Silent Stars (Bribelle)

~Chapter Four~

"You did what?!"

"I know, I know. But you know what happens when I'm too close to the spinning wheel."

It had only been two days since Briar awoke from her enchanted slumber, and two days since her Prince Charming had run away from her. She was only now telling her friends, Ashlyn Ella and Apple White. Both of them were rightfully shocked, as Briar hadn't breathed a word about the spinning wheel in a fairy, fairy long time.

"Why were you in there anyways?" Ashlyn chimed in, raising an eyebrow.

"My mom told me to check every room," Briar said, defending herself.

"Every room, including the one that could have killed you?" Apple worriedly stared at Briar, her mind in a mix of awe and shock.

"Hold on, hold on...I'm so confused...how did this even happen?"

Briar sighed, leaning on the table.

"Okay, well..."

~

Briar gracefully hauled her feet onto the steps of her mother's palace, gazing up at the structure. She tightly gripped the keys in her hand, taking a deep breath.

"Check the rooms, lock them, and get out."

Simple enough, right? Well, Briar's parents were out of kingdom for a vacation, so Briar was going into her mother's castle alone. Which meant, she was going to be alone with the spinning wheel. The spinning wheel that could put her to sleep for 100 years. That was a little nerve-wracking for her.

Briar sharply inhaled as she slipped the keys inside of the lock. She tightly shut her eyes, her fingers turning the key, the movement soon being followed by a click, as the doors began to open.

As she opened her eyes once more, she pushed the doors completely open, immediately being greeted by the warm sunshine shining through the new, large stained glass windows leaking light into the grand entrance. Briar flinched slightly when she was suddenly greeted by the blinding amount of sunlight, forgetting that the windows had just newly been added to the palace entrance.

Her parents had always been sentimental people with a passion for visualizing their good memories. So, that then led them to renovate the entire grand entrance of their palace. There were three large stained glass windows on each side, all in an arch-top shape. Each and every one displayed an ornate design, all of them with different vibrant colors dying the sunshine entering the grand entrance. That is, all but one.

One window, the same shape and size, sat on the wall at the top of the main staircase. It was a plain, blank window. Directly under it, a golden plaque sat bolted to the wall. The plaque read; "Briar Beauty" with an empty space under it, leaving room for another name to be engraved into the plaque.

Briar sighed, staring up at the window.

"Someday..."

The window was waiting for her. Waiting for her true love. All of the other windows had designs of her parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on. All of them had plaques with both their names. The designs were, in Briar's opinion, gorgeous. She loved true love, and having it displayed in such an elegant way was just so...magical. And she just couldn't wait until her window was filled with beautiful designs and bright colors too.

Briar snapped herself out of her state of admiration and turned her attention away from the windows. She made her way up the stairs, checking every room's lock and occasionally popping her head into certain rooms to see if everything was still in order.

She walked along the palace, checking every door she came by, all the way up until...she reached the spinning wheel room. Briar nervously shut her eyes and took a shaky inhale, placing her hand on the doorknob. And the worst thing happened. It opened.

Briar attempted to avert her eyes from the shiny, silver spindle and her hand searched around for the doorknob again. The door had almost flung open like the palace was trying to entice her into looking at the spindle.

Briar kept her eyes tightly shut as her hand flailed around, desperate to find the door handle, until a sudden vine grew under her feet. It snagged at her toes, causing her to fall to the floor with a yell from the sudden shock.

And, of course, she opened her eyes due to the fall. Her eyes immediately landed on the spindle, gleaming in the sunshine. Her eyes shifted to a more yellow color than their usual dark brown.

Briar immediately hauled herself to her feet and slowly approached the spinning wheel, completely entranced by the spindle. She desperately tried to snap herself out of her trance, but despite her attempts, she continued to approach the spinning wheel while the door slammed all by itself.

She reached a finger out as I hovered above the shiny point. A tear formed in her eye as her inside voice desperately yelled for her to snap out of it. But, alas, it was too late.

Her finger pressed itself onto the spindle, breaking Briar's skin as a wave of intense exhaustion and fatigue washed over her.

Briar immediately collapsed onto the stool next to the spindle, vines beginning to rapidly grow around her and wrap around her body. She shakily exhaled as she felt the vines smother her body and hold the pricked finger up like an award.

Her vision blurred as she felt her eyes slowly close. Briar's eyes landed on the doorknob, which slowly turned. After that, it all went black.