Sleeping Beauty (Faerie Tale Collection)

by Jenni James

  She moaned slightly as his lips captured hers, sending a series of delicious sparks through them both.

  Ezralon started at the shift in the atmosphere around the kingdom. He closed his eyes, his horn glowing briefly as he scanned the forest spot many miles away. Great goodness. She was no longer there, at all, in any form. The sleeping queen had finally woken up. Curse the fool boy!

  Villeria’s eyes snapped open from the exhausting boredom she felt as she lounged across her bed. Slowly she sat up, silk sheets twisted within the rich mahogany cover all around her. Her mouth tightened, her heart beat quickening. Hesitant at first to believe and then more eager, she quickly scampered from the bed, and immediately stood still by the thickly carved post nearest her feet—her whole body alert, feeling the atmosphere many miles away—when all at once her lips curved into a devious smile as she whispered, “And now it begins.”

  “Men!” she shouted. “Men! Man your stations now! We leave at once!”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  ALEYNA’S EYES FLUTTERED OPEN, her mouth in a sweet O of surprise as he pulled back. He simply could not resist and kissed her again, and then again, his arms weaving around and pulled her in tighter as she clung to the back of his neck, her own fingers swirling in his hair.

  “Prince Darién?”

  “Yes?” he whispered as he gently nibbled on her lower lip.

  “I did not know how perfect kissing can be.”

  He grinned. “It’s quite enjoyable, is it not?”

  “Oh, yes!” She nodded and pulled him down to capture her greedy mouth again.

  After a few more very agreeable moments Darién pulled back. “My dear, how are you feeling? Are you in pain at all?”

  “Pain?” she mumbled, her eyes still a bit hazy beneath his stare. “Was that what you were supposed to do? Am I finally awake then?”

  “I would certainly hope so. If the zinging that came from your kisses was anything to go by, then you are most definitely awake at the moment.” He captured her mouth with his again, as if to test to see if the sparks were still there. They were.

  “Oh goodness, do you mean it is not always this wonderful to kiss someone?”

  “I believe it is only magical kisses to your true intended that are meant to feel this way.”

  “Hmm…” She grinned, her eyes closed as she lost herself to the euphoria of the warmest of sensations making its way through her heart. “You say the most perfect things at times.”

  “At times?” He kissed her once more. “I thought I said perfect things continuously.”

  She laughed and tossed her head back. “I will never get used to your self-assurance, it is so refreshing to—“ She paused as she beheld the darkness of the room. “Where are the candles that were lit a few moments ago? Why is the room so very dark?”

  “Is it dark? I did not realize. At least it does not seem much darker than before.”

  Aleyna’s brows furrowed as she pulled away to look towards the only light source in the great room. Two tall barren, shattered windows allowed the sun to stream in upon the filthy place. She gasped and spun within his arms taking in the horrific eerie scene about them. “Oh, no!”

  “Aleyna?” He tried to pull her closer, but she tugged out of his arms and stood quickly upon shaky feet.

  “Is this how it has always looked? Is this the castle? What has happened?” Slowly her eyes took in the cold, withered, dirty and deserted ruin around her. Her hands flying to her mouth as she beheld a crumbled pile of bones and clothing slouched in a corner about twenty feet away from where she stood. Taking a step back, she asked, “Is that—over there in the corner—is that what I believe it is?”

  Her faint tone pierced Darién more than her fright at discovering the world she truly lived in. He slowly stood so as not to alarm her more. “It is a dead body, yes.”

  “No.” She took another step back, bumping into his chest. “No.”

  His arms wrapped around hers. “Yes, my dear.”

  Aleyna turned and buried her face in his neckcloth, her voice mumbled as she responded, “You misunderstand. It is not a dead body, Darién. Not just a dead body. No. No, sir, it is a dear friend of mine—or family member—or loved one, is it not?”

  “It could possibly be a servant—” he tried to appease.

