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Prince Philip worked tirelessly day and night developing the breathing machine for his wife to be, Princess Aurora. She had contracted a rare disease known as Maleficent. Maleficent put its victims into a coma and weakened their diaphragm, making breathing extremely difficult. It was rare disease contracted through blood contact with animal fur. The princess was known to be at her spinning wheel quite frequently and it was supposed that she had acquired the disease while spinning.

Princess Aurora had been in a deep coma for almost a month now. She required almost constant care. Nurses Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather worked in shifts around the clock to ensure Aurora was always watched over. Unfortunately, the princess’s breathing had started to become more and more labored as of recently. All of the nurses repeatedly had to manually pump her lungs to filled them with oxygen.

This was what Prince Philip was developing. It was an automated machine that only required a small furnace to be fueled. It produced steam, which he used to power a motor that pumped air in a smooth and steady beat. His plan was then to encase his fiancé’s body in an iron tube from the neck down and create a negative pressure within that tube to make Aurora’s lungs expand. Afterwards, a small amount of positive air pressure would be created in the tube to make her lungs contract. The cycle would continue over and over again, simulating breathing. At least that was Philip’s hope. This machine would keep Aurora breathing when her diaphragm gave out completely, which seemed to be inevitable.

Philip had been testing his machine continuously for the past two weeks. Constantly adding coal to the furnace and fixing small leaks in steam pipes made him feel like he was dealing with a dragon. Heat constantly smothered him, and his forearms and hands bore blisters and burn marks from the work.

It was early in the morning when Nurse Merryweather burst into Philips workshop. Philip had just finished fixing another leak in the iron tube and was inside of it, testing the machine on himself as he usually did. Everything seemed to be running smoothly for once.

“Prince Philip! Princess Aurora’s lungs seem to have finally given up. Nurses Flora and Fauna have been manually pumping them with air for hours now and Aurora doesn’t seem to be able to breathe on her own anymore. Is your machine ready?”

The worry on Nurse Merryweather’s face struck Philip more than her words did. He struggled to move from inside the iron tube that was still creating a negative pressure and forcing his lungs to expand and take in air. As air was pumped into the tube and some positive air pressure created, he was able to open the hatch with a pop and jump out of the machine.

“It is as ready as it can be given the circumstances. Get my father, King Hubert, and let’s bring everything to her bedchambers.”

Inside of Princess Aurora’s bedchambers was a chaotic scene. Nurses Flora and Fauna were working a tube and hand pump to keep the princess breathing. King Stefan and Queen Leah, Aurora’s parents, were standing next to her bed crying and pleading with everyone passing by to save their daughter. Nurse Merryweather, Prince Philip, and his father, King Hubert, were carrying all the pieces of the breathing machine into Aurora’s room. In the midst of all the chaos, Philip struggled to think straight.

Once all the parts of his machine were loaded into Aurora’s room, Philip asked his father to take Aurora’s parents to get some food and help calm their nerves. King Hubert and King Stefan were best of friends after all. It seemed like the best option to provide Philip with a quiet place to assemble everything. After his father, King Hubert, left and took Aurora’s parents away, Philip began working.

Pipes were joined, gears were tightened, every nut and bolt put into place. Prince Philip finally poured water into the reservoir and lit the coals beneath. As the water heated up to start the motor, he carried Aurora to the iron tube and gently set her inside. Both nurses Flora and Fauna followed him, continuing to manually pump air into the princess’s lungs.

The water began boiling and Philip latched the tube down to keep it airtight. He pulled the lever that allowed the steam to start powering the motor then directed nurses Flora and Fauna to withdraw the breathing tube from Aurora’s throat. They did so cautiously.

Philip was bent on one knee by Aurora’s side. His ear brought close to her mouth and nose, listening and waiting to hear her breathe. All three nurses stood behind him patiently waiting for his response.

Suddenly, the machine’s pump could be heard pulling air from within the tube. Philip cried as he heard air enter Aurora’s nose and mouth as though she were breathing on her own. Then she breathed out as the machine forced positive pressure into the tube. Prince Philip turned around to see all three nurses hugging one another crying tears of joy. He joined them in the somber celebration.

Nurse Merryweather broke away first. She said she needed to inform King Stefan and Queen Leah of the breath of life Prince Philip had given Princess Aurora. Nurses Flora and Fauna studied the machine. They were determined to understand it if they were to continue watching over Princess Aurora. Prince Philip pulled up a chair beside Princess Aurora.

Her body, from the neck down, was now contained within the iron tube that kept her breathing. Philip sat near her head and gently stroked her hair. He had helped solve one problem, but he had a new goal. He needed to figure out how to awaken her from this deep sleep.