The Spinning Wheel’s Other Victim

Another dictionary writing prompt. This time the word is sleep, so of course my mind went straight to Sleeping Beauty. But I didn’t want to tell the same story over again. I also don’t want to get stuck in the pit of every story having a happy ending. Note that I don’t name the prince and princess of the story because I don’t have enough knowledge of what I can legally post using their names. So just know that I am referring to the Disney characters in those instances.

Sleep-noun-: the natural, easily reversible periodic state of many living things that is marked by the absence of wakefulness and by the loss of consciousness of one’s surroundings, is accompanied by a typical body posture (such as lying down with the eyes closed), the occurrence of dreaming, and changes in brain activity and physiological functioning, is made up of cycles of non-REM sleep and REM sleep, and is usually considered essential to the restoration and recovery of vital bodily and mental functions

We all know the story of the Princess who pricked her finger and fell into an enchanted sleep. We know she was awoken by true love’s kiss and lived happily with her Prince. That is the story that was told through the generations. The story that wasn’t told though, was about the maid who found the spinning wheel after the princess was awoken. Her name was Lynn and her life was never a fairy tale.

The wedding between the Prince and Princess finally took place after five years. The nightmare of evil that had fallen upon the Kingdom was erased for good. The Prince and Princess were travelling to his homelands to start the process of combining the Kingdoms once her parents passed. Lynn was one of the maids in charge of cleaning out the princess’s chambers.

When Lynn entered the room that day the windows were open to let in the summer breeze. She was glad too because she was dreading this next task. The Princess had refused to use these rooms since she woke up five years ago, so the ash left in the fireplace was very old. No one was planning on using this room again, but everyone had pride in the castle and wanted the room to be cleaned and ready whenever needed. Lynn sat down in front of the fireplace with her supplies and got to work. The ash started flying immediately and Lynn tried to keep her face protected. However, some found its way into her mouth and nose. Almost immediately Lynn went into a sort of trance.

Nobody knew it but the ash was still infused with the magic that had trapped the Princess. Lynn no longer had control of herself. She started to hear a voice calling to her. Tempting her to follow a mystical green light. And in a small part of her mind Lynn knew she needed to fight this, but she just wasn’t strong enough.

The wall behind the fireplace disappeared and a short corridor appeared leading to spiral staircase. After the kingdom had awoken the King and Princess had ordered for the room to be found that had contained the spinning wheel. But nobody could find a path that led to the room. Lynn kept climbing what felt like a never-ending staircase. She wanted more than anything to fight this trance and to run to a guard, but as the top of the stairs came into view Lynn felt the last of her strength leaving her.

At the top of the stairs was an open circular chamber. It was nothing more than bare walls and two open windows. An unremarkable and forgotten room in the vast old castle. In the center of the room was the only spinning wheel left in the kingdom.

From somewhere far away Lynn heard her name being called. It belonged to Sir Drew, a young knight that had been courting Lynn for the last several months. He must have snuck up to keep her company while she was cleaning. Lynn’s heart swelled. Drew would save her, just as the prince had saved the princess. She put all her hope into that last thought. She could hear footsteps running up the stairs behind her. She stretched out her hand as Drew made it to the top of the stairs crying out her name again.

Then she pricked her finger on the needle and Lynn fell to the floor.

Sir Drew ran over to her at once. There was no life in her limp form. He knew the princess’s story just like everyone else in the Kingdom. He did not hesitate; he leaned down and kissed her lips.

Nothing happened. he whispered her name and proclaimed his love before trying again. Lynn remained motionless. Drew did not want to think about what that could mean so he scooped her body up in his arms and walked back down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, he saw several guards and maids who had been alerted to his yelling. two of the guards went straight up the stairs to once and for all destroy the spinning wheel. The maids all gathered around Sir Drew and Lynn and guided him into the next room with the bed. One dashed from the room to find the doctor and to alert the fairies.

It felt like hours that Drew sat there staring at Lynn when the doctor and the three good fairies entered the room. They all examined Lynn in every way possible both physically and magically. Then the blue fairy drifted over to drew and the waiting crowd of maids.

The curse that had been bestowed upon the Princess and the spinning wheel had been meant to kill her. it had been the blue fairy who had given the Princess the protection of an eternal sleep, till true love’s kiss, that had prevented death. No other victims of the spinning wheel would be protected as the Princess had. Drew fell to his knees as the realization hit him. Lynn had died the second she touched the needle on the spinning wheel, and she was never going to wake up.

Fairy tales happen. The villains can be defeated. We all accept this as a fact. What we need to start remembering is that not all victims survive. And they leave behind loved ones who need to learn how to survive without them. This is what Lynn’s story teaches us.