Disenchanted Read Online Free Page B

imprisoned in the castle to die after slaughtering
everyone in this village. My grandfather swore it was home to a princess,
cursed by an evil fairy."
    Casey snorted. "Like Tinkerbell ? What's the worst she could do? Give a mosquito
bite?"
    "Fairies are evil sons of
bitches. Powerful, magical, deadly. Some kidnap children and replace them with
changelings."
    "Oh, the Tylwyth Teg ."
    "You know your
fairies."
    "My sister's obsessed with them. She swears she's a
changeling and refuses to take off her glittery wings."
    "Some little girls are like
that."
    "She's seventeen. It's
getting embarrassing. She's keeping glitter companies in business."
    "Over a hundred years ago,
there was a king and queen, who had everything they wanted, except a child.
After many years, the queen gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. They finally
had an heir to rule the kingdom after their bones rotted in the ground. Living
in the kingdom, were seven good fairies. The king and queen invited them to the
christening party and gave them each a gift they'd always treasure."
    "Premium bonds?"
    "Gold caskets, with knives
and forks studded with diamonds and rubies. It pays to keep fairies sweet. You
don't want to anger those who can switch your baby without you ever noticing.
At the christening, the guests were shown into the banqueting hall and the
fairies were presented with their caskets. An ancient fairy burst into the
hall, furious no place had been laid for her. The king ordered an extra place
at the table, but there was no casket."
    Casey smiled. "A party whistle
and funny slime can't compare with jewel encrusted cutlery."
    "The fairies each gave a
gift to the baby princess."
    "Gold, Frankincense and
Myrrh?"
    "The first fairy said she'd
be as lovely as a flower."
    "Not a Venus flytrap I
hope."
    "The second said she'd grow
up full of sweetness and grace. The third promised she'd dance divinely."
    "They haven't seen me bust
moves on the dance floor." He paused. "On second thoughts, that's
probably best."
    Something scratched the window.
Imagining it was the nails of a haggard evil fairy, Casey turned to see a small
branch brushing the glass. The moon watched over the castle like the night's
evil eye.
    "The fourth vowed she'd sing
like a nightingale and the fifth said she'd master every musical instrument."
    "With those attributes she
could go on Britain's Got Talent ."
    "The sixth one said she'd do
everything to perfection. But then the spiteful fairy said she'd die when she
pricked her finger on a blood red rose. The seventh fairy said instead of
dying, the princess would sleep for one hundred years."
    "Why not make it one day?
After one hundred years everything will have changed beyond recognition. She'd
need a serious leg waxing."
    "The only thing that can
wake her is a kiss from a king's virgin son."
    "Morning breath's bad enough
after one night. Imagine the stench after a hundred years ." Casey fanned his nose. "This is sounding an awful
lot like the Sleeping Beauty fairytale ."
    The old man sipped his beer.
"Ancient legends didn't spring out of nowhere. Just because you don't
believe something, doesn't mean it's not real. Sometimes it's people's lack of
belief that keeps the legends alive."
    Indistinct voices filled the
void. The fire hissed and spat like a furious dragon. The clock on the wall
above Casey's head ticked loudly.
    "The king ordered every red
rose in the kingdom to be destroyed. However when the princess was twenty one,
they brought her on holiday to this castle. While she was exploring the garden
in the dark, she pricked her finger and collapsed. The king and queen put her
in a coffin to protect her from the sunlight and left. The seventh fairy
created a thorny hedge around the castle so no-one could disturb her rest.
Others say the hedge protects the sleeping vampires from sunlight and when
someone breaks their curse, they'll wake to wreak havoc on the town that
entombed them in the castle."
    "Has anyone broken in to see
if it's