Place your hand on hers.

SLEEPING BEAUTY

The story of a poisoned princess held captive in a cursed kingdom, fated never to wake again...

When the world shifts back into focus, you notice a drastic change in the setting. What was once a dark and dusty library basement was now an deep forest. Sunlight shone through the treetops, unburdened by clouds. The sky is almost too blue to be real.

Your outfit has changed as well. Your library-regulation jeans and polo shirt have mysteriously been transformed to black tights and a deep blue tunic. Around your shoulders, you find you have a black cloak that trails down your back. You have a brown belt as well, and a long sword hangs from your side.

The biggest shock, however, is that you are now riding on the back of a horse. Depite having never even been on one before, let alone ride, you are at ease and actually quite comfortable with the beast. As long as you don't really think about it, riding comes natural.

You look around feverously for Doe, but she is nowhere to be found. Slightly worried about being by yourself, you call out her name.

"I'm down here." Her voice rings up to you ears from below and you close your eyes with a groan.

"Please tell me you're not the horse." You say.

"Not quite." She says again, her voice almost sounds like singing. You open one eye and peer down. Sitting on the front of the horse's saddle is a small robin. It looks up at you and opens it's beak. "Hello John."

"Okay...you're a bird." You say dryly. "Awesome. At least you can talk."

"Yes, but you will probably be the only one who can understand me." She says.

"So what do we do now?" You ask. "I don't remember the story that well."

"We have to find Princess Briar Rose, who has fallen under a spell that keeps her asleep forever. She can only be awakened by..."

"A kiss." You finish, the story returning to you. Well, that's certainly a plus...you get to kiss a princess. "Well, that doesn't sound too hard."

"Yes...but getting into the castle might be." Doe says.

"Why? What's up with the..." Your words trail off as the forest ends and you and your horse trot out into the open. In the distance, you see a large castle with many tall towers in the middle of a large valley. The entire castle, and most of the valley, is covered in a massive hedge of thorns. The prickley plants entwine with one another tightly, **** off any life in the valley and providing an nearly inpenetrable wall between the castle and rest of the world. The thorns were so large and numerous, it was like another forest.

"Oh." You say simply. "Well, shit."