Sleeping Beauty

"At some point your parents picked you up, put you down and never picked you back up again. Of course, this isn't true."

Characters
-Raven Queen

-Good King

Story
“Raven… Raven. Time to get up, honey.” He spoke as he nudged the little chubby cheek with the back of his hand.

“If you stay out here, you are going to catch a cold.” He spoke softly, not too loudly to jar the child awake.

But nothing he did was waking the child from her slumber.

Good King placed a hand on his hip as he looked down at the figure in front of him; he couldn’t help back shake his head as he smiled with a sigh of defeat.

Though Raven may have had the energy of a jackalope; even she had only finite power. Every so often, Good King would find his daughter crashed down at many and of strange places in their little castle of a home. One evening he remembered when he was walking the hallways for a bit of exercise; he found his daughter. As well as one of the children of the troll staff members, fast asleep next to a suit of armor that lined the hall way.

He smiled as he looked down at the curled of ball cuteness, sound asleep, dead to the world around her. There was no way that his little seven year-old was going to wake up before the morning came.

Chuckling to himself, Good King knelt down beside the sofa as he scooped his daughter in his arms.

Looking down into his arms, he couldn’t help but notice just how tiny his daughter seemed. It reminded him of when he used to hold her back when she was a baby.

He could feel his daughter stir as she started to bury herself deeper into his arms, curling up closer into his warm embrace; his soft beating heart seemed to be putting her deeper and deeper into the embrace of sleep. There was no way that Good King was going to be able to wake up his daughter now.

He smiled as he carried his child out of the room.

The home that he and his daughter lived in was a large one; it was going to be about twenty minutes before he would reach her bedroom.

He was going to enjoy every second with his sleeping beauty.

“Good King!” a voice called out from behind.

Taken out of his moment of nostalgia, Good King thoughts returned back to reality. He turned his entire body to see who called out to him.

Standing behind him was one of the troll staff members, Harriett, and with as much hair on the mole of her face; her name fit the bill.

“Shhhhh~” Good King hushed in a soft voice. “You’ll wake up Raven,” he spoke.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);">The more the things change, the more the things stay the same. This goes double for bad habits that cannot be broken.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);">Even though now she spends majority of her days at Ever After High, Good King’s daughter would often come home during holiday break to spend time with her father. She would still find herself sleeping in strange places.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);">Raven Queen, now with her long legs hanging over his arms, was sleeping soundly in her father's arms. Her arms draped over his shoulders, her head was nestled deep into his chest. Lights out; there was no way his teenage daughter was waking up until that next morning. It was just like the many other times; where Good King would find himself carrying his daughter to her bedroom.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);">“I told you before, Good" Harriet said, dusting her large hands on her apron, “She isn’t as young as she used to be; and neither are you.” She continued. “You will throw your back out carrying your daughter.” She put her hands out. “Here, give me, Raven.” The Troll’s hands were massive, if she wanted to, she could carry both Good King and his daughter at the same time.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);"> As if she heard the troll; Raven’s body shifted, she was digging herself deeper and deeper into her father’s warm embrace; trying to make herself even more comfortable.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);">Good King smiled softly and shook his head. “Thanks, but no thanks.” He said softly not to wake his sleeping baby girl. He turned his body back around and started to walk off.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);">“If that is what you wish, King.” Harriet smiled in defeat, before leaving to continue her work.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);">Good King made his way down the hallway of his and his daughter’s home.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);">True, his daughter was getting older and it was no secret that he too was getting up in age; but that is why moments like these were important to him. As time goes by, there wouldn’t be times where they would be able to do these kinds of things. Soon, there will be a time where they wouldn’t be able to do anything together anymore.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);">This is why Good King was doing it. There will soon be a time where things like this would be impossible. That he and his daughter will no longer be able to have moments like this anymore. One day he will have to leave his daughter alone, and it will be out of his control, and he will regret that moment. So for now, they have to spend whatever time they can together.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);">He looked down at his daughter’s sleeping face burying itself into his chest. He lived for moments like these; and one day, they will only be memories.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);">Good King smiled, giving his baby girl a soft squeeze as to replicate that of a small hug.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);">“I love you, Raven.” He spoke softly.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);">He took notice of Raven's smile. She must have been having a wonderful dream, he thought to himself.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);">It was about twenty more minutes before he reached his daughter’s bedroom.

<p style="outline:0px;font-weight:normal;font-size:15.12px;font-family:"LucidaGrande","LucidaSansUnicode","GNUUnifont",Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;list-style:none;margin:1.286emauto;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(42,42,42);">He was going to enjoy every second with his sleeping beauty.