5 April 2024

This is quiet a long one; there is a surprisingly large amount to cover with this section of my poem-outline. It’s fun, though!

Temper thy expectations,

Dearest friend of mine.

We know not her wishes

Nor what she may’ve endured.

Wise though thy words,

I cannot my heart restrain.

E’en to see her mor than I once hoped

Look; anon and we arrive.

My queen, all hail. Safe trip, I pray?

Though, alas, it was not so for us.

The prince’s sight is… changed, to say

And the princess will not leave her  room.

Changed, you say?

Did he fall to fairy’s curse?

‘Tis best if I tend to him,

While you thy daughter greet.

Agreed. Then I shall go.

A knock, rejection, but–

I am neither prince nor Phillip.

May I enter?

Panic, shock

Already she stands at my door!?

Long have I longed and dreaded this meeting

But… A smidge of courage, I open the door.

I… I am sorry I’m not more

Not a princess, not bold, not brave

Just… me.

I… I never even tried to leave.

Her words like chimes blow past

None settle. Instead,

She is in my arms, at last.

And there we stay, in silence.

~~~~~

The prince before me, changed indeed.

Mortals were not meant for fairy sight

Only one other I know of, but such is luck

That one is me, and I can guide you.

Well enough, and thank thee, truly.

But what e’en is the point?

All is worthless, ash and dust.

All… all that is… ‘cept thee?

Indeed, even when Death takes me

Never shall I age or rot.

But that is of no import.

Come, there is much work to do.

~~~~~

A wond’rous, glorious week

‘Tis not so bad a way to go

Though regrets remain, I will not lament

My time is up, it seems

The princess collapsed,

And fades so fast!

O great Queen of sorceries,

Is there aught thou canst do?

There is. Indeed, long planned.

But I do not like it.

My friend, my queen, dearest Hannah,

Are you sure this is thy wish?

Never have I been more sure.

Aurora has not even had

An honest chance to live.

Can I, as mother,

Prize my life above my child’s?

Mother, what meanest thou?

What plan have you concocted?

A quiet dread fills my chest

Surely, you cannot mean…?

Dearest Isaac, know I love you,

And I’m proud of who you are.

Whate’er happens, we’ll watch o’er you.

Maleficent, ‘tis time.

Ne’er have I regretted a promise more

And decades since last I shed a tear

Yet I will respect thy wish

Breath for breath, and life for life.

W-what?

I am… awake?

Is this Heaven?

But no, there is the prince, and Phillip, and…

No.

No no no.

Please tell me she did not!

What worth have I, a timid girl,

That a queen would yield her life for me?!

5 November 2023

Their little campfire burned low, barely enough to cook on. Considering how deep they were into demon territory, it would probably have been better to do without completely, but none of them really pushed the issue.

Caldwell was telling them about some yearly festival they had back in his hometown, but Kyra was only half listening. Instead, she watched Gavin and Fera carefully. There was an odd tension between the two. Gavin’s jaw had been clenched all evening, and he didn’t sit next to Fera like he’d been doing. For her part, Fera shrank into herself, and she couldn’t stop fiddling with the engagement ring Gavin had given her. It was the exact opposite of how Kyra expected them to react after Gavin finally popped the question.

She knew Caldwell had been trying to ease the tension in his own way but it didn’t seem to make a significant difference. So as soon as there was a lull, she interrupted his story. “So what the hell is going on with the two of you? You’re acting like someone died, not like you just got engaged.”

“Actually, I… I turned him down.”

Kyra blinked slowly. She looked down at the ring Fera was fiddling with, then back up to her face. “What.”

Fera’s shoulders curled in even tighter. With no small trace of bitterness in his voice, Gavin said, “Tell them. They’re your friends. They have a right to know.”

At his words, Fera’s hands clenched tight. Kyra’s own stomach twisted,, but she never took her eyes off of Fera. For several long moments, no one spoke.

When Fera finally did speak, her voice cracked. “I… Even if everything goes well, I… I won’t be coming back. Even if the demon king dies, he’ll just come back. We have to seal him up, and to do that, I… I have to seal myself in with him.”