  “Servants are family here!” she wailed and shoved at his chest to pull away but he would not release her. Needing to grieve in private, needing to shout and lament and—she did not know what she needed—but it was not this, it most certainly could not mean this! “If you will not unhand me, please take me away from this place—I want out of this room, so I can cope and regain some sort of footing with my new life. Please take me out of here.”

  “Aleyna, I fear you will not find the solace you seek, my dear. It is not within these walls. For you cannot hide from this—truth be told this room is quite pleasant compared to some of the rest.”

  “No!”

  “Yes.”

  “NO!”

  “Yes, I am afraid so.”

  “Will you stop saying yes?”

  “What would you have me say then?”

  “I do not know, but I wish you would stop this insistence on completely disagreeing with everything I say; it is quite unpleasant at the moment.”

  He would have grinned then if her face were not so tragic-looking. “Aleyna, please…”

  “Please what? You are telling me that my home is in pieces. That there are literally dead crumbled bones of my dearest family and friends lying about everywhere, how is it you would have me act at the moment?”

  He squeezed her hand, a gesture she found mildly irritating.

  “I did not want to wake you up, you begged me, remember?”

  “I know I did—I know, but it is hard.” She glanced down the deserted hall, her eyes not able to settle upon any one thing—it was all so foreign and frightening. She inhaled a shaky breath and straightened her shoulders. “So this is my life then? This is what Ezralon has been hiding from me?”

  “I am afraid so, my dear.”

  Her gaze locked with his—regret, mourning, disbelief, terror—they were all there for him to read. Every emotion as it flickered past her countenance. “How can I cope? How will I be able to get through this?” Her hands reached for him, clinging onto his arms. “Who is to say it will not happen again? What if I lose you too—all of you? What then?” She could feel her lip beginning to quiver as she shook her head. “Why? Why is this my fate? Why must it be so?”

  “Shh…”

  “Darién, stop shushing me, please! I need answers. Right now, I need answers.”

  He half choked, half expelled a breath of frustration himself. “I do not have the answers you seek. I know just a fraction more than you do—just a fraction—but even then it is all hearsay.” When she turned her head aside, he ran his hands over her shoulders. “Aleyna, there is no escape from this. There is no easy way out. We are here now. The only thing we can do together is face it—whatever it is, whatever may come of us—we must face our fears and have a belief within us that all will go well.”

  Her eyes met his. “I love you.”

  “I will not leave you to fight these demons alone—not your personal ones or the sorceress. I am here with you. I am destined to stand by your side through this all. I cannot—I will not allow you to falter because of fear. Let us falter because of lack of skill, or knowledge—but do not be afraid, my dear queen, that time is over. It is time now to see what has come upon this treasured palace and battle the great demon that holds us all captive—our fears.”

  She snorted a very unladylike snort and asked, “What are you afraid of? You are speaking of only me. I am the sole coward present.”

  He chuckled in surprise. “Oh, you would be astonished at what I am terrified of—and believe me, it is definitely not something I am overly proud—at least not now.”

  “What?”

  He shook his head.

  She smiled slightly. “Da
rién, what is it? What could possibly scare you?”

  His humorous eyes settled upon her mouth, before capturing her in an intense gaze—seriousness schooling his features. It was some moments before he uttered, “You.”

  “Me?”

  “I was afraid of you. And now more so than ever before.”

  “You are frightened of me?”

  He lowered his head and kissed her brow. “I am now fearful of losing you.” He traced a small pattern of kisses over to her ear, his arms wrapping around her waist. “Before it was meeting you as an enchanted being; now it is losing this beautiful soul I have wrapped within my arms.”

  “Darién, I—”

  “Villeria is on her way!” Ezralon’s echoed bellow was followed by a smattering of pounding echoed footsteps and hooves, he was not too far from them. “We must prepare now! Everyone meet at the entrance and we will devise a plan as quickly as possible!”

