This story was originally for the 7th Annual Ball contest.....
Quote: "Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace." -Eugene O'Neill.
“Sleep my young prince,” a dark, but lulling voice fills the ears of the young lad who is laid on his back atop a wooden board. His short brown hair is plastered in dirt and grime from fending off several foul beasts before being captured. His face also bears a long, but shallow cut from his right eye straight down to his lower lip. He blinks is dark brown eyes several times, is sight beginning to fade. In an effort to move is legs and arms he notices that we cannot as they are tied off by rope to nearby beams of stone and wood. As he moves his limbs the ropes tighten. Splinters from the wood cut deep into the his back sending swearing pains along his spine, but drowsiness begins to wear on him and his scarred back begins to numb until he can long feel it.
The boy wiggles slightly in an attempt to keep consciousness, the ropes around his wrist begin to tighten even more as if by some sort of black magic, as he vision begins to fade quicker and then completely go black, but he cannot fight the magic that has been bestowed over him. He blinks several more times hoping that his vision would soon return, but alas it is not and with that he closes his eyes and tries to fend off deep sleep by shaking his head, but each time getting slower and slower before his stops moving entirely.
“I love you,” a sweet voice of a tender maiden is the last thing the boy remembers as he slips from consciousness into the pitch black darkness.
Will the prince awaken from his slumber? Shall he never find the maiden that loves him?
***
Hmmm….. Annamarie, or Anne (as she was liked to be called), let out a sign, as she closed her book of fairytales. ‘Would I ever see him again?’ She thought quietly to herself as she went through the week’s events through her mind.
She had been out in the garden, in the sweltering heat, the day he came. He called himself a gentleman, who had made a terrible mistake, and wanted nothing more but to fix it. Cedric, as he was called, told Anne he was but a mere peasant, but Anne could tell that there was something more to him. The way he carried himself and how he was very talented in many tasks, proved her theory. Over the week, they had become more than just friends….
‘What are you doing?’ Marianne or Mary sneered, ‘dreaming about your little friend?’ Mary was Anne’s older sister, whom she often ignored.
Then they had come. Dressed in dark cloaks, they were ready to whisk him away. ‘I love you,’ Anne whispered as Cedric pressed his locket into her hand. ‘I will come back,’ he promised.
Mary snatched the book from Anne and started to flip through it, causing Anne to resurface. Infuriated, Anne grabbed the book back and attempted to hit Mary with it. She missed, but tried again, just as their parents walked into the room.
Quickly, Mary started to cry and pretend that she was hurt. ‘ANNAMARIE…...’ This was how their daily routine went. Mary would irritate Anne and Anne would fight back, only to get caught by their parents. Then Mary would start to sob and Anne would have to complete both of their chores. But Anne was used to this.
Anne looked at Cedric’s locket once again, as she scrubbed the floor. Once she was done, she set outside to weed the garden. ‘Oh, look, here is the stone we were kicking that day……….’ It hurt too much to think about him, as a teardrop fell onto the stone. Suddenly the stone started to glow a faint yellow. Anne watched in amazement as the stone lifted itself in the air and started to float down the path. Mesmerized, Anne started to follow the stone. After a while the stone came up to an abandoned cottage.
‘Hello,’ Anne called out tentatively, ‘is anyone there?’ Anne was unsure what to do, but determined to find Cedric, she stepped inside the cottage.
‘So…..you come to retrieve your prince,’ a deep, but feminine voice called out. ‘A…a….prince?’ Anne answered; she did not know he was royalty. ‘Well, you can have him…..that is…..if you can wake him,’ the sinister voice started to laugh wickedly.
There he was, laid on a board, bound and sleeping. Anne ran to his side, only to desperately pull at the rope. It was hopeless. She could not save him. ‘If you truly love him, you will let him go,’ the dark voice called out, only this time more gentle. Anne knew this was true. She kissed him goodbye and started to sob, but…….
As her tear touched his cheek, the rope started to unwrap and Cedric woke up. He stood up, still waking up, and embraced Anne.
Finally, two lost loves meet again. They live happily ever after.
melody_swimmer146 Community Member 
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