Sleeping Beauty's Daughters Read Free

fainting—was Luna merely to be complimented? I had to grit my teeth to keep my anger from showing. I knew there was nothing I could do about it. I wondered, as I often had before, what would have happened if I had been the one to misbehave. But I wouldn’t have. I never did.
    I pushed down my exasperation and asked, “Mama, what is it? Why did you faint? You are not . . . ill, are you?”
    “Oh, no, dearest,” Mama replied. “It is nothing like that.”
    “Then tell us, please!”
    Mama sighed deeply and looked at Papa as she had in the kitchen, as if for guidance.
    “It is your story, my love.” He took her trembling hand in his. “You must tell it.”
    “Then I shall,” she said simply, and she began.
    “I have never told you much about my life. It is . . . not a happy story. I was one of two children born to my parents. My brother was very much older than I, handsome and full of life.”
    Luna dropped her soup spoon with a clatter, and I gaped. Mama had a brother? There’d never been even a hint of any uncle. Why had we never met him?
    Mama ignored our astonishment. “My parents adored him, but still they longed for a daughter to pamper and indulge. For many years it seemed their wish would not be granted, so when at last I was born, they were jubilant. All of our relatives, and all the important lords and ladies and dignitaries for many miles around, were invited to my christening. Of course I was an infant, so I do not remember what happened. But when I was your age, Aurora, my mother told me the story.”
    Something in her tone made me shiver. I had a feeling that this tale would not end well.
    “My brother was beloved by all. Many women fell in love with him. One of them was a distant cousin of my father’s, a beautiful woman named Manon. They spent time together, for she was witty and charming, but my brother made her no promises. He was young, and not looking for marriage—or even love—but just for fun. Manon attended the christening party, of course. Nobody knew, then, that she had fairy blood.”
    Luna’s eyes widened at this, but she didn’t interrupt.
    “Though he was so much older, my brother was devoted to me. Even at the party, with all the guests to attend to, he hovered over me, picking me up whenever I fussed.”
    Mama hesitated for a moment and then continued. “Manon and my brother danced once or twice, as they had at parties many times before. Now, though, my parents saw clearly that Manon had fallen in love with him. It made them uneasy, and they planned to speak to him about it. But before they could, my brother became captivated by another who had come to the party. Her name was Emmeline, and she was my father’s godmother.”
    “Your grandfather’s,” Papa corrected her.
    “She must have been ancient!” Luna exclaimed.
    “She was quite old indeed, but she had fairy blood as well, so her age did not show. My brother turned all his attention to Emmeline. He could look at no one else. They spent the rest of the evening together. They talked and danced and . . . kissed, as my brother held me in his arms.”
    I could picture the scene perfectly: the two beautiful fairies vying over the handsome prince who held the tiny baby. “Did Manon see them kiss?” I had to know.
    “Yes, Manon saw,” Mama replied. “My mother said she turned quite pale. Then my brother made everything worse. He held me in one arm and with the other lifted his goblet, saying, ‘A toast to my baby sister Rosamond, who is as lovely as the day. To Rosamond, who has brought to me the joy that is Emmeline!’”
    “Oh, Manon must have been so mad. What did she do?” Luna asked.
    “Nothing at that moment. Everyone laughed and raised their glasses high, and the party whirled on. Later, though, at the end of the celebration, friends and relatives approached my cradle. One at a time, they wished me well. But when Manon reached me, she leaned over me and spoke so all could hear. What she said was