Sleeping Beauty (Not Quite the Fairy Tale Book 7)(21)

The forest of thorns. The machine was leading her into the mouth of the tiger. Maleficent’s domain.

“And what would she do to that stranger?” she’d asked.

“You honestly don’t want to know.”

He’d told her to relax, explained that it would be him disturbing the beast. And Maleficent wouldn’t harm her old friend. She’d bought it with difficulty.

But it wasn’t going to be the King of Ferren, proverbial knight in shining armor. It was going to be her.

Fuck.

“I can’t do this.”

Her head snapped left, catching a noise and a light. Some movement - it was far, but the robot had been right: they were chasing her with cars. They might not be crazy enough to enter Fay land, but in the quarter of a mile between her and the forest, they’d catch up with her.

Aurora closed her eyes and prayed that she wouldn’t regret it this time.

“I wish for some fucking help right now.”





Chapter 17





A Wish





The creature in front of her was positively shocking. It shouldn’t be possible to be quite so handsome – it was too much; he should have seemed effeminate with all that long hair floating and the super long lashes. He didn’t.

She knew who this was. She’d heard that he was one to smile and that his eyes were full of mischief. That wasn’t the case at all now. Rumpelstiltskin looked tired. Exhausted.

“Another one,” he grumbled. “At least now I’m done with all my goddaughters, I guess.”

She lifted a quizzical brow. “Ignore me. Baby brain. Now, let’s get this over with. I’m on nappy duty. Your wish was a little too general, narrow it down.”

Aurora bit her lip. “Can you wake up Princess Aurora, save Rupert, stop my father and his acolytes, and…”

“And get you a neon green unicorn with a yellow bow on top for your birthday, too,” he completed for her. Her shoulders sagged. Like that hadn’t been specific enough, he shook his head and said, “No. I’m not abusing magic.”

Aurora twisted her neck to look behind her again. Then she frowned. The car didn’t seem any closer.

“They’re frozen.”

“Observant. And inaccurate. We’re currently having this conversation in your mind. I’m not here. The moment we’re done, time will resume its course.”

She tried to make sense of that and decided that her head hurt enough as it was without adding another pile of unnecessary crap.

“Let’s make things simple. You have problems. All of them can be solved by one person.”

Rupert, she thought at first, but she dismissed the idea. Her gaze returned right ahead, past Rumpelstiltskin’s shoulders. Maleficent. She was the one who’d started all this from what she’d heard. And if Rupert was right, if she really was his friend, she no doubt could help now.

That left her with one little problem.

“I’ll never make it.”

“Yeah, you’re screwed.” The Fay wasn’t exactly pulling his punches. “Well, you would be without me anyway. You asked for help; I can help you get to the castle.”

Aurora beamed. “You’ll get me there.”

He bent in two, hands around his middle, and laughed out loud like that was the funniest thing he’d ever heard in his entire life. There even were tears at the corners of his eyes.

“Sorry. Yeah that’s another massive ‘no.’”

Aurora grew frustrated and impatient. “Some fairy godfather you are,” she told him, crossing her arms.

He eventually stopped laughing in her face. “You know, you’re very much like Ella, when you do this.” Aurora narrowed her eyes, tired of hearing of her resemblance to a woman she didn’t know at all. Who cared?

Rumpelstiltskin went back to the subject at hand. “Apologies. It’s just that-you think you have problems now? Make me step a foot in this place and you’ll know what problems are. That’s one sure way of starting an immortal war in this world.”

Oh. “Why?”

“Because,” said he, “I’m the last Unseelie royal, son to the Unseelie Queen. And she,” he pointed behind him, “is Queen of the Seelie realm. Her land is sacred to all of her kind. There’s peace between both of our courts right now, because we leave each other alone. Entering her domain without an invitation means starting a war that’ll destroy this world.”

Well, as far as excuses went, she’d definitely heard worse.

“Okay. So you can’t get me there. What, then?”

The Fay tilted its head before clicking his fingers.

“How about that?”

She followed his gaze, looking down at herself. Her mouth formed a perfect O, because she was stunned.

She looked freaking ridiculous. Armor covered her, from toes to her neck - comfortable, light armor made of material she wasn’t familiar with. She had a shield on her left arm and a sword in her right arm.

“It’s freaking pink!” was all she managed to say.

Rumpelstiltskin rolled his eyes. “Better?”

Looking down again, she saw it had changed to blue now. Which, yeah, was a thousand times better.

“I don’t see how this is gonna help at all.”