Briar & the Dreamers of Midnight

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Did I say that the darkness in between islands was the worst? Well, being stuck in my tower is really the worst.

I stand like a ghost over my body.

The girl in the bed is no longer covered in the squirmy bugs, as she was the first time I saw her. There are enchantments all over this keep, so I should have known that my body wouldn’t be eaten by worms.

Why? Because the evil fairy needs me.

After the spell was cast and the fairy drama over, one of the invited fairies explained what the curse really did.

“This curse is known to us,” said one of the invited fairies.

She introduced herself as Leafla, even though everyone knew that wasn’t her true name. She wore a gown of autumn leaves, accented with strings of tiny green acorns.

I can’t remember that part of the day, but I’ve heard the story enough times to be able to see it.

“This is a Morpheus spell,” said Leafla. “Very powerful. Very dangerous.”

“Can you break it?” asked my father.

My nannies told me that he looked intimidatingly royal standing protectively beside me. His anger was so hot that everyone in the hall could sense it boiling.

The guards had been uselessly frozen during the curse. No one, not even the other fairies, could stop her. She simply sauntered in, cast the curse that destroyed my life, then sauntered out.

“It cannot be broken with a spell,” said Leafla. “But I can partially change it.”

“To what?” asked Father.

“To a curse that can be broken with a kiss from a prince,” said Leafla.

“We can invite princes from our neighboring kingdoms,” said Mother.

“It won’t be that easy,” said Leafla. “The fairy who cast the spell will know when her curse is being altered. She’ll make sure the sleeping princess is guarded somehow. The prince must get past that guard before he can kiss Princess Briar awake.”

“What kind of guard?” asked Father.

“Something dangerous. Lethal to anyone but the most determined prince.”

“This is the best you can do for her?” asked Father.

Leafla nodded.

“Then do it. Please,” said Mother.

“One more thing you should know,” said Leafla. “You must hide Princess Briar. She who cast the spell will try to find Briar before a prince does.”

“Why would she care?” asked Mother. My nannies told me that they had never seen such a deep frown marring her face. “She will have already punished us by putting our daughter to sleep.”

“Punishment is a convenient excuse,” said Leafla. “If it was only punishment she was after, your daughter would fall under the curse right now rather than waiting until her sixteenth birthday.”

“Then what is she after?” asked Father.

“Righteous anger is an ingredient of the Morpheus spell,” said Leafla. “The caster of the spell must have a wrong committed against her. This is why we fairies are ever so careful to avoid insult. If one must insult another, it’s best to kill them soon after.”

“Tell us what the spell does,” said Mother in a near whisper.

“So long as Princess Briar sleeps, the fairy who cast the spell won’t have to. She’ll never tire. She’ll never need sleep. It works better with a grown person rather than a child. By delaying the curse until Briar’s sixteenth birthday, the spell will have full effect.”

The castle hall became silent as people thought about what that meant. That was when it truly dawned on everyone that I would not live beyond sixteen.

“Fairies do age, although very slowly,” said Leafla. “The fairy who cast the spell will enjoy years of her waking youth while all her enemies sleep.”

“That sounds like a powerful advantage,” said Father. “Why don’t all of you do it?”

Leafla straightened her shoulders and arched her brow. “Each of you in this great hall has the power to enslave or murder the person sitting beside you and take everything from that person. Yet most of you don’t. For the same reasons, most of us fairies don’t cast the Morpheus spell. Being able to do it and actually choosing to do it are very different things.”

“Is this a crime among your people?” asked Father. “Can you bring me justice?”

Leafla frowned, looking like she was trying to figure out how to translate her thoughts. “It is…frowned upon. It takes a fairy of great power to withstand the…disapproval…of the others. Possibly, she is mad. Sometimes that happens. Usually, the Morpheus spell is done in secret with the victim being someone no one would miss. When the sleepers are found, they’re often found in basements, caves or other such places that are hidden away.”

“Briar will not fall victim to this evil spell,” said Father. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“What will happen to our daughter if the evil fairy finds her before the prince does?” asked Mother, her lips ashen.

“She’ll be doomed to sleep forever,” said Leafla. “And the fairy who cast the spell will never have to sleep again.”

My nannies argued over whether Leafla sounded apologetic when she said this. I’ve long suspected that none of my nannies were in the hall that night, but of course, the castle was abuzz with stories of what happened for months. If everyone who claimed to be in the hall that night really had been there, there would have been no room for anyone to sit or to see anything.

They all agreed on one thing, though. My father slumped at Leafla’s answer, looking old and defeated for the first time.