Midnight blinked, trying to keep up with all of that.
“What does that mean?”
“When I came home from the ball, my father told me why he'd sent me. I'm a prince and I'm supposed to marry Aurora. He found out that the ball was to find a reason to wake Aurora.”
“You're supposed to marry my sister?”
“My father says we're fated, that if we don't marry then we're in danger, not just us, but our kingdom. We've been in hiding, all these years, and part of the deal was that I marry Aurora.”
Midnight tried to process all that he had said. None of it made sense. Then, she piled up all the courage that she could into her heart, looked at Philip directly, and said those terrible words,
“Then you must.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Edora
Edora opened the book, resting and feeling better since returning to the palace.
“There were three sisters,” she read, her eyes racing over the page.
“Three? There have only ever been two,” Adam said, looking at her. He slid in beside her, his arm draping casually over her. She felt the pleasant warmth emanating from him, without realizing that anything was amiss. It was as if she were sitting in the embrace of the fire's warmth at home.
Home. Yes, this place was home. She realized that now. It felt foreign and yet it made sense to her.
“Hm?” she said, pulling herself from her thoughts, “I was reading the story and it says three sisters.”
“Ah, yes,” he said, nodding now, “A story from the queen's people.”
“The queen's daughters, you mean?”
Adam smiled at her, that funny little smile that said he found her question adorable and wondered what strange land she had come from to ask such a thing.
“Her ancestors,” he said. Edora didn't quite understand him. A deer thought little of the hundreds of deer that had lived before it. She could barely even remember her mother. Her father was a shadow, a speck in time that she had never encountered.
She nodded, not inquiring further into just what an ancestor was. Her eyes returned to the page and she continued reading,
“The first sister was maize, her hair was silken like the blonde tassels hidden within the ears. The second sister was beans, rooted deep in the earth, hard at first but tender inside. The third sister was squash, filled with a vibrancy that bore a fresh vision of the world.”
From behind the books, a loud scuttling sound drew Edora's attention. From a half-hidden door, out popped a friendly face.
“I heard you in the library reading about the three sisters,” Fedderlin said now, “Follow me.”
“What?” Edora said, blinking.
“Follow me. You're needed. You're the third sister. You're the only one who can wake her up.”
Edora's head swirled.
“What do you mean? I am not their sister.”
“Sisters are more than just blood. They're those that share a connection, who are bound by the magic of the earth, the spirit of the sky,” Fedderlin said.
When still he saw that she hesitated, he looked her in the eyes and said,
“You know who I am. Do you trust me to know who you are?”
She swallowed whatever doubt she had and nodded.
“Yes. I trust you.”
“You have to read this poem. Not until each poem is read can the wish be broken.”
“I don't understand,” Edora said, shaking her head.
“In order to ensure that the prince only married for true love, magic was interwoven into the poems. This is the poem that you must read, the poem of transformation and dreams.
“Bring me your troubles,”
you said to me
“I'll help you remember
how to be free”
Wrap me up in the warmth of your love
“I'll hold you close my angel dove”
Walden Pond had nothing
On the peace you bring to me
Shakespeare’s Tempest
Could have drowned at sea
But I know you're here for keeps
And out of your eyes, the smile seeps
Look at me with your eyes full of laughter
Hold me in your heart forever after
They say that no one's perfect
But our pieces fit in tandem
There are no coincidences
In a world that seems so random
Hold me close my truest love
“Hold me close my angel dove”
You never try to change me
You just let me be
You're forever here
You bend and whisper in my ear
“I'm here for you, my love
Through everything, my angel dove.”
Edora's heart smiled at the words, but something struck here. Not trying to change another, it didn't settle right with her. Wasn't she doing exactly that? She was transforming into something that she was not. Daily, she was leaving the deer behind, becoming increasingly human. Was it dishonest? Deceitful? Or, the thought struck here now, was she being true to herself for the first time in her life? Had her spirit been far too big for the body of a deer?
But, maybe, maybe it would be all right. She had no time to worry about that now. Fedderlin was nodding at her, smiling. As Edora looked up, she saw the streams of colored confetti, like ribbons of light, flowing from the book and into the room at the top of the tower where Aurora slept.
“Please, you have to wake up. I don't know you, but your sister loves you. I made terrible mistakes. I didn't understand what it meant to really be human. It's not about running into the shadows and hiding under the books. It's about living out the knowledge that we gain, about dancing through the beauty.”
