She wasn't in her tower? Lila was furious. They weren't inviting her because of that?

She had put a spell on the queen in the first place so that the queen could have a child.

She was the one who had done all the work, yet she was the one who wasn't being invited to the baby naming, all because she had been out looking for a peculiar flower during the very hour when they had sent the messenger to invite her.

Well, I'll go anyway," she said aloud. "If only to pay my respects to the new child.

Lila clapped her hands, and her traveling cloak flew through the air to land on her back. Then she flexed her gossamer wings and lifted off, flying faster than an arrow toward the castle.

The king and queen welcomed her warmly, or so she thought, as she entered. They had said something along the lines of "We always appreciate the presence of a fairy." Lila grinned inwardly. Of course they appreciate a fairy's presence: each fairy gave a magical gift to the new baby at every naming that they were at. She had already thought of the gift to give: that of character. Most fairies gave visible gifts, but Lila knew better: it was what was on the inside that really mattered.

She was also able to greet each fairy as they entered, which was nice. She hadn't seen any of her twelve sisters in decades, and there was so much to catch up on.

She was in the middle of a conversation with Aur when she saw something peculiar. The king and queen were talking quietly together in a corner together. They looked over at her frequently, often with worried glances on their faces. Lila politely excused herself from the conversation and flew outside, circling around the castle to enter through a -blocked- Before she did so, however, she cast an invisibility spell on herself, and listened in on the royal couple's conversation. It was about her, that much she had figured out from their behavior. She arrived to hear the tail end of their conversation.

So, what should we do about her?" the king was asking his wife.

Let her stay, I guess," the queen replied. "You can't tell a fairy to leave.

Yes, but what do we do about her being here?

Give her the silver, I suppose.

The king nodded, and absented himself. Presumably, Lila thought, to find the chef and tell him to put out another place setting. She removed the spell and looked around for something to do, just in time to see the arrival of the thirteenth fairy, Zimanah, who was the youngest. As soon as she had settled herself in, the queen announced that it was time for the Naming.

Lila watched as the baby was officially named Rose, and everyone in the hall cheered. The king and queen embraced, and the meal began. Everyone was led to their seats, and Lila was distracted with thoughts of what was coming after the meal: the blessings.

She looked down at the table and saw that the king and queen had made accommodations for her: she had been given silver utensils and a silver plate. The fairy hoped she hadn't inconvenienced them too much. Lila began to eat, resolving to thank the monarchs for their hospitality after dinner.

It wasn't until midway through the first course that Lila noticed her sisters staring at her. "What's wrong?" she mouthed silently at Aur.

Her sister said nothing in response, but held up her own fork and gestured at Lila's. That was when she noticed. Lila looked up and down the table. All around her, people were eating with silver, as she was… except for the fairies. Each of the other twelve fairies was eating with beautiful pure-gold utensils and plates. The conversation Lila had heard before took on new meaning for her: the king and queen weren't accommodating her, they were embarrassing her!

She grumbled, realizing that she was being slighted. Vaguely, she wondered why the couple should think less of her. She had never been anything but courteous to them. Slowly, a reddish hue crept up her cheeks. She silently cursed, thinking about how stupid it was for a fairy to show embarrassment.

Finally, Lila finished dinner. It was time to deliver the blessings. Briefly, at dinner, she had considered cursing the child instead of blessing her, but she discarded the thought. A few minutes of humiliation for a lifetime of pain? That wasn't fair. So she waited for dessert to be served.

The dog, Mopsey, entered the room and lay down by the table. Dessert was brought out soon after, and Lila shrank back in disgust. Blackberries. She hated blackberries. The way they stained everything purple, the way the little pieces stuck in your teeth, even the fact that it was impossible to find a ripe one, and the unripe ones tasted awful. After centuries of searching for tasty ones, she gave it up as a lost cause and refused to eat them ever again. Why did the king choose this meal to serve? Everyone knows that I hate blackberries, Lila thought to herself, and convinced herself that, though the king was old, he still would have remembered. She had no choice but to conclude that this was more of his game of embarrassing her.

