there it is! cried the prince. atop his magnificent stallion, he pointed his sword to the castle up a head. go magnus! take me to my princess! the neighed and started to gallop towards the dark castle.

bruised and scratched, the prince couldn't help but smile. after their horrendous journey, they reached his destiny at last! finally! he thought to himself, i will grace the glorious face of my beloved. after years of waiting, he had finally come to her. his sleeping princess. the sleeping beauty.

for years his nights has been plagued by dreams of her beauty. her tale has crossed throughout the world. countless princes have tried and failed. except him. he braved a forest of thorns and slain the evil witch to get to where he is now, the entrance to his future.

they entered the deserted palace. dark and gloomy, the air smells of rot. he dismounted his steed at the foot of a spiraling staircase that leads to the tower. holding the hilt of his sword, alert for other black magic left by the witch, he slowly climbed the stairs to his princess. higher and higher he climbed. only when he reached the door to the room did he release the breath we has holding.

everything felt surreal to him. he saw himself reach for the knob, turned it, and opened the door. the room was shrouded in darkness. only a sliver of light can be seen, seeping through a tear in the molding curtains. in the middle of the room, was a four poster bed, home of his princess for a hundred years. she was indeed beautiful beyond compare.

he walked closer to her and marveled at his greatness. a hundred years, thousands of princes and it had to be me. hah! i am truly destined for greatness. and now i know that i am also destined for this beauty, he said as he sat on the bed beside the sleeping beauty. her lips, red, are parted. as if awaiting him and him alone. and he bend over to kiss her.

she felt his presence even before he came near. finally! she thought, someone brave enough made it this far. she felt him sit beside her. and she swear she could hear something. what is he saying? please kiss me now. end this spell! she screamed in her head.

and then she felt it.

hot lips met her cold one. the heat traveled from her lips to her head, slowly, enveloping her in warmth. yes! yes! she yelled! her lips twitched in an excited smile. her fingers moved slowly. after a hundred years of bed rest, she is finding it difficult to move. slowly, she reached her right hand to the place where she thought he might be. but he was not there. alarmed, she forced herself to open her eyes. they fluttered and closed, trying to adjust to the dimness of the room. and then her blue eyes met with brown eyes.

then she screamed.

looking down at her was a huge frog. she sat up in bed, still screaming and hit the frog. the poor thing hit the wall. it rolled once, twice. and with a final croak, it jump forlornly, slightly limping to the window while the beauty just stared. it found the tear in the curtains and jumped through it to his death.

sobbing, the princess cried out for the prince. but he was nowhere to be seen. she got up from the bed, found the power to walk again and went down the stairs. the prince was not there. she found his horse though. she walked around the palace, crying at the memories. it is still the way as i remembered it, she cried.

she walked towards the horse. it backed away from her, scared. she tried to calm him down, took the reins and pulled the horse towards the castle door.
outside, she was temporarily blinded by the sunlight. once accustomed to the brightness she cried again. the garden glimmered in rainbow colors under the bright sun. little did she know that everything was restored once the spell once lifted.

she walked to the side of the castle, pulling the horse behind her as she called to the prince, or anyone that might be around. she stopped suddenly. ahead was a blob of green and red. it was the frog, surrounded by blood. she walked towards it. poor thing! i'm sorry. i didn't mean to hurt you, she said to the frog.

something shimmered. by the frog's head. she bent down to look. tears started to fall from her eyes. it mixed with the blood by her foot. she felt like dying then and there, as the thing continued to shimmer, mocking her...taunting her.

for there by the head of the frog, shimmering in the sunlight, was a small crown.