Sleeping Beauty Part 2

My name is Briar Rose. Growing up I always had two rules: Always obey my caretaker Agnes and never, ever spend time with a man.

I've lived my entire life in a cottage in the middle of the woods with Agnes. She is the only human I've ever known, although I've received letters from my mother and father, the King and Queen. But for all I know, Agnes wrote them herself.

Agnes told me I'm a princess, whisked away to the middle of nowhere because an evil fairy cast a curse on me when I was a baby. "Why would anyone want to curse a baby?" I asked.

"Because she wasn't invited to your christening," Agnes told me.

I frowned. "That doesn't seem like a good reason to curse a baby."

Agnes shrugged. "She is evil. That's what evil people do."

I looked down at the scarf I was knitting and frowned. That didn't seem right. I had never seen anyone in person except for Agnes but I couldn't comprehend someone being completely evil.

"What is this curse?" I asked.

"On your 18th birthday, you'll get pricked by a spindle on a spinning wheel and die." She lowered her eyes and I knew she was lying.

It didn't make sense anyway. If it was going to happen on my 18th birthday, why did I have to be isolated for all the years before that? And why was it necessary for me to be away from people if spinning wheels were the problem?

I could only come to one conclusion: the curse didn't exist. I probably wasn't even a princess. I knew Agnes had the best of intentions so I pretended to believe her, but I was sure the unpleasant truth was I was abandoned as a baby in the middle of the woods and Agnes took me in out of the goodness of her heart.

***

I woke up on my 18th birthday with some nervousness. I would finally have to confront Agnes about the story. After all, this was the day I was supposed to get "cursed". I went downstairs to find her baking a cake in the kitchen. She looked up and smiled at me. "Briar Rose, be a dear and gather some dandelion flowers. They'll look charming on your cake. Oh, and happy birthday, my princess."

I smiled. "Thank you, Agnes." I kissed her cheek before grabbing my wicker basket and heading outside. It was a warm day with a slight breeze, which made me smile. I twirled around with my arms spread, enjoying the feel of the sun on my skin.

Humming a song to myself, I walked around the forest, picking the dandelion flowers. When my basket was full, I gathered a few more and sat down on the ground, making a dandelion crown by braiding the stems together. A crown for a "princess". I smiled wryly as I put the flowers on my head.

"Hello there," a voice called out. "I never expected to see a flower nymph in these woods."

I jumped to my feet, looking around. The voice was strange, deeper than any voice I had heard. "Who are you?" I said.

I saw a man approaching me on a horse. I knew it was a man because I had seen illustrations of them in picture books. He was much bigger than I imagined. He stopped the horse and dismounted. Even on the ground he was at least a head taller than me. "It's okay," he said. "I don't wish to frighten you. My name is Brendan. I'm a prince visiting the nearby Kingdom, but it looks like I got lost during my morning ride." He grinned sheepishly. "Do you think you could point me in the right direction?"

"My name is Briar Rose, my lord." I made an awkward curtsy. "I'm afraid I don't know. I've never been to the Kingdom. But I live with a woman named Agnes. She might know the way."

His brow furrowed. "You've never been to the Kingdom? Have you never left these woods?"

I shook my head. "To tell you the truth, my lord, I've never seen a man before yourself." I hesitated. I knew princes weren't to be trifled with. Agnes had been very clear on men being predators who only wanted to use women for their own devices. Nightmares about men plagued me when I was little because of her tales.

But Brendan was nice. It was obvious he could overpower me easily but he hadn't made a move towards that yet. So I doubted he wanted to. Men was probably just another thing Agnes had lied about. "If you don't mind, could I get closer?"

"Of course you can," he said, smiling gently. "You've truly never seen a man before?"

"Truly, my lord." I stepped closer.

"Brendan is just fine." He looked down at me with kind eyes, but there was something else there, something I didn't recognize.

I was fascinated with seeing him up close. His jaw was square and much sharper than mine and his throat had a slight bulge. I reached up to touch it, fascinated.

Brendan drew in his breath sharply and I pulled back. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," he said, his voice hoarse. "You didn't. You can continue, if you'd like."

I touched his throat again. "What's this called?"

"It's called an Adam's apple. All men have it." The Adam's apple moved slightly when he talked. It felt weird.

I traced my hand down his neck to his collarbone and then his chest. I gasped when I felt it. It was made of hard muscle. Even through his shirt I could feel muscles unlike anything I had ever experienced before. Wanting a better look, I started to unbutton his shirt.

"Wait," Brendan said. He reached up to grab my hands. He was breathing heavier than normal.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing, it's just, I like you touching me a little too much. I don't want to hurt you."