By the time she finished speaking, tears dripped down her cheeks. Despite that, still, she smiled, small and soft.

Kyra couldn’t tell if her thoughts had frozen in place, or if she was thinking so many things at once it all bled into nothingness. Once she’d started to calm down, her thoughts flickered to a desolate homestead, long ago. To the bloodied face her her dear husband, Roylan. To the immobile bodies of her two sons.

It was happening again. She’d finally healed enough to reach out to other people, to care about other people again, and she was going to lose them. And once more, there was nothing she could do about it.

She barely noticed the roar of anguish that tore through her throat, or the crack as she hurled one of her prized axes into the nearest tree. By the time her mind cleared, her own cheeks were wet, and she collapsed to her knees.

Kyra thought back to the bastards at the church, the ones sitting pretty on their thrones, while they sent a young girl–barely even nineteen–to give up her life for them. “Damn them. Damn them all.”

9 May 2023

Honestly, a great deal of this section of Majesty just didn’t land quite right with me. That’s not why I took such a long break—we can blame Tears of the Kingdom and other video games for that—but I don’t think it helped that I knew something was off, and I didn’t know what to do about it. In particular, it’s not like there’s anything inherently wrong with this section, or with the alternate version of it I wrote in June and July. It just…wasn’t right for the story or the characters. I think I’ve pinned down a solution, but I’ve been writing other things this past week, so I haven’t actualized any of that.

…Jakob’s story. In the meantime, he prowled around the deck, eying the various crew members. When he noticed Charles and Elliott, he paused. “What’s your name, boy?”

Was the King talking to him? Charles opened his mouth to speak, but Elliott spoke up first. “Alan, sir. Carpenter’s apprentice. And this is my friend, Charles.”

The Pirate King raised an eyebrow, and looked the two boys up and down. “That’s interesting. Say, Alan, had you heard that your prince is still alive?”

Elliott started. He shook his head, trying to do his best to recover. The King nodded to himself. “Yeah. The Conqueror announced she’d killed off Averny’s king and queen, but that the princeling had scurried off like a cowardly rat. What do you think of that?”

Charles’ eyes went wide and he spun to look at Elliott. For his part, though, Elliott kept his face impassive as he shrugged. “That’s… good, I suppose? Assuming he wasn’t on the Siren’s Lament.”

The wyvern on the King’s shoulders chirped, and the King snatched Elliott’s arm, bringing his hand up to inspect, making Elliott gasp. “You know, Alan, for a carpenter’s apprentice, your hands are awfully soft, wouldn’t you say?”

Elliott struggled to free his hand from the Pirate King’s grasp, but to no avail. The King pulled him forward until his nose was almost touching Elliott’s. “Last chance, princeling. Who are you really?”

Charles couldn’t just watch any longer. He bit his lower lip, then tried to tackle the King. The pirate dodged, but he was distracted enough that Elliot was finally able to pull free. The wyvern jumped off the King’s shoulders and bowled into Charles’ stomach. It glared up at Charles, snapping at the boy’s nose, and Charles decided to remain very still.

Elliot pulled himself up as tall as he could. “You are right; forgive me for lying. I am Prince Elliott.”

There was a great deal of muttering from the crew, but the Pirate King ignored all that. His men came back from below decks, and one whispered in his ear. He nodded, and stepped toward Elliott with a feral grin. “Tell you what, princeling. Now that we’re being honest, how about a deal? You come with us, and I spare all those refugees downstairs. By Fortune’s breath, I’ll even repair the ship, keep ‘em from starving to death. What do you say?”

Elliott bit his lower lip. “And what do you intend with me?”

Jasper shrugged and paced behind Elliott. “Dunno. Might sell you; could get a lot for a fallen prince. Might try to strike a deal with the Conqueror, see what you’re worth to her.” Then he leaned in close and whispered in his ear. “Or I might get bored and just decide to kill you one day. Just for the fun of it.” He pulled back and watched the boy. “So what will it be?”

Elliott glared up at him. “You swear that the people on this ship will not be harmed?”

“I swear it.”

He debated only a moment longer. “Make sure they have enough food to get them to the nearest port, and we have a deal.”

