Once Upon a Dream

Prologue

The cool breeze wafted through the open castle windows and billowed the silky white curtains around the King while he paced in front of an ornately carved wooden door.

The door glowed silver and a tiny gray-haired woman cloaked in emerald green appeared as if from nowhere. "My Lord, the Queen and Princess are both healthy and safe," she said as she put a hand on his shoulder and the velvet of his robes shifted slightly under her touch.

He glanced at her for only a moment, long enough for the words to settle in, before bursting through the door and falling to his knees by the side of the canopy-covered bed. "Is it true, Amara? Are you well?"

The Queen's blonde hair was messy and strewn all over the many pillows behind her, but her crown still stayed in place, as if by magic. She looked up at her husband with a smile only a new mother could wear. The smile of an exhausted woman in the throes of a brand-new, life-altering love. "I am tired, Stephan. So tired. But my eyes will not close. I cannot tear them away from her perfect face."

She lifted the bundle of cloth in her arms so that their child could see her father for the first time.

The King's breath caught as he took in her large blue eyes and golden hair. He reached forward, placing one hand on the baby and the other on the Queen's face. "We can cancel the party tonight. I am sure the citizens would understand."

"No," the Queen said, her loyalty to her people always her first concern. "It will be fine. Aurora needs to meet the people she will one day serve."

"Aurora? You have already named her?"

The Queen smiled. "For the first rays of sun, as she is our light."

***

The people of the castle bustled around, busying themselves with preparations for the celebration. This child was long-awaited, both by the King and Queen and their subjects, for it was she who was destined to be the key to their survival. As stated by Mother Fate, she would bring about a hundred years of peace between their kingdom and the one to the east with nothing but her undying love.

But it wasn't just the arrival of their child they celebrated that night. No, they had planned the party long before the Queen went to the birthing bed. In fact, preparations for this event had started even before the new princess was conceived. As soon as the last notes of the final song of last year's Yule ball faded, the next was on everyone's mind.

Yule was a time when everyone in the near kingdoms set aside their differences and came together under the combined joy of surviving another year. Life had been difficult since the war, but for those 12 days around the Winter Solstice, everyone had the luxury to forget for a while.

The flags were raised. Every tree in the garden was decorated. Huge poinsettia and holly garlands trimmed in the hallways. The table places were set with crystal and diamond. Streamers and banners hung from the walls, the ceiling, anywhere they could get them to hold. The castle looked as if it was a festive fruit cake, ready to be devoured by the people who called it home.

All the Kingdom's royal allies trickled into the city, each one arriving in a carriage pulled by silver-trimmed white horses.

As if blown in by the breeze a golden carriage arrived and when it stopped in front of the castle doors, the citizens did not cheer and clap as they did with the previous guests. Instead, they stood with breaths held and hands trembling because within the carriage sat the King of the Eastern Kingdom and his son, Phillip, the princess' fated love.

Everything in the Western kingdom depended on their alliance. The crops had been failing for years, and without being able to trade their exorbitant amounts of minerals and jewels for food, it was clear they would not survive in this place much longer.