The Sleeping Beauty Who Never Wakes

Story by: Isabelle Esslinger

Illustration by: Hailey Jackson

I hear a slight creak of the old, rotting wood making up the floors of my eternal bedroom. My daydreams vanish from my mind as I am abruptly brought back to reality. Faint, rapid footsteps fill the silence. The familiar sound comforts me. This sound is made by a rat scampering across the floor. He visits me frequently, searching for food crumbs, only to leave emptyhanded. The little rodent is the only living thing that comes to see me these days, and he has become like a friend to me. Aside from the speedy footsteps, the only other noticeable events that take place here are the occasional whispers of wind and booms of thunder.

Ever since the incident with the spindle, I have only been able to do two things: listen to the outside world, or become engrossed in my own thoughts. I cannot move or feel anything physically. However, my mind is sharp as a tack. My mind often races through my memories and my desires, and my imagination runs wild. It was never supposed to end like this. I was supposed to be saved from this eternal imprisonment. I would say I do not know how my life came to this, but that would be the epitome of a lie. I know exactly why this happened. In fact, I am significantly to blame. They call me

“Sleeping Beauty,” and since I am stuck here, not truly sleeping, yet never able to wake up, let me tell you my story. I will start from the very beginning…

I was born into royalty, named Princess Aurora. Everyone was happy and everything was perfect. But then Maleficent appeared and put a curse on me, an innocent infant, because she was angry that she did not get invited to the gathering. She proclaimed that I would die by pricking my finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel on my 16th birthday. My father was enraged, and he ordered that all of the spinning wheels in the kingdom be burned. Luckily, a good fairy named Merryweather managed to change the spell so that I would only fall into a deep sleep and could be woken up by a true love’s kiss. In order to keep me safe, two other fairies named Flora and Fauna, along with Merryweather, persuaded my parents to allow them to raise me in the woods. That is where I grew up: an abandoned woodcutter’s cottage in the forest where no one would find me. The three fairies convinced me that they were my aunts, and they called me Briar Rose. For 16 years, I remained safe with them. Maleficent's minions did not find me.

On my 16th birthday, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather sent me out to pick berries. In the meantime, they baked me a cake and made me a dress. While I was walking through the forest, I met a handsome prince and we danced. However, I suddenly remembered I was expected back at the cottage and I shouldn’t be talking to strangers, so I ran back home, but not before the prince insisted I tell him where I was going so he could visit later.

When I returned home, the fairies revealed who I truly was. They brought me back to the castle through a secret entrance and prepared me to meet my family. When they left me alone briefly, Maleficent opened a secret passage into the room I was in. I fell under a trance and followed a floating green orb through the passageway. When I reached the top of the castle’s highest tower, the green orb transformed into an enchanted spinning wheel. I heard the fairies’ voices from somewhere behind me warning me not to touch anything, but I could not help myself. The trance I was in was too strong. So, under Maleficent’s orders, I slowly brought my fingertip to the spindle of the spinning wheel and pricked it. I then fell into a deep sleep. Flora decided to put the entire kingdom to sleep until I was awakened.

The fairies returned to the woodcutter’s cottage to find Prince Phillip, but he was not there. They went to Maleficent’s castle where they found Phillip imprisoned, set him free, and they all returned to the castle. Prince Phillip was led to my bedside, and he kissed me. This one kiss was supposed to fix everything. I was supposed to wake up, and then everyone else in the kingdom would awaken as well. That obviously did not happen. I remained trapped in my sleep coma because that kiss was not a true love's kiss. Phillip loved me, but I did not feel the same. Sure, I was enchanted by him. However, I could not love him because I was already in love with someone else. I may have left out this one small detail from the story. Let me backtrack for a moment…

A few months before my 16th birthday where I met Prince Phillip, I met another prince in the woods named Henry. Prince Henry and I had so much in common. Every day, I would tell Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather that I was going out to pick berries, but really I was meeting Henry in secret. Henry was everything Phillip was not. He was funny, charming, and kind. In the few months we knew each other, I fell in love. I could not imagine life without him. When Phillip approached me in the woods, I danced with him because I like to dance, but that did not mean I loved Henry any less.

When I did not awaken from Phillip’s kiss, he knew I did not love him as he loved me. This filled him with sorrow, and he left our kingdom to return to his own. Arriving back to his kingdom, he was greeted by Prince Henry because, well, Prince Henry was Prince Phillip’s brother. Prince Phillip soon learned that Henry was the one I was truly in love with, and he became enraged. Phillip was so infuriated that he drew his sword and plunged it through Henry’s heart. Then, he returned to my kingdom and killed Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather to ensure I could never awaken. If he couldn’t have me, then no one could.

So, here I am. My mind is here, but my body is failing me. Time after time, I try to move my legs and wiggle my fingers, but I am constantly faced with disappointment. There is no one left here to help me. Henry is dead. Flora, Fauna, Merryweather…they are all dead. My parents, along with everyone else in the kingdom, are still asleep from Flora’s magic because she is not here to undo it.

Some days it is depressing to live in a sleeping kingdom. I feel trapped in a bubble of isolation. I feel resentful, but I have no one to resent but myself. Well, maybe Maleficent a little bit. And maybe Prince Philip a good bit. But all of these problems revolve around me because I did not stand up to Maleficent. I am starting to loathe my life. Is this really a way to live? Only in my mind am I allowed to be free. I am imprisoned by my own body. I am convinced this is hell.

I miss the days that were not governed by my paralysis. I often dream of what my life could have been. I am a princess, and I could have had power, prosperity, and a promising future. But, the actions of one man who thought he was in love with me ruined any chance for me to be happy again. Maybe I brought this upon myself. Or, maybe he was just too selfish and blind to allow anyone else happiness. Maybe it is the devil himself punishing me. Punishing me for what? I do not know. However, it is not up to me to know anything anymore. There is nothing that can be done about my eternal sleep. So, now and forever, I remain floating through my thoughts, unable to move a muscle. I am but a corpse.