Cursed: The Legend of Sleeping Beauty

Chapter Four - Gold Thread

CopyrightⒸ 2019 by B. R. Bailey All Rights Reserved

The villagers were more than happy to refill their fields with vegetables after years of grain, choosing more diverse crops to fill their bellies.

All of the spools were spent and gone, leaving behind a bounty of resources for the simple villagers.

Laughter and relaxation filled the homes as families reunited and went about their daily lives, enjoying the peaceful days.

The Towns nearby, however, were a different story. Every member of the Royal Court was scrambling to get Gold Thread, the newest trend of the Royal Courts of Alagil and Brightstone.

If they didn't have it, they were considered a nobody and not invited to any of the balls, where many important ears could be whispered too that one could otherwise not get near without catching unwanted attention.

It didn't matter if it was a necklace, bracelet or earrings. One item was all you needed.

Indeed, Brightstones' trends and snobbishness were pervading Alagil as the Courts became friendly with one another.

Alagilians, not wanting to upset the truce to the war, didn't argue with it much, not seeking to return to war. As long as the Princess of Brightstone was happy, all of the people of Brightstone and Alagil were happy.

Gustav and Galadriel didn't care desperate manner that the merchants had in scouring the nearby countries and countryside for the Gold Thread.

People should be measured by their deeds, not their physical possessions. Still, after everything they had been through, neither felt like getting involved in political matters. If the Royals of the Brightstone and Alagil were going to act foolish, that was their own business.

In the meantime, there were many hungry villages, so, with their free time, the Millers would travel and share food they bought with Gold Thread, spreading it throughout Alagil. For every day they traveled, there was another week to get to a different needy city they hadn't known about.

The war had been hard on everyone, except for a few families who managed to make money off of selling and moderating resources.

As they traveled, the Millers heard many troubling rumors from Brightstone. Rumors of people disappearing along the base of the Great Peaks. At first, it was a few remote areas with savages. Now it was the cities losing people.

Galadriel felt a fool.

She said that she should have realized the people wouldn't be able to hold back the Dragons; that the other Kingdoms wouldn't have resisted. She had hoped good Dragons would get the Court of Wings back to right.

They hadn't succeeded.

Now, realizing that Dragons might come to the world of Mortals, she had a difficult decision to make.

In the end, she knew she had to protect her people and the Mortals, so she and Gustav headed to the Capital of Aragil: Stonesteeple, home of Skyfort.

The tallest castle in over five countries, it had earned its name justly. Impenetrable walls, towers that went up hundreds of feet, and more stones than Galadriel had ever counted in a human structure.

It was truly an impressive sight.

One they had to buy their way into with an entire spool of Golden Thread. Each wearing matching necklaces, they walked into the Alagil Royal Court, seeking counsel with the Kings' Advisors. It took a whole night to recount the events they had seen, telling of the sight of Dragons and people who were being sacrificed to them.

Galadriel had extracted one claw beforehand, giving it as proof that Dragons still existed while hiding her own identity out of fear. The Mortal World was her only home now and, if the Mortals found out what she was, she was afraid they would kill her.

The three royal advisors stood, awestruck by their tale and the claw.

For the time she had spent in the Kingdom, and the help she had provided to the poor, they decided to listen to her warning and inform the King of these troubles that could come from the sky.

He was amazed and decided to meet with the Millers directly. Upon their talk, Galadriel offered to teach Brightstone and Alagils wizards magic to ward from Dragons, helping keep them out of the cities and countryside, tricks from her homeland.

A homeland she claimed to be a now wiped out village from the base of the Great Peaks themselves.

The King accepted her offer and set up a contract so that both countries could learn from her and agreed to place the Millers on the Alagilian Royal Court.

Brightstone, upon seeing the contract, didn't feel the same. They wanted proof she was truly on their peoples' side and not a deceptive Sorceress.

Princess Victoria agreed with her homelands opinion.

Galadriel's acts of kindness aside, King Henric the Second was at a loss for how she could prove herself to Brightstone.

Princess Victoria said that, if she truly possessed magic, she needed to make enough Gold Thread to give to every peasant in Brightstone and Alagil alike, so that they could recover from the war with each other and brace for fighting Dragons.

By day, Galadriel could teach the Court Wizards and Witches. By night, she would make Gold Thread.

It would take two years to give each peasant a quarter of large spool, according to the census from both countries. Fighting Dragons would not be cheap.

Gustav and Galadriel agreed, staying in the Skyfort all the while. Gustav made sure Galadriel had plenty of straw to spin and that she never overexerted herself. Many nights she fell asleep without eating, just to have him feed her a double breakfast.

The labor they did there topped the work they had on the farm. By the time the two years were up, all of the wizards and witches knew the magic to protect their kingdoms from the Dragons and Gustav and Galadriel had agreed that they would raise ducks.

Neither wanted to see straw or hay again.

Queen Victoria, having been coronated with the biggest feast ever, rumored to have had a train one-hundred feet long a year ago, was outdoing that party with the celebration of the birth of her daughter, Princess Emerald.

The Millers, walking out of Skyfort after Gustav checked his body wrap pack was secure again, weren't surprised to find the streets of Stonesteeple full of people. It was a celebration after all, and the King and Queen had declared a nationwide Feast in Alagil, an act Brightstone seconded, for this was a union of the two Royal Families.

Cracking her back as she walked, thankful to not be at a spindle for the first time in years, Galadriel stood, smiling out at everyone they passed as her back slowly worked out years worth of soreness.

As they walked, each noticed that the people were hungrily devouring food and that the tables weren't as full as one would expect for such a huge event. After two years of full harvest without war tables being full shouldn't be a problem.

Especially not with all of the gold Galadriel had made. Alagil and Brightstone could buy food from every nearby country without any problems.

When they made it to the edge of the Stonesteeple, both stopped dead in their tracks.

Outside of the gates of the Capital were thousands of peasants, begging to be let in for the Feast.

Begging for food.

Outraged, Galadriel and Gustav turned around, heading back to Skyfort.

"How can this be, Gustav?" Galadriel cried. "I had a contract. I made gold for every peasant. They should not be starving. Their bellies ought to be more full than ever before!"

"The King and Queen must have an answer. You made the directives clear and they agreed the Gold Thread you made was for the people of both kingdoms. They know that they cannot break a contract."

Though he knew the consequences of breaching a contract were severe and that the King had never done so before, the Miller couldn't help the trepidation he felt as Skyfort emerged before him.