked her finger the spell was activated and she fell to the ground and the tower and the spindle along with the old woman disappeared. Aurora woke up in her bed with a great hunger like none she'd ever had before. She got out of bed and started wandering around the palace. She came across a guard and a change came over her. She grabbed the guard and snapped his neck. She sat down and ripped the guard apart limb from limb.

She gnawed on a arm and once it was free of flesh and only the bone remained she tossed it away and started on the other arm. She left the head for last plucking out each eye with a squish and popping them into her mouth and enjoying them as if they were the finest delicacy. She saved the brain for last and relished ever bite. With the hunger still overwhelming her she went through the palace eating everyone she came across.

The twelfth Wise Woman saw that the thirteenth Wise Woman seemed very pleased with herself for some reason on this day and suspected that something was up. She realized that Aurora was now fifteen and that the curse must have begun. She went to her room and got her crystal ball and saw that indeed Aurora had activated the curse. To protect the rest of the kingdom from the flesh eating Princess she put her into a deep sleep along with those who were still alive in the palace. She removed the remains that were left behind from Aurora's rampage of feeding and burned them.

Over time a brier hedge grew around the palace which completely hid it from sight. Tales were told about the Sleeping Beauty that lay within waiting for the curse to be lifted for only a Prince could save her from her horrible fate. Throughout the years Princes tried to make their way inside so they could get inside and cure her of that terrible curse that made her crave human flesh. A century had passed and a brave young Prince approached and to those who were watching as usual since there were always some people around watching to see what would happen were surprised this day when a pathway was opened for him.

No one was allowed to follow him since the path closed up behind him but the way was cleared up before him. He finally reached the castle and walked into her room and was led to her room by following the path and the briers that were pulling away as he passed since the whole castle was filled with them. He found his way to her room and found her lying on the bed and was instantly awestruck by her beauty and doubted the tales that he'd heard about her eating human flesh.

 He stood there and watched her as she slept looking like an absolute angel. All of a sudden her eyes popped open and he leaned over for a kiss. The kiss never came for she reached out for him and was able to bite off a piece of his ear before he was able to pull away.

 "Hungry," was all she said.

The Prince was so horrified that he drew his sword and ran out of the room not sure what to do and blood was dripping from his ear. He found his way to a room and tended to his wound. Aurora watched the Prince run off and stumbled out of the bed and was drawn to a guard who had fallen under the sleep spell and was now waking up because of the Prince entering the castle.

Just as she was reaching out to grab him and break his neck the Prince who had managed to pull himself together and now knew what he had to do snuck up behind her and chopped her head off. It rolled down the hall and landed with the eyes staring as if they could still see him. When Aurora died the curse was finally lifted and the brier hedge faded away leaving the castle in plain sight.

 The head of the Sleeping Beauty was put on display in a glass case and the body was burned. The head remained the same never decomposing and the point of displaying it like that was for all to see that appearances can be deceiving and to never ever spurn a Wise Woman because you never know what'll happen if you piss one off.

By Barbara Desmond