The Thornprincess

Once upon a time...

... there was a kingdom that bore the name Albion. A King with a magic sword once bravely defended his kingdom against his enemies and brought them a time of peace. He married a noble lady from another realm beyond the sea, a beauty called Guinevere, whose sight made even the most virtuous hearts stumble. At her side, the royal couple had a wise man known throughout the land as the wizard Merlin.

So it happened that at a time when the Emperor and queen had defeated their enemies, King Arthur and his wife were blissfully expecting their first child. Only a short time later, a beautiful daughter was born to them on a tender spring morning. They affectionately named Aurelia because that meant 'the golden one,' and she was their most significant treasure. The whole country rejoiced and celebrated the birth of the princess. So, understandably, it was the king's wish to give his daughter a great feast.

Everyone of distinction was a guest at Camelot Castle, and they celebrated for three days and three nights, dancing under the sun and twinkling stars. Even the 12 fairies of the realm came to the celebration, and among them was the Lady of Avalon, Nimue, herself. Only the 13th fairy was not invited, for she was mistress of the Dark Court and had devoted herself to dark magic.

Everyone offered gifts to the princess, whether peasant or nobleman. Soon the presents piled up from near and far, and finally, it was the fairies' turn. But fairies are not made for worldly things and are not attracted to trinkets and jewelry, as humans are. So their gifts were not boxes full of gold, fabrics from the Orient, or shimmering jewelry, but of a different nature.

The first of the fairies benevolently gave the king's daughter the beauty of a blossoming rose. The next one was the happiness of thousands of leaves of fresh clover; the third gave her the skill of a cat... And so they continued with their blessings and gifts until only the Lady of Avalon herself remained.

The beautiful sorceress stepped to the princess's cradle when dark clouds covered the sun's golden glow. Under the roar of the wind and ominous thunder, the 13th fairy appeared uninvited at the feast. Full of anger and resentment that she was the only one not invited, she pronounced a dark curse on the innocent child:

On her 16th birthday, the girl should prick her finger on a spindle and die.

Hardly spoken and her dark work accomplished, she disappeared with resounding laughter, already sure of her revenge for the insult. 
Full of concern for the life of his child, King Arthur roared. He declared the fairy to be the enemy of Camelot and was immediately ready to draw the magic sword against the sprite because if he found her and killed her, her dark spell could not possibly be fulfilled. So he also wanted to take away her dark life with Excalibur. Even the wizard Merlin was hardly able to appease the king.

Then the Lady of Avalon and wisest of the fairies approached the king and queen and offered them help, for she had not yet forgiven their gift. Even if she could not solve the dark curse, she at least wanted to soften it: the poor girl should not prick her finger and die but only fall into a deep sleep for 100 years.

What may sound mild could hardly restrain the grief in the parents' hearts. Unlike the fairy folk, humans and their lives were not endless. So the king ordered all the spinning wheels in the country to be collected and burned. For Seven Days and Seven Nights, peasants, soldiers, fairies, and goblins gathered every spinning wheel in the remotest corners of the realm. Soon great pyres blazed in every town and village, and the mountains of burning spinning wheels lit up the nights until even the last one was reduced to ashes.

But the king and queen's hearts were still heavy. They did not want to lose their dearest daughter, and dark dreams plagued them at night.
So that the poor parents could find happiness again, the Lady of the Lake took the girl with her to Avalon so that she could live there safely until her 18th year was over and the danger would be banished.

But fate cannot be cheated.

Despite the fog, hidden home, burnt spinning wheels, and care of fairies and humans, they could not save Aurelia from the inevitable. 

And so it came to pass, as it had been foretold...