Queery Tales; Where Rainbows Begin

The Sleeping Beauty

A/N: This was always my favorite creation of Walt Disney, so there is a little bit of it rolled into the story. So therefore, anything that you can relate to the Walt Disney story does not belong to me, such as character names, events, etc. The parts that are not identifyable from Walt Disney are from the story written by Andrew Lang. So I do hope this one will be loved by all of you.
This story is for Aggie. I hope this story is as enjoyable as everything else in this fairybook so far.

The Enchantment
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful kingdom, where all was fair and just. But the King and his Queen were very sad, for they had no children. None of their healers and doctors could help them. But finally, a boy was born, and they called him Altan, for he filled their lives with the red light of dawn.
A holiday was proclaimed that everyone could come and give praise to the newborn child. But among the invited were the elements of life. Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, Peace, War and Hope. They were invited to give gifts to the child and aid him in his life. While everyone sat at the head table, there was a sudden flash of light and then there was another elemental. It was fear. He had disappeared some time ago, and no one knew where to find him. He was offered a seat. As he sat, he saw he had no cutlery. All the other elementals had some made for them. Gold or silver, with gem-stones matching their elements. Fear took out a black set of cutlery with stones of Onyx set into them.
After dinner was served, Hope wondered what had prompted Fear to return to them so suddenly. When it came time to give the baby a gift, Hope hid herself behind a tapestry.
Fire granted the gift of creativity.
Earth granted the gift of Social consciousness.
Water granted the gift of caring for others.
Air granted the gift of knowledge.
Peace granted the gift of her name.
War granted the gift of warriors.
At last it came to Fear's turn. Now fear had a lot of gifts that made him more powerful than that of the other elementals. He looked down at the baby boy who could be seen sleeping peacefully.
'I grant you the gift of fifteen years peace,' Fear said. 'But before the sun sets on your sixteenth birthday, you shall prick your finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die.' Everyone gasped. Fear, laughing evilly, disappeared in a flash of thunder and was gone. Everyone began to weep. But Hope came out from her hiding place. She walked over to the King and Queen and bowed.
'Your Majesties. I can save your child's life, but there will be a cost to it. I cannot tell you what it is, for many strange things have happened when Fear and myself have crossed magic, but I can say that your sons life will be spared.' The King and Queen looked at each other.
'Please, spare our son.' the Queen said. Hope went to where the child still slept, unaware of any of the events unfolding around him.
'Sweet Prince, although through fear your finger shall prick, your life will not cease to tick. You shall sleep one hundred years and then, upon the dawn and the call of the hen, you shall be awoken by love's true kiss, and live forever in love's own bliss.' Hope said. When she finished, she seemed to come out of a daze. She bowed to the King and Queen. 'I will return when the time is right.' she said. She bowed and disappeared in a bright flash of white. The King and Queen, still fearful for their sons life, did then and there decree that every spinning wheel should be burned that night. All seamstresses were to use the old fashioned weaving boards.

