Part 3

The creature sat by, watching the princess as she left her sixteenth birthday party. Was she crying? He couldn't tell. He felt like crying, but he didn't know if he could anymore. Not after what happened. These last three years had been hell for him.

Trying to find his way back here in order to rescue her from their clutches, but he had failed. It was already too late. She entered her room, where they had left a spinning wheel for her, and she fell into a trance. Pricking her finger she collapsed, asleep, forever.

He knew that the fairy had altered his curse, but he also knew that no one truly loved the princess, nor did she truly love anyone.

"Such a shame. I wish there was another way." He murmured to himself. Watching from a distance as servants came in and put the princess into bed, as planned by the King and Queen.

"It didn't have to happen this way. There were many other ways." Diaval whispered from his shoulder. The raven's head was twisted so that it could see what was occurring with its master.

"I know... But this was the least harmful way."

Diaval nodded, in a bird way, and the two fell into their usual silence. Watching as the moon sank and the sun rose. Watching as the prince, who was Aurora's fiance, entered the room and kissed her sweetly. Watching as it did nothing. Watching as she remained asleep. Watching as the sun set and the moon rose again.

He entered the princess's chambers, looking at her sleeping form wistfully.

"May you indeed be blessed with both beauty and song, may your life be forever sweet and long. May you live many fruitful years, full of grace and Song. May you soon prick your finger on a spinning wheel's spindle and fall into a peaceful forever sleep. Never to be woken by this world's cruelty."

He whispered the curse that had left his lips sixteen years ago, staring at her as a single tear fell down his face once again.

"Why did you do this to her?" The angry and aggrieved voice of the King sounded from behind the creature. He was standing by her bedside as he looked over his feather-cloaked shoulder to make eye contact with the king as he had on that day.

"You still don't know? You still don't recognize me?"

"How could I?! We have no enemies! She has no enemies!" The King was shouting, angry, but over what?

"You have enemies. Plenty of them, I should know as I am one of them." The creature spoke softly, rhyming his words in a little tune.

"Who are you!?" The king took another step forward, shouting once again. But she froze when the creature turned to fully face him.

"Have you forgotten me?" The voice of a small boy spoke, changing into that of a young man as it continued. "Father?"

The creature and the King stood staring at one another. "No," he whispered softly, fear obvious in wide eyes.

"I know what you did." The voice continued. "I know you did it."

"No..."

"You wanted me to marry that woman, what was she... three times my age? You wanted her fortune and land, the rights to her kingdom, and she wanted a handsome young boy as a husband." The creature took one step forward, and the king took one step back.

"No. no no no...."

"I denied you, even went as far to say it to her face. She was reasonable, she refused to marry me if I didn't wish to. But you and mother were not. The two of you had spent years torturing me, in worse ways than you've tortured her these past three years, all so that I would be the perfect little tool to grow your power. But I had disobeyed, and you were angry." One step forward, one step back.

"No.... No, you died!"

"You would think I would have. After all, you set me and my chambers on fire with some very powerful magic. You had me and my precious pet burned to a crisp. After that, you tossed us into the forest near the summer cottage and pretended that I had passed away tragically, in an 'accidental' fire." One step forward, one step back.

"How!? How did you-"

"You dropped me right on the border of the magic lands father... no... You dropped me right on the border of the magic lands monster, That's better. Hmm. A kind Fae Witch found me, and healed me. Even took me on as her pupil in magic, she left me to care for the magic lands." One step forward, one step back.

"Dam it!"

"You would think that having used magic from those lands to try and kill me, you would know where the magic lands were." One step forward, one step back.

"You should be dead!"

"But I'm not." One step forward, one step back.

The king was now against the railing of the chamber's balcony. He was panting and shaking in fear of his returned son. A powerful witch, and a monster in his father's eyes.

Diaval sat on the balcony railing, eyes on the king. Squawking loudly once to startle him and make his presence known. The King, creature, and raven stood staring at each other, making no moves.

"Diaval... You were right. I should have done this another way. I wished to save her from the cruelty of our parents. Do as you wish, I must fix this." The prince spoke, closing the balcony doors and returning inside to be by his little sister's side.

He stood by her bedside, casting spell after spell in an attempt to reverse the damage he had done to her. But nothing worked, exactly as he had planned it. The curse was irreversible, changeable but not after such a long time since its casting.

"Damn fairies and their obsession with true love," he muttered bitterly, paying no mind when the balcony doors opened and Diaval hopped in.

The raven flew onto its master's shoulders, looking at the sleeping beauty dejectedly. It hopped onto her bed and nuzzled into her for the last time. After a moment, it flew back onto the balcony, giving the prince and his sister a moment.

The prince began to feel tears flow down his face, the most any had fallen from his eyes in many years. He leaned over his sister's sleeping form and whispered to her softly.

"Happy Birthday, my little princess."

He kissed her on the forehead and stood back up, tears running down faster. He made his way back to the balcony, Diaval hopping onto his shoulder and gently nuzzling him. The two were about to disappear as they had many times before from this palace when suddenly a soft voice called out.