  “Darién! Queen Aleyna! Where are you?!” Michael’s shout could be heard a few rooms away.

  They pulled apart. Darién reached for her hand as his gaze traced her features. Fear was evident, he could not let her leave this room to face Villeria with such torment coursing through them both. “Aleyna, we will win.” His ears twitched.

  She knew he was lying, but took strength in that lie, her lungs all the sudden not quite capable of taking breaths without gulping for air in huge gasps. “Promise me, I will not lose you,” she heaved out.

  “Never. If all else falls around you, my queen, I will eternally stand by your side. You will never be alone or left in an enchanted world again. I am here now. It is why I came. To release you from this and I will do what I came to do.” This time his ears remained still.

  She nodded, took another deep breath, squared her shoulders and called out, “We are here! We are coming.” Then one last whisper to Darién, “Let this begin.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  THEY RAN TO THE great hall, Aleyna’s gown clutched in her fist, her other arm wrapped through Darién’s elbow. She willed herself not to panic as they dodged dirty heaps of bones and obvious signs of filthy carnage everywhere. Her heart lurched, her beloved castle was in complete ruins.

  Feeling her stomach churning was only a mere side effect when she faintly recognized the tatters of clothing or footwear lying about. Everyone she had loved died that day—everyone. Bile rose into the back of her throat and she knew she was going to be sick and would have slowed her pace, had she not been linked to Darién just then. “Just keep moving,” he said, over the pounding of her heart. “It is better if you continue forward; do not allow it to overwhelm you.”

  As it was, she did not have much time to dwell upon the stark reality around her, once they had made it to the entrance Ezralon and the other men were already gathered and the unicorn was talking.

  “I can sense great movement with Villeria, we have perhaps just under an hour or so to prepare ourselves for her attack.”

  “Are you certain she will attack?” Michael asked as he strapped his sword to his waist.

  “I am certain she will come for the queen.” Ezralon shook his mane in obvious disgust. “Though the only one of us who can remove the queen is the one who broke the enchantment.”

  All four of them turned toward Darién and Aleyna as they entered further into the room.

  “Then why do I not do just that? Take her away before Villeria gets here.”

  Ezralon shook his head. “And do what? Face the sorceress away from the castle? Away from protection? You are mad if you think you can hide such a light as she possesses from the dark power-hungry souls the sorceress maintains.”

  Darién ran his hand through his hair. “Then what are our options? If we cannot run, if she cannot take her, then what are we to do?”

  “What is the point of this?” asked George. “Why does she come and attempt something she cannot win at anyway?”

  “Because she is bound to. It was part of the curse she accepted to slay all those who defy her attempt to have the gel.”

  Humphrey rolled his eyes. “This is madness. So you are saying we all wait here like sitting ducks for this witch to come and kill us, attempting to remove something that cannot be removed?”

  “Precisely,” Ezralon stated. “It is why we—”

  “But we will all die!” shouted George. “There must be a better way to go about doing this.”

  “Will she destroy everyone?” Darién asked as he collected his sword from a pile George had set by the door. He began to strap the belt around his waist.

  “In the past, that is precisely what she did.” Ezralon briskly kicked at a pile of leaves near his hoof to clear the floor. “In her rage at being thwarted she slaughtered everyone.”

  Quietly, Humphrey slid his sword and belt into place and announced softly, “So, we are next. We stand in front of the queen and die protecting her while facing Villeria’s rage—a rage so fierce not one of this kingdom’s army lived to speak of it.” He looked up, squarely into Darién’s eyes and said, “Then so be it. I will perish as well, but I will perish with honor.”

  “No.” Aleyna’s voice cracked. She moved forward and found the strength to speak, her hand shaking slightly. “No. This is madness. I will face her and I will face her alone.”

