We all know about the story of the Sleeping Beauty. She is born, gets cursed to fall into an eternal slumber, and gets a true love’s kiss to wake her up. But let’s not talk about what actually had happened because the truth doesn’t end as happily as you thought. 

It all started when Aurora was born. The king and queen had held a magnificent ceremony in her name. The doors of the king’s castle opened to welcome the warm summer breeze. Rays of sunshine danced through the vibrant, stained windows and caressed the young princess’s golden blonde hair making her shine almost as brightly as the sun herself. The three good fairies Flora, Fauna and Merryweather gathered around the baby giving their blessings. Flora’s voice carried through the castle’s magnificent halls in her sweet, sing-song voice, “I gift you the thing people forever yearn for, I give you the Gift of Beauty.” Fauna follows, “I gift you what animals hold dear, I give you the Gift of Song.” Merryweather, the last of the three began her blessing, “ I gift y-“ only to get cut off by the sudden darkness in the sky, the cold fingers of wind, the lone cry of baby Aurora. 

As a single bolt of lightning sliced the now pitch black sky, a figure shrouded in mist slid through the crowd of spectators as they emitted into chaos. They pushed and pulled, shrieked and screamed, all bellowing in unison, “The mistress of darkness is here! Maleficent.” She cackles at the fear and saunters towards the baby, ignoring the threats of the king and queen. She muttered, “You forgot about me,” her voice gradually getting louder until she was all you could hear, repeating those words, “You forgot about me. Everyone is here except me but that’s okay because I’m here to gift the beautiful princess my own blessing.” Everyone sits in helpless fear, as the witch decides the baby’s future, “Before the sun sets on your 16th birthday, you shall prick your finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die!” The King gasped and shouted, “How dare you curse the princess with death. You merciless witch. Guards get her!” The guards rushed towards Maleficent but before they could even reach her, she had already disappeared cackling along the way. The people stood in shock as the baby’s tragic future settled in.

Merryweather coughs and walks forward towards the baby, “I’ve still got my blessing and I shall help the princess escape her tragic end. Sweet princess, if you’re to prick your finger on a spinning wheel, instead of death I gift you sleep until a true love’s kiss can wake you up or once 100 years is up.” In the following day the king had made arrangements and the smell of smoke rose as every spinning wheel was set on fire. Princess Aurora was sent away to a forest, under the name Briar Rose, protected by the three good fairies. 

The forest was calm and quiet and tricked everyone into thinking that the young princess would be safe from her future. She grew up and sang and danced to the many animals watching. 

One day she wandered through the forest, singing a beautiful song captivating all the animals and a man. He had been rather handsome so they danced and sang until they grew tired. Aurora knew that she had fallen in love with this handsome stranger. She arranged for them to meet that evening at the cottage in the woods.

Meanwhile, at home the aunts (fairies) were planning a birthday surprise for Aurora as it was going to be her 16th birthday. They made a cake and a dress but both came out terribly so they decided to use some magic to fix the mess. Before they used the magic they blocked up every gap in the cottage to stop magic dust from escaping and alerting Maleficent. 

Part Two: The curse

But they had forgotten to block the chimney!

The fairies were delighted at the chance to use magic once again. Flora waved her wand and the dress turned into a beautiful pink gown. The dress was then changed into a deep cobalt blue by Merryweather. Soon after they were attacking the dress with pink and blue, leaving a trail of shimmering magic dust to escape the chimney. The delicate shimmer flowing out caught Maleficient’s raven’s attention. The black bird loomed over the chimney to investigate. 

When Briar Rose returned to the cottage, she thanked the fairy godmothers for the beautiful dress and cake and had exclaimed, “This is the happiest day of my life” before excitedly gushing about the handsome stranger she had met in the woods and that he was going to visit her outside the cottage that very evening. 

Everything had seemed perfect. But nothing perfect lasts forever. 

Flora’s face dropped as she heard of Briar Rose’s lover, “It’s time we told you the truth”. The fairies told Briar Rose that she was actually a princess and had to marry Prince Phillip. “Today you must return to the castle to your new life.”Flora finished. As the truth settled in, Briar Rose became heartbroken. She didn’t want to marry the prince, she had already fallen in love with the handsome stranger. However, outside the cottage there was only joy and excitement as the raven flew off to tell his mistress the information he had gained that day. 

