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MidReal Story
A psychological horror retelling where Sleeping Beauty s curse causes
Anonymous
Dec 9
Scenario:A psychological horror retelling where Sleeping Beauty's curse causes her to stay awake for eternity, slowly driving her to madness.
Create my version of this story
The curse denies me sleep, but it also denies me company.
The darkness is my only companion, and the memories that whisper through the halls like restless ghosts.
I'm not sure how much time has passed since I woke up here, in this crumbling palace of stone and shadow.
A hundred years?
A thousand?
Time has no meaning here, not when the days and nights bleed together in an endless cycle of pain and despair.
Once, this place was alive with music and laughter.
Nobles danced in the ballroom, their silks swirling and their diamonds glittering like stars against the night sky.
Now there is only silence and decay.
The tapestries have rotted away, leaving nothing but faded threads hanging from the walls like cobwebs.
The furniture is covered in dust and grime, its once-polished surfaces dull and cracked with age.
Mice scurry through the corridors, their tiny feet pattering against the stone floors as they search for food.
Sometimes I hear them squeaking in the darkness, their voices high and thin like the cries of lost children.
There are no servants to chase them away, no guards to protect me from whatever might be lurking in the shadows.
I am alone in this decaying tomb, my only company the curse and the memories that haunt me day and night.
I spend my days wandering through the castle, exploring every room and corridor until I know every inch of it by heart.
But there is nothing new to discover, nothing to distract me from the pain of being alone in this empty place.
I have tried everything I can think of to escape the curse, to find the release of sleep and silence that eludes me.
But no matter how hard I try, I cannot make myself tired enough to fall asleep.
I am forced to be awake forever, with no respite from the aches and pains that plague my body, or the thoughts that torment my mind.
Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to be sleeping—to dream away the years until my prince comes for me at last.
But when I close my eyes, all I see are nightmares.
And so I wander these empty halls like a restless spirit, counting down the moments until I can escape this cursed existence once and for all.
Outside, beyond these walls of stone and shadow, lies a kingdom that has long since crumbled to dust.
The people who once lived here are gone—vanished into thin air like smoke in the wind or trapped in their own tales of woe and tragedy.
It has been centuries since anyone walked these streets or tended these gardens, but still I can feel their presence pressing in on me from every direction.
It is like being buried alive, with only the moon and stars above as witness to my suffering.
I can almost imagine them weeping for me, their silver tears falling from the sky and washing away the pain of living in this wretched place.
But there is no end to my torment—no escape but death.
The curse has taken everything from me.
My family and friends are long gone, lost to time and memory like so many grains of sand slipping through an hourglass.
They visit me sometimes, their faces flickering in and out of existence like ghosts trapped between worlds.
But they are not real—not anymore.
And I am no better than they are, a hollow echo of myself waiting for oblivion to take me at last.
The years have been unkind, stealing away my youth and vitality like a thief in the night.
My words echo through the empty courtyard, mocking my uncertainty at this unexpected intrusion.
I have not spoken to another person in centuries—no one has dared enter these walls since I woke from my cursed slumber.
And yet here he stands before me, an interloper in this place I call home.
It is almost enough to make me giddy with excitement—my heart pounding in my chest like a drum—but then I remember that I do not have much of a heart left to beat.
He is staring at me with wide blue eyes, his mouth slightly open as if surprised by what he sees.
His gaze travels up and down my body, taking in every inch of pale skin and dark hair as if trying to commit it all to memory.
"Who are you?" he asks with a frown, almost as if he expects me to answer him with something other than silence.
The sound of his voice sends shivers down my spine—the first time I have felt anything but numbness in what feels like an eternity.
I cannot tear my gaze away from him, his presence like a stone thrown into the still waters of this place.
He is tall and handsome, with dark hair that falls just below his ears and piercing blue eyes that seem to look straight through me.
His clothes are strange—nothing like the gowns and tunics worn by the people who lived here before everything fell apart—and yet there is something about him that seems familiar, as if I have known him all my life.
"Who are you?" he asks again when I do not respond, taking a hesitant step forward as if afraid to get too close.
"I could ask you the same question," I say finally, finding my voice as I study him more closely.
He is not from around here—of that much I am certain—but something tells me he does not mean me any harm.
I can see the confusion written on his face, as if he cannot quite believe what he is seeing.
"It's been a long time since anyone came to this place," he says after a moment, his eyes never leaving mine.
"I thought I was the only one left. But then I saw you…"
He shakes his head as if trying to clear it of some errant thought, his words trailing off into silence.
I take a cautious step forward, narrowing the distance between us until we are almost toe to toe in the center of the courtyard.
He smells like the outside world—like fresh air and green things—and yet there is something about him that seems out of place in this decaying ruin.
"You're awake," he says finally, breaking the silence between us like a spell.
His eyes flicker down to my hands, which are trembling at my sides like leaves in the wind—his gaze lingering on each finger as if counting them one by one. "You can't sleep either."
