After the Kiss

Sleeping Beauty-Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Briar:

Briar banged on the door of Miranda's cottage, ignoring the guards who were trying to stop her. Miranda opened the door and paled when she saw who it was.

“Tell me Miranda, you always look so scared when I come to visit you. Are you hiding somebody else I care about in here?”

“No, Briar,” Miranda whispered. “What are you doing here?”

“I went down to the dungeons to have a lovely chat with Phillip, and guess what he told me while I was down there?”

“What did he say?!”

“He said that he loved me, but then suddenly his feelings changed. Isn't that curious?”

“Y-yes, very odd.”

“But I realized something. When I was in the forest with Phillip, and we were having a wonderful time, but then a strange pink spell came along and he breathed it in.”

“I told you that that was a protection spell, meant for you.”

“Don't make excuses!” Briar snapped, leaning in to face Miranda. “I know what that spell really was. It was a love spell, wasn't it?”

Miranda put her head down, looking at the floor, tears in her eyes.

“I can't believe this.”

“I'm so sorry...”

“You cannot toy with someone's emotions like that!” she shouted. “You had no right to do that! It isn't fair to me or Phillip, especially not Phillip. You're twisting his feelings, taking the ones that he has for me and turning them towards you.”

“Briar...”

“You will pay for this, mark my words. But first you must tell me how to reverse it.”

“I only did it because I love him so much. I couldn't stand the way he looked at you, the way he said your name. I wanted him to say my name like that! I didn't intend to hurt you, I didn't know that you even liked him.”

“Liked him? I love him.”

“But so do I,” Miranda said.

“Well,” Briar replied. “I suppose that we have a problem then, don't we?”

“I suppose.”

“Tell me how to reverse the spell, how to break it.”

“No,” Miranda said after a moment.

“No?” Briar was shocked.

“I won't tell you.”

“Do you know how to reverse it?”

“Yes I do,” Miranda admitted.

“But you just refuse to tell me?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Well then,” Briar continued. “This is another problem, isn't it? What should we do with you? Guards?”

They came forward. “Yes Your Highness?” one said.

“Briar, whatever you are planning to do, don't do it,” Miranda warned, narrowing her eyes.

“Are you threatening me? Guards, do you think that was a threat?”

“I'm not sure, Princess,” the second of the three said.

“What should I do?”

“If you are concerned, we will take her to the castle.”