And so it passed. For fifteen years Prince Altan grew up living a carefree life. He knew no fear and knew no worry. When he had turned fifteen, he had begun to explore the castle outside of his lessons. He had come to the west tower where a woman and her son lived. Now the woman was a seamstress for the maids and she had not heard of the ban on spinning-wheels. She was using one. She was listening to her son reading to her while she spun the yarn to make wool. When she heard a knock at the door, she bade the person enter. She and her son bowed to the Prince and welcomed him.
'What is this thing you use?' he asked the old woman.
'It is a spinning wheel. It is a tool used by seamstresses.' she answered, smiling politely. The Prince looked at the tip of the spindle. He reached out and touched it. There was a flash of light and the Prince collapsed to the floor. On the spindle was a drop of blood. The old woman shrieked and everyone came running. When they saw the Prince laying upon the floor, they all checked to see what was his condition. All were relieved when the found he was still breathing. But try though they might, they couldn't wake him.
When the King and Queen were informed, they sent messengers to all the craftsmen. They were to prepare a bed befitting a Prince. New sheets were ordered and all the luxuries a Price could want or ask for.
Now, far away to the North, Hope was helping someone with a crisis, and had just got them through when a small fairy told her that she was needed, for a Prince had fallen asleep in the distant kingdoms. Hope summoned her chariot to travel along the sky. It was made of pearls and crystals, and it was pulled by two white Unicorns. They pulled her swiftly to the castle. Upon her arrival, she saw what had become of the Prince and what his parents had done for him.
'You did very well. Now it is time to bid your son one last farewell, and leave this castle forever.' Hope said. The King and Queen, dismayed that they would never see their son again, kissed him goodbye one more time, and then left their castle to a different part of their kingdom, where another castle awaited their return.
Hope set to work. She sorted out the servants into what the Prince would need and what he wouldn't when he awoke. She sent the ones he wouldn't need with the King and Queen, and the ones who were to stay were tapped with Hope's soft hand, and fell asleep where they were. Hope then cast more of her magic and left everything stilled in time, that it would not die or go foul in the time it took for true love to come and free him. She then left the castle and called to the Earth Elemental. Earth, who had also heard of the Prince's fall, came at once in a chariot pulled by giants.
'Grow a forest around this castle, that no one may enter or exit until the true love of the Prince shall arrive.' she said. Earth took his chariot and it went around the castle walls. After he had finished, a forest grew quickly around the castle, cutting it off and sealing it in. Hope recalled her chariot and together, Hope and Earth took off into the setting sun.

It was 100 years later. A Prince had ridden out to a distant country from his home, wishing to travel and see the world. While on his travels, he heard of a distant forest that let nobody in and no one came out. Interested in this mysterious forest, the Prince set off at once to the land. When he arrived, he saw the forest. From up close, you could not see anything but the tops of trees. But from a distance, you could see the tops of towers in the middle of the forest. The Prince had seen the towers and thought that this was not the forest, but he went to the nearby town to be sure. At the inn, he asked around the people to see who knew about the forest. Some said it was an impassable barricade, and other said an evil witch lived inside. But one old man said different.
'My Father told me a story from long ago. He is the son of a seamstress, and he said that when he was really young, he lived in the castle in that forest. He saw a Prince fall under a spell, and he sleeps in the castle in the middle of that forest. The elementals insured that no one would get to the castle unless it was the Prince's true love.' The old man said. He laughed and said 'I doubt no one but a Princess will be able to venture into that forest and come out alive.' The old man then went away to get a drink. The Prince wondered. He had never found true love and it was not from a lack of trying with women. He decided to go and investigate the forest. That night, he went to the forest with a torch in his hand. As he went to try and move the first branch out of the way, it moved for him. He proceeded, but as he did, the forest gave way to him. Finally, he made it to the castle on the inside. Looking around, the castle didn't seem more than a day old, as there was no dust, cobwebs or anything as such within the castle. As he continued into the castle, he explored the many rooms, until he finally opened one, and there, asleep on the bed, was a handsome young man of fifteen. The Prince feel in love with the handsome young man, as he was about the same age. He fell to his knees and kissed the Prince on the lips. The Prince stirred, then opened his eyes. He saw his true love and his heart fluttered with excitement.
Slowly, all the servants who were sleeping in other rooms came to, and started working around the castle, and they realized that if they were awake, then the Prince must be as well. The head maid came in and helped her Prince get up and get washed and dressed. She then ordered a feast be prepared to celebrate the breaking of the curse.
'What is the name of my true love?' Prince Altan asked.
'I am Prince Aaron.' he answered. And so it was that Altan and Aaron went to the feast. Eating well and drinking deeply. For the rest of the night, the two Prince's were sitting up on Altan's bed, talking about their lives. They didn't sleep. Altan had no need to. And finally, as the sun came up over the tips of the trees, the two men fell asleep on the bed.