Dawn light crept through the halls of King Stefan's castle as Phillip trudged up the stairwell to the eastern tower.  Her tower.

His feet ached from the long hours of travel he and his company of men had endured making the journey from Alyth to Felnar.  They had been attacked by a few of Maleficent's hoodlums along the way and had lost two soldiers in the fighting.  Phillip had come away mostly unscathed with the exception of a dislocated shoulder that was still sore after the joint was put back together properly.

His body yearned for rest but he knew he would not be able to sleep until he saw her again.  The Prince of Alyth did not waver from his ascent of the tower, even when his limbs threatened to give way nearly halfway up.

Phillip pushed onward until he reached the top.  A single doorway loomed in front of him.  Two guards were posted on either side as always.  One of them was slouched against the wall.  His eyes were half closed as if dozing and the other man was sitting on the ground, picking at the dirt under his nails.

Phillip's brow furrowed and his upper lip curled almost in a snarl.  How dare these men act this way.  This was their princess they were supposed to be protecting.  And here they were, acting as if this position was nothing of importance.

With another step forward and a rough clearing of his throat, Phillip made himself known to the guards.  The one slouched against the wall blinked as if in a daze before straightening up and coming to attention.  The other on the ground shot to his feet so fast Phillip barely had time to register the movement.

"Prince Phillip, we..."

Phillip silenced the man with a venomous stare.  "At least one of you is quick on your feet," He snipped.  Both the guards shifted on their feet uncomfortably.

Phillip approached the doorway and pushed inside, closing the door behind him.  A small collection of steps led up to the chamber and he climbed them easily.  All earlier fatigue was forgotten as he gazed across the room towards the ornate canopied bed.  Phillip's chest seemed to restrict as he saw the young woman who slept silently.

He stepped closer.

Princess Aurora had always been beautiful.  Her long white blonde hair was as bright as the sun, flowing in long waves over her shoulders.  High cheekbones framed her face and tinges of pink rested over them.  He could always recall how she looked.  Over the many years she had been asleep she had grown from the tall and somewhat gangly child he had known into a lovely woman.  The only thing he had trouble remembering were her eyes.  It was the thing he could never recall.  Had they been blue?  Green?  None of the paintings of her in the castle could help him either.  It seemed even the artists themselves hadn't known how to portray them.

The prince kneeled at Aurora's bedside.  His throat clenching in grief.  They had been best friends as children.  Even when they had been told they were betrothed.  Phillip was fourteen at the time.  At first, he had not wanted to marry his best friend.  How strange that would be? Things would never be the same.  Aurora however never said a word about it, which Phillip guessed now was better.  She wanted things to be as they were too. She never wanted them to change.  Hadn't she?

He guessed he'd never know now.  Only a few months later Aurora was cursed by the dark Fae Queen Maleficent.  Aurora and Phillip had been playing in the castle together that day.   A childish game of hide and seek.  He found Aurora all too quickly.  She was standing in the middle of a dark corridor deep under the castle.  As Phillip came closer, more came into focus. He saw a dark figure standing above the princess, whispering.

Whispering a curse.

The woman was draped in darkness that seemed to swirl around her.  Phillip saw her eyes, wholly black orbs that scared him down to the bone.  This woman was death incarnate.

Phillip shouted a warning at Aurora but it was as if she could not hear him.  The dark Faerie bared her hideous face at the prince and smiled wickedly.  Phillip saw the spinning wheel next.   It seemed to appear in an instant and Aurora reached out to it.  Phillip desperately tried to reach her, as if he knew somehow that she should not touch it. It was no use. The dark faerie pushed Phillip back with a swarm of her black magic.  And Aurora touched the spindle.

Pricking her finger on the spindle had caused her to fall into a never waking sleep.  Nothing and no one could wake her.

Now, for nearly a decade the princess had been asleep.  She was kept inside her tower and away from anyone who might do her harm.  And although she always slept, she still matured.  Her hair grew longer, her legs taller and even her muscles didn't deteriorate.  Phillip was even surprised a few years back when they almost seemed to look like they were... toned. The only other anomaly was the cuts and bruises she would get.  No one knew how it happened. There were always guards posted and usually someone inside the room to look after her.

Phillip spotted a scar on Aurora's left forearm.  This one was different than some of the others she had.  This one always seemed like it was reopened. In fact, it looked like it was healing once again.

Phillip placed a hand over one of Aurora's.  Her breaths rose and fell rhythmically, never changing tempo.

"I am so sorry Rora."

"Phillip?"

The prince whisked his head around to see the Queen of Felnar enter the chamber.

"Your Majesty," Phillip stood and bowed.

"Please Phillip, you lived with us when you were a boy and never used titles then.  Don't start now."

"Of course, Queen Leah."

Aurora's mother gave him a disapproving look before she came to her daughter's side and kissed her forehead.

"How has she been?"

Queen Leah frowned and touched a golden lock of Aurora's hair, "Always the same I'm afraid." The Queen sat down in the armchair next to the window and motioned for Phillip to do the same.

With another small glance at Aurora, he made his way to the Queen and sat beside her in the twin chair.  Phillip wondered if the Queen and her husband sat here together with their daughter at times.

"I heard you were coming.  I didn't realize it would be so soon."

"Actually, it is later than I thought.   We had a bit of trouble along the road."

Queen Leah went still, "Maleficent's doing?"

"It always is."  Phillip shifted in his chair, "Lost two good men in the fight.  There were more of them this time.  Something is drawing them out.  We were attacked in daylight."

"During the day?"   Queen Leah's shock was unmistakable.

"Yes.  They were much weaker, but it was still unnerving to see them in broad daylight."

"You didn't see...  You didn't see her did you?"

"No.  No matter how much power she has, her goons still fight her battles for her."

Queen Leah sat silently for a second, processing the information. "We've had scouts travel to the Forbidden Mountain to spy on her but none have returned.  And the King doesn't wish to send out more men only to have them die.  I think the only thing truly protecting us from them is the wall."

The great wall of thorns.

A few years after Aurora's enchantment a wall made from giant thorns started to surround the kingdom of Felnar. Even Alyth had some protection from the Fae's attacks on their kingdom due to the massive structure.

In fact, the barrier of thorns seemed to be alive.   It was a barricade of branches that shifted and reinforced itself constantly.  The wall had protected the land of Felnar for years now and even Maleficent's power was only so strong against it.   Where she attacked it, it only grew more solid than before.  Phillip knew this frustrated the Fae Queen.

They hadn't seen an attack from her in four years but her goons still roamed and struck where they could, carrying out the Fae Queen's commands.  Phillip was still unsettled though that he and his men had been attacked during day hours.  Usually attacks came at night when the creatures were at the height of their capabilities.  The fact that two of his men had been slain during daylight and when the creatures were more vulnerable made his skin crawl.

Phillip was determined to put an end to all this.  For Aurora, and the life she should have had the chance to live.  And for the kingdoms and their people.

Queen Leah shifted in her chair to touch her daughter's hand, picking it up and holding it close to her heart, "Something is coming."

Phillip swallowed and looked at the Queen, "Not something. Someone."