floriography [ stories five ]

roses are falling || fairytale crossover au thing??

[ tbh i've hit a wall on the arcana thing so here's this
the song is by orville peck

⚠️- language,

stay safe,
lew. ]

——————

Once upon a time, a child was born to the king and queen of the land. By all accounts, it should've been a daughter, but they had a son instead.

It didn't matter. They were so overcome with joy that they threw a grand feast to celebrate. They invited nearly everyone in the kingdom, including seven of the eight fairies that lived within the land. The eighth, everyone was sure she'd moved or passed on, since no one had seen her in decades.

The day of the celebration came. Six of the kind and generous fairies blessed the new prince with gifts, such as various talents, beauty, and wit. But before the seventh could speak, the door to the hall blew open, revealing the uninvited fairy.

She was weathered, aged unkindly for her species. Draped in dark colors, she was an ink blot against the pastels of her peers.

She refused to listen to the king and queen as they pleaded, as they apologized for leaving her out. Instead, she focused on the baby, wicked grin on her lips as she declared, "He will prick his finger on a spindle at eighteen and fall down dead!"

The entire castle fell silent as she left, cackling the entire way. The king and queen were in tears; How could such an oversight end in this fate for their baby?

The last fairy cleared her throat. "I can't undo what's already been done. But since I've yet to give my gift, I could try to lessen the blow."

After a long few moments, she sighed and declared, "The prince will prick his finger. But instead of death, he'll just fall into a deep sleep. And eventually, he'll be woken by a kiss."

Obviously, the king and queen weren't happy with that result, but what else could they do?

The prince, who had been named Lewis, grew up with a mostly normal childhood. No one had informed him of the fate written for him, but by royal decree, all spindle-like objects were removed from anywhere the prince could access.

Finally, though, he learned of the fairy's enchantment, not form his parents, but from one of his tutors. And with a small bribe, he found out where the forbidden objects were stored.

In his eighteenth year, his parents announced his engagement to a princess of a neighboring land. It came as a shock to the kingdom, and a bigger shock to our dear Prince Lewis. He'd never even met the girl, and anyone who spent more than five minutes around him could tell he was more interested in other princes than princesses.

And in his dumbest move to date, he carefully took one of the spindles from its hiding place, carrying it up to his tower bedroom. For safekeeping, he tucked it underneath his pillow. He went on with his duties and studies for the day, quickly forgetting all about the item hidden in his bed.

Finally, after a long and tiring day, he took the time to write in his journal. A quick message, just detailing the major points of his day. Then, he blew out the candle and got comfortable in his bed.

Unfortunately, that meant he stabbed his finger on the spindle, setting off the evil fairy's curse and the kind one's cushion of sorts.

His parents were understandably distraught when he couldn't be awoken the next morning. But, rather than fall asleep and become victims themselves, the king elected to leave the land his family had called home for centuries. And in turn, that meant leaving his slumbering son behind.

When she couldn't convince the king to stay behind, the fairy cast one last enchantment to protect the prince. Briars and rose bushes grew up around the castle walls.

——

Decades later, a fearless pirate and his crew terrorized the seas. On their way to find another treasure to steal, their ship ran aground.

Logan, the captain of the ship, decided to go ashore alone. Despite literally being uncharted territory, there was just something harmless about it.

Cutlass at his side, he started through the briars. Surprisingly, they began to change into walls of thornless roses, leading him towards a dilapidated structure.

Those stone walls seemed pretty castle-like, which added up to a giant score possible for his crew today. He hurried along, careful to avoid crumbling sections of stone. Finally, he ended up in a tower room.

This was better preserved than anywhere else he'd seen. So well that he almost thought it was a doll in the bed, protected from weathering and the sun by the roses. He was pretty, in a delicate sort of way, russet hair and long eyelashes, almost feminine.

But when he got closer, he could hear soft exhalations, and see a slight rise and fall in the boy's chest. Easily the third weirdest thing he'd seen on his adventures.

A small book lay beside him, and Logan took the liberty of reading through the few pages left within. In short, a cursed prince, left by everyone he'd ever known, waiting for someone to come in and kiss him. He shrugged, said "Not my problem," and started taking the prince's jewelry.

But, then he had a brilliant idea. Surely, this prince would know where all the gold and treasures left in the castle were?

So he leaned down, barely brushing his lips against the sleeping boy's.

Things didn't happen like they did in stories. There was no flash of light, no fanfare, no castle returning to its former glory. What Logan got was a prince that seemed scared and bewildered at the sight of him.

"What are you doing in my room? Who let you in here?"

"Oh, come on. Be grateful. I'm the one who woke you up." Logan rolled his eyes, offering his hand to help him get up. "This place isn't on any maps, so if I hadn't saved you, I doubt anyone else would've."

Cautiously, he took the pirate's hand, standing up on unsteady feet. "I'm assuming you'd like a reward of some sort?"

"That'd be nice, yeah."

He reached up and wiped at his eyes. It was a wonder the poor guy wasn't covered in dust and spiderwebs after being there for so long. "Follow me. We'll see what we can find."

Every little rock seemed to be placed just right for the prince to step on them. Finally, Logan got tired of hearing the little pained noises, so he picked the boy up and threw him over his shoulder.

"Unhand me, you fiend!"

"Hmm... no. Not until we find some shoes. Suck it up."

—

Eventually, once shoes had been found and the few remaining heirlooms and treasures had been rounded up, Lewis had finally began warming up to the pirate.

But fear overtook him as they found their way back to the entrance. "Are you going to leave me here alone?"

Logan paused, appearing to think about matters for a long moment. Lewis was so afraid to be left behind again, and the tension almost brought him to tears. But...

"Come on, do you really think I'm that cruel? You can join my crew."

And just like that, the prince was wrapped around the pirate's finger. Lewis grabbed hold of Logan's free hand, holding him as if he'd disappear.

——————

[ next part will end up bringing in:
ezra as peter pan
ronnie as wendy
chase as tinkerbell
]