Week 14 Story: The ending of Thorns of Iron

Thorns of Iron (rough draft ending)

(Image Information: Image by Rikonavt)

Wispy green magic shot out from the faerie Queen Morana's hand, aiming directly toward Arwen.

"No," Annika screamed as she ran in front Arwen—her mother. What an odd thing to call the person who raised her as a burden foster child for eighteen years. But the sudden urge to not lose the one thing she had left was overpowering, like nature. She pushed the tall fae woman out of the way and took on the full force of magic right in the gut.

The last words Annika heard, "there's no way you can save her now." Then the Queen laughed. "She's trapped in her own personal hell. Unescapable and Eternal." And then darkness overtook her.

She awoke to a place surrounded by cloudlike mist. She'd never been here, but at the same time, she felt as though she'd never left. It was strange yet familiar. Suddenly, she transported from another location. It was a forest. She spotted a child dressed in blue picking wildflowers. Behind her were two adults, a faerie woman and a human man.

Only this wasn't fictional. This was a memory. A memory she had no idea existed. However, she couldn't recall it. Somehow deep within her, she knew it to be true. Those were her parents, and the woman was Arwen. She viewed the memory like it was happening to someone else, but it didn't.

The peaceful scene went dark as soldiers appeared, wielding swords and charged toward the three of them. Arwen pulled a rather large dagger out of nowhere and fought them head-on. Black hair, looked so much like her own, swayed in the battle. Her father fled the scene, carrying her in his arms, and she watched as Arwen slit one faerie's throat and disarmed another.

Then she remembered falling and the solid ground hurting her legs, but she didn't cry. No, she was too afraid of the man who approached her and her father. Soon, she found herself behind her father, crouched on the ground, begging to spare his daughter—me. He always shielded her from harm, even with a sword aimed at his heart. The apathetic soldier plunged his weapon through her father's chest. The blade's tip slashed across her face; it streaked above her eye and left cheek. Annika instinctively touched the long scar, stretching across her entire left cheekbone.

Screams filled the air, and an ache formed in her chest. She felt hollow and fell to her knees, sobbing.

"Annika." A woman's voice, gentle and calm, came out of nowhere, calling out one word over again. Her name. "Annika. Annika." She grew louder and louder until it was the only thing she heard over the anguished screams. "Annika." A figure materialized before her, and it turned out to be... Arwen. But she looked different. Gone was her bleach blonde hair replaced with more natural-looking raven hair, and she appeared more at ease.

"Come back," Arwen said with far more emotion than she had ever heard. "Please come back, I know have not said this since you were little because I was scared. I was scared to let someone back into my heart only for you to be taken away from me too like your father. Please, please don't leave me," she begged, "I— I love you."

Small broken pieces invisible to the naked eye couldn't be seen coming together, mending Annika's tender heart. She longed for the family all her life. Arwen reached out and gently kissed the top of her forehead. Now she had it.

Suddenly, everything shifted. There were no stones insight, but the sound of them crumbling filled her ears. White light slowly flooded the area until everything was consumed by it.

Bright light overwhelmed her closed eyelids. She opened her eyes and instantly met with a sharp pain coming from her head. She tried to cradle her head in her hands but was too exhausted to move her arms. The only thing her eyes saw were the remarkable paintings and the golden features of the throne room. She was still in the throne room?

"Arw—mom," Annika whispered groggily, trying to see how the word sounded on her tongue. Sour? Bitter? She was surprised by how naturally, it had come out. Mom. I have a mother. I... belong to someone.

Only then did she realize she lay on her back? What happened? Memories of what occurred moments ago flooded her mind. Pushing through the aches, she sat up. Everyone was still here where she had left when she passed out.

"Mom," Annika said again, a little louder, but it came out almost like a cry. Was she okay?

"I'm here. I'm here," a familiar voice said, but this time with sincerity. Before Annika knew it, Arwen stood above her. Her fierce violet eyes subdued from their vibrant shine. Were those tears? Arwen's long fingers hovered over her face and brushed over the scar along her cheek. It was comforting.

Her voice wavered, "I'm sorry."

Annika nodded and reached out for her mother's shaky. A tear rolled down Arwen's cheek. All self-control was gone as her mother grabbed onto her, pulling her into a tight embrace, cradling her head.

Authors Notes:

So... this assignment was a little bit on the selfish side. In my introduction, I mentioned I am writing a novell. A light retelling of Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty. I took this opportunity to write some parts of my books here. Most importantly, this is a rough outline of my actual ending.

Annika is my main character/ the sleeping beauty role.

Arwen- has just been revealed as Annika's mother. Before this point, Arwen was the harsh foster mother who took Annika in.

In my actual novel, the parents were murdered because Arwen is actually the princess and daughter of the faerie queen who ran away with a human. Humans are seen as lesser creatures and were once slaves to the faeries. The queen ordered them to be executed on sight, which is why her father is dead. Also, someone rescues Arwen and Annika, but I didn't have time to go into that.

The evil faerie queen has ready to curse Arwen, but Annika just found out Arwen is her mother. Annika takes on the sleeping curse. This moment in her head is shorter here. I'm not exactly sure where it's going quite yet. The kiss, you can guess, is my adapted version of the prince's kiss, which I wanted to play with that plot point.

If it wasn't clear, the scene in her head is when she was a toddler. She witnessed her father's death.

I was going to add more of the faerie because she is the antagonist, but I didn't want to sit here writing another 4,000 words. So, I left her out for another time.

Bibliography: 

Briar Rose by Brothers Grimm.