Disclaimer- I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Sleeping Beauty.

Summary- A classic tale retold with a twist. Aerith is a princess cursed since childhood until her 16th birthday to sleep forever by the evil Sephiroth. Cloud is a prince torn by duty and his dreams knowing nothing about what fate has in store for him or the girl meant to be his. Clorith!

Sleeping Cetra

Chapter 1: The Curse

Across the winding blue rivers, over the lush green fields, and through a deep thick forest was the Kingdom of the Ancients. There lived the people known as the Cetra, a kind and gentle race. Living in a shining palace in the kingdom were the King and Queen of the Cetra. King Gast Faremis and his wife Queen Ifalna ruled the people with kindness, leading them into a prominent age. Yet, both were growing old and without a child to succeed the throne, the king feared ruin for his kingdom. He and his wife prayed for a child be born soon. Finally, their prayers were answered, a girl was born.

The day after her birth, the king announced a grand celebration to present their daughter to the kingdom. Many nobles and royalty came to the palace, one being the neighboring kingdom. From the kingdom of Nibelheim, her Royal Highness Queen Strife and her two sons came forth to present their blessings to the young girl. The oldest boy had black hair and blue eyes while the younger had blonde hair and blue eyes. The baby princess was resting in a golden cradle decorated with yellow and white flowers chained together. She was wrapped in a pink blanket and dressed in white baby clothing. The two peered into the cradle and looked at the sleeping baby, neither sure exactly why.

At that moment, Queen Strife and King Faremis came to agreement that one of the sons would marry the baby princess when they come of age. If it were to happen, the two kingdoms would unite making one strong kingdom that would be prosperous. After all, Nibelheim was well known for its abundance of material and other resources.

As the guests finished their blessings to the child, three special guests arrived. The three were good fairies who were well known among the people of the kingdom of the ancients. Of course, they came to give the baby princess their blessings. The first one had long raven hair and reddish brown eyes. She wore an elegant blue dress the hugged her very well developed body. She smiled at the little girl and held up her hands.

“Child of Cetra,” she spoke gently. “I, Tifa, give you my blessing and a gift. My gift is that you shall grow beautiful and gentle like the flowers the planet gives us. Like the earth, your hair shall be brown and like the leaves, your eyes shall be like emeralds.”

After a wave of her hands, a bright blue light dropped from thin air into the cradle, surrounding the child with warmth. The child seemed comfortable in her cradle as she looked up at the fairy with a smile. Once the spell finished, Tifa stepped back and gracefully curtsied. The next fairy stepped forward. She was several inches shorter than the first. She had short black hair held back by a headband. Her eyes were a dark brown and she wore an elegant green dress with long sleeves that puffed at the shoulders.

“Hey there,” The fairy said informally. “I’m Yuffie and I give you my blessing too! My gift to you is going to be voice. Your voice will sound pretty and when you sing your melody will be soothing to ones soul. That’s it from me!”

Yuffie waved her hands and a green light fell from her hand and entered the child. When she was done, she gave the child a grin and stepped back next to Tifa as the final fairy made his way. Now, most people would never have thought this man was a fairy but he was one. He was tall, well over six feet with dark skin and hair. He was muscular and wore a white shirt and dark pants. His right hand however was metallic and formed into the shape of a gun barrel. He stepped forward and cleared his throat.

“Yo kid,” he said. “I’m Barret and I’m going to give you the gift of friendship. No matter what happens to you, you’ll always have someone their for you”

With a wave of his good hand, a yellow light fell down into the cradle surrounding the girl with warmth. She let out a noise full of content. Barret then turned to Yuffie and Tifa and nodded their gifts complete. The king and queen stood up to thank the fairies when a rush of cold wind invaded the throne room. Everyone gasped as the lights dimmed and eerie feeling invaded the room. The next thing that happened as a black light emitted from above and came crashing to the marble floor. During its rapid decent, the black light began to take form. Before it hit the ground, the form took shape and a man landed gracefully, kneeling down. The shiny, golden, warm room became cold and dark.

Everyone stared at the man, slowly backing away. The man lifted his head to reveal his pale, handsome face. His eyes opened to show his bright orbs. He stood up at six foot one and well built. His clothing consisted of black boots, pants and no shirt. He wore a long black, high collared, trench coat held closed only by a belt. He wore black gloves with silver bracelets. Crisscrossing under his coat on his chest was two thick black belts and on his shoulders were silver shoulder guards. At his side was a magnificently long blade, thin and deadly. On the right side of his back a long black wing, several black feathers fell to the ground. Once they did, they dissolved into small puffs of black smoke.

“A party,” he spoke in a sinister voice. “And I was not invited, how unfortunate.”

“That’s right you’re not invited, ya’ bastard!” Barret growled. “Get the hell out of here Sephiroth!”

The man, Sephiroth turned his head toward Barret and merely smirked. He then turned to the king and queen questionably. The queen looked fearfully at him. The king however, placed himself in front of his wife. He looked at all the people at the celebration. He saw the Queen Strife clutching her boys to her. The blonde haired boy was staring at the Sephiroth. Sephiroth let out a sigh and turned around as if he was going to leave.

