It was a time of hardships in the Moors due to a curse that has plagued the lands. It all started when the princess of the land fell into a deep slumber from which no one could wake her. Ever since that day there have been reports of villagers disappearing in the middle of the night without a trace and this also occurred for those who tried to enter the castle that was once known for hosting the royal family while they were still alive and well. Many believe that if you can get past the cursed vines covered in thorns that surround the castle and find the princess inside, you can break the curse by giving her a kiss and you will be rewarded with her hand in marriage. Many brave and strong men have attempted to enter the castle but none have been able to until one day a prince arrived. With precision and speed, he was able to fend off the thorny vines and enter the castle. As the prince entered the castle, something inside began to stir. The prince began to explore the castle at a steady pace but soon realized that he was walking in circles. He began to frantically ascend and descend the stairs to search different rooms but eventually he would always find himself back in the foyer. The prince, frustrated with his lack of progress, stood in the foyer and closed his eyes to think. While his eyes were closed, the prince began to hear a faint song that sounded like a lullaby, but when he opened his eyes he could no longer hear it. The prince decided that the best course of action was to trust his ears instead of his eyes. The prince closed his eyes and began to slowly traverse the castle following the melodic lullaby. Finally, the prince entered a room where the lullaby originated and he opened his eyes. Before him was a bedroom with a canopy bed in the center, and upon that canopy bed lay a woman, who looked to be in a deep sleep. The prince began to slowly approach the bed, afraid that the room might change once again if he was not careful. When the prince reached the bed he began to stare in awe at her beauty. The woman’s skin was as white as freshly fallen snow, her hair was as black as the night and flowed over her shoulders like a waterfall, and she had a shapely figure that was mesmerizing to the prince. The prince soon realized that this was the princess that he had been searching for, so the prince closed his eyes and began to lean over to give her a kiss to break the curse and claim her as his wife. Suddenly, freezing cold hands seized the prince’s head, and he felt something bite his neck. The prince’s eyes flew open in a flash and what he saw before him shocked him to his core. The princess had latched herself upon his neck and he could feel the blood being drained from his body. The prince tried to fight back, for he thought that he would be strong enough to overpower this thin and delicate woman, but to his dismay, he couldn’t move the princess an inch. As his blood was drained from his body the prince realized something; the story of the princess had been passed down from generation to generation but no one questioned it or the fact that the princess was still alive despite there being no magic in this world capable of keeping someone alive for hundreds of years. As the last of the blood left his body, the prince fell upon the bed and looked into the eyes of his killer, the eyes of which were as red as blood. The prince took his last breath and began to pity those who would follow him chasing a false dream. Once the prince had died, the princess held her hands together and said, “Thank you for the meal, you fool.” The princess then disposed of the prince’s body and went back to sleep until the next time her hunger pains strikes.

There is a natural way of things in the world, even when magic was real and fairy godmothers roamed the land. The natural way is change. Decomposition. It happens to us all, one day.

In some way or another, at least.

There is one woman who does not follow the natural way of things. Not like everyone else does, at least.

You can still find her. You find her when you’re at your lowest, when you wander with no destination. You find her when you pick the darker path, when you walk until your senses scream at you to turn around. You find her when you push your way through the brambles, skin torn by thorns, called forth by something you do not understand.

Her skin was once beautiful.

It chafes against the sharp edges of her bones like a tarp stretched over a frame. Her cheeks flutter in the breeze like curtains.

Her chest rises and falls, but it is not with breath. It is with necessity.

The worst of it is her eyes. They have long since lost the strength to stay closed. And why should they? That was never part of the curse. So she stares with what looks like eyes. They should be eyes. They were once eyes. Eyes that might have even been blue long ago, but are no longer.

She smiles.

Bares her teeth.

With what should be lips.

And littered at her bedside, for all these years …

It is at this point that you realize that Sleeping Beauty was never cursed. The curse was really for the poor souls that tried to kiss her. Like in the old fairy tales.

Curses last a long time.