A Fairy Tale: Part 2
by angelgirl81
Part 2:
Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don’t own the Buffy characters. The Sleeping Beauty story used is from a Disney book I had, and I don’t own that either. If you’re trying to keep up, here’s the line-up: Buffy – Aurora/Briar Rose, Angel – Prince Philip, Giles – King Stephen, Joyce – the Queen, Xander – King Hubert, Faith – Maleficent, Willow – Flora, Tara – Fauna, Cordelia – Merryweather

Time line – takes place sometime between ‘Earshot’ and ‘Choices,’ therefore Faith has been ousted as being bad.

Several days later, the three women arrived at their destination. The woodcutter who had lived there had been dead for many years. The house was empty. “Not much of a place for a Princess,” sighed Cordelia. Willow scolded her. “Remember, we are to hide her. You must never say the word Princess again. From now on we are simple peasants and she is our niece. “What do we call her?” Tara asked. It took several minutes before they could decide on a name. “Briar Rose!” said Willow. “She is like a wild rose, lost in the forest.” And so the three women looked after the Princess. They gave her all the love and care of real parents. The years passed. The blond baby had grown into a beautiful young girl, with a smile always on her lovely face. She was as pretty as a wild rose, blossoming in the middle of the forest. Soon she would be 16. It was impossible to think that nearly 16 years had passed since they came to live in the forest. The thought of giving her back to her parents made the fairies a bit sad. “We mustn’t be selfish,” said Tara. “Think of her parents. We’ve had her all these years. They shall be overjoyed to see their daughter again.”

Someone else was counting the days, months, and years that passed. Faith, too, was watching the time go by. She had searched high and low for the Princess. Her soldiers always returned with the same reply. “No Princess.” On this day, sparks flew from her eyes; the horns of her headdress began to shake. “You imbeciles! Worthless creatures! I’ll have to find her myself! Beware Buffy, I shall find you!” screamed the evil Faith. Faith went to see her faithful friend – the raven. “You, Raven, are not like the others. Use your sharp eyes and wits! I’m sure that you can find her,” she said, caressing his feathers. “Fly away! Find the Princess!” The Raven flew high into the sky until it was no more than a tiny speck. It dived and swept every town and village. If anyone could find Princess Buffy, it would be the Raven.

At the cottage, the three fairies were making plans for Briar Rose’s birthday. They wanted to surprise her and so they sent her out into the forest to pick wild berries. Tara was going to bake a birthday cake. She looked up a recipe in her big book. There were so many kinds of cakes. “Ah! Here’s one that sounds delicious!” she said, and began mixing and stirring. Willow and Cordelia were going to make a dress. “You stand still and I’ll try this cloth on you,” said Willow, as she began winding cloth around poor Cordelia.

While the three fairies were busy at the college, Briar Rose wandered through the forest, picking wild berries. Her friends, the owl, bluebirds, robins, and squirrel joined her. When her basket was full, Briar Rose stopped and sang a song that her aunts had taught her. Briar Rose did not know that the sound of her singing had carried through the woods. A young horseman stopped when he heard her sweet voice. “Who is singing that pretty song?” wondered the young man. “She can’t be far from here.” Briar Rose had begun to daydream and dance while she sang her love song. She did not hear the young man come up behind her. “Shall we dance?” he asked, holding her arms. Briar Rose turned. “Who are you?” she asked. This was the man of her dreams. “Your friend, if you’ll let me,” said the young man. While the two young people danced, the owl said to his companions, “Do you know who that is? That’s Prince Angel, King Xander’s son.” “Oh! I bet he doesn’t know that he’s dancing with a real princess,” said the squirrel. “Shush!” said the owl. “No one is supposed to say that word.” It was getting late. Briar Rose remembered the wild berries and her waiting aunts. “I must go now,” she said, and started to run away. “Wait!” called the Prince. “I don’t even know your name or where you live.” But Briar Rose had been told by her aunts never to speak to strangers. She didn’t want to disobey them any more than she had already.


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