The servant came around with the platter full of blackberries and offered them to Lila. She politely refused, but he was insistent. She looked around, her gaze finally settling on the king, who gave her an encouraging smile and made a hand gesture that she took as "Eat them!" She looked across the table at Aur, who was frantically motioning to the king to have his servant move along, but he wasn't listening. People were starting to look at her strangely. All the gesturing was drawing people's gazes, and every single one fell on her. She wished she could use an invisibility spell.

That, of course, was when the dog intervened. It jumped up and ran over to her, grabbing the hem of her dress in its teeth. It pulled, and Lila tried to grab it back, but instead she heard a loud rip. She tried harder to save it, but the rip traveled further and further. Lila looked at the king, wishing he would call the dog off; he was sitting there in silence.

Eventually, a piece ripped off, and she was freed, her beautiful rowan-fiber dress, however, was ruined. Inwardly, she cursed. It had taken nearly a half-century to make the dress. A female servant hurried her out of the room and gave her a dress to change into. Fifteen minutes later, she was back in her seat, wearing a loose-fitting, gray servant's dress. The only positive to the situation was that she hadn't had to eat those horrible berries. Lila grumbled: she'd have rather eaten the berries than ripped her beautiful dress.

Finally, it was time for the blessings. This was the last thing she had to do, and then she could go back to the blessed seclusion of her tower. Of course, she was chosen to give her blessing last.

Of anything that had happened that day, this was the worst. Lila was the eldest, it was her right to go first. Instead, that stuck-up Regesha went first, blessing the girl with something stupid, like beauty. Rose was given such things as the gifts of Song, Dance, Talent with Musical Instruments, and so on. Each time a fairy gave a blessing, Lila's mood got gradually worse, until she had decided on what she would do.

She walked up to the dias and called a cold wind to blow through the hall. She amplified her voice to make it loud and deep, terrifying. Then she spoke to the king and queen, visibly shaking with spite. "In her fifteenth year, your daughter shall prick her finger with a spindle and die from that wound. So be it." Then she cast about herself a spell of invisibility, and appeared to vanish.

Was it worth it? she asked herself. Yes, definitely. You don't humiliate a fairy. Ever. This silly king had to be taught a lesson.

But was it fair?

Everyone was quiet for a few minutes, then Zimanah stepped forward. With shock, Lila realized that her youngest sister hadn't given a blessing yet.

Zimanah had also amplified her voice, but it wasn't terrifying. Reassuring was closer. "O King and Queen, your daughter shall not die of this disaster. It is true, I have no power to undo entirely what my elder has done. The princess shall indeed prick her finger with a spindle; but, instead of dying, she shall fall into a century-long sleep, at the end of which a king's son shall come and awake her."

Lila was furious. After all of her embarrassment at these monarchs' hands, they were getting away with a hundred-year slumber? She sped home, and resolved to wait out the fifteen years in solitude, possibly making herself a new dress in the mean time.

Fifteen Years Later

Lila was tired. For the last few years she had wondered about the wisdom of her curse. It had only been an hour or two of embarrassment. She wished she had just scared them, instead of actually cursing the child. Nevertheless, Fate bound her to do what she was about to do. She put on her cloak and flew to the top of the castle, alighting on it and pulling out a spindle and began to spin flax.

Minutes later, the princess came up the stairs. Lila and Rose chatted together for a little bit. She seemed like a nice girl, and she hated to do what she knew she had to do. Finally, it happened.

May I please try that?" Rose said, indicating the spindle.

Please don't-" Lila began, but the fifteen-year old girl snatched the spindle out of her hands. In so doing, however, she inadvertently sliced her finger open. Instantly, Rose's eyes fluttered, and she fell. Lila caught her, and lay her on the ground, next to the spindle. Apologetically, the fairy healed the wound on the girl's finger, just in time to hear the touch of feet on the floor. Lila turned and saw Aur.

