June Crusade: Beyond the Thorns

Anne-girl of Scribblings is hosting the third annual June Crusade, and this year's theme (by popular vote) is plot bunnies. I know, right? How intriguing! But I already have so much planned for this month, and so I told myself I simply wasn't allowed to join. 

Haha. My Little Writer is mocking me now. 

Who can resist a good plot bunny? And I've got so many bouncing on my brain that it's almost impossible to ignore them. So, I'm not. I'm officially linking up with Anne-girl's crusade, and this here, peoples, is my first plot bunny.

Beyond the Thorns (working title)

The tale of Sleeping Beauty is... well, honestly, not my favorite fairy story. I mean, seriously, a heroine who sleeps for the entire story and a hero whose only brave act is to kiss her? Nope. Not sold. And some of the original tales are far worse (please don't ask how; just believe me). The Disney animated version boosted the tale a little in my estimation, but only to a certain degree. I thought Aurora a sweet princess, and I loved the music (duh, it's Tchaikovsky... everyone loves his ballets). But I still believed the tale to be really dumb. Prince Philip is nice, but he barely speaks. He doesn't even grunt or groan during his "big" fight with the dragon! Unrealistic? Yes, ma'am. 

But I couldn't push Sleeping Beauty away forever. No, there was too much potential there. And when I decided that I was going to one day rewrite all the fairy tales without magic, how could I neglect this one? The plot bunny bit me hard, and now I think I've got the real tale of Sleeping Beauty. 

First off, no magic. That takes out evil witches, magic spells, sparkling wands, and all the like. Sorry, folks, you ain't gonna find Maleficent within these pages. Next, the Sleeping Beauty. The girl who sleeps for a hundred years. Yes, it has to be a hundred because that's how the story goes. Wait... how are you going to send a girl to sleep for a hundred years without killing her? Especially without magic? This is where the fantasy aspect comes into play. What if there was a potent herb that had the ability to send people to sleep? An older individual might take a little in tea before they go to bed, and it would give them a refreshed sleep overnight. A slightly larger dose might be given to a highly injured person to bring about a longer sleep to help them recover. If taken abundantly, it has the potential to make a person sleep for... well, a hundred years.

But she's not going to get woken up with a kiss. Ugh. No. I refuse to go there. The herb just wears off, and she wakes up. That's that.

But that's not the end. What about a hero? All good stories need a hero. Well, this one's getting two... cousins. Why not? What role do they play? They have a big part in what happens to the princess after she wakes up. And they have some part in actually waking her up... for reasons. The heroes must have a good reason to wake her. And I've given them one. You'll just have to wait a bit before I tell you.

I s'pose I should post the blurb about it. Here ya go, readers; this is about the best I can do to summarize it:

The Princess Carolinae fell asleep on her eighteenth birthday, and now at last, one hundred years later, it is prophesied that her great slumber will end. But in a hundred years, so many things have changed. All she knew is gone, including her beloved parents and the fiancée she'd never met. A new ruling family has taken over the kingdom she called home, and she finds herself no more than a legend in the eyes of all. The name of the Sleeping Beauty might be famous, but the simple Princess Carolinae is forgotten. The only thing to comfort her are three small fairies, faithful friends who watched her while she slept.

But who sent her to sleep? And why? Rumors of dissension and wars grow daily, and their potency are without equal. Some claim her to be the cause, and many would rather see her sleep for another hundred years. Everywhere people yearn to use her name for their own advantages, lying and doing whatever they might to pull her over to their side. Some would even kill her to glory in their cause.

Waking up only brought her danger, and now Carolinae must learn to adapt to this new world. She is forced to trust two strange cousins who claim to know her rightful place, and although they swear to protect her, she senses betrayal at every corner. So many have lied to her before. Are they only lying to her, too?

Well, what do you think? I will try to post a snippet or two soon!

God bless!