The Christening ~ Pt. 1

Trigger warning for sexual assault

They say if you dream a thing more than once, it’s sure to come true.

Carabosse awoke with a shuddering gasp. With a snap of her fingers, a dozen candles ignited. She clutched the bedsheets, taking shallow breaths through gritted teeth. Outside the tower window, she could see the sun’s light just beginning to break over the horizon. It was the first day of spring, a day of hope and renewal, but Carabosse felt anything but that.

“It must be stopped,” she whispered. “I must stop it.”

~ ~ ~

On the first day of spring, a child was born. But not just any child. The infant was Princess Aurora, the first child to be born to the King and Queen of Athbhreith. They had long awaited this day, and her birth was to be quickly followed by a grand christening and celebration of the new heiress. It was also on this day that the child was to be officially betrothed to Prince Lorcan of Saol. Saol was the largest kingdom in the land and its ruler the most powerful personage. Athbhreith had been waning for some generations, and the king and queen saw a marriage as their chance to save their land from being swallowed up by a less benevolent monarch.

The day of the christening arrived, and the courtroom was filled with royals and lords from both kingdoms. The princess's cradle stood beside the two thrones, all three elevated on a dais. The guests congratulated the king and queen on the birth of their daughter, admiring her beauty and unequaled sweetness for such a little one.

At last, the King of Saol made his way to the thrones. He bowed before the king and queen, and it was but a few short moments before the arrangements were made. The young prince looked on from a short distance away; they said that he would someday marry the baby girl who lay in the elegant cradle, but that seemed a long time from now. He heard the other king say that they would be wed on her sixteenth birthday, and he, the elder of the two, was only seven. The boy could hardly imagine himself at sixteen, let alone that tiny infant.

More time passed, and a herald entered the court. He announced the arrival of three more guests. The announcement instantly caused a stir, and when the newcomers entered the room, the crowd fell silent and parted for them to make their way directly toward the thrones.

The three were dressed in vibrant hooded robes that held a sheen not even the most skilled weaver could produce. The figure in the center, who walked a little ahead of the others, wore robes of red and gold. Of the other two, one wore green and silver, the other, blue and iridescent white. They stopped in front of the dais and lowered their hoods.

Beneath were the kindly faces of three aged women. All of the court bowed, including the king and queen.

“Dahlia,” said the king, “Mavis, Lobelia. We are grateful for your presence.”

“We are grateful to be present,” said Dahlia, the one dressed in red.

She led the other two to the cradle where they all three looked down adoringly upon the infant who lay there. Dahlia raised her right hand over the cradle and said,

“I bless her with the gift of beauty.”

“I bless her with the gift of song,” said Mavis, also raising her hand.

“And I bless her with the gift of happiness,” Lobelia finished.

When each one spoke, their hands glowed for a moment with a pearly light. Aurora cooed, smiling up at the three Fae. The king bowed again, thanking each Fae for her gift.

No sooner had the king returned to his seat on the throne than the herald returned—but this time, six feet above the ground, suspended as though by chains no one could see. His eyes were rolled back into his head.

“I present to you,” he said, his voice unnaturally loud and low, “High Dark Fae of the Order of Magical Beings, most learned of all Fae, Her Ladyship Carabosse.”

With that, the herald dropped to the floor. The queen screamed. He sat up, panting and wincing.

“Why am I here?” he said.

A few ran to help him. A moment later, another figure appeared in the doorway. She was dressed in a similar garb to the three Fae, but instead in a black so deep it almost seemed as though the light did not touch it at all. The hood was up, but it covered an unnatural shape. She swept through the crowd, who parted to let her pass, moving away as quickly and as far as they could. She stopped dead in front of the king and queen, then lowered her hood.

Her skin was of the palest green, with black veins webbed beneath the surface. Her eyes were yellow with pinpoint pupils and no whites. She stood tall, a head above the other three Fae who were the only ones who had not backed away when she entered the room. Her most unique feature, however, was the presence of two horns, curled like a goats’ and glossy black, protruding from her head.

