Chapter 33: The Road Not Taken
In the mirror, a prince in gorgeous clothes appeared.
He was tall and straight, but his face was highlighted and his features were unclear. However, judging from his outline, he was probably a handsome prince.
When the prince came to the hedge, all he saw were bushes covered with beautiful flowers.
He passed through the hedge easily.
As he walked ahead, the hedges behind him closed tightly again, as if welcoming the prince's arrival.
…
Seeing this in the mirror, Aurora was puzzled: "Why did other princes come and get entangled in thorns, thistles and bushes and die miserably in this cursed land?
"When he came, all these obstacles disappeared, and even the hedges made way for him on their own? "Could it be that he is a subordinate of the black witch? So the cursed plants not only did not attack him, but made way for him instead."
Your Highness Aurora, you are indeed my teacher, as you have the same question as me. But your guess is really, really a downer, how can you not be poetic at all...
Rhine looked calm, but couldn't stop smiling in his heart.
According to the original work, Rhine believes that this is a poetic adaptation, a kind of exaggerated interpretation of destined love.
After all, in the older version of the story, "The Sun, the Moon, and Thalia," it was the king of a neighboring country who woke Sleeping Beauty up. After seeing the long-sleeping Sleeping Beauty, the monarch became attracted by her beauty and had sex with her. During the whole process, Sleeping Beauty was in an unconscious state of sleep.
But then, Sleeping Beauty gave birth to two children, the Sun and the Moon, who woke up Sleeping Beauty unconsciously by sucking on their mother.
Afterwards, Sleeping Beauty married the neighboring king who indirectly awakened her.
In comparison, the adaptations by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm are much better.
Compared with the original version, the story is changed to have a chosen prince wake up the princess instead of the rapist king, which undoubtedly better meets people's beautiful expectations for the story of princes and princesses.
The bushes and hedges gave way, the thorns faded, the trees were covered with flowers, and all the beautiful visions were to represent this beautiful moment.
However, in a fantasy world that really exists, it is difficult for Rhine to explain the reason for this strange phenomenon.
The young magician just shook his head calmly:
"I don't know either.
"Perhaps it's because, after hundreds of years, the curse of the black witch has become weak enough and can no longer be an obstacle. Or maybe it's because he is your destined lover. When he sets foot on this cursed land, even the world will bless him."
Ah? The destined lover? Aurora's eyes widened, filled with infinite doubts:
"But I don't even know him!"
…
The images in the mirror kept changing.
The prince walked through the trees that automatically moved aside, shuttled through the crimson sea of flowers, and continued to search inside.
Everything was eerily quiet.
At last he came to the old palace and opened the door of the little room where Princess Aurora had slept.
The person lying in the room is Princess Aurora!
She was sleeping soundly.
The camera immediately gave a close-up of the sleeping Princess Aurora.
Compared to today's blonde girls, Aurora in the picture is older and closer to the traditional beauty, because she was already 15 years old when she fell asleep.
The Sleeping Beauty in the mirror is as beautiful as the real girl in front of her.
There seemed to be a magic in her face that could make people's souls sink, but she did not have that sharp, indescribable temperament. She was more like a soft flower, which made people feel pity.
When the prince saw Aurora, his eyes widened and he didn't even want to blink.
As he watched, the prince couldn't help but bend down and gently kiss Princess Aurora.
Blessings are fulfilled and curses are lifted.
In the mirror, Aurora suddenly woke up!
She opened her eyes, smiled and looked at the prince who saved her with deep affection.
The prince held her in his arms and walked out of the palace.
Soon after, the sleeping curse that shrouded the kingdom gradually ended, and people woke up one after another.
However, after hundreds of years, the kingdom is no longer what it used to be. There are trees and weeds everywhere, and every house is covered with plants.
New words scrolled across the mirror:
"Soon, the prince and Aurora held a grand wedding ceremony, and they lived happily together until they grew old."
The colorful picture in the silver mirror gradually dimmed and finally disappeared into darkness.
"Ah? It's over now?" Aurora finally reacted and was very surprised.
"Among the many possibilities for the future, is this the best and most perfect ending?"
Aurora murmured in a slightly disappointed tone, "So in the end, the black witch Maleficent, the culprit, was not punished at all? She is such a powerful witch that she has already transformed herself into a real dragon. She must be able to live for many, many years.
"What if she rises up again and wants to destroy our kingdom again? Who can stop her this time? "And finally, that prince, I don't know him - he is a man from the future a hundred years later. Now, his father must not even be born yet!
"And then, we were together like this? What kind of strange development is this? " "Doesn't the blessing say that only a kiss from a loved one can break the curse? But this was the first time he saw me, and I was asleep. He couldn't even say a word to me."
