The Christening ~ Pt. 2

Trigger warning for sexual assault

“Aunt Dahlia,” Briar Rose said.

The light disappeared and the three women raised their heads and looked at her.

“Where were you?” said Dahlia, rushing toward her.

“How many times have we told you not to go wandering?” Mavis said, her voice sharp and her eyes thunderous.

“What will we do?” said Lobelia, looking at the other two.

“We have to leave, now,” Dahlia said.

“What do you mean?” said Briar Rose. “What’s happening?”

“No time to explain,” said Dahlia. “We need to get to the castle.”

“Castle?” Briar Rose said.

“Come along, child,” Mavis said.

The three women packed a few provisions haphazardly into baskets, put out all the lights, and ushered Briar Rose out of the house. There was little sunlight left, and Aurora stumbled trying to keep up with the three women. They ran a good distance, then stopped to rest.

“Eat something, dear,” Lobelia said, handing Briar Rose a crust of bread.

“Aunt Lobelia, what’s happening?” said Briar Rose.

“Hush,” said Dahlia. “You should sleep. I’ll keep watch.”

Several days followed in the same fashion. Eventually, they lost the cover of the forest, so they stayed in areas that were as inconspicuous as possible. One day, Mavis watched a raven gliding overhead.

“She knows,” she said.

“Nonsense,” Lobelia said. “That could be any raven.”

“In these parts?” said Dahlia.

“She knows,” Mavis repeated.

Briar Rose had learned by this time that her questions would not be answered.

After many days, an imposing castle appeared on the horizon. Relieved expressions broke over the three women’s drawn faces, and their sluggish steps gained speed. Finally, the four arrived at the drawbridge that led into the castle town. Briar Rose’s fair face showed all the signs of her exhaustion, but they pressed on until they reached the far end where the castle was located.

“What is your business?” said one of the guards as the four approached.

“I am Dahlia, High Light Fae of the Order of Magical Beings,” Dahlia said. “I have with me Princess Aurora.”

The guard practically leapt aside.

“Enter, My Lady,” he said. As Briar Rose passed by, he added, “Your Highness.”

Once inside, they were escorted to the throne room. The king and queen rose immediately and bowed. The king stepped forward, his eyes fixing on Briar Rose.

“Is that—is this her?” he said.

Dahlia nodded. The king and queen rushed forward and embraced Briar Rose, who stood awkwardly still.

“You're early,” said the king, turning to Dahlia. “She doesn’t turn sixteen for another six months.”

“We had an incident,” said Dahlia. “We had to come back for her safety. She doesn't know anything. Let us speak with her alone.”

The queen would not let go of Briar Rose. Gently, Lobelia helped Briar Rose break away, then led her to a grand bedroom in another part of the castle along with the two other Fae.

“This is where you’ll stay,” she said, gesturing for Briar Rose to sit. “Now we’ll tell you everything. Dahlia, I think you’d better start.”

Dahlia sat in a chair across from Briar Rose.

“First of all,” she said, “your name is not Briar Rose. It is Aurora. You are the Princess of Athbhreith. We are not your aunts, we are three of the most powerful Fae in the world.”

She paused for Aurora to reply, but she merely sat with her brow furrowed.

“On the day of your christening,” she continued, “the most powerful Dark Fae in the world, Carabosse, placed a curse upon you. You were sent to live with us until your sixteenth birthday so we could protect you. We gave up our magic because Carabosse can sense spells and find those who use them. But our plans changed slightly when we had to use magic to find you when you went missing on the last day at the cottage.”

“Which brings us to an important question,” Mavis said, her expression stern. “Why were you gone for so long that day?”

Aurora looked down and turned pink.

“There was a boy,” she whispered.

“A boy?” Mavis said. “Briar—Princess Aurora, what have we always told you about staying away from strangers? He might have been Carabosse in disguise for all you knew!”

“Don't be so hard on her,” Lobelia said. “She didn't know.”

“He very well could have been,” said Dahlia, “but what’s done is done. Aurora, you are to stay here under our watch until you are married in six months’ time.”

Nothing up until this point had elicited much reaction from Aurora, but now she gasped.

“Married?” she said.

“Yes,” replied Dahlia. “This was decided many years ago. The wedding will take place on your sixteenth birthday, as is the tradition for royal brides.”

Aurora sat quite still. The Fae stayed with her a while, then left her alone. None of them noticed the raven sitting on the windowsill.