“Your Majesty,” she said, “I apologize for being late. My summons never arrived. It was only when I sensed these three” she gestured at the other Fae “using Blessing Spells did I realize there must be some important event taking place that I should surely have been invited to.” The king opened his mouth to respond, but Carabosse continued. “I have a gift for Her Highness,” she said. She moved toward the cradle.

“No,” said the king.

“I beg your pardon?” Carabosse said. Her voice was as smooth as silk and as cold as ice.

“Your presence is not desired,” he said. “We do not wish for a gift from you.”

Carabosse snapped her fingers. A small fawn made from velvet and stuffed with cotton appeared in the air and floated slowly down into her open hands.

“You don't want such a thing for the princess?” she said.

The king looked at her, brow furrowed. Carabosse dropped the toy and it disappeared before reaching the floor.

“Why do you not wish for my blessing?” she said. “Because a Dark Fae is only capable of dark magic?” She swept away from the throne and cast a look at Aurora, then at the Royal Family of Saol. “Perhaps dark magic is needed sometimes, Your Majesty.”

She raised her left hand over the cradle.

“No!”

The queen abandoned her throne, rushing toward her daughter. Carabosse snapped her fingers, and the queen was pushed aside by an invisible force and pinned against the wall. The king leapt to his feet and was met with the same force. Carabosse once again raised her left hand and began to speak.

“Princess Aurora will grow to be loved by all,” she said, “but by the time the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on a spindle and fall into an impenetrable sleep, from which she will only wake after 100 years have passed.”

Her lips kept moving after she said this, but no sound came out. Like with the three other Fae, her hand glowed as she cast the spell, but with green light instead of white. The whole room darkened and the light in her hand grew brighter and brighter. Suddenly, it burst and expanded, filling the room and blinding everyone. When it faded and vision returned to the people, everything was as before Carabosse had been present. The herald was gone and the king and queen sat on their thrones. Dahlia, Mavis, and Lobelia approached the cradle. There lay the princess. And next to her lay a velvet deer.

Years passed. The day of the christening, Princess Aurora had been sent to live in a remote cottage with Dahlia, Mavis, and Lobelia. All of the spindles in the kingdom were burned. Aurora was raised to believe herself an ordinary girl, told that she was an orphan called Briar Rose  and that the Fae were her aunts who had taken her in. She was never allowed to wander far from the cottage, and in the first several years of her life, she never even saw anyone beside her three caretakers. The Fae knew that Carabosse was wily and could take the form of anyone she wanted, so they told her of the world beyond, but emphasized that she must never speak with strangers, man or woman. Briar Rose in all her sweetness did not question their commands, though she did wonder sometimes what could be so dangerous about other people. She befriended every animal she saw, and she saw no reason for humans to be any less companionable.

One day, Briar Rose's three guardians sent her out to gather herbs. On the same day, Prince Lorcan of Saol roamed the woods where she lived. There is no telling why he found himself there on one of the few days that Briar Rose was allowed to wander, but there he was all the same.

Briar Rose saw him first. She had been taught to watch for other people and to retreat if she saw any. But something about this man made her want to draw closer. This was the first person beside her caretakers whom she had ever seen that she could remember. She liked looking at him, but she did not know why. She told herself that she would just look for a minute, but soon she began to forget where she was as she stared at the man in the distance.

Briar Rose was pulled out of her trance when he saw her as well. He began to approach, and she retreated. As she did so, he mounted his horse and rode toward her, then he circled behind her and cut her off from going any farther. He jumped off of the horse and began to walk toward her. She looked around to see if there was anywhere else she could go, but there was no place in sight that his horse could not reach faster. She stood still. He kept approaching until he was two yards from her.

“Who are you?” she said, not sure whether to come closer or back away.

“I am Prince Lorcan of Saol,” he said. “Who are you?”

“I'm not supposed to talk to strangers,” she replied. “You're….” Her voice trailed off.

“I'm what?”