I'm sorry," both said at the same time.

I know you didn't want this," Aur said softly.

I'm sorry you have to deal with it. Keep her safe. Please."

Aur nodded, and Lila flew out the -blocked- Later, she felt magic being done at the castle, and she decided to add her bit.

Lila flew around the castle perimeter, dropping seeds and magicking them. Less than an hour later, there was a five-foot high barrier of thorns around the castle, and they were still growing. By the time she was done, Lila had created a wall of briars all around the castle that was so tall and thick that you couldn't see a single stone.

Exhausted, she returned home, resolved that the princess would now not be harmed by anyone while she was asleep.

Fifty Years Later

Lila had been busy. For the last fifty years, she had been checking in on the child, Rose, touching her head and filling it with wonderful dreams about what was happening in the world. She apologized for Rose's slumber, and told her that when she awoke, a handsome prince would be there. She had already set in motion the events that would unfold later in the girl's life: deposing the king and setting up a new one, whose son's son's son would be Rose's husband. Lila had Looked into her crystal ball and found the most handsome suitor, and made events happen accordingly. She wished that she could discourage all the suitors, though… they came in swarms, each hoping to be the one to marry the sleeping beauty. She hated having to kill them, but it did seem to stem the tide a bit.

Her crystal ball flashed, and she smiled. The fairy got up and flew to the tower of the castle where the princess was being held. She carefully crept through the window and laid her hand upon Rose's brow.

The world flashed and a mist broke out, concealing everything except for a beautiful girl's form.

Lila?" Rose's voice was like a bird's at dawn, soft and sweet.

Hello, child. How are you feeling?" Lila responded, looking at the girl who she had helped come to be.

The mist faded, and the world returned. Lila stood there for a few minutes, still amazed that Rose loved her. Then she realized she had never told the girl that it was she who had caused the curse. All of a sudden she felt very ashamed. Almost, she went back into the dream to tell her, but decided against it. She flew back to her tower to prepare for the upcoming events.

Fifty Years Later

It was nearly time. One hundred years, the princess had slept. One hundred years, suitors had died trying to get in to see her. One hundred years, Lila had been planning. One hundred years, Lila had been going to see she who she now viewed as a daughter. One hundred years since the curse had been laid. One hundred years, Lila had kept a secret from the girl. One hundred years were almost up.

It was nearly time.

***

Lila hid herself in the tree above his head. He was as handsome as she had Seen. Now all that it took were a few key steps, and all of her plans would snowball away, beyond her control, but ending ultimately with her goal.

Lila gestured, and a white stag appeared on the ground, cantering around in a circle, then veering off into the trees. At first she thought he hadn't seen her illusion, then he vaulted onto his horse and galloped after it. She grinned. It was nearly time.

Over the land, she sent the stag, prince following closely behind, until he reached the Briar Patch she had made. Then, the stag vanished, and the prince looked around, bewildered, then he saw, through the thinning briars, towers of stone. Confused, he went to the nearest village.

The fairy flew up to the tower and touched the princess' brow. Again, a mist appeared from nothing and Rose appeared. Lila!" she exclaimed, running to embrace her.

Sadly, Lila hugged back. "Child, it is nearly time for you to leave this place."

And the fog dissipated to the sound of Rose's last words: "I thought you loved me...

***

Lila wept on the floor for several hours. When she sat up, she looked around: night had passed. She flicked her wrist, and knew that below, as the prince dismounted, that the briars had turned into beautiful flowers, and would change back when he had gone through the newly-created archway. She sadly flew back to her tower, deciding to Watch the events through her crystal ball.

Lila got to her home just in time to see the princess wake at the prince's kiss, and felt the whole castle awakening. She lowered the wall of briars, to allow entrance. And as Rose left the room, she whispered quietly to no one in particular: "I do love you, my dear sleeping beauty. And I have, though unknowingly, for one hundred years."