Maleficent(34)

            He paused, trying to catch his breath. He thought of the victory, of sweet vengeance. “And then…you will be once again a trophy. Nothing more.”

            The wings flapped angrily now, but Stefan just stared at them. Then, slowly, his face broke into a wide smile.

                         Maleficent’s well-intended plans to keep Aurora away from the Moors quickly went awry. No sooner had she concluded that Aurora would never visit the Moors again than the beautiful princess found her way back to the Wall. And before Maleficent knew what she was doing, every night she was putting Aurora to sleep and bringing her into the faerie world.

            In no time, Aurora had made herself at home amid the woods. And still worse, before Maleficent knew it, she was actually enjoying having the princess around.

            There was something invigorating in the way the princess moved about the Moors in the star-filled nights. Whether she was hopping over a stream or wading through tall cattails, she was always reaching out, connecting herself to the world around her. And it wasn’t just the flora she loved. She loved all the woodland creatures, too, from the beautiful dew faeries to the silly-looking hedgehog faeries, with their oversized ears and spiky backs.

            And they all loved her. Even the jealous water faeries, who were known to pull anyone they thought prettier into the water, admired Aurora’s beauty. They would let her play along the water’s edge, eager to show the princess the treasures of the streams. When they pulled out a shiny rock, Aurora would laugh in delight and praise them, causing the water faeries to blush with pride.

            When they had no more stones to show Aurora, the water faeries would take to the top of the water, skating over its surface, leaving barely a ripple. Aurora would sit, entranced, as they put on a show for her, their long wings flowing out behind them. And when the show was over, they would dive under the water, leaving Aurora clapping on the shore.

            The water faeries were not the only ones to vie for Aurora’s attention. The grouchy wallerbogs loved to engage her in mud fights, which she inevitably lost. And even covered in mud, she kept smiling, thrilled to be part of this magical world. When she stumbled upon the more fearsome faeries, like the ram trolls, with their hunched shoulders, dark bark-like skin, and sharp branches that grew out of their arms and back, she didn’t run but simply let them pass, aware that they too had a part in the way the Moors worked.

            As the nights passed and Maleficent watched the princess, it became harder and harder to think of her as Stefan’s daughter. She was nothing like him. While he had never respected nature, only ever seeing what the Moors could give to him, Aurora loved everything about the faerie world. She seemed instinctively to know how to be a part of it, and Maleficent found herself growing fond of the girl. Together they would wander, Aurora eagerly listening as Maleficent pointed out various plants and trees. And Maleficent found herself happy to listen as Aurora babbled on about whatever silly antics her aunts had been up to on that particular day. With each night, the pair grew more and more comfortable with each other. And while Maleficent had a hard time admitting it to herself, when she put a sleeping Aurora to bed as dawn broke, she was sad to leave her.

            In Aurora, Maleficent had found a kindred spirit. Someone whom she could teach and someone from whom she could learn. Aurora’s heart was wide open, eager to love, while Maleficent’s was still closed up tight. Yet seeing how free and happy Aurora was, Maleficent couldn’t help wondering if perhaps she had been doing herself a disservice all that time by being so cold. Even in the short time that Aurora had been a part of the Moors, Maleficent had felt a thawing toward her from the creatures who had ignored her before the girl’s arrival. Through Aurora, they began to see a softer side of Maleficent. And Maleficent couldn’t help enjoying being part of the bigger community once again.

            But despite how much Maleficent liked having Aurora around, there was a heavy weight on her shoulders. She knew the visits would have to end. They have to end, she reminded herself on many occasions, because of my curse.