Charles cried out, but both Elliott and the King ignored him. “Do you really think you’re in a position to negotiate?” the King asked.

Elliott said nothing. Finally, the King flashed a grin. “Well, you’ve got more guts than some of the royals I met. Alright. Deal.” Then he grabbed Elliott by the scruff of his coat and dragged him off. “Get this ship repaired pronto!”

Charles watched, tears in his eyes, as Elliott was dragged aboard the Fortune’s Blessing. Even after the wyvern flapped back to the King’s shoulder, all he could do was lie there and weep.

10 April 2023

I was thinking at work about random things, and then specifically about the genre of sci-fi. From there, I was thinking about dystopian stuff, specifically some of the stories I’ve read where clones both exist, and are either second-class citizens or not even considered human. Then I wondered, “What if twins were considered clones, since they have the same DNA, and theoretically have as much in common as a clone would?”

From there, I kept playing with the idea. The biggest hurdle was convincing myself that people, especially existing twins and families of them, would ever accept a law like that. (You could argue that people are capable of accepting some very terrible and obviously bad things depending on how and when they’re presented, but again, I had to convince myself first they would.) So I pulled in a galactic federation.

I have no idea what, if anything I’m going to do with this. But it was fun to write in a slightly morbid sort of way, and it has so much potential. We’ll see.

Tara remembered the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach when she heard about the “clone regulation laws” the Galactic Federation mandated if humanity was to join. Ordinarily, they shouldn’t have been a big deal; enough people still had moral and ethical issues with the idea of human cloning, so it hadn’t become a thing.

The problem was, apparently none of the alien races in the Federation had a concept like twins. Some quirk of their biology, she guessed? On top of that, all of the Federation’s citizenship and ID was tied to biometric scans involving DNA. Therefore, legally, only one person with the same genetic code would be considered a citizen. Anyone else–like their identical twin–would be considered a clone, no matter how they were born or created.

By rights, Tara was safe, and wouldn’t have to worry about it. She was the older twin, and therefore could legally be considered the “original”. But Jessie was married, and she and her husband had just given birth to their first kid. No way was Tara going to take that away from her.

“But! It’s not right!” Jessie protested. “You’re a person; they can’t just take away your rights because some snooty alien jerk said so!”

“Apparently, they can,” Tara said, resigned. “You remember the Seattle incident, don’t you?”

Jessie closed her mouth. The whole world knew about the Seattle incident. Protesters had gathered not long after the announcements had been made, trying to protect the families this law would tear apart; maybe even get the government to reconsider joining the Federation. They marched on the alien’s embassy there; the aliens had panicked, and called in an orbital strike that vaporized four city blocks around them.

During the ensuing “formal apologies”, Tara had the distinct impression that the pompous bastard that was the Galactic ambassador didn’t actually give a damn. They mostly used the incident as a way to say that now the federation knew about our planet, joining them and all their laws was not optional.

Several moments later, Jessie finally spoke again. “What if you went into hiding? Just dropped off the grid somewhere. Southern Missouri, maybe?”

Tara gave her a wan smile. “If I don’t hand myself in, sis, what’s to stop them from saying you’re the clone instead? It’s not worth the risk. Let me do this. For you guys. Little Danielle especially.”

Jessie’s lip quivered, and it wasn’t long before she pulled Tara into a hug and started sobbing. “You’ve always been there for me,” she whispered.

“Just like you’ve always been there for me.” Tara squeezed her back. Right as they let go there was a knock at the door; the authorities had arrived.

28 November 2022

And here it is. The last piece of the climax. With this I could officially say I’d written the whole story from start to finish, and had a working draft. There was one scene that felt incomplete that I added to to finish off my last two days, but this was the moment it all came together.

As for the climax itself…I’m not sure. I really enjoyed all the different emotions at play here, and I hope I was able to express them well. It surprised me how anti-climactic the actual moment was, though. I don’t know that I want to change that, even if it’s possible; a lot of major life events are small, simple, anti-climactic things, I think.

…gathered. “In particular, you want to see how viable it would be to use some facet of my existence to replace the curse now afflicting the king and queen?”

