Sleeping Handsomely

"Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who's the handsomest of them all?" Grinning into the mirror, he awaited his response, though he knew what was coming.

"Ohhh, boy, you da hottest one there is! You like the sun!" the Mirror replied enthusiastically. "Markie, you know no one else knocks people's socks off like you!"

And so it went. Mad Mark, the warlock, was as vain as vain could be. Every day, he asked his mirror how he looked. And every day, she replied the same. Except one day, the response changed.

"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who's the handsomest of them all?"

"Mark, you da- oh, wait, future powers comin' in! Hey, Mark, there's a baby that's gonna grow up to tramp your everlasting loveliness," the Mirror informed Mark.

"What?!" Mark was enraged. "Who is this baby?"

"It's the King and Queen's kid, Prince Aaron. They're havin' a baby shower for him right now," the Mirror told him.

"They didn't invite me? Well, too bad," Mark gave an evil smile. "I'm the unexpected guest." With that, he disappeared.

Meanwhile, in the kingdom far away, the people were celebrating the birth of their prince, Aaron. In the castle, a great feast was being held. Three gnomes had come to bestow gifts upon the child. The first one, Feldred, gave him the gift of handsomeness. The second, Stan, gave him the gift of rap. However, before the third, Carl, could give his gift, Mad Mark appeared.

"A party?" he asked. "Was I not invited? Did you not want to see my lovely face?"

"Begone, Mad Mark," declared the King, "and take your vanity with you."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get out of your hair, but first, I'm gonna give the lil' guy a gift," he went up to the cradle. "On your sixteenth birthday, little boy, you're gonna poke yourself on an arrow, and DIE!" Mad Mark let out an evil laugh. "Bye!" He vanished into thin air.

"Oh no!" the Queen cried. "Carl, you must do something!"

I'm afraid I can't reverse the curse," Carl sighed. "But I can change it a bit. When your boy pricks his finger on an arrow, the whole kingdom will fall into a deep sleep until a brave lady comes and kisses Aaron."

And so, the king destroyed all the arrows in the kingdom and Aaron was sent to live with the three gnomes. They re-named him Brian Ryan to hide him even more. They raised Brian Ryan in peace until the unrest of his 16th birthday came along.

"Hey, Carl! Felred! Stan!" Brian called, stepping into the little gnome-home. "Anyone home?" There was some clanging noises and a 'shush' here and there.

Feldred came running from the kitchen. "Brian Ryan! I told you to stay outside until Stan came to get you!" he scolded.

"Sorry, but he was taking forever," Brian sighed.

"Well, shoo!" Feldred sent the boy back outside. When Stan brought him back inside, he found a big cake waiting for him. The four celebrated happily. The plan was to bring him back to the castle for the first time at midnight, when his birthday was over. Unfortunately, the gnomes had accidentally set the clock an hour early when it had stopped 3 weeks before. Therefore, the gnomes took Brian Ryan to the castle at 11 P.M. instead. Brian was confused as to why they were taking him to the castle, but the gnomes told him it was a birthday surprise. Once they arrived, they took him to a tower as planned, and left him to wait for the King and Queen (though he didn't know they were coming). The King and Queen, however, were not expecting their son for another hour. As Brian waited, he heard a noise from a dark corner of the room.

"Who's there?" he called, stepping closer.

A figure emerged from the dark. A rather handsome figure. "My name is Mark," he said.

"Mark?" Brian questioned. "Why are you here?"

"I've come to show you something," he explained, smirking.

"What is it?" Brian asked, skeptical.

Mark pulled out a stick with a pointy thing on the top and feathers on the bottom. "It's called an arrow," he told Brian. Brian looked at the arrow like it was magical. "Go on, touch it. You know you want to. It won't bite." Mark urged him on. As if in a trance, Brian reached out a finger and pricked it on the tip of the arrow. Recoiling back, he managed to stumble perfectly onto the lovely bed in the room. Laughing devilishly, Mark retreated back into the shadows.

As Brian Ryan fell asleep, the whole kingdom fell asleep with him. Mark grew a thick bunch of thorn bushes around the castle.

The kingdom stayed in a deep slumber for 100 years, slowly slipping out of everyone's memories.

One day, a brave princess named Penelope was leading an expedition. She had heard the last of the surviving rumours about a castle that used to stand where a wood of thorns now was. The castle had seemingly suddenly disappeared. She was determined to find it, or at least it's ruins.

Coming across the thick wood of thorns, the group halted. Penelope dismounted and drew her sword. "I'm going in. You do not have to come with me, but if you do, do not bring the horses." One of her companions followed her. They hacked their way through the thick forest. Soon, they came upon a wall covered in ivy. The princess placed a hand on it and looked up. "This must be it," she murmured. Sheathing her sword, she tugged on some of the ivy. It held. "I'm going to climb up it. Wait here, or find a gate." Without waiting for a response, she began scaling the wall. When she got to the top, she found herself conveniently by a roof. She jumped onto it, then made her way down and to the castle. She found people, but they were all asleep, not dead. Inside the castle, she explored until she came to a tower. Entering, she found a handsome man sleeping on a beautiful bed. She found herself drawn to him. He was so lovely, she couldn't help but place a kiss on his lips. To her surprise, when she pulled back, his eyes fluttered open. She gasped.

He looked confused. "Who are you?"

"I'm Penelope. Who are you?" Penelope asked.

"I'm Brian Ryan," he replied. Meanwhile, all over the kingdom the spell was being lifted. Everyone was waking up. There was, however, one spall problem. Mad Mark's mirror informed him that Aaron (Brian) was still alive. He appeared in the tower. Penelope was taken a back, and Brian was still groggy.

"Ugh, why are you still alive?" Mark snarled. "Either way, I'll just finish you the old fashioned way." A sword materialized in his hands. Penelope drew her sword and shield. He attacked and she blocked him. They exchanged in an epic battle. Mark just about got Penelope, however, he caught his reflection on her shield and became extremely distracted by his own face. Penelope cut off his head.

"You killed him," Brian said, astonished. "You saved me! Oh, thank you!"

"Don't mention it," Penelope smiled.

In the throne room, the King and Queen were confused, especially when their son entered with a strange lady in pants. The three gnomes, Feldred, Stan, and Carl, appeared and told the story from the very beginning, so Brian and Penelope would understand. Penelope filled in how she had found the castle, woke Aaron up and slayed Mad Mark. The King and Queen thanked Penelope and promised to repay her. She was welcome in their kingdom at any time, and she and Prince Aaron fell in love. They were later married, and lived happily ever after.

Or did they?

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I wrote this about 2 years ago for school. It's nothing serious, it was just fun to write and I thought I'd put it up here. Let me know if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes and I'll fix them. I hope you enjoyed it!