It was an eloquent speech, especially for a deer to make. Edora took Aurora's hand in her own.
“Please, princess, wake up. Your family misses you. You can come back now. It's safe.”
Edora waited, clutching the string of hope in her heart, blinking at the blinding light of the silver and gold threads spinning in the window through the dreamcatcher.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Aurora
I have seen you wander among my dreams
Where conversations rest that are yet to be
There you stand awaiting me
Where the river runs into the sea
You appear before me in the night
You come between shadows and light
Every line of you is there
From your smile to your hair
Singing your smile came to my heart
Carried by moonlight o're the distance apart
Light as a feather, soft as a bird
The kiss on my head as the smile song heard
I awoke with a smile painted on my lips
From the ruby red kisses that you had sent
My heart filled with laughter when the dawn came
“It's morning,” your heart song seemed to exclaim
Love resplendent, love divine
True love burning, love of thine
Simeon spoke the poem to me, as though he were reading the words from the page, but there was no book that he read it from. Instead, the words seemed woven into him, as though they were his feathers. I recognized the poem immediately. It was the one on the facing page of the book that I read in the library, when I had crossed into the waking world, during the Aurora Borealis. What was it that he had said? He was a part of me that I did not yet know.
I was warmed by these words, and then I knew, I knew that it was time to leave the world of dreams. But, somehow, I also knew that I would see Simeon again, on the other side of dreams, in the waking world because one who came to you in a dream was your true love. Isn't that what mother had said long ago, that she'd seen father before he'd ever met her in real life? Now, as though it were a beautiful song or chant, the words coursed through me.
Arise. Awake. The time of dreams is over. The time of being is come.
Life is not meant to be dreamed away, but to be lived.
“I have to go,” I said. I knew it, even though it made such little sense. No one had crossed into the land of dreams since Midnight had on the night of the northern lights.
Simeon, did not plead with me to stay, for dreams make no demands. They do not cling to others, the way that flesh and blood does, demanding that one remain. Instead, he looked at me, his face shifting now into all the faces of my loved ones. There was Father, then Mother, Midnight flickered strongly, even Philip the stable boy passed before my vision. A flicker of an elf, something that I had read about often as a child but had not met in waking life before, appeared. Then Simeon's face transformed into a deer, with such simplicity and eagerness in his eyes, that I was certain I'd met the animal before. The deer's eyes intensified until they took on all the humanity of a person. Yes, it was a girl's face that looked back at me.
“Aurora. Wake up. Please, Princess. We need you. Your family needs you.” Her words were shadowy, draped in the dreams, and lacking the clarity of morning. Instead, they winked at me, like the twinkling stars of night.
On the winds of love, tinged in magic, the spell broke.
“Aurora, it's time to wake up.” The voice is far-off and difficult to place. It sounds something like Mother's voice, but younger. It sounds a bit like Midnight's voice, but deeper. It even has the slight accent of Simeon and I know then for certain that he was right, he exists beyond the dream and I will see him again.
And then, then, the longed for moment came. I opened my eyes.
Chapter Thirty
Edora
“How did it work?” Edora said turning to Fedderlin.
“Aurora needed to be brought back from the place of lingering between two worlds. It's a place that you know well.”
Edora nodded.
“But, this wish of hers...”
“That was never supposed to trap her,” Fedderlin said, “A wish is meant to expand life, not curtail it. No, that was the mischief of the elves that mixed all of that up.” He said the words with regret, as though atoning for some long ago sin. Edora didn't quite understand what he meant, but it was enough to know that it was working.
“The wish was an act of beauty. She thought only of her sister and of her love for her. You have sought out beauty. You risked your life to help the injured hunter, knowing that he wanted only to prey upon you. In that instance, you gained your humanity. You stopped running as the frightened deer and stood up to help an animal in pain. Don't you see, Edora? You have the power to break the bond.”
“But, why me? Why not Midnight? Or Philip? They acted out of love, out of courage, theirs were acts of true beauty, weren't they?”
“That's true,” Fedderlin said, nodding his head, “But the difference is the elves' curse was not human-made. It required a non-human to break it, but not an elf. No elf could undo something so terrible. No animal knew of it, until — ”
“Until me,” she said, nodding.
“It was the mingled tears of Midnight and Aurora in the magic of the glass slippers that you saw that had the power to transform you. You had to be the one to complete the bond to reunite the sisters. You had the seed of transformation,” Fedderlin said.
