sleeping beauty - revisited

CHAPTER FIVE

Every day, Artemis would go back into that room. She would sit in front of the portrait, not doing anything, just looking at it. Somehow, looking at it would made her feel a bit less lonely. Every night, she would come back to join the Fairy around the bonfire, and before they fell asleep she would keep asking her a whole lot of question. What was her favorite color? What did she like to eat? What did her voice sound like?

The Fairy didn't know how to answer most of it, but she had a lot of stories to tell. Stories about the Princess's life, about how she would walk around and look for flowers in her fields. What would her favorite flower be?, Artemis would ask, and the stories would make her feel the happiest she had felt in a very long time. And when, unable to sleep, she stared at the castle's ceiling, her thoughts always came back to Aurora.

The Fairy's memory wasn't the same as before, though, and it very soon became usual for her to repeat some of the stories she had already told. Artemis realized she had no new stories to tell, so she had to keep with only her imagination and the old portrait in the empty room.

Not knowing more about her made Artemis unquiet. The sadness in that portrait was still glaring to her, and even after the Fairy had told her all the stories about how the Princess would kindly smile to all of her people, she couldn't unsee it, and she couldn't understand it either. How could the Princess put such mask above that sadness? How could she do it?

Maybe I'm just projecting myself onto her, Artemis thought. She wondered if her curiosity was becoming an obsession. She felt desperate. Every time she looked at those tired eyes, she felt like she discovered a new form of sadness. And it was one of those days, when she sat in front of the portrait and looked at it, it became too much for her - it felt like Aurora's eyes were almost looking through her. Artemis looked away, and that was when she noticed something.

Among all kinds of debris in the old fireplace, there were remains of burned parchment. It was all covered by dust and ashes that Artemis had never looked at it twice. But now, in that big pile, Artemis could now see a fine calligraphy standing out.

She reached her arm to look at it. The page looked like it was ripped from a book – a diary, to be more precise. It was so thin and fragile Artemis feared it would turn into dust when she held it on her hands. The calligraphy was delicate, but messy, as if written in a hurry.

"Dear diary,

It's the fourth this week. I can't keep track of them anymore. They come back every night to meet me. Sometimes I find myself in the dark, and sometimes it's to a forest full of creatures that they take me. It never feels like it's going to end any soon.

I heard father say I was cursed today. He didn't exactly say it with those words, but I heard him whisper something to mom, something about me having a curse. I guess that's why they called me to talk about marriage again. They said it's time for me to at least think of finding a man to love me, because love is a very important thing.

They said again I don't smile enough, and that I will never find a husband like this. I think I've heard some of the people around talk about a Grumpy Princess, and something makes me think it's me they're talking about. They call me all kinds of names, I'm rather surprised they haven't forgotten my true one. But I don't mind. There's no reason to smile, so what should I do?

They seem very focused on finding me a husband. I wish they just said they want to get rid of me and let me go. I don't like living in the castle. I never did. Every corridor seems to bring the worst memories I could have. Sometimes I don't know if they are real memories or ones of nightmares.

They also spoke to me about my birthday. It's tomorrow, but they said they don't want me to celebrate it. Can you believe it? Of course, I protested. They agreed to give me a gift instead, and I asked to go for a walk without the guards. That made them so furious they locked me in my bedroom. Again.