Thorns- by liahime

a b-day present for lady-snow! Originally a oneshot, but I liked this idea better... (plus I got stuck on the oneshot...) So, it's roses and fairytales and your b-day present in one! Happy birthday!

Disclaimer: Liahime truly does not own this, dear.

Long ago in a land far away from malls and traffic in general, was a kingdom, famous for its roses and ice covered mountains. Tourists were plentiful. The taxes weren't bad, the king wasn't cruel, and it was overall a content place. And once upon a time in that beautiful kingdom, a baby was born.

The kingdom was delighted. Their beautiful queen and their kind and noble king had finally produced a heir! National news networks camped out in front of the palace gates, waiting for a chance to get in. The invitations to the naming ceremony were sent.

Queen Rumiko sat at her desk, sipping a cappucino, petting one of the castle's many cats, and was supposedly filling out invitations. And of course, being the kingdom's top model/queen, she was extremely busy. Multitasking, even. She peered into her mirror and readjusted her makeup. She looked perfect as normal... Except one thing.

She screamed.

"I'm turning old!" She shrieked. She set her cappucino on the desk, on top of the invitations, and rushed off to consult with the Royal Dermatologist. She sprinted through the castle, slamming the door to the room. The cat was still in the room. Angry, the cat scratched at the door, creating huge claw marks in the door. After still not being able to get out, it decided to be as bratty as possible. It gouged the sofa with it's claws, bit the desk leg, and finally, walked over the invitations, swinging it's long, bushy tail, knocking over the coffee on the desk. The cat watched in fascination as the brown liquid pooled over the white paper.

But did it really care?

Of course not.

Several hours later, the coffee had dried up, and the invitations had to be sent before the mail truck arrived. Rain, snow, hail, ice, and dermatologist consulting queen could not force the postal delivery service to be late. Rumiko pushed a servant out of the castle with a bag of every letter she could stuff into the mail bag.

Two days later, the naming ceremony began. The kingdom waited with bated breath to see the new beautiful daughter, their future princess. Fairies from across the realm had gathered to bless the little girl, who was to be named Rika. And the kingdom came. There was a new gum named after the princess, a bridge, a type of chair- everywhere, there was something to do with the royal heir. Everyone who was anyone was there. It was the biggest event of the year, and to not be invited was a deeply offending insult. If a peasant from a town called Marshstump was there, and you were not...

"You were sure to get all the invitations done, dear?" The king whispered out of the side of his mouth as they waved to the crowd.

"I signed all the ones the royal scribes gave me..." Rumiko smiled at the cameras.

"Well then. If you're sure." The gates opened, and the people rushed in to see their new future ruler.

"I'm very sure. I rushed them all out right before the mail carriage arrived. I remember, I had just gotten my wrinkle de-wrinkled. I sent one of the pages out with it."

There was a huge commotion where the fairies had appeared. Fairies were rare in this part of the realm.

"And the fairies, darling? They are extremely fussy on manners."

"I handwrote those, and gave myself a hand cramp. Our little princess is already being a huge handful." She smiled down affectionately at the sleeping baby. "But she'll be worth it. Brave and noble like her father..."

"Beautiful like her mother... The princes will be lining up."

"With the same snoring as her father,"

"With her mother's own love of spending money...Remember when you were locked in the tower? 'Excuse me, sir knight, but could you pick up my mascara case? It's fallen on the ground!' " They almost fell into giggles, but they stood up straighter and bit their lips for the camera. The public, completely unfooled,smiled back up at their young king andqueen, full of joy.

"Darling, our baby girl is going to be perfectly blessed in every way."

And so she was. The fairies, 12 in all, blessed the little baby, making her about as perfect as they could. Some gifts weren't the best, but still quite good for being made up on the spot after a rival-no-longer-your-friend had stolen your gift idea.

"The gift of perfect, unblemished skin like..um... The snow on the very mountains!"

"Feet that will never stumble or trip."

"Hair as bright as the roses of the kingdom!"