"What do you mean?"

He looked away, his cheeks flushing slightly. "It's hard to explain."

"Maybe you can show me?" I asked

He looked back at me suddenly, surprised. "Has your guardian told you nothing about what happens between men and women?"

"She has, but I don't really believe her. She said men use women for their own pleasure, and hurt women in the process. She wouldn't tell me more than that."

"Some men do. But it doesn't have to be that way. Women can enjoy it as well."

"Enjoy what?" I was so lost about what he was talking about.

"Maybe I can show you," he whispered. His eyes were dark with that unknown emotion. He linked his fingers through mine and gently pulled me closer to him. "Just a little."

Brendan leaned down and put his lips against mine. Surprise ran through me and my first instinct was to pull away, but I wanted to know. To learn about men. So I stayed still.

His lips were gentle and as I relaxed, I realized it felt... good. I wanted more of it. And as he kissed me, heat stirred between my legs in a way I had never felt before.

Brendan pulled back and looked down at me, his gaze searching. "How did that feel?"

"That was amazing," I gasped. "What was that?"

"A kiss," he said.

"Could you... kiss me again?"

"Gladly." He lowered his mouth to mine again and we continued to kiss. I tried to mimic the movements he made with his lips but I still felt awkward and unsure.

He broke off again, breathing hard.

"What's wrong?" Had I been that bad at kissing?

"If we continue, I'll want to do more," he said. Brenden pulled away from me and sat down on the ground, leaning up against a tree.

I kneeled down next to him. "What do you mean by more?"

"Something you're not ready for."

I frowned. "How would you know that? I'm 18. I'm ready for a lot more than you know."

"Trust me, if I did what I wanted to you right now, I'd be everything your guardian says men are." He wouldn't meet my gaze.

I was frustrated with him skirting around the topic. I felt like I was being lied to all over again. I crawled on top of him, straddling him with my legs so he would be forced to look at me. As I did, I felt a hard bulge press up against me between my legs. It felt good, but unlike anything I had ever felt before. "I don't care what Agnes says. I want to know. And I trust you, Brendan. I want you to teach me."

He reached out and brushed a strand of my hair out of my eyes. "It could hurt you, Briar Rose. I could hurt you."

"You won't," I said. "I know you won't."

"Very well." Brendan leaned forward and kissed me again. This time he wrapped his arms around me as he did so. I relaxed against him and put my arms around his waist.

He broke the kiss just to trail kisses away from me and down my face to my neck. It felt so good, sending thrills of pleasure through my entire body and I gasped with each kiss, unable to help myself.

"Stop me if you ever feel uncomfortable," Brendan murmured against my skin.

Why would I ever want to stop something that felt as wonderful as this?

His hands roamed my body over my dress, moving from my legs to my bottom and trailing to the front of my bodice where he cupped my breasts. I moaned slightly as he kneaded them through the dress.

With deft hands, he undid the laces of my dress and pulled it down to expose my breasts. "You're so beautiful," he whispered before lowering his mouth to my breast and taking one of my nipples into his mouth. I moaned. The pleasure was more intense than anything I had ever experienced before. He flicked my nipple with his tongue, sending sparks through me. I ran my fingers through his dark hair, keeping his head against my breast, not wanting it to stop.

I felt myself grow wet between my legs. What was that feeling? I didn't understand it. But it felt so good. Better than anything I had ever felt before.

"Briar Rose!" I heard a shriek and looked up to see Agnes, horrified. "Get away from that man this instant.

I pulled away from Brendan immediately and covered my breasts, still panting hard. "It's all right, Agnes," I said. "He wasn't hurting me. He's kind."

She was angrier than I had ever seen her before, but she also looked afraid. "I told you to stay away from men," she hissed.

I pulled my arm out of her grasp. "You lied to me about men! They aren't cruel! Brendan is nice."

Brendan stood up. "I meant no harm, ma'am. My name is Brendan. I'm a prince visiting a nearby Kingdom--"

"I don't care who you are," Agnes snapped. "Leave us. Now. And never return."

"Ma'am--"

"Go!"

I couldn't believe how rude Agnes was being to him. "How dare you," I said. "He hasn't been anything but nice to me and you're horrible to him."

"It's for your own good. All this planning, all these years in the middle of nowhere, and you try to mess it up now, on your 18th birthday! You know how dangerous this day is for you."

"Are you talking about that curse again? Well, guess what? I know I'm not a princess, I know I've never been cursed, and I know you're a huge liar!" I spat those words at her and ran away, not turning back even as she called after me.