Over the next few months, Aurora spent most of her time in her room. She was allowed to go about the castle escorted by one of her parents or the Fae, but she chose to be alone as much as she could. Preparations for the wedding began just after she arrived, and the six months leading up to her birthday went by in a blur. Weeks before the wedding, Aurora was fitted for her gown. It was a shimmering blue dress that shifted subtly pink depending upon the way the light struck the fabric. The queen raised her hand to her heart when she saw it and sighed.

“You look beautiful, darling,” she said. “It makes me remember my wedding day.”

Aurora looked at herself in the mirror. She did feel beautiful in the dress. She wished that Lorcan could see her in it.

The day of the wedding arrived. Aurora received a few hurried birthday wishes, but most everyone was concerned with preparing for the wedding. The royal family of Saol had arrived three days prior, but Aurora had been kept so busy with preparations she had not met any of them. She was to meet her betrothed for the first time at the altar.

Ladies-in-waiting assisted Aurora in preparing herself starting at dawn. The wedding was to take place in the evening. All day, Aurora imagined herself far away, lying in a forest clearing in her prince’s arms. Pangs of nausea hit her every time she remembered that she was to marry a stranger and live in some other kingdom which she had never known.

After many hours, the preparations were complete. One of the ladies smoothed her gown and said,

“Oh, Your Highness, you’ll look so beautiful for Prince Lorcan.”

“What did you say?” said Aurora.

“I said you’ll look beautiful for Prince Lorcan.”

Aurora felt her heart pound as it had her last day in the forest when the prince was kissing her.

“I—I didn’t know that was his name.”

“Well,” said the lady, “hadn’t anyone told you before today? You’re to marry Prince Lorcan of Saol. We have to go now, Your Highness, but we’ll be back to fetch you shortly.”

The ladies bustled out of the room. Aurora pressed her hand to her mouth, beaming at her reflection.

“It must be fate,” she said to herself in a whisper.

It was then that the raven alighted on her windowsill, framed black against the red sunset in the west. It stayed only a moment, then flew away. Within minutes, Carabosse had transported herself into the room, a spell cast over her to make her invisible. She conjured a spinning wheel in the corner of the room. Aurora must have sensed the movement, because she turned around. Seeing the mechanism, she frowned, looking about her to see how it had appeared there. Carabosse approached her, still invisible, and snapped her fingers. Aurora’s eyes rolled back into her head and she began to walk toward the spinning wheel.

When she was inches from it, she raised her hand, moving it toward the spindle. She rested her finger on the finely pointed tip, then pressed down. She gasped as she fell out of her trance, then examined her hand to find what was the matter. A single drop of blood bloomed on her finger like a rapidly growing rose.

A moment later, she was unconscious.

The one to find her was the lady-in-waiting who had just spoken to her. When she saw the girl crumpled next to the spinning wheel, she screamed. The king and queen were called upon. They both fell to their knees next to their daughter, the queen sobbing hysterically.

“Move her to the bed,” said the king. “I won’t have her just lying there on the floor, even in her condition. She is a princess, allow her some dignity.”

The ladies-in-waiting carried her to her bed, arranging her limbs, her hair, and her dress so that she looked just like a statue. The group lingered a while, but as the sky grew darker outside, they faced the reality that they must inform the other royal family.

In another part of the castle, Prince Lorcan paced back and forth in his chambers. His father had just been informed of the news and was on his way to tell the prince, but Lorcan could no longer tolerate being left alone without an idea of what was happening. He opened the door, looked left and right, saw no one, and set off down the corridor.

Lorcan encountered many panicked people as he wandered through the castle. As he heard snatches of gossip, he remembered attending the christening all those years ago and wondered if Carabosse’s curse had been fulfilled. He inquired the way to the princess’s chambers, and he soon arrived at her door. He knocked, and when he received no answer, he opened it. There was the princess, lying on the bed. Lorcan closed the door behind him and locked the bolt.

He drew closer, and as he did so, he realized whom he was looking at.

“Briar Rose,” he whispered, gazing upon her peaceful face. He sat at the edge of the bed and caressed one of her loose golden curls. She did not stir, and he knew that she would not for another hundred years. She was so lovely, even lovelier than when they had met in the woods, now that she wore a gown befitting a princess and not a homely peasant’s garb. Lorcan leaned in closer and moved his hand to her waist, taking hold of her body.

So lovely.

“It’s fate, then,” he said.