Maleficent’s voice trailed off. There was nothing left she could say or do. This was the only good-bye she would ever get. And she wanted to make it count. Leaning over, she placed one hand over Aurora’s and gently kissed the girl on the forehead.
A surge of magic filled the room.
And then Aurora’s eyes fluttered open.
Maleficent let out a gasp as the princess’s calm blue eyes met her unsure green ones. She was so happy that the girl was awake, but scared that Aurora was still angry.
“Hello, Godmother,” Aurora said, beaming up at Maleficent, her smile bringing new light to the room.
Maleficent’s throat constricted as her body was racked with emotion. Aurora was awake. And she didn’t hate her.
But how could it be? Why had her kiss worked and not Phillip’s? And then Maleficent smiled as realization swept over her like a wave. She had been so focused on the love that had broken her heart that she had never stopped to think there was an even deeper, truer love: that of a mother and daughter. That was what Aurora had become to her—a daughter. She loved her unconditionally, without question. She would love her on the bad days and on the great days. When Aurora was near and when she was far. She would love her for the woman she would become and the girl she was now. That, Maleficent realized as she looked at Aurora’s huge smile, was the truest of loves.
Bursting with happiness, Maleficent smiled back. “Hello, beastie.”
Maleficent didn’t waste any time filling Aurora in on what had happened since she had pricked her finger. The girl listened closely as Maleficent told her about the pixies’ mission to find a prince to wake her and how they had failed. She even told her about the valiant effort Phillip had made. While she had wanted to skip it, a knowing look from Diaval changed her mind. It was only fair, after all the lies that had been told, to speak the truth. Aurora was going to face a tough decision in the days to come—whether to stay with her father or be with Maleficent—and she deserved all the information before she made up her mind.
When Maleficent was finished, Aurora didn’t say anything. She simply nodded and slowly sat up. Then, with Maleficent’s help, she shakily got to her feet. Now that she was awake, she wanted to speak to her father.
Making their way out of the room, they found the hall deserted. The two guards were gone and the lights along the wall had been blown out. With a growing sense of dread, Maleficent and Diaval, now a raven, led Aurora down one hall after another. They descended a long, winding staircase and moved past the iron thorns and brambles that had burned Maleficent earlier. Aurora’s eyes grew wide as she took in the sharp objects she hadn’t noticed before, clearly placed there by her father. While Aurora didn’t say it, Maleficent knew the girl was scared. And with good reason. This did not look like the castle of fairy tales and happy endings. It was a dark and evil place, vibrating with hate.
Finally, they reached the balcony that looked down over the Great Hall. The huge room was dark save for a single pool of light that illuminated the center. Cautiously, they moved down the stairs and closer to the light.
Maleficent kept her gaze straight ahead, focused on the two large thrones just visible in the shadows. They were the same thrones where Stefan and his queen had sat while their infant daughter was showered with gifts at her christening. The same thrones that had borne witness to Maleficent’s curse and the terrible aftermath. Now they once more sat there, silent witnesses. But to what? Maleficent wondered. What did they know that she did not?
As Maleficent turned to make sure Aurora was okay, her eyes grew wide. The girl was gone. But where? She had been there just a moment before. Turning, Maleficent frantically scanned the empty room. “Aurora?” she called out. From the darkness, she heard the muffled sound of someone trying to speak. “Aurora!” Maleficent cried out, racing toward the sound.