The Impostor

The Test

Briar Rose had reached the north edge of the forest, as the magic book had informed her. She had already come here before, during her daily walks. The woods were no longer a mystery to her. She perfectly knew that locating herself in the forest and finding a way out would be no problem. Indeed, she had found her way easily and it had only took her less than one hour to spot the borders of the woods.

Now, she would have to follow her instinct because she never ventured anywhere beyond the forest. She felt protected when surrounded by trees, streams, and bird songs, but once outside of her shelter, she felt vulnerable.

She grabbed the book in her purse and looked again at the page devoted to the Forbidden Mountains. The few lines written under the fortress' drawing was the key to find the fairy's domain, Rose knew it. All she had to do now was to decipher the meaning of those words. It probably was some kind of a...spell?

Due north where withered flowers lie,
Follow the sharp thorns until the dark shadows die,
When the red rose in front of you appears,
Drink its heart with a red tear,
So the path right ahead becomes cristal clear.

Fine. She needed to continue north. She raised her head to look at the landscape in front of her: an arid, deserted plain was stretching out towards the horizon where stood a mountain made of black stones.

Due north where withered flowers lie.

A greyish path which seemed to be made up of ashes and cinders was crossing this treeless plain.

Rose took the dark path right ahead when she noticed it was surrounded by thorns.

Follow the sharp thorns until the dark shadows die.

She smiled. She was on the right track.

She walked for one hour, following this long and straight road which seemed to lead nowhere, until she arrived at a fork. She looked alternately at the two paths which ran in opposite directions. The two roads were both trimmed with black thorns whose spines were as sharp as knifes.

Finally, this might not be as simple as she thought it would be. After all, how could she had believed for a moment that she could beat Maleficent? Or that the game was not cheated since the very beginning? She didn't stand a chance. This was madness.

Rose put her bag down and sat on the rocky ground. She sighed deeply and tried to organize her thoughts. She grasped the old manuscript and read again through the mysterious lines which should allow her to find the wicked fairy.

She must follow the dark path adorned by brambles until she found a red rose. But how could she know which way to choose?

Rose looked up at the two roads in front of her. Which one would lead her to the Forbidden Mountains? Which one would lead her to Maleficent?

By now, she was sure of that. It was indeed a trial imagined by Maleficent herself to prevent her from finding her. She wanted to test her. She wanted her to give up and turn around to come back to her fake aunts and her peaceful, simple life of illusion. But Rose didn't want to give her satisfaction. She had promised herself she would fight until the end. Even if this adventure lead her to a certain death, at least it would be worth it.

She finally stood up and lead towards the place where the black road forked. She tilted her head to one side, pondering what to do.

She had to read between the lines.

Thorns, spines, blood, rose...

The thorns were the complexity, the adversity, the trial, the ordeal...