Sleeping Beauty, By Victoria Zhou

Note: This story had an extremely compelling villainess, which made it stand out among the entries.

Once upon a fairy tale, there was a beautiful baby girl that was born to royal parents, the king and queen of a faraway island called Royale. They named her Jazella and decided to throw her a celebration party, since she was their first child.

The day of the party, everyone was cheerful and happy. The king and queen were generous people so they invited everyone, including village peasants. People came with food and gifts and there was dancing and orchestras playing. However, when there was the ceremony of bestowing magic gifts to princess Jazella, everyone was interrupted by Jade, the queen’s sister. But she was also a wicked witch and when she received news of the party, she was terribly jealous. “My sister may have stolen beauty, and brains from me, but I can steal her happiness!” Jade said to herself as she evaporated into air and appeared in her sister’s castle. “Jade!” The Queen, Jarona, said, startled. “I’m aware I haven’t received an invitation to your party, isn’t that correct?” Jade asked her sister. Before she could answer, she saw the baby carriage and peered into it to see Jazella sleeping. “Well, well, isn’t this a lovely child?” Jarona scooped her daughter up. “My fairies were just bestowing her gifts!” An idea struck Jade. “Well, I wouldn’t mind if I bestow her a gift!” The king rushed to the queen’s side. “You will never!” Jade grinned and waved a hand over a glowing ring on her finger. “May you be locked up in a tower…” The Queen and King gasped. Guards rushed toward them to attack Jade, but she was too quick for them. She rose into the air and once more, waved a hand over her ring. “With the powers of evil, you will be cursed with the gift of obedience until your 16th birthday, when you will die!” And with that, she disappeared into the air. Panic started among everyone and frantically, the 3rd fairy bestowed her gift upon Jazella, trying to reverse the evil curse. “You may have the gift of obedience, but on your 16th birthday, you will not kill yourself, but fall into a deep slumber until you find love...”

After the incident, the devastated Queen and King made sure no one gave Jazella orders. They even hired maids for Jazella, but the parents’ 3 trusted fairies decided it would be safe to raise her up on their own and took Jazella to a faraway tower in the mountains. It was a nice place with a small forest surrounding the tower where many animals lived. But one day, Jazella didn’t come home from the woods for hours and the 3 fairies dashed after her and found her ankle stuck in a tree root. It was an imprisonment after that, and she wasn’t allowed to go anywhere. Every day, Jazella grew older and more beautiful. She would gaze out her window and wonder what it was like to break free and explore the mountains.

One day, though, she had an idea. The fairies had told her a few years ago about the curse, (but not the fate), so she knew exactly how to get outside. She waited until nighttime, when the fairies were all tired. She whispered into the tree fairy’s ear, “May I go outside?” She watched as the fairy’s eyes opened slightly and fluttered. “Yes…outside.” The fairy said and then turned toward the other side and snored. Jazella smiled and then tiptoed downstairs toward the front door. She turned the doorknob, but it wouldn’t budge. She tried it again, but then found it glowing. “Lock spell!” Jazella grumbled. But then she remembered her bedroom window! She went back up and glanced down from the window. It was terribly high, but she was willing to take the chance. Jazella slowly crawled out of the window and then grabbed a vine covering the outside of the tower. She let herself down and finally reached the ground. She hurried toward the front of the tower and reached up for a lantern tied to a vine. She hooked it off and then hurried into the forest to see what would behold her.

Later, as Jazella entered the mountain valley, it got terribly cold. She shivered under her scarf and felt something hit her on the head. She scooped it off and stared at white snow. She turned back toward the woods to go back to her tower, but found that she was lost. “Oh no,” Jazella said as big snowflakes blew around her, turning into a horrible blizzard. She quickly ran toward a cramped crevice in the mountain and stayed in there and watched snow billow around her. Unfortunately, Jade’s pet eagle flew through the snow and spotted her. He let out a squawk and flew off. Just then, a young man riding a horse passed by and saw Jazella. “Excuse me,” He yelled over the howling wind. “Are you lost?” “Yes!” She said back. He offered her a ride and she hopped on and they rode for a while through the snow, all the while talking and getting to know one another. Finally, they reached the forest, where dawn was beginning to shine through the clouds. “Oh no!” Jazella said as she jumped off the horse. She started running toward her tower, which showed its peak right above a bit of trees. “Wait!” The man called. “When can I see you again?” “Um,” Jazella hesitated. “Meet me at my tower tomorrow!” And she took off through the trees and out of sight.

