“Look at all the food, Sam!” Val said.
“I know! It’s more than I’d ever imagine.”
“Can you imagine heating up leftovers without a microwave?”
“A microwave?” Snow asked.
“It cooks food really fast,” Sam explained. “You don’t make a fire, either.”
“I can’t imagine how you’d cook without a fire.”
Val pointed to the band. “Look at all the string instruments. I’ve never heard a mandolin before.” Other people played instruments that were obviously early versions of a violin or fiddle. Whatever they were, the music coming from them sounded incredible. Valerie’s aunt and uncle were music teachers. She often watched them play, and sat in admiration as they went from one instrument to the next so easily. She was inspired to ask about taking violin lessons as soon as they returned home.
“This is really wonderful,” Snow said. “There were lots of parties at my castle, but I wasn’t allowed to attend many.”
“Why not?” Sam asked. “Was it your stepmother?”
“Yes. She told my father that a party was no place for a child. He often snuck a tray of desserts up to me after the guests left. Sometimes I’d been crying, so I pretended to be asleep when I heard him approach. Other times, I really wanted to spend time with him and was grateful for the visit.” She sighed. “I really miss him.”
The girls each wrapped an arm around her. “Your aunt will help us find him. You’ll be together soon,” Val said.
The girls managed to mingle in very easily with all the commotion going on. Valerie and Samantha were too hungry to question what every dish was. They were careful to pick plain-looking meat dishes, and filled up with lots of fruit. Valerie tucked a cloth napkin of scraps in her pocket for Otter. She decided it was best if they kept her away from of the celebration for now and had left her off to the side, tied to a hitching post. Otter was well-behaved on a leash, Val knew she wouldn't pull or bark.
The king and queen sat at a head table on a large stage. Next to them sat a woven bassinet with twisted vines hanging down its sides, a variety of pink flowers laced throughout them. On either side of the head table were two more tables with six settings each.
“Who are those ladies on each side?” Sam asked.
“They are fairies,” Snow explained.
“Fairies?” Sam asked. “I thought fairies were small and had wings.”
“Not all,” Val said. “She has twelve fairy godmothers?” she asked Snow.
“They are fairies from different parts of our land. It’s customary for them to give their gifts to royal babies.”
“Wow,” the girls said together.
“I can’t imagine the kind of gifts they can give,” Sam said.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Snow said. “For now, let’s eat. I’m starved.” They dug into the meal.
After everyone was done eating, there was a marvelous fireworks display. Again, the girls were impressed with what could be done several hundred years ago. How men could figure such things out in primitive times like these amazed them. When the fireworks display was done, the king made an announcement that it was time for the twelve fairies to give their gifts to the baby.
Valerie gasped, stepped closer to Samantha, and grabbed her arm.
“What?” asked Samantha.
“The baby! That’s Sleeping Beauty!”
“I thought her name was Aurora.”
“She was named Briar Rose by her parents. Her three fairy godmothers called her Aurora when she lived with them in the cottage.”
“I didn’t know she was related to Snow White,” Sam said.
“Well, in the books I guess she wasn’t, but we’re in real life now.”
“I wish we could tell Snow about all the things that are going to happen to her, Val. Maybe we can warn her and she won’t have to go through those terrible events.”
“You know we can’t. History will run its course, no matter what we do. We can interfere if we have to, but we can’t risk changing the stories too much.”
“But what if it means saving her?”
“Well…of course we’d have to do something. But as far as warning her, I just don’t think that’s possible.”
While they talked, they missed the wonderful gifts that were being given to the little princess. A loud bang and a puff of black smoke returned their attention to the baby and the excitement going on at the stage. A thirteenth fairy had appeared on stage and joined the other twelve that surrounded the baby.
“So, am I not important enough to be invited to your little party?” the thirteenth fairy screamed.
The king shot to his feet. “No! It was not intentional. I assure you—” He tried to explain, but she cut him off.
“Not intentional? It would not have been difficult to send word to me. How else can I take you excluding me from your little party? I suppose I’ll have to teach you a lesson to ensure it doesn’t happen again.” The words were angry and delivered with such force, even from far away, it frightened the girls. The evil fairy paced as she spoke and waived her wand around violently.
The queen rushed over, but the king grabbed her waist, holding her back. “Darling don’t! She’ll only harm you.” He pleaded with the fairy as he held his wife. “Mathilda. No. Please!”
The fairy paced around the bassinet. She tapped her forefinger on her chin, as if deep in thought. She stopped and pointed her wand at the king.
“I have it! My gift to your daughter is death! When she turns sixteen, she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die! That should give you enough time to think over what you have done!” She held her wand straight above her head. A dark cloud appeared in the sky, and a bolt of lightning struck with a quick blast. The entire crowd gasped as the thunder shook the tables of food, as well as the stage. The baby cried out in fear at the sound. Letting go of his wife, the king rushed to his daughter’s side.