As soon as the sun set and the moon rose, the fairy godmothers led Briar Rose through the forest to the palace. Along with the sun, the vibrant plants and joyful animals all disappeared and all that was left behind was the cold, lonely moon and a dark, empty forest. Once they reached the looming, stone palace, the fairy godmothers left Aurora in a quiet room to rest. Suddenly an ominous light shone. It pulled Aurora in and she followed like a moth drawn to light. She walked up a winding staircase following the strange light and into an attic. Inside the room, Maleficent waited by a spinning wheel. As if in a trance Aurora walked up to it completely unaware of the wicked fairy watching eagerly. Maleficent whispered in Aurora’s ear, “Now be a darling, and touch the spindle.”Aurora walked closer, reached out and pricked her finger on the spindle. As blood budded out of the cut like a rose, she collapsed and fell into a deep sleep. Maleficent watched and cackled before disappearing only leaving a thick fog in the room, blanketing Aurora in cold air. 

 Before long, the fairy godmothers found Aurora lying by the spinning wheel so they warned the King and Queen and quickly flew to the cottage to come up with a plan to find Aurora’s true love. Luckily, at that moment a hooded figure came to the house, before asking the fairies, “Is this Briar Rose’s house?” The fairies watched in suspicion as the man gently lowered his hood to the light. The light seemed to suddenly shine brighter in the man’s presence as he revealed locks of chocolate brown hair matching his eyes, and a warm smile. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light, “Is that you Merryweather.” Before glancing over the two other figures, “Oh and Flora and Fauna. What are you guys all doing here? I thought this was Briar Rose’s house.” Merryweather sighed in relief at the sight of a familiar face, “It was.” Prince Phillips’ eyes widened in confusion, “So why are you here? Unless…”, Merryweather nods, “Briar Rose is Aurora!” Prince Phillips looked around in confusion, “Wait, why isn’t she here if you guys are?” Merryweather answered, “Well… Mal-”before getting interrupted by Fauna, who suddenly let out a big sob, “Maleficent found Aurora! A-a-and she’s under the curse!” Fauna continued sobbing as Flora tried to calm the fairy. Merryweather filled in Prince Phillips on what he had to do. Only his kiss could wake her up. 

The fairies magicked a shield and sword to help the Prince, before following him as he galloped on his horse to the palace to rescue Princess Aurora. When they arrived at the castle, they were greeted by the looming figure of a giant dragon cackling down at them. 

It was Maleficent. 

She had turned herself into a monster. The once beautiful palace was now laced with thorns that jutted out of the doors and windows like a parasite taking over its victim. And let’s not even talk about the giant beast that stood in front. It was more than twice the size of the castle and was a black that seemed to eat away at all the light that came its way. It had long jagged spikes along its spine, wings so vast they covered the entirety of the castle behind them, and teeth that glistened dangerously against the dark background of its scales. The monster, screeched in glee, “I’m so glad you have finally arrived, my dear, Prince Phillips. But no matter how much you dream, you will never see the little Princess again!”

Prince Phillips shouted, “I declare you let go of Princess Aurora whilst I’m still giving you mercy.” Only to get a delighted laugh from Maleficent, “I would never lose to a naive boy like you, not in a million years!” 

That’s when it began. The longest battle known in history. The two fought day and night for 80 years. The air was filled with the smell of acrid smoke that wafted through the palace eerily, suffocating everyone in its grasp and pungent sweat from the unbearable heat. The citizens had no time for rest because there were no homes left. Everything had been burnt to the ground by Maleficent’s scorching flames. All the citizens could hear were the shrieks, the cries, the wails. People could barely remember times before this gruesome, unforgiving battle. 

But one day the end came. Prince Phillip and Maleficent both reached their limit and collapsed on the floor. Later, that day, the citizens buried their bodies and started trying to return the kingdom to its original state. However, without a King or Queen able to lead, the kingdom soon fell apart once again. There was no safe space. There was crime everywhere, the governments changed every month or so and food was almost impossible to find. 

But as time went on, things got better. A new government stood up and it helped bring the kingdom back together. People were happy once again and people eventually forgot about Aurora. 

When the day came that Aurora rose again, the kingdom had become completely different. It was run by a new government, with new laws and new technology. She was no longer important and she had no one to care for her. Everyone who did had passed away. Her lover, parents, friends and godmothers. They had all passed away. After she awoke she decided to live her life in seclusion as she no longer fit in. She moved into a small cottage in the countryside and looked after farm animals. In her free time she would collect flowers from the nearby meadows to take to the graveyard to give to her loved ones.