A/n: Ooh! Thanks for reading! This is a really good story, and I swear you'll enjoy it! By the way, I wrote this beginning to sound like an old-fashioned fairy tale. I can assure you the rest of the story won't be written like this! Please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Gail Carson Levine's characters or places.

Prologue

Once upon a time, there was a fair king and queen, called Charmont the Bold and Eleanor the Clever. Together, they ruled the kingdom of Kyrria.

The kingdom was changed forever the day Queen Ella gave birth to a daughter. The couple joyously named her Eleanor, like all daughters born to the Eleanor line, but decided to call her Nora Rose, after her rosy pink cheeks.

All of importance were invited to an elegant ball, where Char and Ella announced the betrothal of their daughter to Sidney, prince of Ayorthia. The prince, although just a toddler, was wide eyed and excited when he peered over the cradle to see the babe. His parents, King Raleigh and Queen Hailey, stood proudly next to their son, also eager to greet their future daughter-in-law.

Many brought gifts, but none were as coveted as those presented by Allegra, Ginny, Valerie, Diana, Sylvia, and Estelle, the famous fairies. They were the sisters of Mandy, Nora Rose's godmother.

Mandy, as the eldest, was the first to present her gift. "Dear child, you will posses the most wonderful grace in the kingdom," she said. "I know you won't be inheriting it from your mother."

The court laughed and erupted into cheers of approval. Queen Ella hugged Mandy gratefully.

Next, Allegra stepped forward. "Nora Rose, my gift to you is beauty," she said. "You will be the most beautiful girl in any kingdom."

Again the court started cheering. They continued to do so when Ginny gave her gift of "angelic wit," when Valerie presented her with the ability to dance, when Diana granted her the talent of playing music, and when Sylvia bestowed upon her the gift of voice, so she could "sing like a nightingale."

But just as Estelle stepped up to give Nora Rose her gift, the smell of lilacs filled the hall. Queen Ella gasped. Lucinda. Although once relatively normal, Lucinda had become more and more demented as the years past. She and Char had decided against inviting her for the sake of their daughter. Suddenly, the fairy appeared in front of them and bowed deeply. She looked slightly crazed and foolish; a smile was plastered on her face and her hair was askew and messy.

"Why, what an adorable child," Lucinda cawed, strolling to the cradle and peering in.

King Charmont chuckled nervously. "Yes, isn't she?" she said.

Lucinda turned to him and his wife, her eyes wide. "Although I wasn't invited to your daughter's little celebration, you simply must let me bestow a gift upon her," she said nonchalantly.

Ella and Char glanced at each other. "That's not necessary, Lucinda," said Ella carefully, trying to sound grateful.

Lucinda glared at her. "Oh, but it is," she said, turning to the babe. "This child will be-"

"No!" screamed Ella, thinking of her own childhood curse.

"-both beautiful and witty, but she will be cursed," shrieked Lucinda, over Ella's cries. "On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on a spindle and die!"

The hall erupted into cries of horror, and Lucinda began laughing manically. In a violaceous flash, she was gone. Nora Rose began to cry, as if she too knew her fate. Ella flew to the cradle and picked up her baby, rocking her quietly, tears streaming down her own face. Char held Ella, looking sadly around the hall.

Estelle stepped forward. "Your majesties," she said.

"Not now, Estelle," said Char, distracted. "Now is not the time for a fairy gift."

"But your highness, I can help you!" she squeaked.

King Charmont stood up and walked to Estelle, towering over her. "You can reverse Lucinda's curse?" he said, kneeling down to look her in the eye.

Estelle shook her head sadly. "No, your highness, I can not," she said. "I can however, alter it."

Queen Ella looked up from placing Nora Rose in her cradle. "How?" she asked.

Estelle stepped up to the cradle, standing on her toes to see the child. "When Nora Rose pricks her finger, she will not die," she said. "She will, instead, fall into a deep sleep, wonderfully preserved, until she receives true love's first kiss. Only then can she be awoken."

Silence enveloped the hall, until Prince Sidney burped loudly. Eyes suddenly focused on him, realizing who he was. True love's first kiss! The hall became all atwitter in gossip and giggles.

King Charmont sighed. "It will have to do," he said.

Ella took Estelle's hand. "Thank you," she said, "but I do not think it will be enough."

"What do you mean?" asked Estelle.

"Fear not," replied Ella. "I have a plan."

The next day, by royal decree, King Charmont and Queen Ella had every spindle in Kyrria burned. And that night, under the cover of darkness, Nora Rose was taken from her comfortable castle in Frell, far, far into the woods. There, she was taken care of by her appointed guardians, her aunties Allegra, Ginny, and Estelle.

A/n: I assume that you've figured out that this is based on Sleeping Beauty. Well, you were partially right. But it's a lot more interesting than that, and there are a lot of twists that you wouldn't think of soon to come. Now please review!