Then, a thought struck her. She had seen the way that Midnight looked at Philip, the way that Philip looked back at her and she had heard that Aurora was to be wed to Philip. It seemed out of place, but there was much that she did not yet understand about being human. Perhaps, she was missing something.
“Will Prince Philip marry Princess Aurora?”
Fedderlin smiled. How perceptive Edora had become!
“The threat to Philip and his kingdom was the fault of the elves. At least, the elves allowed for the threat to grow through their misdoing. Now, Philip is free. All of that has been broken, when you helped set it right. You see, Edora, you did more than wake a princess. You helped to save a kingdom, two kingdoms.”
Her eyes grew at that, surprise washing over her like sunrise over the hills. Fedderlin wondered if the fear of the enormity of that was not making her second-guess this new form of hers.
“May I ask, Edora, are you glad that this happened?”
“That I'm human you mean?”
Fedderlin nodded.
She thought about it, thinking of all the trouble that she thought she had caused, the pain she had endured, the feeling of the snow burning against her skin and the cruel turn of fate when the hunter who had befriended her had returned to being a beast. And then, Fedderlin watched as her face changed. She was illuminated from the inside, glowing with some special answer and he knew, even before she said it, that her answer was yes.
“Yes,” she said.
He smiled, glad that he had not led her astray from a life that she was clearly suited for, for humanity glowed from her. Yes, Fedderlin nodded to himself, it suited Edora to be human.
“I have learned so much,” she continued now, “more than I could have ever imagined not knowing. It's like a hunger. Do you know what I mean, Fedderlin?”
He nodded, for of course, yes, an elf knew what it was to treasure knowledge, to value learning.
“I do,” he said, “And, if I might ask, Edora, what would you say has been the most valuable thing that you've learned?”
Her mind quickened at that, racing through the memories, as her feet had pounded through the forest. She wasn't escaping, though, not anymore. No. Now she was embracing and it was truth that glowed warmly in Edora, as she said,
“Tilly told me that the most beautiful thing in the world is a kiss. Maybe, for some that's true and if so, I hope that she will find hers, so that she can know beauty as I have. But, I've learned that sometimes it's not about the kiss. It's about knowing that someone is there to hold you at the darkest time. Your friendship did that for me, Fedderlin. You were one of the candles in the darkness. Thank you.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Midnight
I have always loved Aurora. Since we were children and she was my Rosie, until now, she's been my closest friend. I have never loved her quite as much as I did in that moment, though, when she opened her eyes and smiled at me.
“Midnight, I knew we could do it.”
I wanted to say “It's about time you woke up” or chide her for being the lazy one. But, I couldn't. The words wouldn't rise within me. They were the words of childhood sisters and when Aurora had made that wish and then fallen asleep, we'd grown up. Both of us. All I could do was wrap my arms around her and say,
“I missed you.”
Somehow, it was enough.
About the Author
Megan Easley-Walsh has royal blood. It’s centuries’ old and sadly doesn’t come with a crown. She also has Native American ancestry. Combining these together, she’s retold Sleeping Beauty. Sleeping Beauty was always her favorite, when young. Watching as an adult, she realized that sadly Aurora had very little to say and that had to be rectified. This story, for modern princesses everywhere, emerged. True to her background as a bestselling historical fiction author, While Aurora Slept retains an historical feel in that timeless fairytale style. She is also a writing consultant and editor at Extra Ink Edits and the author of Writing Tips from the Writing Consultant and Editor of Extra Ink Edits. She has previously taught writing in the UNESCO literature city of Dublin, Ireland and is an award-winning writer. Her degrees are in history-focused International Relations. She is American and lives in Ireland with her real life prince charming. Visit her at www.MeganEasleyWalsh.com and join her newsletter here. She loves hearing from readers and can be reached at [email protected]. Also, if you enjoy what you read, please leave a review at Goodreads or the retailer where you bought the book, so that other readers can find the books and enjoy them too. Thank you!
Also by Megan Easley-Walsh
Historical Novels:
Flight Before Dawn
What Edward Heard
North Star Home
Across the Rive
r
Painted Faces
Meridian
The Collectors
Fairytale Retellings
While Aurora Slept Book One: The Power of a Dream
While Aurora Slept Book Two: Glass Slippers
While Aurora Slept Book Three: Beast Seeking Beauty
Writing Tips
Writing Tips from the Writing Consultant and Editor of Extra Ink Edits
Christmas
Christmas Treasury: Seasonal Poems and Stories
While Aurora Slept- The Complete Trilogy Page 18