Awakening Chapter One

atop the gathered masses, the executioner swung down his heavy ax cleaving through the prince's neck in a single stroke. Falling from the high balcony, the head bounced and rolled along between the startled villagers who stepped away in horror before a few dared to look up at their Princess. One such individual was a red haired maiden who stood out from the usual rabble of townsfolk. Whether Cinderella noticed her or not remained to be seen as the Princess simply took her leave of the balcony going back inside her castle leaving Merida to grip her bow tightly.

“I'm too late.” She tells herself as she steadies her senses and approaches the castle gates.

Inside, Cinderella plants the heel of her glass slipper atop the head of a working redhead who simply does her best to make the feeling a part of her day and not let it interrupt her floor scrubbing.

“Cleaner, dear sister.” Cinderella orders looking down at the floor as the redhead proceeds to scrub harder and faster feeling the Princess' slipper remove itself from atop her head. “You don't need to end up like the others, do you?”

They had been brought in earlier in the week, forced to their knees before the throne where Cinderella sat. Bound, gagged, they were helpless as the executioner would step in behind one at a time, grab their hair, and slide a blade across their neck slowly allowing the Princess to savor the image. First the mother would drop before her daughters, and then the dark haired sister. It was the redheads turn but her life was spared. To work, to clean, to be abused.

“N-no, your Highness.” Was all she could muster, but it was enough to draw a smile upon the Princess' lips as she returned back to her throne where she noticed the arriving guest.

“Leave us.” She ordered as the redhead bowed her head grabbing up the brush and bucket hurrying away to calmer seas somewhere else in the castle. “Merida...you missed the coronation.”

“What's become of you, Cinderella?”

“I've been Awakened.”

“By who? Maleficent? Jafar?” Merida almost demanded as she stopped just a few feet from the throne still gripping her bow. She knew where this was set to lead and she needed to remain ready. However, her grip begins to loosen when she hears Cinderella's laughter.

“Maleficent is long since dead and Jasmine doesn't let her genie out of her palace a lot these days.”

“Then who? Who is doing this corruption?”

She again demanded taking another step forward as Cinderella just smiles looking down at Merida's bow.

“You've seen it happen before, haven't you? The Awakening.”

Merida grips her bow tightly once more as she recalls her mother coming at her. Blood stained gown, dagger dripping on the floor. She was too late then as well.

“Of course the Awakening would have no effect on you,” Cinderella begins as her eyes finally lost their light as she turns to a scowl. “You fought so hard against your position. A position you were granted by default anyway.”

“I wanted to change the nature of what a Princess was.”

“By spitting on the hardships of your peers!”

Merida cracks a small smile. “Hardships? You?”

“I slaved my entire LIFE to those creatures!” She shouted pointing out the mounted heads of her step mother and sister residing just above a fireplace.

“And then magic saved your day.” Merida replied as Cinderella grips tightly to her throne. “You worked hard but in the end you took the easy way out. Lived out some glamorous image made out by a spell. Then, when the spell was set to break you couldn't handle your true self and ran. Looks is all that got you into that seat, your Highness. Your tiara is a crown of lust.”

“Enough!” Cinderella shouted out nearly startling Merida. “I'll hear no more of these...these...lies!”

“Then deal with me. Become who you were before and lift up a finger.”

“Hm,” Cinderella smiles again bringing up a hand. “I'll give you a couple.”

With a snap of her fingers the throne room is filled with the noise of growls and snarls as three giant rats enter the room. Their massive paws crunching down against the tiles as they approach their prey. Their bodies had been disfigured, their hair was mostly gone replaced by bone that stabbed out through their flesh. Their eyes were hollow and mouths drooled as they sniffed the air.

“They're not exactly dress makers anymore, more like...pest control now.” Cinderella stated as one lunges itself at Merida only to fall dead when an arrow pierces out through the skull by way of the mouth. The other two stop as Cinderella appeared livid. “K...kill her! Kill her now!”

A second rat pounces at Merida forcing her to roll to her left. When she's readied a counter she's sent on a defensive dive once again as the third rat charges in, its mouth wide hoping to catch a chunk of her.

“Rip off her head that it can be put on a pike!” Cinderella shouted watching Merida dodge her way around the clumsy beasts. When it's clear they can't do it on their own, the Princess calls out for backup. “F...Fairy Godmother!”

Merida stopped and watched as a twinkling light enters down into the throne room. The light itself attracted the attention of the rats who stare at it by instinct alone. Though realizing this to be her only chance, Merida fires off a quick arrow.

“Fairy-” Cinderella yelled before being pinned back against her throne as the arrow goes straight through her head.

To Merida's surprise, the two remaining rats also quickly drop dead as the Fairy Godmother appeared before her. Quickly, Merida preps another arrow until it's tapped down by a wand.

“There's no use for that anymore, dear.” The Fairy Godmother said with a warm smile before looking around. “Such a mess.”

Merida lowered her bow for the time being watching as the Fairy Godmother turned and sighed to the now dead Cinderella approaching her and resting a hand along her cheek.

“I'm so sorry I rushed you into this, child. I had thought you were ready.”

