Sleeping Beauty [Camren]

chapter six

The fairies once again used their magic to make themselves small. They then set upon the task of placing everyone in the kingdom to sleep to keep them from knowing that Princess Karla had fallen under Maleficent's curse. Everyone would sleep until Karla was awoken by true love's first kiss. Ally was in the Great Hall placing the court under the spell. Sinhue was already asleep and both Alejandro and Michael were close to following.

"What's this talk about Lauren?" Alejandro asked before falling asleep.

"Said that she wants to marry some peasant girl she met in the forest today." Michael explained through a yawn.

"Peasant girl?" Ally questioned herself before flying back to get more information before the spell had fully taken over. "The peasant girl! Who is she? What is her name? Where did she find her?"

"Just some peasant girl." Michael mumbled sleepily.

"Where? Where?" Ally demanded instantly.

"Once upon a dream." Michael yawned.

"Once upon a dream..." Ally trailed off when realization hit her. "Camila! Princess Lauren!"

The red fairy hurried off to find the other two. Normani and Dinah were placing the last few people to sleep in the banquet hall. They halted when they saw Ally flying up to them in a hurried panic.

"Come on, we've got to get back to the cottage." she instructed urgently.

Meanwhile, Lauren was galloping into the glade that the girl had instructed where she lived. A smile appeared on her face when she saw the cottage that she said she lived in. Samson skidded to a halt in front of the cottage's door when his master pulled on his reigns. Lauren got off and walked up to the door. She looked back at Samson who gave her an encouraging nod to go enter the cottage. Lauren raised her hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in." a voice beckoned her.

Lauren opened the door and stepped inside the dark room. Once she was all the way inside, the door slammed shut causing the young woman to turn around. With her caught off guard, she was swarmed by goons and goblins as they piled on top of her. Lauren did her best to throw them all of him but there were too many of them. Within a couple of minutes, she was tied up and a gag was placed in her mouth. A single candle appeared as a figure walked into the room. Lauren recognized the figure as Maleficent, the evil witch she had first met eighteen years ago. Maleficent raised the candle to get a better look at her prisoner.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I set my trap for a peasant and low- I catch a princess! Away with her." Maleficent ordered her Hench men who began to pull the princess out of the cottage. "But gently, my pets, gently. I have plans for our royal guest."

Ally, Normani and Dinah quickly flew to the cottage that had been their home with Camila for the past eighteen years. Upon arrival, they saw the door wide open. Inside there were signs of a struggle as tables and chairs were over turned. On the floor was Lauren's red cape, she lost it during the struggle. Ally picked it up to get a better inspection.

"Maleficent!" all three gasped in horror at the thought of the one person who could awaken Camila was already in the hands of the evil witch.

"She's got Princess Lauren!" Dinah added.

"At the Forbidden Mountain." Ally announced numbly.

"But we can't." Normani pleaded. "We can't go there."

"We can. And we must."

The fairies journeyed to the unhappiest place in the kingdom. Forbidden Mountain, Maleficent's home. The feeling around the mountain was a cruel joy as the evil witch's cursed had come to be and she held the one person who could ever waken the young princess up from her sleep. Maleficent watched as she ghouls and goblins celebrated in her throne room. Her loyal raven was perched on her staff as they sat on her stone throne.

"What a pity that Princess Lauren cannot be here. To enjoy the celebration." she told her pet. "Come, we must go to the dungeon and cheer her up."

The three fairies watched as Maleficent got up and began to leave the throne room. They quietly followed her to where Lauren's cell was, making sure that they stayed out of sight from both Maleficent and her raven. The raven could pick up any sort of sound and figure out where it was coming from and if he found them, it would be too late for them. Maleficent traveled the steps down to her dungeon and stopped in front of one of the cells. She pulled out a key and opened the cell door. There sitting on a stone bench, chained to the wall by her wrists was Lauren. Maleficent walked inside and approached her.

"Come now, Princess Lauren. Why so melancholy? A wondrous future lies before you. You, the destined hero of a charming fairytale come true." Maleficent taunted.

The fairies flew to the cell door and watched as Maleficent spoke to the princess. The evil witch raised her hand the top of her staff's small crystal ball began to glow. Maleficent tilted it towards Lauren so she could get a look at what she was about to show her.

"Behold! King Alejandro's castle. And in yonder top most tower, dreaming of her true love, the Princess Karla. But see the gracious whim of fate, why 'tis the self-same peasant maid, who won our noble prince's heart but just yesterday. She is indeed wondrous fair. Black as ebony hair, lips that shame the red, red rose. In ageless sleep she finds repose." Maleficent explained.

Lauren looked into the small crystal ball as Maleficent began her tale. She was indeed shocked to find that Princess Karla was indeed the young maiden she had fallen in love with yesterday afternoon. As Maleficent continued, the princess swore she would get out of her somehow and rescue her love from the evil curse this witch had cursed her with.

"The years role by, but to a steadfast heart, are but a day." Maleficent continued. "And now the gates to a dungeon part and our princess is free to go her way. Off she rides, on her noble steed, a valiant figure, straight and tall! To wake her love, with love's first kiss. And prove that true love conquers all!"

Maleficent ended with a cackle of sarcasm as the image of Lauren being an elderly woman with long gray hair appeared in her crystal ball as she rode off to free the still eighteen-year-old princess from her ageless sleep. Lauren stood up to move closer to her in fury, but the chains prevented her from doing so.

"Come now, my pet." Maleficent told her raven. "Let us leave the princess with her happy thoughts."

As they were leaving, the good fairies quickly hid themselves, but not before the raven caught a little glimpse of light. Maleficent closed the cell door with a smile as she could still hear Lauren struggle in her chains.

"For the first time in eighteen years, I shall sleep well." Maleficent told the raven as they journeyed up to their tower.

Ally, Normani and Dinah quickly flew through the cell's bars to Lauren. The young woman looked up in surprise when three more fairies appeared before her. Dinah went to keep a look out and used her magic to unlock the cell's door while Ally and Normani used their wands to cut way the metal around her wrists. Once she was free, Lauren made to move out of the cell and to rescue Camila.

"Wait, Princess Lauren. The road to true love may be barred by still many more dangers which you alone will have to face. So, arm yourself with this enchanted Shield of Virtue and this mighty Sword of Truth, for these weapons of righteousness will triumph over evil. Now come, we must hurry." Ally directed as she used her wand to make both the sword and the shield appear.

The four began to head the cell. Just as they reached the hallway, Maleficent's raven ran into them. He began to squawk and crow alerting everyone that the princess was free from her cell and about to make her getaway. Lauren and the fairies knew that it now it was going to be more difficult to get back to King Alejandro's castle with the goblins and ghouls knowing that she was once again free. They would do anything to stop her from bestowing the kiss to Karla and freeing her from their mistress' curse.