  “Aleyna, no.” Darién stepped toward her. “I do not even want the witch to see you—you will remain hidden until—”

  “Until what, my prince?” She looked at him and then the other men. “Until I lose you? Until I lose you all too?” Shaking her head, she crossed over to the wall and pulled down the ancient sword. “No. It is me she wants—I am the only one she left alive. Therefore I am the only one who can face her.”

  “This is madness.” Michael crossed his arms. “It is suicide to be so brave.”

  “Is it?” Aleyna’s whole frame began to shake, Darién went to place his arm around her, but she held her hand out to halt him. “I have never been more terrified of anything in my life. This is not bravery speaking, King Alemade—at least I do not believe so—this, this is desperation. This is to avenge all the wrongs—all the blood that has been spilt in my name previously—this is my right, my duty, to defend my kingdom, and so I shall.”

  “Just a moment.” Humphrey placed his hand up to his mouth, before slowly pointing it at Ezralon. “Is there any way to defeat the sorceress? Does she have any weakness at all, that you know of?”

  Ezralon shook his head. “None.”

  The room fell silent.

  “Beauty,” the prince whispered.

  “Yes, beauty!” Aleyna bit her lip. “Isn’t that why she wished to have me for her own? Is not that the legend? Because she thought me beautiful?”

  “How do we use that to our advantage?” Michael asked, stepping forward.

  Darién glanced down at Aleyna’s dress and asked, “We make the queen beautiful?”

  All eyes turned toward her and she flushed as she looked down. At least her gown did not age and wither like the rest of the castle, but still it was quite old and had stains and the like upon it. It was the same one she had worn for her birthday ball all those years ago.

  “Is there anything you know of—any trunks stashed away that might have something suitable and still worth wearing?” asked Ezralon as he stepped around her. “Something ethereal and enchanting—perhaps fairy-like.”

  Aleyna thought for a moment and then said slowly, “I believe there was an old set of trunks in the servants’ quarters we would use for our masques—but that was years ago. I cannot guarantee they are still there. Are you expecting me to change my attire right now?”

  “It would not hurt to do so. To hopefully gain us a few moments of peace while she admires your inner light and beauty.”

  “Goodness!” She flushed.

  “Do we have time for this nonsense?” George threw his hands in the air. “To go scampering about the attics for some sort of mystical gown that will blind the witch for a moment before we all die?”


  Darién threw him a look of daggers, his tone threatening the man to disagree. “I feel it is the perfect thing to do in this situation. To allow the queen to refresh herself and change into something more suitable will be just the thing.” If they could get Aleyna out of the way, then they could begin to speak about her safety while she was gone. “Humphrey, will you be so kind as to help her search through the trunks and find something that might dazzle Villeria?”

  Aleyna worried at her lip again. “Darién, perhaps Lord Hadden is right, perhaps it would be silly for me to look for a gown while our lives are at stake.”

  “It may be what saves us all, my queen.” Ezralon nudged her on the shoulder. “Go now, and hurry back as hastily as you can.”

  “If it will save you, I will go.”

  “But you must hurry—time is short.”

  Without another thought Aleyna set her father’s sword against the wall and she and Humphrey sped from the room.

  “Do not look too closely at any bodies!” Darién shouted after them. There was no reply, other than the pounding of their feet as they ascended the stairs.

  “Right. That helps us a bit more then,” Ezralon snorted as he nodded to the prince. “Well, thought of lad. Now, which room do you all feel is the most secure and least likely the witch would look?”

  “Would not the kitchens be the most logical spot?” asked George. “Not only are they servants’ domain, but also well equipped with stone walls and closets and the like.”

  Darién grinned. “As well as an outdoor escape if one became trapped. Good thinking!”

  “So that is where we place the queen.” Ezralon nodded. “Now who is the most skilled at arm-to-arm combat?”

  “I am the best warrior here,” Darién spoke with no bravado, just simple fact. “I am beyond skilled to handle anyone she sends my way. But will she not use sorcery and magical power to destroy rather than the sword?”