Can he wake the sleeping beauty?

The Awakening
by Annette Gisby

Thorns rip his face, claw at his cheeks
Blood falls onto the forest floor
But he does not see
He does not feel

One thought only bears him on
He will succeed at this quest
Where all others have failed
The sleeping princess will be his

What cares he that in a hundred years
A hundred princes have already tried and failed?

He will not fail
He cannot fail
For he has his heart to guide him

A heart filled with longing
To see the beauty who lies
There in the tower
A slow sleep that resembles death

The thorns part and he is there
Winding his way up the tower stairs

He stops at the entrance to the chamber
Entranced by her beauty, his step falters
Pale skin, lips like wild berries
A curtain of raven hair spread about her pillow

He steps closer, kneels before her like a supplicant
Licking his lips, he bends towards her waiting mouth
And presses his lips softly to hers

A moan from the bed beneath him
Her eyes fly open and she stares at him
Her prince

He doesn’t feel the fangs until she drinks her fill
He sinks to the floor to join the corpses
The victims of the sleeping beauty.