“You're a boy,” she said. “I've never…I've never met a boy before.”

“Haven't you a father or brothers?”

She shook her head. He took a step toward her. She drew back.

“I'm not going to hurt you,” he said, taking another step. “You're too pretty a thing for me to think of hurting. I just want a better look at you. What's your name?”

“Briar Rose,” she said, her cheeks flushing as though she had revealed nothing she ought not to have done.

“Where do you live, Briar Rose?”

“I live in a cottage with my three aunts,” she said.

The prince looked at her, his eyes running up and down her body. He looked as though he were thinking hard.

“Will you walk with me?” he said, extending his hand.

For a moment, her hand twitched as though it would raise toward his.

“I should go home,” she said.

She turned and began running through the trees.

“Will I see you again?” called the prince.

She turned around.

“Come back tomorrow,” she said, smiling.

The next day, Briar Rose volunteered herself to gather more food, and her caretakers consented. She came to the same place that she had met Prince Lorcan the day before. It did not take him long to arrive. He rode in on his horse, then dismounted.

“I wasn't sure if you'd come,” he said.

“Why wouldn't I?” she said. “I said I would.”

He took a step closer.

“People don't always do what they say,” he said. He extended his hand as he had the day before. “Will you walk with me?”

She stood still for a moment, then nodded shyly and went forward to take his hand.

They walked a long time. Briar Rose tensed as she realized that they were no longer in the part of the forest she knew, but the attention her new companion paid her was enough to distract her from those unpleasant feelings. After a while, they stopped in the middle of a green clearing and sat down on the grass. She somehow felt slight in his presence, but she attributed the feeling to the fact that he was the tallest person she had ever met.

At first, they just talked. He made her laugh like she had never laughed before. As their time together progressed, he seemed less and less able to keep his hands away from her. It started as a light caressing of her arms, then he moved his hands up to her neck and her face as he inched closer to her.

“You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen,” he said.

“You're the most handsome boy I've seen,” she giggled.

“Not very impressive, is it?” he returned, laughing.

Then his expression changed. Briar Rose could not name it, but the closest thing she could think of was hunger.

“I think it’s fate that we met here, Briar Rose,” he said. “Don’t you think so?”

“Yes,” she murmured.

“I’d like to kiss you.”

Her heart fluttered and her throat went dry. She said nothing. He stroked her hair, then leaned in close and kissed her. For such a soft kiss, it made her heart pound. He pulled back a little and looked into her eyes. She blushed and smiled.

“I love you, Briar Rose,” he whispered.

Her heart beat faster.

“I love you too, Lorcan.”

In one sudden motion, he had both his arms around her waist and was kissing her passionately. He raked his fingers through her hair and ran his hands all over her body. She felt startled, but allowed him to continue. Soon, he was lowering her to the ground and stretching his body over hers. She wrapped her arms around him. Part of her delighted in the pleasure of his affection, but the other part of her wondered what exactly he was doing and what he was going to do next.

Then the realization struck her that she had already been gone entirely too long from the cottage and that it was going to take her a good while to get back. She pushed Lorcan off with no little effort. He kept grabbing hold of her, but she eventually managed to keep him at arm’s length.

“I have to go,” she said.

“Stay,” he insisted.

“No,” she laughed as he kissed her again. “I have to go home.”

“I’ll take you back,” he said.

“All right.”

He helped her onto his horse and rode off at an alarming pace, so fast she had to wrap her arms tightly around his waist to stay mounted. She grew more and more tense as she saw the sky glow orange behind the trees. At last, the cottage came into view. Lorcan drew his horse to a halt and helped her down.

“Will I see you again?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said.

“Do you mean it?”

“Of course I do.”

He kissed her again.

“Good-bye for now, Briar Rose,” he said.

“Good-bye, Lorcan.”

She turned and hurried toward the cottage. When she entered, she saw all three of her caretakers standing in a circle, heads bowed. Their hands were extended toward the middle of the circle, glowing with a strange light.