Sleeping Beauty
folder
-Multi-Age › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
26
Views:
7,239
Reviews:
53
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Category:
-Multi-Age › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
26
Views:
7,239
Reviews:
53
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
I do not own the Lord of the Rings (and associated) book series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
A tale heard before
Author’s Note: Wow, what a warm welcome! Thank you very much for your encouragement, I hold each and every one of your reviews as dear as a treasure.
Disclaimer: See Prologue.
italics: thoughts
[translations]
Chapter 1 – A tale heard before
“… so the Prince kissed Sleeping Beauty and broke the spell of the evil witch. Sleeping Beauty woke up and everyone else in the palace slowly woke up with her. Then, the Prince married her and they lived happily ever after…”
Alice’s sing-song voice trailed off and she sighed in relief. She could NOT stand another minute in the presence of these kids. She could have been helping Marisa and Amy prepare the food, but no; Jean insisted she entertained the brats. She could feel the headache developing at her temples and her left eye should start twitching at any minute.
She just didn’t like children. Period.
Two of the little monsters were satisfied but the third one looked at her with a mocking glare.
“You told it wrong”, the girl said scrunching her nose.
“Oh? How so?”
Alice rose an eyebrow at that and leaned back on the couch. She turned sharply at the chuckle coming from the kitchen, glaring at Jean. Her best friend was getting the food ready, but had listened to her story-telling with an amused smile on her face. Alice could tell she had left her in charge of the children on purpose: Jean knew how hopeless she was with them! Their husbands along with her boyfriend were out in the garden drinking beers and taking care of the barbeque; which meant she would have to face a possible argument with the little devil alone.
She almost rolled her eyes at the picture they made. She hated the “Marriage Club” gatherings, but mostly the thought that they were all her future held. True, she had been with Logan for almost five years now, and they had discussed marriage and kids, but she always slid around a commitment saying it was ‘too early’. Logan was a good man and he would be a good husband, of that she was sure. But at twenty-five, she had her job and her own plans for the future, and they didn’t involve marriage or children. She wanted to keep traveling and doing the reporting for the TV station she worked for, meeting people, new cultures… The customs, myths and prejudices of different cultures always intrigued her and she couldn’t imagine giving up the opportunity to discover them for settling down with a husband and a bunch of kids.
“Sleeping Beauty wasn’t a woman! My mémé has told me this story is wrong!” [granny]
Alice furrowed her brows in confusion and turned around to look questioningly at Marisa.
“My mother-in-law is French,” she said and went back to chopping the vegetables for the salad.
“Yes, she’s French and she knows the real story!” the 7-year-old girl insisted.
“And what is the real story?”
Alice leaned back at the couch once more and raised her eyebrows expectantly. I cannot believe I’m having an argument with a 7-year-old, for God’s sake! she thought in irritation. The headache was finally making itself comfortable at her temples and she pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Sleeping Beauty was a man!! And he was put to sleep by a kind fairy who felt sorry for him because the woman he loved disappeared when he left and he is still waiting for that woman to wake him up, so your story is wrong!” the girl babbled on without stopping to breathe.
Alice’s blood froze in her veins. She had had heard that version of the story, long before. So long, it seemed as if it had never actually occurred. Alice had only vague and foggy memories of what happened that night. She couldn’t even discriminate how much she actually remembered from the few things she had been told. Her parents told her afterwards that her cousin and his friends had made up a story and taken her into the forest to scare her. They had scared her so much, that she fainted and the shock kept her in a feverish state for a whole week. And that was all she knew. Although the families still visited frequently, discussing the awkward events remained mutually taboo.
Alice couldn’t deny she and Johan were strangely close. Even after the expedition in the woods, they had always communicated easily and often. His parents’ deaths in an automobile accident and the closing of the house in the green woods of Hesse only brought them closer. Alice knew he had not sold the house since his father’s company had transferred his job to the States. She didn’t understand why he held onto it, but had not wanted to prod into memories painful for both of them.
Her rational New Yorker mind had accepted her parent’s explanation. But hearing the story Johan had supposedly made up coming from the mouth of someone who had absolutely no connection with Johan, so it was fairly impossible to have heard it from him… what was that? And how did the grandmother of this child know the story?
Stop fretting like an ignorant idiot! her sensible self chided her. It’s probably a common myth in European folklore, so it’s only natural her FRENCH grandmother would know! Alice let out the breath she never realised she was holding. Well, that was a logical explanation. There was no need getting upset and acting like a silly child! But she HAD freaked out for a moment. That much she could admit to herself.
“Food is ready!!” John’s voice came from outside and Alice looked up to see the four men emerging from the double glass doors with platters holding all kinds of grilled meat. The scent of food immediately filled her nostrils and she heard her stomach rumble in response. Man, I’m starving! she realised as she got up and joined the children who had already run to the table. Logan appeared behind her chair and pulled her chin up to kiss her lips, earning all kinds of giggles and exclamations of disgust from the children sitting across from her. She rolled her eyes, but Logan just smiled and sat himself on the chair next to her.
