The Curse of Maleficent Page 10

  And then Aurora’s eyelids fluttered open.

  struggled to wake. Her eyelids were heavy and her throat felt dry. But the pain in her finger was gone. Underneath her she felt soft sheets, and she could vaguely hear the sound of someone talking. But for the life of her, she couldn’t recall how she had ended up lying in a bed. All she remembered was seeing a spinning wheel, reaching out, and…

  That was it! That had been the curse! She had pricked her finger and fallen into a deathlike sleep. Yet she was waking up now.

  Forcing her eyes open, she found herself looking right up into Maleficent’s face. The faerie’s eyes were wet with tears and they looked back at her cautiously, as though scared of what Aurora might say.

  Of course she is worried. I was so mad at her before. Yet—and Aurora thought long and hard—I’m not now. That feeling had faded. In its place she felt a sense of peace, as though all was as it should be. True, Maleficent might have cursed her. But that had been a long time before. She must have had her reasons. And since the day they met in the glen, surrounded by the Moors, Maleficent had never done her harm. She has shared her world with me, Aurora realized. She has guided me and taught me so many wonderful things. Then she smiled.

  “Hello, Godmother,” Aurora said.

  For a moment, Maleficent didn’t say anything. Fresh tears welled in her eyes. But these weren’t sad tears; they were happy ones. Finally, her voice choked with emotion, she said, “Hello.”

  Maleficent spent the next few minutes filling Aurora in on some of the events that had transpired long before. Aurora listened, her emotions churning rapidly. She was sad to find out that her father seemed more concerned with destroying Maleficent than reuniting with his daughter. That he had betrayed Maleficent so long before, when she had only been trying to fulfill her parents’s goal for peace. That he had made her think she’d been wrong, that her parents had been wrong. That all humans were to be distrusted.

  Then Maleficent told her what had happened since she pricked her finger. Aurora’s feelings toward Phillip, who had tried so valiantly to wake her from sleep, were confusing. And ultimately, she was happy that Maleficent’s kiss had been the only thing strong enough to lift the curse. For, as Maleficent explained, all those years earlier she had been so full of pain and anger that it had been channeled into the curse. She’d had no way of knowing then that as a result, the only thing that would ever be able to break the curse was an emotion equally strong.

  “Love,” Aurora said when Maleficent paused. “You love me that much, don’t you?”

  Maleficent nodded.

  Aurora smiled. This was the love of a mother for her daughter. A love neither of them had ever known and now never wanted to be without. Standing up, she held out her hand. It was time to go and find her father.

  Together they made their way out of Aurora’s bedroom and down the long hall. The lights on the wall flickered, casting eerie shadows on the iron. Aurora’s eyes widened as they turned down one hall. It was covered in large iron thorns, their sharp points gleaming. It looked like a terrifying reproduction of the Thorn Wall that kept the Moors safe. Aurora suddenly felt nervous about seeing the king. She had spent only a few minutes with him and knew he was cold. But what kind of person would line his halls with thorns? What had happened to him in the sixteen years she had been gone?

  Finally, they came to a set of doors. Pushing them open, Aurora found herself standing on a balcony that looked over the Great Hall. A huge staircase led down into the center of the room. It was dark and eerily quiet. Nothing like the home Aurora had imagined she would find. Nothing like the place she wanted to call home.

  “Are we going back to the Moors now?” Aurora asked, turning to look at Maleficent.

  The faerie nodded. “If that is what you wish.”

  Aurora nodded. Smiling, Maleficent began to descend the long stairs. Behind her, Aurora followed. The raven flapped overhead, his black form nearly disappearing in the darkness of the hall. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Maleficent hesitated, as though sensing something. She turned and motioned for Aurora to stay there. Then, cautiously, she stepped farther into the room.

  Suddenly, there was a loud creaking sound. Aurora looked up, and her eyes grew wide as she watched a giant iron net covered in spikes fall from the ceiling. It landed directly on top of Maleficent. The faerie let out a scream as the spikes stabbed into her, the iron burning her skin. She lurched forward, trying to shake off the net, but it was no use. It clung to her every step of the way. Only her two large horns remained free of the netting, their pointed tips protruding from the top.

