Waking the Dreamer

A dark re-envisioning of Sleeping Beauty, as told by the prince.
A short story from the collection The Evolution of Reptilian Handbags. In Victorian-era Pennsylvania, hunters find a beautiful, naked woman lying in the woods in a coma. All who see her become obsessed. The man they call The Prince, a railroad and media baron, is no exception. The sleeping woman is placed in a hospital-turned-fortress, studied by doctors and guarded by deadly clockwork automatons that protect her from her frenzied devotees. Only one man is powerful enough to gain access and attempt to wake the dreamer—unleashing a force beyond his comprehension.