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Beast
By Sean Miner Once, there was a blessed kingdom. The sun was always shining, the weather alwayswarm, the highways expansive and well-maintained, and the produce always fresh. Avocadosgrew like wild nettles along the highway, and the people smiled flawless white smiles.One day, the figurative cup of this already blessed kingdom was filled to overflowingwhen the king and queen had delivered unto them a daughter. She was beautiful, with goldenhair and azure eyes, and she never cried, only laughed. They named her – appropriately, itseemed –- Aurora.As was the custom, a great celebration was planned, with wine and avocados and a peculiar kind of inside-out sushi. An announcement was made, and all in the kingdom wereinvited. Special care was taken to invite the four fairies who lived nearby –- even the relatively bitchy one to the north, because this king and queen actually knew a little something aboutdiplomacy.When the day of the celebration came, the courtyard was filled by people wishing the princess well and drinking the royal wine and eating the royal sushi. The king and queen didn’t pay much mind to these throngs, of course, but rather to the various visiting dignitaries.Especially important was the royal family of the neighboring kingdom – to the eldest son of which they were planning to arrange their new daughter’s hand – and the four fairies.
 
The fairy of the East was first to show, in her chariot drawn by doves – a spectacular sight, because, trim though she was, it took quite a lot of doves.The fairy of the South arrived, her carriage pulled by giant seahorses temporarilyenchanted with legs – impressive creatures, though they seemed rather confused.The fairy of the West arrived carried by her retinue of a thousand walking oaks – whichsettled themselves in to provide much-needed shade.The king and queen waited anxiously for the arrival of the fairy of the North. But theevening wore on, and eventually the time to present the gifts to the princess could be held up nolonger.The usual gifts were on hand – a flock of mute swans, bejeweled combs, gilded spinningwheels with no sharp corners, and a fine Arabian steed that would be an old nag by the time shecould ride it. That sort of thing.Last, the fairies stood to give her their blessings.The fairy of the East gave her gift to the little princess: “May she be beautiful and comelyall of her days.” And the princess’ hair shone more brightly, and her eyes sparkled like polishedsapphire.The fairy of the West gave her gift: “May she always be full of joy and laughter.” Andthe princess’ giggles became like the peal of silver bells.At that point, with much fanfare, the incredibly long and shiny black carriage of the fairyof the North pulled up. Everyone stood whispering as the fairy got out, her expression as alwayscold and haughty, her latest nose held aloft.The king and queen tried to tell themselves that she’d just
been
fashionably late – and itwas just like her to make such a dramatic entrance – but something kept them from relaxing.Something they couldn’t put their royal fingers on.The fairy of the North stepped quickly yet languidly up to the front of the line of fairies,and began, “Life is a treacherous thing, isn’t it?” she began. “So full of disappointments, as I wasdisappointed not to have been invited.”For, unbeknownst to anyone, the page dispatched with the invitations to the fairies hadnot been as reliable as they’d believed. His body would later be discovered floating naked in anenchanted pond with no sign of foul play, but with hugely dilated pupils.“Nevertheless,” she continued, “I will not hold it against the child. I still have a gift.” Shesmiled a cold but perfectly stunning smile. “I would not have the child suffer the woes of this
 
life. After she leaves the boundaries of childhood, on her sixteenth year, she will fall down dead.With a lovely smile on her face.”And with those words, she placed a darkness deep within the child, that would wake insixteen years to consume her.The guards that rushed after the fairy were turned into swine, and statues, and statues of swine, while she made her way to her carriage, which sped off, trailing cackles.The king and queen immediately entreated other three fairies to remove the curse, butthey replied that they could not. The fairy of the South, however, said, “I cannot undo it, but Iknow a weakness to the spell she used. It relies on the child’s pure soul – the darkness willemerge suddenly, to shatter her like crystal. I would not do this, but if you wish, I can keep her from dying at sixteen. I can fight one curse with another.”The king and queen answered hurriedly – perhaps too hurriedly, they would later think – that of course they wanted their child to live. Anything less, they were sure, could be dealt with,using only love and patience and a castle full of servants.“Very well, then,” said the fairy, solemnly. Turning to the child, she said, “I grant youflaws. I grant you damage. I grant that your facets will never meet perfectly, nor anything fill youcompletely.”The king and queen saw no change about the child, and worried that the gift had nottaken. But the fairies, who could see into her soul, all agreed that what each had said, had cometo pass. And indeed, upon close examination of her eyes, there could be seen a faint pattern of fracture, like the web of a spider.As the child grew, she was indeed beautiful. But though others told her this, she herself did not see it when she looked into a glass; her reflection was wrong to her sight, as through a broken mirror. So she took little care how her royal gowns looked, and often went withsomething comfortable, or which suited her cracked aesthetic.She laughed much, but at strange times – at thoughts that passed through her labyrinthinemind, or where others saw only cause for pity, or disgust. She would find people staring at her,not knowing what there was to laugh at, and when she tried to explain, they only looked morestrangely.Some days, things worked well, and she was very happy, and the love that was given toher made her feel warm inside, and she was able to love back like anyone else. Other days, theydid not go so well, and she found herself caught in panics, and the pressure of the love aroundher made her want to twist around in her own skin, and bite, and she would go off alone to calmherself.
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CainSLatrani

Don't worry over it. I'm pretty sure I don't get about half my notifications as well. All hail the glory of Scribd!

reply10 / 01 / 2011
Joe Hagen

A Beauty and the Beast story for the parents, & I thought the kids version was pretty good. Great job. Enjoyed the story and the humor. Well done!

reply08 / 13 / 2011
Joe Hagen

That's quite alright. Just keep on posting!

10 / 01 / 2011
Sean Miner

Thank you! As with CainSLatrani, below, I didn't get the notification of this commented, or I would have replied sooner.

10 / 01 / 2011
CainSLatrani

Wondrous! Simply, wondrous!

reply08 / 12 / 2011
Sean Miner

Thank you! (I didn't get the notification that you'd commented, or I would have replied sooner.)

10 / 01 / 2011
aura king

wow i completly love your story, the mixture of all the most important fairy tales was incredible.

reply09 / 08 / 2010
Sean Miner

Thank you very much! :)

09 / 08 / 2010
JanaDJ

Can't help commenting again. I loved the way you manage to merge together so many fairy tales to produce a dark, demented version. I fell in love with Aurora the instant she transformed on her sixteenth birthday. The way you described everything, the way you twisted the original tales around...just captivating. Gorgeous :)

reply01 / 04 / 2010
JanaDJ

I couldn't help it, I read it over and felt like I had to comment again. As for the broken girls, I know someone who you could relate to. She's pretty much a mixture of everything, all molded into one. Do get around to the others soon. And, I repeat, write fantasy erotica sometime!

01 / 07 / 2010
Sean Miner

Thank you very much! I believe you're my first repeat commenter! I'm glad you liked it. This was actually intended to be one of a collection about broken girls, but I haven't gotten to the others yet.

01 / 04 / 2010
ScribbleQuill

I loved it too :) Loads of little touches I liked, phrases and images. Also the resonances and levels worked well for me. Maybe it could have been cut a little, but maybe not - I couldn't work out how much was left. And yes, "Aurora" was lucky.

reply11 / 28 / 2009
JanaDJ

Wow. Just wow. You should write erotic fantasy sometime.

reply11 / 26 / 2009
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