A sudden commotion of whining kids, scolding mothers, laughing fathers and clattering of plates arose as soon as the food was placed on the table. Alice and Logan exchanged a look of discomfort. They picked up their fork and silently agreed on postponing any thoughts of marriage and children for a few more years.
Disclaimer: See Prologue.
italics: thoughts
[translations]
Chapter 1 – A tale heard before
“… so the Prince kissed Sleeping Beauty and broke the spell of the evil witch. Sleeping Beauty woke up and everyone else in the palace slowly woke up with her. Then, the Prince married her and they lived happily ever after…”
Alice’s sing-song voice trailed off and she sighed in relief. She could NOT stand another minute in the presence of these kids. She could have been helping Marisa and Amy prepare the food, but no; Jean insisted she entertained the brats. She could feel the headache developing at her temples and her left eye should start twitching at any minute.
She just didn’t like children. Period.
Two of the little monsters were satisfied but the third one looked at her with a mocking glare.
“You told it wrong”, the girl said scrunching her nose.
“Oh? How so?”
Alice rose an eyebrow at that and leaned back on the couch. She turned sharply at the chuckle coming from the kitchen, glaring at Jean. Her best friend was getting the food ready, but had listened to her story-telling with an amused smile on her face. Alice could tell she had left her in charge of the children on purpose: Jean knew how hopeless she was with them! Their husbands along with her boyfriend were out in the garden drinking beers and taking care of the barbeque; which meant she would have to face a possible argument with the little devil alone.
She almost rolled her eyes at the picture they made. She hated the “Marriage Club” gatherings, but mostly the thought that they were all her future held. True, she had been with Logan for almost five years now, and they had discussed marriage and kids, but she always slid around a commitment saying it was ‘too early’. Logan was a good man and he would be a good husband, of that she was sure. But at twenty-five, she had her job and her own plans for the future, and they didn’t involve marriage or children. She wanted to keep traveling and doing the reporting for the TV station she worked for, meeting people, new cultures… The customs, myths and prejudices of different cultures always intrigued her and she couldn’t imagine giving up the opportunity to discover them for settling down with a husband and a bunch of kids.
“Sleeping Beauty wasn’t a woman! My mémé has told me this story is wrong!” [granny]
Alice furrowed her brows in confusion and turned around to look questioningly at Marisa.
“My mother-in-law is French,” she said and went back to chopping the vegetables for the salad.
“Yes, she’s French and she knows the real story!” the 7-year-old girl insisted.
“And what is the real story?”
Alice leaned back at the couch once more and raised her eyebrows expectantly. I cannot believe I’m having an argument with a 7-year-old, for God’s sake! she thought in irritation. The headache was finally making itself comfortable at her temples and she pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Sleeping Beauty was a man!! And he was put to sleep by a kind fairy who felt sorry for him because the woman he loved disappeared when he left and he is still waiting for that woman to wake him up, so your story is wrong!” the girl babbled on without stopping to breathe.
Alice’s blood froze in her veins. She had had heard that version of the story, long before. So long, it seemed as if it had never actually occurred. Alice had only vague and foggy memories of what happened that night. She couldn’t even discriminate how much she actually remembered from the few things she had been told. Her parents told her afterwards that her cousin and his friends had made up a story and taken her into the forest to scare her. They had scared her so much, that she fainted and the shock kept her in a feverish state for a whole week. And that was all she knew. Although the families still visited frequently, discussing the awkward events remained mutually taboo.
Alice couldn’t deny she and Johan were strangely close. Even after the expedition in the woods, they had always communicated easily and often. His parents’ deaths in an automobile accident and the closing of the house in the green woods of Hesse only brought them closer. Alice knew he had not sold the house since his father’s company had transferred his job to the States. She didn’t understand why he held onto it, but had not wanted to prod into memories painful for both of them.
Her rational New Yorker mind had accepted her parent’s explanation. But hearing the story Johan had supposedly made up coming from the mouth of someone who had absolutely no connection with Johan, so it was fairly impossible to have heard it from him… what was that? And how did the grandmother of this child know the story?
Stop fretting like an ignorant idiot! her sensible self chided her. It’s probably a common myth in European folklore, so it’s only natural her FRENCH grandmother would know! Alice let out the breath she never realised she was holding. Well, that was a logical explanation. There was no need getting upset and acting like a silly child! But she HAD freaked out for a moment. That much she could admit to herself.
“Food is ready!!” John’s voice came from outside and Alice looked up to see the four men emerging from the double glass doors with platters holding all kinds of grilled meat. The scent of food immediately filled her nostrils and she heard her stomach rumble in response. Man, I’m starving! she realised as she got up and joined the children who had already run to the table. Logan appeared behind her chair and pulled her chin up to kiss her lips, earning all kinds of giggles and exclamations of disgust from the children sitting across from her. She rolled her eyes, but Logan just smiled and sat himself on the chair next to her.
A sudden commotion of whining kids, scolding mothers, laughing fathers and clattering of plates arose as soon as the food was placed on the table. Alice and Logan exchanged a look of discomfort. They picked up their fork and silently agreed on postponing any thoughts of marriage and children for a few more years.