Maleficent nodded. “I believe that has the best chance of making this solution work. However, even then…”

“Indeed. I do not have a close enough connection to the rest of Aurora’s family, or anyone else whose life was affected, to impact them the same way the curse has. Additionally, the risks of unraveling are too great.” He stroked his beard. “However, if, rather than replacing the curse, you just wanted to divert it again, you would only need the target to be someone close to Aurora.”

Maleficent pressed her lips into a thin line. She looked over to the corner where Aurora sulked in a corner, arms folded. “She’s not going to like that. And things have not exactly been easy for her, recently.”

“No, they haven’t. And you’re right, she won’t.” The Tower’s gaze followed Maleficent’s to Aurora. “By chance, could I beg of you to lend Aurora your ears? I’d like to speak with her about it.”

Maleficent nodded, and pulled a piece of her own hearing to lend to Aurora.

“She’s not going to like that. And things have not exactly been easy for her, recently.”

As soon as Aurora heard those words, especially with the way Maleficent and Tower looked at her, ice crawled up her back. It was like a claw squeezed her heart. What were they talking about?

Then Maleficent pulled something out of her ear and sent it to Aurora.

All of a sudden, Aurora could hear things that she didn’t even know had sounds; the echoes of moonlight off the rain-soaked grass, for example, or the secrets that whispered from the corners of the room. Thankfully, it wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as the faerie sight had been, and Aurora was able to tune most of it out. She focused on the Tower. “What’s going on?”

“We have a way to save your parents,” Maleficent said. “But that doesn’t mean the solution doesn’t come with complications of its own.”

“Well, what is it?”

The Tower interjected. “I will be the one to take on the curse.”

For a second Aurora couldn’t breathe. Then she began to shake her head as she said, “No. No! That’s not a solution. We’re just passing the curse around again. There’s… there’s got to be a way to fix it.”

“Aurora…” Maleficent began, but Aurora ignored her.

“We still had that replacement idea, right?”

“Aurora.” The Tower, this time.

“Or… or we could find someone random. A criminal. Someone on death row. If we have to give someone the curse, might as well be–”

“Aurora.” Tower’s voice was soft but insistent.

Aurora looked up at him, and tears flowed down her cheeks.

Tower kneeled down in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “This is the only other option. This is the best way.”

Aurora shook her head. “Please, don’t go. I can’t lose you, too.”

Tower smiled at her, though tears filled his eyes, as well. “I’m old. So old I don’t even know how old I am. And look at me.” He gestured to his transparent body. “I’m not even truly a part of reality anymore. It’s time for me to move on.” He looked over to her parents. “I’ve been blessed to watch over you these last sixteen years; they’ve only had a chance to be with you a few days. They still have full lives ahead of them; so please, let me go, so you can be with your real family.”

“But you’re my family, too.”

Tower couldn’t respond for a moment. Then he swept her in a hug. “Thank you.” When he pulled back, he stared straight into her eyes. “But isn’t that all the more reason for me to do this?”

Aurora bit her lower lip, then looked over to Isaac. He just watched her, and when their eyes met he nodded to her once. He trusted her; the decision was hers.

She clenched her eyes shut and took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay, then.”

Tower stood up and stepped back. Over by the bed, however, Maleficent had an apologetic expression. “There is one more thing, however.”

Both Aurora and the Tower looked at her. Maleficent sighed, then tried to pick up some of the Tower’s threads. “I cannot touch his fate. You have to be the one to do this, Aurora.”

Once Aurora’s brain caught up with what she was hearing, all she could do was give a dry laugh. If she botched this, she’d be responsible for the death of literally every parental figure she ever had. Even if it worked, she’d be responsible for half their deaths. She curled into a ball and wept into her knees for a moment.

Isaac reached out for her, but Aurora waved him off. “I’ll be alright, just give me a moment.” She took a deep breath, then stood and walked over beside Maleficent. “Alright. What do I need to do?”

Maleficent walked her through it, and Aurora, very delicately, shifted the bump representing the curse through until it only diverted the Tower’s silver string away from the rest.