"Unrivaled grace."

The mother was smiling delightedly. But her father looked worried. Would he be able to- well of course he would, but- would it be as happy to have a perfect child? One he'd never be able to teach? To watch grow?

Wind blew in from the north, bringing in the harsh chill of the mountain snow. Trees bent over, it was an unusually harsh wind for the season. Storm clouds gathered over the horizon, bunching together.

There was a huge puff of gray smoke, and as it cleared, whipped away by the winds, out came a fairy. She was not a normal fairy, opting for the... natural look. Ratty, uncombed hair filled with the remains of a spell, torn robes that were never mended. The thirteenth fairy strode into the room, waving a brown, stained invitation bearing the royal seal.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?"

The cameras swiveled to face her. One's lense broke.

"I WAIT FOR THE INVITATION TO THE BIGGEST SOCIAL GATHERING OF THE YEAR IN THE KINGDOM, AND WHAT DO I GET?" She angrily waved the invitation in the monarchs' faces. "A COFFEE STAINED INVITATION, IMPOSSIBLE TO READ!" She glared at them. "AND WHAT SHALL I GIVE YOU FOR ALL OF THIS?"

She paused for a moment, to think about what she would do, exactly.

"A HUGE SURPRISE, COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED! You will all wait in terror for me to return, and when I do return, you will weep with fear!" She cackled, and disappeared in another cloud of putrid smoke.

There was an awkward silence.

The fairy popped back out. "Now that I have you filled with heart-consuming fear, I have decided what I shall do." She waved her wand, a plume of ashy smog coming out of it. "I, the thirteenth fairy, have put a curse on the baby, that she will one day prick her finger on the thorn of one of the roses from her own home kingdom, and will die." She grinned, yellow stained teeth showing. "This way, you will wait, and will always regret the day you crossed a fairy."

The once sunny day was covered with thunderclouds, dark and forbidding. As if fighting it off, the sun weakly shone through for a moment, and then was gone. The sky wept.

The crowd had gone, murmuring their sympathy. Indoors, hidden from the rain, Rumiko sat by the crib, crying. Her husband stared out the window, watching the drops of water pool outside on the courtyard. Their daughter. Their perfect, fairy blessed daughter. Doomed to death from birth.

There was a timid knock at the door. "Am I late?" One of the fairies crept in. "I heard of your misfortune, your majesty. And..."

The king turned and glared at the fairy. "There will be no more gifts, thank you."

"Sir, begging your pardon, but I haven't given my gift yet..."

"Very well." He sat down heavily in the chair. He seemed so much older now, wrinkles of worry replacing the former smiling ones that had crinkled around his eyes. "Anything to help."

"Sir, I can't do much... But I can alter the gift, a tiny bit." The king looked up, surprised. "Your majesty, I can change the spell to something softer. Instead of dying, she will fall into an enchanted coma, instead of death. If the right person- who will have to be strong, to defeat it, but still, there must be one!- then that hero will be able to wake her up. Until then, she won't die or age, but be sleeping, falling out of time's pattern..."

The fairy hesitated before she lifted her wand. "That is... if you would like it to happen?"

The queen looked up, wrinkles forgotten. If only she couldstill be findinga wrinkle a huge thing anymore..."Madamefairy,whatever you do for our daughter, we will thank you for. Please... Save my baby."

The fairy still had second thoughts. "Your majesties, if this happens, when she falls asleep, she will not wake until she is found by the one who can defeat the spell. This may take years and years."

The queen and king looked at each other. The king spoke. "We are sure."

The fairy lifted her wand, and a rose colored glow surrounded the sleeping baby. She whispered something over the little girl, and looked up. "It is done, then. She will live." She curtsied and rushed out of the room. As soon as the door had closed behind her, the queen burst into tears, burying her face in her hands. The king tried to comfort her, but you could see it in his face that he didn't believe what he said at all.

The baby, sleeping, turned in her sleep, completely unaware of the way her life had changed in the hands of fate in a hour.