The Dark Fairy

Chapter Fifteen

Hidden within the shadows cast by the decorative statues within the throne room, Carabosse watched Aurora being prepped for the day's events. The queen and the rosebush twins fluttered and flapped around Aurora, whose look of dread matched that of her father's, who sat on his throne beside her.

Aurora was sat upon her very own decorative, golden throne in-between her parents. It glistened in the daylight that shone through the numerous stained-glass windows. The golden shine reflected on her long, blonde hair, that was wrapped in perfect waves around a pink and red stoned tiara. Those waves also flowed delicately over her silk, baby-pink dress that looked weightless upon her form and draped down to her white sparkling shoes.

"You look wonderful, Aurora, I am sure these suitors will fall head over heels for you!" the queen gushed over her daughter.

A wicked smile stretched across Carabosse's hidden face.

"Indeed! You are pretty beyond words!" Fleurine squeaked excitedly, not able to hide the nervousness she felt for her twin sister's godchild.

"I'll go and see if the royal guests are ready," Cezanne announced with a curtsy then flew quickly out of the double doors. Carabosse followed close behind, moving so quickly and quietly that nobody around detected her.

The four suitors stood in the corridor, waiting, dressed in brightly coloured formal outfits. Each one of them looked so different. One was tall and lanky, with red hair and freckles, another was short, had tanned skin and light brown, shoulder length hair. The third along the line was a tall, dark haired lad, with a strong frame and the fourth was shorter and fair haired with a similar frame.

Carabosse recognised the faces of the latter two, which made her briefly think of Claudia, Aurora's lady's maid and best friend.

The only thing that the four suitors had in common were the white rose bouquets that they all held in their hands. An evil glint entered Carabosse's black eyes when she saw that her influence within the town worked like a charm; mysteriously, word had got around that the Princess's favourite gift in all the world was a bouquet of white roses, and not one of the suitors dared to turn up empty handed.

"You'll all get to meet Princess Aurora," Cezanne told the group of young men. Three of them looked quite nervous, but the fourth looked extremely confident. So confident that he looked down his nose at the other three.

"To make this process less daunting for the princess, you'll be going in individually," continued Cezanne as she fiddled with the twisted, vine wand in her fairy hands. "You shall go in alphabetical order, so, André, son of Pierre - the King's right hand man, you shall go in first."

The dark haired lad strolled confidently behind Cezanne, towards the double doors and threw a smug look at the lads that he was temporarily leaving behind.

"Hmm," Carabosse laughed quietly to herself. "André, I remember you. She passed you over before and she'll do so again."

Carabosse barely got those words out of her mouth before André stormed back through the double doors, empty handed and dejected.

He marched past the other suitors and with a quick angry glance he hissed, "Good luck! You're going to need it!"

He then mumbled something else that only Carabosse seemed to catch. It sounded like "That foolish little cow!" Of course, if anybody else heard him he would have been reprimanded immediately, but nobody said anything, they just watched him stomp away and disappear through the front doors.

"Beau, son of the Kingdom's richest merchant, you are next," Cezanne called from the open double doors.

The red haired lad rushed clumsily into the throne room and Cezanne closed the doors quietly behind them. The last two suitors exchanged a look and tried to eavesdrop on what was being said, but all they could hear was muffled voices. This meeting was lasting a little longer, which seemed promising to those standing in the corridor. However, Carabosse's knowing smirk didn't fade at all.