When she finally finished and pulled away, Tower was already starting to flicker. Black streaks spiderwebbed up his face from his neck. Despite all that, he seemed utterly at peace. “Farewell, little one. I’m grateful my last few years of existence could be spent watching you frow up. I’m so proud of you.”

A fresh wave of tears spilled across Aurora’s cheeks. “Me, me too! Thank you for raising me!”

The Tower nodded and waved, and finally he disappeared. Aurora sank to her knees.

Isaac moved to comfort her, but before he could reach her, Hannah and Frederick stirred and began to sit up. Hannah, in particular, seemed a little confused, but as soon as she saw Aurora weeping she jumped out of bed and held her tight. Aurora turned and began sobbing into Hannah’s chest.

Frederick moved more slowly. As she stood, he looked between Aurora, Isaac, and Maleficent. “What happened?”

Isaac wasn’t sure what to say. “There was… a tower. Aurora’s tower, where she grew up. It was… alive somehow.”

“Alive enough to offer his existence in exchange for yours.” Maleficent wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “All so Aurora would have a chance to know you.”

Hannah’s eyes widened, and she hugged Aurora closer and kissed the top of her head. Frederick spread his arms around both of them, and Isaac moved in and leaned against his mom. Maleficent dipped her head and left the room, and they stayed there for a very long time.

<-Rapunzel Previous

Rapunzel Next->

Most recently updated draft of Rapunzel, the Sleeping Beauty (potentially including unposted content)

13 November 2022

Not much to say about this one. Continuing the sacrifice scene from the Sunday before. I’m still not certain how vulnerable I should let Maleficent be; would she allow herself even one tear where people can see? I’d also like to add a bit more of Isaac’s reaction as he realizes he’s in charge now.

Maleficent turned to Frederick. “With your permission?”

Frederick swept Hannah and Aurora into a strong hug. He kissed the top of Aurora’s head, and stared into Hannah’s eyes as he asked Maleficent, “Would it be possible for me to split the cost with her?”

For the first time since she had become “Maleficent”, tears rose to her eyes. And yet, a flicker of hope began to flicker in her chest. “That… could theoretically work. Ordinarily, you would both just die together, but where I was the one to set the initial curse…” She trailed off as she began working on the magical formulas in her head.

“What is it?” Frederick looked hopeful.

“If you are sharing the burden with her, I should by able to weaken my curse enough that you both fall into an deep sleep, rather than kill you outright. Additionally, you both would take half the cost for Aurora’s ‘gifts’.”

A gentle smile formed on his face. “Then I will do it.”

The prince stepped forward. “Then I–”

“No, Isaac.” Hannah stopped him and pulled him into the group hug. “We need you to stay here. Aurora’s finally come home; we can’t just leave her alone, can we?”

“And the kingdom needs a ruler.” Frederick clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m sorry to leave this to you, son. But I know you will do fine.”

Isaac bit his lower lip, but he squared his shoulders and nodded.

Aurora burst into another round of tears. “No. Please don’t do this.”

Frederick responded by squeezing her tighter. “I’m just sorry we couldn’t be there to watch you grow up. Let us do this much for you.”

He nodded to Maleficent, and she began to cast the spell. She wove words from the ancient faerie tongue into the magic as she pulled her curse out of Aurora’s body and split it between Frederick and Hannah, looking like a sickly green light bound the three together. While she was at it, Maleficent messed with the threads of beauty and intelligence tangled around Aurora, and returned her to a natural state, pulling from the royal to make up the difference where necessary.

Soon, the spell finished, and Frederick and Hannah sank to the floor. Only the slight rise and fall of their chests gave any indication they were alive at all.

Maleficent knelt and brushed a lock of hair from Hannah’s face, and a single tear rolled down her cheek. “Farewell, my friend. May you wake up someday.” She stood, and dipped her head to Isaac. “Your Majesty.”

Isaac barely seemed to register her presence even as he acknowledge her greeting. He simply stared at his parents, too overwhelmed to do anything.

