The king got to his feet, tapping his glass lightly with a spoon. As the dining hall grew quiet, he raised his wine heartily. “I’d like to make a toast,” he said, gazing lovingly at his daughter. “To my daughter and her fiancé! Perhaps now that the curse is broken, the kingdom can finally rest peacefully.”

“Amen!” the guests announced in unison.

He raised the glass to his lips, but the princess covered it gently with her hand before he could take a sip. “I think there’s something I need to say,” she whispered, “before the kingdom can rest peacefully, as you put it.”

At her father’s nod, she stood and faced the crowd. “I ask you all to lend me an ear, for I feel something has been conveyed horribly wrong.

“I assume you all have heard my story – how my dear parents called the twelve wise women to bless me, how the thirteenth was uninvited.

“They gave me gifts of grace and beauty, an angel’s wit, and song and dance. But before the twelfth witch could speak her blessing, the thirteenth appeared and shrieked a curse of eternal sleep.

“The twelfth was wise to try and save me, to modify my curse enough to be broken by a prince’s kiss. Surely, you’ve all heard my tale.”

She caught the prince’s gaze with her pale blue eyes. “But what you could never understand is what my parents would deny. Though you had good intentions, your kiss was death, not life.”

Despite the horror written on her old father’s face, she continued, “You see, I’ve come to realize that her words were not a curse at all, but the greatest blessing in disguise, for when I pricked my finger, I left this desolate mortal coil.

“The trees were taller, greener, and covered all the land. There were ferns and many colored flowers, and no civilization to hack them down. It’s as if I had been wearing a veil my entire life and, once removed, was seeing color for the very first time.”

The princess’ voice grew melancholy as she closed her eyes and continued, “It’s so different from here. It’s so full of life you can feel it all around you, hear it… leaves rustling, the silver water rushing in the streams…”

The hall remained painfully silent as the princess opened her eyes and said bitterly, “Your reality can’t hold a candle.”

“This is appalling!” the king bellowed disdainfully.

Her daughter shot him a reproving glance. “Which is more appalling, receiving a lucid patch of heaven or having it ripped from beneath you?

“The twelfth witch broke the ideal life that the thirteenth gave to me. Tell me, Father, which one cursed me? Which one blessed me?

“I slid into a coma for forever and a day, but my anti-savior kissed me, and goodbye paradise.

“If the sea bears foam as sleep bears dreams, why must both end with a crash?” She hesitated, picking up the glass on the table before her. “If to die is to sleep, and to sleep is to dream, I’ll drink this cup of poison rather than live unhappily ever after.

“To the most perfect curse!” Pressing the glass to her mouth, the venom burned as it brushed past her throat. And though the hall filled with sorrowful wails, a tiny smile graced her lips as the guests leapt to her side.

“If only they could see what I see,” she murmured as she floated away.