Mathilda picked Briar Rose up before the king reached the basinet. Again he pleaded with the evil fairy. “Please, no! I beg you. Do not harm my beautiful, innocent daughter! Please remove the curse. Cast your spell upon me instead.”
The fairy cackled in delight. “It’s too late. She will pay for your insolence, you pitiful man! Let’s see you leave me out of your celebrations next time! You’ll never forget the day you tried to exclude me!” She placed the baby back in the basinet and stepped back. As suddenly as she had appeared, the evil fairy disappeared, once again in a cloud of black smoke.
The girls stood in shock. Snow was very upset. “My poor aunt! We have to go to her right away.” Snow ran into the crowd toward the stage, with Sam and Val close behind.
It took them a while to make their way past the hundreds of frightened guests. When they finally reached the front of the crowd, they found guards surrounding the royal family and the fairies. They were not allowing anyone to pass through, except the king’s magicians. The four of them were arguing as to which one would have the best spell to stop the curse. Sparks flew from wands and puffs of smoke sparked and popped as hands frantically flailed as they spoke.
The king paced between his wife and daughter and the magicians as they argued. His brows furrowed deep with worry as he stomped from one end of the stage to the other. Now standing by his wife again, he held her and the baby tight.
“This is all my fault. I didn’t think to invite her. No one has seen her for so very long. Mathilda is always so cruel and likes to keep to herself. How could I know she wanted to come? I should have told one of my guards to find her. How could this happen? Our poor, poor Briar Rose.”
“Your men will fix this,” the queen said. “They have to.” Lifting her head up, the queen caught sight of the girls. “Snolindria? Could it be? Is that you, child? Come forward.” She motioned to the guards. “Let these girls through.”
Snow made her way to her aunt. “Yes, ma’am, it’s me. How did you know who I was? You haven’t seen me since I was a baby.”
“
My dear, you are the spitting image of your mother. I would have known your lovely face in a sea of a hundred faces.”
Her aunt hugged Snow tight for a long time before finally letting go.
“It is so good to see you, Snolindria, although I wish this was a happier time. Is your father here?” she asked as she anxiously scanned the crowd.
“No, ma’am, he’s still away on the crusade. One of my servants brought me so we could visit you and the baby. I came with my friends.” She pointed over toward Samantha and Valerie. They knew enough to give her a polite curtsy.
Wanting to stay out of the way, they stood to the side while the king and his magicians argued over what to do to save the baby.
One fairy stepped forward and offered her solution. “Your Highness, I have not yet given my gift.”
“I can’t think of gifts at a time like this! I have to worry about my daughter dying!”
“Please allow me to speak,” insisted the last fairy. “I regret that I cannot take away the evil spell, Your Highness, but I can change it.”
“Change it?”
“Yes,” she said as she turned to Rose. “My darling child, when you are sixteen and you prick your finger on the spinning wheel, you shall not die. You will instead go into a deep, deep sleep.” She waved her wand over the baby’s head as she said the words.
The gift did not completely satisfy the king. “I want no harm to come to this child! Do you understand me?” he shouted to his magicians. “What else can we do?”
“Excuse me, sir,” Valerie said as she approached the king.
“I’m sorry, little girl, but we are very busy here.” He turned away from her.
“Please, sir, I can help. I think I can, anyway.”
“How?” he asked, giving her his attention.
“It seems to me that the easiest solution would be to burn all the spinning wheels. Then she can’t ever poke her finger on one.”
“Why that’s…That’s an excellent idea! Guards! Go now! Gather up every spinning wheel in the kingdom. They are to be burned immediately!”
He turned to thank Valerie, but she was already gone. After Valerie spoke to the king, Samantha grabbed her arm and they hurried away.
They reached Snow as she was kissing the queen goodbye. “I’ll come see you again soon,” Snow promised. “Everything will be okay now. You’ll see.”
“Thank you, child. You take care in getting home. Have your servants take you straight away.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Snow said as Sam tugged at her sleeve and pulled her along.
“Valerie,” whispered Samantha once they were out of the crowd. “You changed the story. Doesn’t she go into the sleep and get woken up by the prince’s kiss?”
“No, I didn’t, Sam. Remember? The wizards decide to have the spinning wheels burned after they try a few spells, but the evil fairy has one appear by magic.”
“I guess I don’t have a photographic memory for every fairy tale like you.”
Valerie gave her a “whatever” look with a little dramatic eye-rolling. “I just felt bad for the king. He was so upset. I just hurried things along for him. The story won’t change any. You really should read more, Sam.”
“I prefer my dance class, thank you very much.”
“What are you girls talking about?” asked Snow.
Samantha turned to Snow. “We can’t stay here. Did you get a chance to ask your aunt for help?”
“I couldn’t. There is too much excitement going on. She asked if my father was here with me, so she doesn’t know where he is, either. What are we going to do now?”
“I have a good idea,” Samantha said as she pointed to a man and his cart. He was at the hitching post petting Otter. It was Wilhelm!
Chapter 10