Sleeping Beauty (Faerie Tale Collection) Read Online Free Page B

beauty, now a shell of its former grandeur and glory. Deserted and eerily stark, shreds of fabric could just barely be seen flapping wildly in the breeze through the shattered windows.
    Great heavens! It was even worse than he imagined. Turning in the saddle, Darién called out to the somber group. “Now do you see what a fool’s errand this has become?” He had never arrived at such a disenchanting place in all his life. If this is what it looked like under a sleeping spell, how much worse would it become once the protection was lifted? “Come, let us head home.” Tugging on the horse, he rotated until he was facing back down the hill. “We have no reason to be here.”
    “Wait. We have come all this way, aren’t you just a little curious to see it?” asked Michael as he rode up to him.
    “Are you mad? Look around you. There is absolutely nothing here to see. It is a barren wasteland.”
    “Come on, you ol’ spoilsport, and let us have a look,” exclaimed George as he headed down the slope toward the village.
    Humphrey was quick to follow. “Perhaps we will find something of worth.”
    George laughed. “A treasure!”
    “Or a skeleton,” answered Humphrey.
    “Or a ghost,” mumbled the king quietly under his breath.
    “I heard that.” Darién shifted in the saddle and sighed as he watched the other two bound their way into the mayhem.
    Michael glanced over at the prince. “Well, we might as well join them before one or the other loses a limb.”
    “I am afraid they have already lost their minds.”
    “Come now; tell me you are not just a bit curious as to what we may find down there.”
    “I cannot begin to fathom what we would find.” Darién shook his head and smirked. “And you believe there is some sleeping queen in the midst of this all. Honestly, perhaps your head has gone missing as well.”
    Michael pursed his lips and took in the horrific scene surrounding them. “She is said to be a spirit that wanders the halls of that castle. Stories of her tell of a beauty unmatched. Queen Aleyna is supposedly the most breathtaking woman ever to behold.”
    “Yes. I am sure many a man has lost his breath over the sight of her gruesome ghoulish form coming upon them.” Darién folded his arms, the reins tightly within his grasp. “And what is this nonsense anyway? Why must people cling to the hope that she is still living, that she is under some sort of spell? It is clear by these ruins what has happened here. And it only proves the point more she has been killed along with the rest, as there are those who have seen her ghost. Sincerely I ask, why are we here again? To what purpose does this verify anything to scamper about through charred remains and release a sleeping queen who is already dead?”
    Michael grinned and nudged his horse forward. “Because it is fun, boy. Relax a little and enjoy the moment. Have an adventure. Who knows, once you prove to us all you are not reluctant to go down because of the spirit and you are brave enough to meet her, you might very well fall in love with the phantom.”
    “Yes, because that is so evidently practical. Falling in love with some specter is definitely what I have dreamed about since I was a wee lad.”
    Michael did not answer him, nor did he turn back. Darién watched in growing frustration as his friend’s horse slowly picked its way down the side of the hill and into the ruins below.
    “Am I the only one who is somewhat sane around here?” he mumbled out loud. He sat for a minute in the silence pondering his unfortunate luck, then groaned when he saw Humphrey burst out of a charred house, sans his horse, waving a large blackened stick and beginning to chase George who had just happened past. Lord Hadden was quick to defend himself with a metal tool of some kind. The men hooted and hollered and continued to playfully dodge and escape the other crunching on fragile remnants until the king slipped off his horse and approached. He could not