“This is indeed a predicament; I Sephiroth the lord of Jenova was not invited. I guess there must have been a good reason.”

His eyes went to the king and queen. He could see the queen staring fearfully. He moved toward them but then his eyes fell on the cradle. He approached it. The only sound in the room was the sound of his footsteps across the marble floor. His eyes saw the little girl inside who began to cry. Tifa, Yuffie, and Barret became apprehensive and quickly moved themselves toward the girl.

“I just wanted to give the little princess, my gift.” Sephiroth said his eyes narrowing and his mouth twitching into a sadistic smile.

Suddenly he tore a black feather from his wing and flung it over toward the cradle. It hovered over there and soon became a black orb. Sephiroth waved his hands and darkness began to shroud the cradle. The queen screamed and tried to run toward her daughter had Tifa not stopped her.

“NO, if you touch you could be killed we don’t know what spell it is!” she warned. Ifalna watched in horror, hearing her little baby cry from the coldness the dark orb brought to her.

Sephiroth grinned. “Wise of you fairy, and now my gift to the princess. The princess shall age with her grace and beauty. She will surly be the most beautiful girl in the world. Her love and kindness will surly thrive. Yet by midnight of her sixteenth birthday the young princess shall meet with an unfortunate fate.”

Sephiroth whipped out his sword and the blade began to emit a dark glow. The blade shot out a dark light into the orb and it exploded.

“This unforgiving blade shall pierce her flesh. The blade known as the masamune shall pierce her flesh and she will die!”

Finally, the spell was cast and Sephiroth began laughing insanely. The royals and the nobles gasped in fear. Ifalna rushed to her child holding her tightly. He placed his sword back at his side and turned to leave. His black wing stretched out, preparing to take flight.

“GUARDS,” The king ordered, “SIEZE HIM!”

The guards surrounded Sephiroth but he merely grinned. He whipped his blade out and with one swing cut down the guards near him. The people in the castle began to scream and panic. Some began to run to get away from the insane man. However, Barret, Tifa and Yuffie could not let this happen. They looked at each other and nodded, confirming that they needed to help. The three placed their hands together and began to chant a magic spell. As they chanted, a white light began to shine around Sephiroth. The evil man looked back and growled.

“Silence that chanting!” Sephiroth growled.

“We may not be able to reverse you spell but we can change it!” Yuffie shouted.

“The princess will not die!” Barret said firmly.

“She will instead fall asleep until true loves first kiss!” Tifa finished.

A light shot out at Sephiroth’s blade. He glared at them and with a string of curses flew into the air. He burst through the glass skylight and soared away to his castle.

Once Sephiroth was gone everyone stared at the shatter window and then at the baby. The fair queen clutched her child, sobbing uncontrollably. The king wrapped his arms around his wife trying his best to comfort her.

Nearby, Tifa, Yuffie, and Barret weakly stood up. After casting such a strong counter spell, the three fairies felt as if all their powers were drained. They could not undo the terrible curse but they did change it. At least the baby would live. After having his wife escorted to her chambers with the child, the king offered his gratitude to the three fairies. He then graciously offered of them rooms for the night to thank them for helping his daughter. The three humbly took the offer. However, they all decided to meet in Tifa’s room to talk and eat before sleeping.

The room was beautiful and well furnished. A table was set with food for the three. Tifa’s bed was dressed in beautiful fabrics fit for any noble or royalty. The three fairies all gathered around the table, eating and drinking.

“Man, I can’t believe Sephiroth would do that! Just because he did not get invited to a party,” Yuffie whined as she ate some fruits.

“What the hell is that bastard’s problem?” Barret cursed drinking from a large goblet. “Can’t he ever just leave people alone?”

Tifa tilted her head down. She stared at her cup of tea and shook her head. Yuffie and Barret looked over at her.

“Something wrong?” Yuffie asked.

“I don’t think Sephiroth did this because he wasn’t invited to a party,” Tifa explained. “He’s lord of Jenova. Back when before any of us were around the Jenovians waged war on the Cetra but the Cetra won destroying the first ruler Jenova herself! Over the years the Jenova people have been dying out, leaving Sephiroth to be one of the only ones.”

“So you think this is for revenge?” Barret asked.

Tifa nodded, “Not only that but think about it. If the king and queen were to die without an heir there would be no ruler, leaving the Cetra vulnerable. I think Sephiroth wants the Cetra throne and killing the only heir was his way of doing it.”

“But Sephiroth is powerful! We cannot even go up against him and hope to win. Why doesn’t he just take the kingdom?” Barret asked, setting his cup down.

“Wait I know,” Yuffie piped up as she stuffed her face full of food. “It’s because Jenova was defeated by the Cetra and he’s worried about dying too, right?”

Tifa nodded to Yuffie, confirming her guess. Tifa sipped at her tea and frowned. It was a shame they could not find a way to save the little princess. Who knew when Sephiroth would strike? Of course, he would do it when he would slip past unnoticed. He was a sneaky and clever person. He would not risk his life until he was sure he would go unnoticed. The only problem was he had sixteen years to do it, and by then he would definitely find a way.

“I wish we could do something,” Yuffie sighed.

