Aurora’s hand went to her heart as the reality of Maleficent’s confession hit her like an arrow. She stared at her, as though seeing Maleficent for the first time. The gaze burned Maleficent. She had just turned Aurora’s world upside down. She had done the same thing Stefan had done to her, made the princess trust in her and then broken that trust cruelly. Such irony, Maleficent thought as Aurora began to back away. “Wait!” Maleficent cried, reaching out a hand.
Aurora reared back from the touch, shaking her head. “No!” she cried. “Don’t touch me! You’re the evil that’s in the world! It’s you!” Aurora turned and raced off, disappearing into the woods.
Watching her go, Maleficent felt all the strength drain out of her. It was hard for her to breathe. She had spent so long denying what she had done, to herself and to Aurora. And now she was being punished.
She stood there for a long while, wishing she had the power to go back in time and never utter the curse in the first place. Never mention a spinning wheel or True Love’s Kiss…Suddenly, she felt a flash of hope. Perhaps there was still a way to make things right. Perhaps Diaval had been right and true love could exist for some people. Raising her eyes, she met the raven’s gaze. “Find the boy,” she said.
As Diaval flew into the air, Maleficent said a silent prayer that she wasn’t too late.
MALEFICENT SLOWLY AND SADLY MADE HER WAY BACK TO THE GLEN. While she wasn’t there to witness it, she knew exactly what Aurora was going to do next. She was going to race home, grab the horse from the cottage’s small stable, and take off. She would gallop furiously out of the woods and onto the road that took her straight to the castle. She wouldn’t stop to think about what her aunts would say when they found her gone. She wouldn’t stop to think about why Maleficent would have lied to her. She wouldn’t even stop to think about what her father would say when she arrived at the castle gates. She would just ride, tears streaming down her face.
She would think about the fact that she had a father. And a mother. And that she was a princess. Those things she would think about. A lot. So by the time she arrived at the castle, some of her anger would have been replaced by anticipation. For she was going to meet her family.
And while Maleficent wasn’t there to witness the reunion , she had a good idea of how that would go, too. King Stefan would see Aurora, and at first he would think she was just some common country girl. After all, he, more focused on Maleficent and his own selfish fear, hadn’t really thought about her in years, and she most definitely didn’t wear royal clothes. Then, when she told him she was his daughter and tried to hug him, he would hold her at arm’s length, trying to see if she was really, truly his flesh and blood. When he decided she was, he would soften, just a bit. Maleficent hated to think of him softening, but she had to believe he had some heart left under all that paranoia and armor.
Then, Maleficent figured, he would tell Aurora that she was beautiful, like her mother. But that would be as far as his fatherly kindness would go. For he would quickly realize that Aurora had arrived back a day early and that the faeries had not done their job. He would realize what that meant: that the curse could still be inflicted on his newly returned daughter. He would panic and order that Aurora be brought to a safe place, where she would be forced to remain until the next day. Aurora wouldn’t have a chance to argue, but before she was led away, she would ask about her mother. And Stefan would ignore her question, leaving it to a hapless guard to break the news that had spread throughout the kingdom: that her mother had died.
That was the way it would happen, Maleficent mused as she sat in her grove, the light fading around her. Suddenly, she sat up straighter. It didn’t have to happen that way, though. Not if she could get to the cottage before Aurora took off and try to convince her to stay.
She jumped up, raced over the Moors, passed through the Wall, and made her way to the clearing in the woods. Bursting into Aurora’s bedroom, she found it empty. Her eyes narrowed. “Those fools!” she shouted. They hadn’t stopped her! How could they have let her go when what waited at the castle would surely hurt her?