"Don't relationships take time to develop?"
Princess, your way of thinking is too far ahead of the current era. Wait, did I teach you all this? How can I explain this to His Majesty the King and the Queen... Rhine chuckled:
"Who knows. Maybe it counts as love at first sight."
Rhine's tone became ethereal again:
“Your Highness, you have seen the road not taken.
"Ten years ago, on that disastrous night, there were two roads before you, one paved with flowers and poetry, the other covered with thorns and wind and rain.
"At that time, you were still too young, just a baby in swaddling clothes. I couldn't ask for your opinion, so I could only make the choice for you without authorization. You chose this path now, and you were burdened with such a heavy fate.
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"Over the past few years, the witches and I have put you through rigorous training in order to make you the warrior predicted. Moreover, we will soon embark on an unknown journey across the continent, and there may be unforeseen dangers along the way. You have paid too much to achieve your destiny. Thank you for your hard work, my princess.
"In this regard, I apologize to you for the choice I made without authorization."
After saying that, Rhine bowed deeply to the little princess in front of him.
Aurora shook her head vigorously and hurriedly helped Rhine up: "No, it's not like that. Teacher, I should thank you! I should also thank my father, the queen mother, the witch aunts and the grandmothers! Thank you.
"If my life had been the same, I would have been locked in a palace made of brass, ignorant of the world, stupid and incompetent. My literary tutor taught me that a great man once said that the greatest misfortune in the world is to be ignorant of one's own misfortune.
"It won't be long before Ende will make the truth about the curse public, and the country will be in chaos. I can only stay deep in the palace, listening to the maids telling me about the disasters in various places, and I can do nothing but cry. Of course, it is more likely that I don't understand the so-called disasters at all, because I have never stepped out of the palace.
"It is you, teacher, who gave me the opportunity to change everything myself! Thank you! "Once the affairs in the kingdom are resolved, we will embark on a journey across the continent together to find the whereabouts of the black witch. Even if the final result is not perfect, I have tried it, and there is nothing to regret..."
…
Aurora and Rhine's concerns are definitely not groundless.
Some time before Aurora's birthday, a horrific rumor had already spread throughout the Kingdom of Rose.
No one knows where this terrible prophecy began.
Maybe it was gossip in the tavern, maybe it was the nonsense of an astrologer, or maybe it was a speech given by a guest who attended the princess's christening ceremony that year.
In a short period of time, the rumor that "the kingdom was cursed by a black witch and would be destroyed in five years" spread rapidly.
Every day, the old king was busy and overwhelmed by the bad news coming from all over the world: the farmers in the fields no longer worked hard; the bakeries and wine workshops stopped operating; the wealthy people with property fled the kingdom with their families overnight; even the army with strict military discipline began to mutiny.
People on the streets said that the King of Rose was a terrible tyrant.
Everyone blamed the king for offending the terrible black witch, which put the country in danger of destruction.
Faced with more and more bad news, the white-haired old king had to make a speech, saying that even if he escaped from the kingdom, he could not escape the curse. He also promised that there was a way to end the curse before the disaster really came - the kingdom's wise man who mysteriously left 10 years ago was actually trying to dispel the curse, and it would not take long for him to succeed.
But now, people no longer believe the king's words.
Today's Kingdom of Rose is no longer the beautiful, peaceful and harmonious country it once was.
All over the country, from the capital to the small towns and then to the countryside, there was no place that was not in chaos.
Even if you walk on the street during the day, you will encounter robbers who block your way and rob you - since the kingdom will be destroyed in five years, why should you still abide by the rules?
That’s not even the worst of it.
At the most chaotic moment of the kingdom, bandits from neighboring countries also came to take a piece of the pie - they seemed to have been planning this for a long time.
The army of Ender raided the Kingdom of Rose. They invaded towns, looted, raped women, and set fire to everything.
"The Kingdom of Rose is ahead. You can take whatever you want, as much as you want. The gold and silver coins in the rich man's house, the sculptures in the city center square, the beautiful opposite sex, all belong to you! Their soldiers have long lost their will to fight, and are no longer the mighty army they used to be. They can't stop our cavalry at all!"
Before setting off, the German officers promised the soldiers this.
In fact, they did so, and what the soldiers actually did was ten times worse and more terrible than what the officers promised.
…
"No, why is that?"
In the palace, the king was in pain and despair.
Now, the old king is even older, with not a single black hair left on his head. He is not even sure how long he can hold out in the face of so much bad news.
"It must be the bastards from Ender who deliberately spread the news of the curse! It must be them! Their nobles once attended the princess's baptism ceremony and witnessed the process of the black witch Maleficent casting the curse. They know all the secrets."
(End of this chapter)