Work Text:
"Once upon a time, there was a princess who had been asleep in a castle a thousand years ..."
Violet slipped the dark cloak over her shoulders and fastened it at her throat with a blood red pin. As always, the moors were layered with a thick cover of mist, and she found herself smiling into it, though not a real smile. It'd been a long time since she'd tried for one of those. Instead, it was the smile she tried to bring forth whenever she was reminding herself how she liked the macabre of her life.
"Her castle was surrounded by thorns so thick that not even the most daring of rescuers dared approach her."
Half the village was convinced she didn't exist or that she was a ghost, which was preferable to the truth. At least an air of mystery and danger surrounded those two options. A recluse forced by her own actions, terrible as she'd now realized they were ... that was a hard diagnosis. She shuddered and bit her lips. There would be no remembering.
"Until one day, a daring savior came to rescue her ..."
"Violet."
She whirled, and through the mist comprehended a lone figure, dressed all in white. She looked as youthful, as beautiful, as innocent as ever - and now she was smiling, arms held out.
"Violet, come home."
"Trifle." She whispered the word, voice breaking into a thousand shattered pieces. And she ran, toward her friend, the mist tugging at her, weighing her down, but she must run, must get there ...
"But the briars were too thick by far."
She awoke with a start, panting, drenched in her own sweet, the sheets tangled around her legs. For a moment, she sat still, regarding the darkness pensively.
Then she dropped back on the pillow and sobbed.