Aurora sank to her knees and wept bitterly. Maleficent couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going through the girl’s mind. Whatever else, she knew it was possible, perhaps likely, Aurora would come after her for what had happened here, no matter the promise Maleficent had made with Frederick. Maleficent wasn’t sure she could blame the girl if she did.

Maleficent turned and swept out of the room. As she went through the doorway, she said, “I’ll be in the throne room if you need me.”

<-Rapunzel Previous

Rapunzel Next->

Most recently updated draft of Rapunzel, the Sleeping Beauty (potentially including unposted content)

6 November 2022

This is the scene that revealed that titles always lie. Turns out, despite everything building up to that before this, it is not Aurora/Rapunzel who becomes the sleeping beauty, but rather her mother Hannah. And to a certain extent her father, though one of the potential endings actually changes that to just be Hannah.

I wrote this scene, despite taking place quite a ways further in, because I still wanted to focus only on this story this month, but I still wanted to do something more spiritual on Sunday, and this fit in my head.

Maleficent hovered just outside the family group. They hadn’t noticed her yet, which was just as well. Even she didn’t know why she was here, but something about Hannah’s request compelled her to come.

Frederick, the ever-vigilant husband and father, was the first to notice Maleficent, and he immediately leaped forward and drew his sword, sheltering the rest of his family behind him. “You! What more do you want from us?”

Before Maleficent could even form a response, Hannah rose and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright, love; she’s here at my request.” She pushed sword arm down as she stepped past him and faced Maleficent. With a small curtsy, the queen said, “Thank you for responding to my letter, Queen Maleficent.”

Maleficent bowed her head, then turned to look at the two children. The boy watched her with wariness, his right hand on the sword at his side. Maleficent was surprised to realize he had faerie sight. The girl’s doing, perhaps?

The girl, Aurora, was different. There was none of the hostility or wariness Maleficent would have expected, especially considering she had doomed the young girl to death just after she’d been born. No, Aurora studied her like a puzzle she hadn’t quite figured out yet.

Maleficent turned back to Hannah. “You requested to see me?”

Hannah nodded, then glanced back toward Aurora. “When I went to see you earlier, you said that the gifts a fairy-blessed child receives must be paid back, correct?” When Maleficent dipped her head, Hannah asked, “Does she have to be the one that pays the price?”

Both Maleficent’s and Aurora’s eyes went wide. Maleficent would have chuckled, had the situation been any less serious; this woman never ceased to surprise her. 

However, Aurora’s face turned white, and for the first time Maleficent could see true fear in her eyes. “No! Han– Mom, you can’t! Don’t do this!”

Hannah simply cupped Aurora’s cheek and smiled gently. She turned back to Maleficent. “Can you do it?”

Maleficent glanced at Aurora, who desperately shook her head, then over to Frederick and the boy, who seemed a little bewildered. “I will not unless both you and your husband fully understand what it is you are asking, and I have Frederick’s word that both he and every citizen of this kingdom will not pursue me for doing this.”

Frederick glanced back and forth between the two queens and asked, “Why? What are you asking her to do, Hannah?”

Hannah set her face, then nodded to Maleficent. Maleficent explained, “For sixteen years, you daughter has been blessed with extraordinary beauty and cleverness. Even if she was locked away in a tower during that time, the price for her gifts must be paid. Ordinarily, that would come from Aurora herself in the second half of her life, where she would become ugly and dim-witted. And then there’s the matter of the curse I left on her.” Maleficent was surprised at the bitterness in her own voice at that last part. Was that regret?

“And Mom wants to take all that on herself,” Aurora whispered. “Take my place and pay the cost. And probably die.”

For a long moment, Frederick stared at Aurora, then turned back and stared into Hannah’s eyes. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Hannah nodded again. Tears poured down Aurora’s face. “No, please! Even if you do this, I won’t live long anyway! I’m sick! I was born weak, and I—”

Hannah cut her off with a hug. “And you are still my daughter. And I love you. And no matter how short your chance at life will be after this, it will be more than you’ve had so far.” She turned and nodded to Maleficent.

<-Rapunzel Previous

Rapunzel Next->

Most recently updated draft of Rapunzel, the Sleeping Beauty (potentially including unposted content)