E-Written: The Sleeping Beauty

She decided then that she would go on a pilgrimage up the mountain and lay him to rest properly, saying the words over him and give peace to his tortured soul. She left her Captain of the guards in charge as she headed up the mountain alone. He was a bit terrified of her, most of the servants were now. She was the queen who did not age or die. She must be evil.

So she traveled alone, not worried about while might be lurking on the mountain. It took two days for her to walk, but she enjoyed the peace and the nature, feeling refreshed after getting away from the tedium of the palace life and grasping nibbles who were also half terrified of her. Even the men who came seeking her hands were relieved when she turned them away.

The mouth of the cave loomed and she pulled out her lantern and lit it before going in. The walk was longer than she remembered, but when she made it to the base of the nest, she was shocked to find the giant body exactly as it had been. She went around and looked at the piles of pillows, crumbled to moldering dust now, and around to where she knew the head was. It was still there, but it was closer to the body than it had been. Much closer. Not only that, but there were ropey, fleshy tendrils connecting the body and head, and she knew then that they had been pulling the body back together.

She let out a shocked cry as she ran around to the front of the head, looking down at him. "Ephram?!?"

A single eye opened, looking at her, then narrowed. "You will pay! You will all pay!"

"No! No, oh! I didn't know! I did not know you were alive and suffering, I would have come back!" she wailed, truly horrified as she moved around him and shoved his head with all her might towards his body. It took over an hour, pushing with her back against his head and using her legs to move the head halfway there. She had to stop and rest, panting as she went and curled up against his massive front leg. "I am so sorry!" she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I did not want that to happen! If I had known... Ephram, I am sorry! Please, forgive me. I cannot imagine how you have suffered this whole time! Tell me what to do! Tell me how to help. Please? Ephram?"

He did not answer and she curled against him as she cried herself to sleep.

When she woke up, she went back to trying to move the massive head and did not stop until it was pressed against the wound on his neck. It wasn't lined up right, but she hoped that would not matter, that he would be able to heal correctly once he was whole. She sat down near his head and stoked his jaw and snout, laying her head against his.

"Ephram, please heal! Please wake up! I am sorry. I should have come back sooner! I should have checked! You said you could not die, I should have realized! Please forgive me for not coming back to help sooner! Please wake up Ephram? Please? I need you to heal and wake up!" she cried, hugging him tightly against her. She held him there, sobbing into his massive head until she fell asleep again.

Movement woke her, but the lamp had gone out and she could see nothing. His head pulled away and she fell back to the ground, she stood up.

"Ephram! You are awake! You are healed!" she cried out, trying to see in the darkness.

Fire shot into the air and she shied back as she looked up at him through her fingers. She could only see the outline of his head against the flames, but she broke down in relieved tears. The flames died and she could hear his heavy steps, then the flap of his wings as he took off and circled the cavern several times. She waited for him to come back and land near her, to transform, but instead he snatched her off the ground with his talons and carried her high in the air before dropping her to the nest. He lit the brazier before transforming and dropping next to her.

He looked furious, but she didn't care as she scrambled up and barreled into him in a hug. "You are ok! You are alive! I was so afraid!"

He held her out at arms length, looking her over. "You did not know?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"No... not really. They mentioned getting you alone and off to the side, but I wasn't going to do it. I was going to ask you to free them and I was going to stay."

"You are not lying," he said, his face astonished.

"I have missed you! My heart was broken when they did what they did."

"How long?" he demanded.

"A long time. I don't know. Too long. Too long for you to be up here suffering alone. Can you ever forgive me for not coming back sooner?"

"Why did you come back?"

"To say goodbye. To say a blessing over your bones to be sure you were at peace. To remember you and... I missed you. It has been so long. I could hardly remember your face. I thought if I came back, saw everything, I would remember."

He gave a single nod, then touched her face. "You look the same."

"So do you."

"I could not make you what I am, but I could give you eternal life. I would have thought you would be damning me by now."

"It has been hard, but no. I could not be upset now that I finally have you back."

"You... have not lied to me. Not once," he whispered, still in awe.

He pulled her to lay down next to him. "I need rest, wife. A long rest. Sleep," he whispered as he pulled her close.

She knew the dream and it brought back memories. She looked up at Ephram and he smiled.

She lived several blissful lifetimes with him in those dreams as he held her.

His sleeping beauty.