The Prince approached the doors to Aurora’s chambers. He was hesitant to just stride in, but the entire kingdom was asleep, so he pushed himself forward. I’ve come this far, so I may as well see this through, he said to himself.

He walked with trepidation, rehearsing what he was going to say to the beautiful princess once she’d awoken from her slumber.

As his lips touched hers, the door to the room slammed open and guards and knights stormed the room. “What the-“ was all the Prince managed to say before a metallic boot hit him in the stomach and he doubled over. Two knights in shining suits of armour held him down and in place- firmly.

“You are under arrest,” announced the chief guard (a rather rotund man with a moustache thicker than the bracken surrounding the castle grounds). “What for?!” asked the Prince, incredulously. A knight handed the chief a scroll. He opened it and it dropped comically to the stone floor.

“Hmmm, let’s see,” mused the chief, “necrophilia, abduction, identity theft, larceny... shall I go on?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” snapped the Prince. Then, calmer: “This is all a mistake.”

“I can assure you, ‘Prince Charming’, it most certainly is not,” said the chief.

“See- that’s not even my name. I’m Prince Phillip!” laughed the criminal.

“Phillip, Charming, Eric, Ferdinand, whatever alias you’re using it doesn’t change the facts. You’re a wanted man, and you’re coming with us.”

“Bu.. but what about Sleeping Beauty?” he asked as a last-ditch attempt to clamber out of this hole he’d dug for himself.

“She’s perfectly fine,” Aurora said from behind him.

The criminal turned (painfully) to face her. The not-so-sleeping beauty continued: “In fact, so is the entire kingdom. You didn’t seriously think that an entire realm could fall asleep for a century without it being an international scandal- or at least raising a few suspicions?”

*

As the knights marched the criminal towards the dungeons, Aurora turned and smiled. The other presence in the room with her took her hand carefully, gently. “I’m so glad that monster is finally gone,” whispered Cinderella.

“So am I,” agreed the other princess, “Now we can all finally have our happily ever afters.” With that, Aurora kissed her one true love.

~The End~