A Fairy Tale With Two

Prologue

       Once upon a time, in a beautiful, prosperous kingdom, there lived a beautiful queen and her proud king. On a pleasant day in the early spring, the queen gave birth to two beautiful twin daughters. They named the first Quinn and the second Rowan, and invited the entire kingdom to the ceremony celebrating the birth of the two princesses.

     All kinds of creatures came to the celebration, humans and wizards, fairies and nymphs— almost the entire kingdom came to celebrate. And three fairies in particular approached the king and queen, who were sitting on their thrones above the cribs of their daughters.

     "Your majesty," the first, a fairy dressed in blue, said with a low bow, "We wish to bestow upon your daughter magical gifts! Assuming you will allow it, of course," she added with a nervous laugh.

     "Of course," the queen smiled, gesturing to one of the cribs, "Thank you."

     The three fairies crowded around the crib, making exclamations of delight, "She's gorgeous! Adorable! Perfect!"

     The king smiled, "That she is."

     "Alright," the fairy dressed in green said, flitting up to the edge of the cradle. She raised her wand, and declared, "I bestow on this princess... the gift of stunning beauty!"

     "Ooh, that's a good one," a third fairy dressed in a sparkling pink gown oohed as the spell swirled around the baby, making the little girl sneeze. "And I give her the gift of... song!" She waved her wand, and pink sparkles fell onto the baby, who giggled.

     "And my gift," the blue fairy rested a hand on the rim of the crib, "I give you the gift of grace. Grace and kindness!" The blue glimmer drifted across the baby, who sneezed again, rubbing her eyes with tiny fists.

     "And what for Princess Rowan?" The queen spoke up as the fairies bowed their way towards the exit.

     "Um..." the fairies paused, "Say what, now?"

     "Rowan," the king gestured to the second crib with a hand covered in thick, golden rings.

     "There's another one?!" The green fairy sounded startled, peering into the second cradle, "We didn't prepare for two kids!!"

      "We can't just leave now!" the blue fairy hissed to the others, "They wouldn't approve! We'll just have to think of something else to give the second princess!" She inhaled deeply, then turned to face the rulers, "Of course! Pardon us." She flew up to the crib, "Um... I give you... the gift of..."

     "Never having to take baths," the green fairy suggested, but was elbowed by the pink fairy, who gave her a disgusted look.

     "Memorizing everything she reads," the pink fairy offered, seeing the blue fairy was struggling with a gift, "If I had that gift, life would be so much better!"

      "The gift of memorizing everything she reads? What, is she a scholar?" The blue fairy scoffed, but blue sparkles fell from the wand onto the child, "No! Look what you made me do!"

     "Move," the pink fairy shoved her aside, "My turn! I give her the gift of... oh. Um..."

     The blue fairy smacked a hand to her head, "Hurry up! You're making us look bad!!" She hissed, "Think of something!"

     "Good with horses!" she sputtered randomly, then cringed, "I mean, animals! Animals is better!"

     "She's not a stable boy, moron!" The blue fairy moaned, "This is a mess! Twig! Make sure your gift is perfect!"

     "Like what?" Twig, the green fairy, blinked, "The gift of never laughing with drink in her mouth?"

     "Ooh, that's a good one!" The pink fairy nodded eagerly.

     "No!! Like something that will make up for her other weird talents!" the blue fairy urged, "Like, um, being able to learn skills quickly! That way she can follow her sister in song and grace, if she's taught."

     "Okay, I give her the gift of mastering skills quickly!" The green fairy waved her wand, and the sparkles fell onto the child, who started sneezing left and right, and the fairies exchanged panicked looks.

     "We'll just be going now!" the blue fairy exclaimed nervously, and they bowed low as they made a quick exit, "Thanks for your time!"

     The queen laughed, "Well, I thought those gifts would be more like wisdom and patience, but beauty and grace could be worse. What do you think?" she turned her head to look at her husband, who put a hand over his face, shaking his head. She laughed again.

     Suddenly, a cold wind rushed through the courtyard, chilling all those who had gathered to the bone. The king stood up, the queen behind him, sensing danger. But as they moved towards the cribs, an explosion of green fire flared in front of them, and they were knocked backwards to the stone floor.

     A figure formed in the flames as they died down, and with a gust of icy air, the green fire was gone. A tall woman dressed in a black cloak leaned on a twisted staff of ebony wood with a crow perched atop it. Horns curled from her head as her eyes gleamed with mischief.

     "Maleficent!" the King gasped, but she only laughed lightly.

     "I mean no ill will today," she said in a low, cunning voice, her boots clicking on the stone as she strode slowly forward, "I heard of a child's birth and came to give her a gift..."

     "We appreciate the thought, but she already has many gifts today," the Queen said, reaching for the nearest child desperately. Maleficent didn't seem to notice, her yellow eyes on the second crib.

     "Oh no, I'm afraid I must insist." the dark fairy smiled, resting her staff on the edge of the cradle, and an eerie green light spread around the bed. The baby's cry of fear rose up, and the Queen moved forward quickly, but Maleficent said coolly, "On the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she will fall victim to a dark magic so powerful it will stow her in a sleep for eternity, a sleep so dark that nothing can awaken her!"

     "Please, no!" The King shouted, and she paused, turning to look at him.

     " You're right," Maleficent said with a simple shrug. An evil grin spread across her face, "Where's the fun in never being awakened? Fine, she can be awakened. But only by... true love's kiss. Cliche, perhaps, but most definitely a strong and limited revival course."

     With a cruel laugh, Maleficent banged her staff onto the stone floor, sending up a flurry of green sparks.

     "No," the Queen gasped, but it was much too late. The green light sank into the child's crib, and its crying stopped with a shaking sigh.

     At that moment, the door burst open as the guards raced in. Maleficent laughed, raising her hands, and she vanished in a column of emerald flames.