The curse

Black clad she shifted through the streets toward the battle damaged ruins of the outer wall. Tightly wrapped linens in the darkest of greys and greens provided her with the camouflage the night required and still gave enough to allow free movement. Over her face a cloth covered her lips keeping her breath from forming a frosty mist in the air. She must not be discovered.

Pothkin had listened carefully to her idea last night and agreed it would provide a decisive victory for the Kings forces. But she made him promise not to tell her husband, Pothkin grumbled and spluttered at this request his first loyalty was to King Phillip but the queen was acting in the interests of the whole kingdom. Keeping secrets from his lord could be seen as treason, and if this went wrong he would be better off with the enemy.

The queen's plan was so simple though. Very little could prevent it from succeeding. But every peasant, craftsman and noble loved and adored Queen Aurora and if her attack on the enemy camp left her captured or worse still killed all moral would be lost. The king would be devastated. She knew all this but hesitated at the wall for only a moment before slipping away across the battle field.

Aurora approached the enemies position and watched, crouching low and hiding from their patrols, stealth was her only defense. Two of the enemies soldiers were near by stamping the cold out of their tired legs. She waited for them to move on before slipping past their perimeter. She needed to get close to the center of the camp in order for this to work, she had spoken with Flora, Fauna and Merryweather asking if the enchantment would still be strong enough and they were concerned but thought it would be. Merryweather explained how she had weakened the curse originally and her husband's kiss had weakened it yet more. By now it would effect a much smaller area.

There was no way to know if the spell would take out the whole camp but if she were able to get close enough maybe she could effect the generals and leaders of the army. She could only hope to cause enough disruption that her husband's men would stand a better chance in the morning.

The glint of a small metal pin on her belt catches the eye of a soldier as she sneaks around a camp fire, four heavily armed men surround her in moments and she drops to the floor cowering. One of the men calls for his captain while the others keep their swords drawn and pointing at her prone form.

The captain orders she be frog marched to a more secure location. All six of them move from her point of capture toward an animal pen. There she is placed in a vacant yet soiled animal cage to be dealt with when the generals awake in the morning. As the captain leaves he misses the wry smile on her face. Her guards ponder what she has to smile about.

As the first light of morning begins to break in the open valley the Queen reaches into her belt and removes a sewing needle. Pulling away her glove she looks around at the already drowsy guards and pricks her finger. A familiar feeling of extreme exhaustion sets into her bones, and her eyelids fall closed as she slouches in the cage then begins to snore as sleep takes her over.

Within a blink of an eye her guards drop their weapons and fall asleep. An invisible ripple flows through the military camp as those at the front of the wave slip away in an enchanted slumber. With one simple needle Aurora, once known as Briar-Rose, has left the way clear for her husband and his forces to defeat their enemies.

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646 Words (Idea slightly stolen)