Tifa’s eyes widened. “Maybe we can!”

She stood up and closed the door and the windows. Yuffie and Barret watched her, wondering what she was thinking. Tifa looked around the room to make sure there was no one else around, not even an animal. Once she was sure, she returned to her friends.

“I think the princess should be taken out of the castle,” Tifa said in a low voice. “They can hide her somewhere. That way Sephiroth will never find her.”

“Hold it,” said Barret. “No offense, Tifa, but their highnesses are not going to let someone just take their daughter from them. That’s some crazy ass shit!”

“Well, we should take her. We can watch over her easily and the King and Queen know we’ll take good care of her!”

Yuffie interrupted this time. “ARE YOU INSANE?”

“SHH!” Tifa hushed.

“We have no idea how to raise a kid,” Yuffie whispered. “We might as well just give her to Sephiroth. I mean come on a baby is a lot of work! You have to feed it, change it, clean it, play with it, not to mention they cry A LOT!”

Tifa slammed her fist against the table angrily. She glared at her two friends and got up. She pushed back her raven hair in frustration and shook her head.

“Fine, I’ll do it myself. I refuse to let some creepy jerk hurt a defenseless child!”

Tifa turned to leave so she could discuss her idea with the king and queen. Barret and Yuffie looked at one another. They grimaced but then got up, calling to their friend. Tifa turned around and smiled.

“Okay, we’re in,” Barret sighed. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Don’t worry,” Yuffie said, slapping his back. “We have magic to help us.”

Tifa cleared her throat. Both Barret and Yuffie stared wide eye. The two began shaking their heads ‘no’ but Tifa was shaking her head ‘yes’.

“We can’t give up our magic!” Yuffie whined.

“We have to!” Tifa stated firmly. “If we take the princess with us we have to raise her like a normal child. If Sephiroth gets ANY indication that she is the princess, he could very well complete his curse.”

Barret and Yuffie stared at the ground. Since they were young, the three used magic to help them in daily activities. To act as a mortal, was something so foreign to them, they feared it. Magic was a big part of their lives. Giving it up would be a hard thing to do.

Tifa looked over at her friends confirming the fact they would give up their powers for sixteen years! This would be the only way to insure the safety of the princess. Tifa held out her hand, slowly pulling off the glove. She closed her eyes and a blue orb appeared in the palm of her hand. Tifa felt her body become heavy and nearly fell to the ground had Barret not supported her. She thanked him and looked over at Yuffie.

Yuffie nodded and held out her hand. A bright green orb appeared from her hand. Yuffie slumped to her feet clutching the orb. She looked over at Barret and Tifa, giving them a quick grin to show she was all right.

Barret carefully set Tifa down so she could rest. He looked at his gun arm and then at his normal hand. Suddenly his real hand began to grow and like the others an orb was resting in his palm, his was a yellow one though. Barret fell to his knees feeling the same rush at Tifa and Yuffie did.

“Wow, there goes our magic,” Yuffie sighed looking at her orb, “Now its just materia.”

Materia was a special magic that allowed its users power over elements, allowed curing, cause aliments and many other such uses. Materia came from the planet. They say when the planet’s energy crystallizes it becomes materia. However, only those of strong people were able to consume it into their bodies and wield it with a wave of their hand.

“Yeah, I’ll miss the magic but this is more important.” Tifa said.

“I hope this all works out,” Barret grunted.

After discussing the idea with the king and queen, there was a hot debate on giving up the child. Tifa however was able to persuade them into understanding. She told them how Sephiroth could easily dispense soldiers with ease and how it be safer for them as well. Once the sixteen years were up, they would bring the child back safely. With a heavy heart, the King agreed but Queen Ifalna was hesitant.

Ifalna held her child, crying. She did not want to lose her one and only child to Sephiroth or to the fairies now turned mortal. She prayed for a child for so long and now one way or another be torn away from her. The king calmly told his wife everything would be okay. After a few moments, she finally agreed and handed her child to Tifa. She kissed her gently whispering loving words to her.

“We promise to take care of her,” Tifa said sadly, seeing the pain in the queen’s eyes.

The three turned to leave, to sneak out of the castle without anyone knowing. However, before they left Ifalna stopped them. She stared down at her child, her only child. Tears poured from her eyes. She slowly undid her long brown hair from the pink ribbon she used to tie it. She then handed the ribbon to Tifa with a small pure white materia.

“Give these to my daughter,” the queen whispered staring at Tifa through tears. “We did not get a chance to announce her name but… her name is Aerith.”

The three watched the queen sadly but Tifa nodded firmly. One by one, they left the room but before Tifa left, she looked at the king and queen and said, “I think it is wise to not repeat that name, so we can protect your daughter.”

With that, Tifa, Barret, and Yuffie fled into the night. The King and Queen watched as the three now mortals disappeared into the darkness with their child and all the hope of the kingdom resting on their shoulders.

X, X, X,

Author Note- I love fairy tales, I really do. Sleeping Beauty was my favorite as a kid. Therefore, I came up with this little story. I thought it be funny to have Barret be one of the fairies and raise Aerith. Anyway, please leave a review.