But before Jazella could reach her tower, Jade appeared with her eagle grinning on her shoulder. “Oh!” Jazella fell to the ground, startled. “Why, happy birthday, princess.” Jazella frowned. “W…what?” Jade stroked her ring, the one that hadn’t been active since 16 years ago. “Isn’t it your birthday? And aren’t you a princess?” Jazella swallowed. “I’ve never heard of being a princess all my life! And my fairies told me that I didn’t have a birthday.” “Well…we will have to fix that.” Jade touched her ring and they both disappeared, just as the fairies were rushing out of the tower and toward them.

Meanwhile, the fairies were panicking. “Today was her 16th birthday,” The fire fairy said, worriedly. They were about to evaporate themselves into Jade’s castle when the man Jazella had been talking to. “Prince Philip?” The fairies gasped. Philip was breathless. “Have you seen a young woman?” He said. The fairies looked at each other. “You met princess Jazella?” They asked him. “That was the princess?” He breathed. “No time to waste!” The tree fairy touched the air with her wand and they all disappeared.

“Hurry!” The fairies urged Philip as they walked into Jade’s castle. It had a stingy smell and was nearly in ruins. They hid as yet another beasty guard passed by, scouring the castle grounds. They spotted a staircase and hurried up there. “Formation!” Fire fairy said and all 3 fairies turned into thumb finger size. They hurried even more to reach a room where Jazella was in a trance. The fairies hid from view. “Release her!” Philip said. “Well, well, isn’t it the prince?” Jade faced her ring toward him and suddenly, he was in chains. The fairies took out their wands, when Jade spoke fast words. “Kill yourself.” She whispered and Jazella fell to the floor. Jade laughed and disappeared. The tree fairy and water fairy quickly went to Philip to unlatch his chains while the fire fairy went to comfort Jazella. Philip broke free from the chains and went to Jazella. He kissed her hand and her eyes flashed open. “Hurry, we don’t have much time!” The water fairy said and they hurried down the stairs. “I don’t understand what happened!” Jazella said as they went down the stairs. “It was a spell that was cast 16 years ago at your celebration party.” The tree fairy said. “You were given the curse of obedience and you had to kill yourself on your birthday 16 years later.” “But we reversed it to falling to sleep until you find love!” The water fairy said. Jazella and Philip smiled at each other and they ran down the castle halls. Just then, guards saw them. “Go ahead!” The fire fairy gave her wand a wave and the beasts fell asleep.

As Jade was standing on her balcony, happy over her triumph, she saw Jazella, Philip, and the fairies escaping. She gasped. “This cannot be!” Her eyes blazed with fury and she waved a hand over a gigantic pile of rocks. They crashed over them, but narrowly missed. She lifted a rock toward a bridge they were crossing but the fairies pointed their wands toward it and it fell down the dense valley. As they were crossing a forest that separated Jarona’s and Jade’s castle, Jade waved her hand over the forest and a plain of fire appeared, burning all the trees. The water fairy pointed her wand at it, and water shot out at the fire. They were quickly crossing to Jarona’s castle and Jade decided to make her ultimate decision. She transformed into a dinosaur and blocked the path of the fairies, Philip and Jazella. The prince fought her with his sword. Soon, though, she led him toward the end of a cliff. The fairies chanted together:

“Make your sword one of steel,

Pain Jade will feel,

Kill her now,

It won’t be foul.”

Philip stabbed her in the heart and Jade let out a pained cry. She fell down into the valley and landed into the water.

After the death of Jade, everyone rejoiced. The queen and king had a party to celebrate the wedding of Jazella and Philip and the end of Jade. The evening ended in contentment, and Royale lived happily ever after. That is, until the next villain comes. And they’ll be ready.
THE END