No. 70

Prompt: Any Fairy Tale, Any, Dreams of war, dreams of lies, dreams of dragon’s fire and of baked apple pie.
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Aurora slept. Princes came and went. They battled their way through the thicket of thorns, and when they regaled her with their exploits, she dreamed.

Of war, and dragon's fire.

Of lies, because none of them loved her. None of them cared for her. They were only interested in marrying her to win her kingdom.

So when they kissed her, she slept, and she dreamed on.

Over time, the thicket of thorns stayed beaten down, the dragon-witch did not return, and school children were trotted past her bed as a reminder of the dangers of magic and witches and spindles. Most of the caretakers who flitted through her room between groups of school children said nothing to her, just hummed to themselves or spoke to others on their magical communication devices or were silent as they bathed her, changed her clothes, rearranged her limbs, changed the linens on the bed.

Most of them, except for Molly, who chattered about anything and everything, from the gossip about marriages in the village to who she fancied voting for as village elder next voting cycle. And then one day she said,

"I found a book about you. Princess Aurora. In a dusty corner of the library. It had pictures. You were a beautiful child. It said your favorite treat was apple pie. Do you miss it?"

She did. She missed it so fiercely that whenever she was alone she dreamed of it, the taste, the scent, the texture of the crust crumbling on her tongue. One day she dreamed it so vividly she could smell it.

Molly said, "Is it cruel, for me to eat a slice of apple pie next to your bed? Only I thought the smell might cheer you up."

Aurora opened her eyes.