“How...” Merida began trying to figure out where to start. The Fairy Godmother turns to her and looked first to the rats.

“Overgrown their hearts. Only a matter of time until their twisted ribs would pierce into it. Poor dears, their minds were hollowed and forms deranged by Cinderella's sudden change for the worst.”

“Who was responsible for it?” Merida asked stepping toward the older woman. “Please tell me.”

“Aurora.” The Fairy Godmother answers. “She called it The Awakening. She arrived not too long ago and spoke privately with Cinderella. After that...the changes began. I fear though that Cinderella was not her only target for this...Awakening.”

“No,” Merida replied sadly. “She wasn't.”

“Then the others too will have no doubt been approached.” The Fairy Godmother stated looking back at Cinderella as the blood from the arrow had been split apart by her nose and was now dripping of her chin. “What you did here was for the better, child. If the Princesses have indeed become corrupted then there is little that can be done to change them back.”

“I must...kill them?”

“You must save them.” The Fairy Godmother corrected turning toward Merida. “This is not what is best for them. They are a symbol of purity, Merida, just as you are.”

Merida remained silent as she too looked back at Cinderella. She had hoped things wouldn't have gotten as far as they did, that she could just find out what had happened to her mother. But she did come prepared for such an outcome. Though knowing Aurora was doing this to all kingdoms...Merida had little choice but to accept with a nod.

“Good. Though before you go...” The Fairy Godmother began as she approached Cinderella removing the tiara from atop the arrow. Following a brief moment of silence, she turned and offered the crown to Merida. “Take this and all from those you encounter. You'll need them in the end.”

Merida accepts the tiara looking it over before hearing an “also” from the older woman. When looking up, she noticed the wand being twirled sparking out a sparse bit of light in its trail.

“Bippity-boppity-boo. This gift I bequeath unto you. In my final hour, take my power. Bippity-boppity-boo.” The wand glowed before being touched to Merida's chest as she feels...different. Not stronger, but like something had been changed inside her. “With this you'll have the ability to manipulate the structure of certain items. I'm sorry that this is all I can give to you.”

Merida looked down at her hands for a moment then realized as she looked back up at the Fairy Godmother.

“Your chant, you stated final hour.”

“Yes, dear.” She began. “I'm afraid magic is dead in this kingdom, but there is still hope. Save the Princesses, restore the balance within the Kingdoms. Only then will real magic return.”

The Fairy Godmother stated before disappearing in a small poof of light. Looking down at her hand once more, Merida gives Cinderella a final glance then turns to begin her journey.

Snow White is dropped to her knees as the seven dwarves step back. Immediately, the fair maiden looks up shouting.

“I'll never allow your wickedness into my heart!”

“No...you won't.” Aurora calmly replied approaching Snow White in a haze. “But why would you? The fairest of them all?”

Snow White coughs out a little as the image of Aurora standing before her hazes in and out as though she could feel herself drifting off to sleep.

“But like the rest of us, you were an object. A conquest to be taken from her home back to a palace. Did your Prince even know who you were before returning you back to his own kingdom?”

Snow White continued to cough feeling as though she could just lie down in the grass now and drift off for days.

“Awaken, Snow White, awaken to the world. The world that perverted you, that weakened you, that stole your essence.”

“A...” Snow White began, her head still spinning as her eyes temporarily darken. “Awaken...yes. Yes...they...they tried to destroy me. Make me helpless.”

Aurora steps back with a smile allowing her fellow Princess to rise up before her fully Awakened now. Looking back at her dwarves, Snow White begins to see things differently and turns to show gratitude.

“Th-”

It's cut short, however, as Aurora slashes a knife clean through her throat. Snow White fell to her knees, gripping her neck as blood oozes from between her fingers looking up at Aurora.

“Why? Because you're a carbon copy me. Loved by animals, put to sleep by a magic spell, awoken by a kiss...your story steps all over mine claiming to be original. I am the Sleeping Beauty.”

Upon hearing that, Snow White drops down to the ground where she can indeed sleep. Although not one where she'll be waking up. Aurora reaches down snatching up her tiara smirking as she looks it over.

“It's even gaudier than my own.” She mused as a couple dwarves reach out to their Princess. “Leave her. She was loved by animals, let them enjoy her a little more.”

Pocketing the tiara, Aurora turned taking out a key and placing it out against the air making a door appear before her. Opening it, it looked to lead into an entirely different kingdom.

“If anyone comes looking for her...kill them.”

She ordered as one dwarf in particular crosses his arms and grumbles something beneath his breath. Aurora doesn't even turn back, even as an owl suddenly swoops in latching its talons to the dwarf's face as he screams out. His fellow dwarves watch in horror as one of them feels something hard rubbed along his shoulder. Looking over, he spotted the knife Aurora used being cleaned off his shirt before the Sleeping Beauty looked the clean blade over as the owl returned with a fresh tongue in its beak.

“Anymore thoughts?” Aurora asked as the dwarves remained silent, all save for the one lying screaming on the ground as blood drips from his mouth. “Good.”

Aurora turns as the owl drops the tongue and screeches out flying in through the doorway after the Princess before it disappears.