  A moment later, there was the sound of heavy footsteps, and a line of soldiers, all wearing armor, marched out of the shadows. Ignoring Aurora, they surrounded Maleficent. Then they used their iron spears to secure the net to the floor.

  Aurora raced forward, pushing her way past the guards and kneeling down next to Maleficent. As the soldiers began to stab at Maleficent with their iron weapons, Aurora desperately tried to lift the net. “Stop!” she cried in vain. “Don’t hurt her!” She let out a scream as two of the soldiers grabbed her and began to drag her away.

  Kicking and screaming, Aurora struggled to free herself from the soldiers’ grasp. They just kept dragging her farther and farther away from Maleficent until they unceremoniously let her go. As Aurora looked at the faerie, she choked back a sob. Maleficent was fading before her very eyes. Every moment under the iron net was draining her. If she didn’t get out soon, she would die.

  Then Aurora saw Maleficent’s lips move. A moment later, there was a sound like something exploding. Turning her head, Aurora saw that Maleficent’s raven had fallen to the ground. At first, Aurora thought one of the guards had hurt the bird, but then the creature began to transform. His beak grew longer and longer until it became a snout filled with razor-sharp teeth. His neck stretched out and his body grew. Where his talons had been, long claws appeared and dug into the hard floor. A tail extended from his back and his feathers disappeared, replaced by scales. When the transformation was complete, the bird was completely gone. In his place stood a huge fire-breathing dragon.

  Aurora took a step back. The creature was terrifying. He lifted his head back and roared. All around her the guards let out frightened shouts as more men raced into the room, alerted by all the commotion. Seeing the dragon, the new guards lifted their shields and raised their spears. They charged.

  Opening his mouth, the dragon let out a huge burst of white-hot fire. It filled the room, igniting the chandeliers and melting the dozens of wax candles instantly. Turning his head, the dragon laid flame to several of the long wooden ceiling beams. The old wood caught fire quickly. It crackled and groaned as the roof began to weaken. Ignoring the destruction he was causing, the dragon leaned down and, with his teeth, gently grabbed the iron net covering Maleficent.

  As Aurora watched, the faerie pushed herself to her feet. She was gasping and seemed disoriented. Aurora took a step forward, ready to race to Maleficent’s side, when suddenly there was a loud, unearthly groan. A moment later a giant wooden beam, its ends still flaming, crashed down just a few inches ahead of Aurora.

  Stifling a scream, Aurora turned and ran up the stairs. Behind her she could hear the roar of the dragon and the screams of men. There was the whistle of arrows as they flew through the air and the sizzle of flames as more things caught on fire. She wanted to help Maleficent, but there was nothing she could do in that room. Reaching the top of the stairs, she saw the door they had come through earlier. It was blocked by a burning beam. To the right of it was another door that was open. Aurora ran toward it. She needed to get help. Maleficent had saved her once; now it was her turn to save Maleficent.

  slammed the door. Her heart was pounding and her hands shaking. Closing her eyes, she leaned her forehead against the hard door. For a moment, she just stood there, trying to s
low her racing pulse so she could think of what to do. Slowly, the sound of her heartbeat grew softer. Just when she thought she was safe, she felt a tingle at the base of her neck, as though there was something, or someone, behind her.

  Aurora whipped around. She saw that she had entered one of the castle’s turret rooms. The space was round, with small windows placed at uneven heights along the walls. Opulent rugs sprawled across the floor, and a large desk covered in papers sat in the corner. But what made her skin crawl was a giant case propped up against the far wall.

  Inside, trapped behind thick panels of glass and wrapped in an iron chain, was a pair of massive black wings. Maleficent’s wings.

  Approaching the case, Aurora peered through the glass. Her heart broke as she stared at the source of so much of Maleficent’s pain. Her father had taken these majestic wings from Maleficent. He had taken them to gain the throne and, in doing so, had set in motion a horrible course of events.

  It was his fault she had been cursed. It was his fault she had never known her mother and lived her entire life in a lie. Anger welled up inside Aurora. She didn’t know what to do now. Should she go back and face her father? Or get to the safety of the Moors?

  And then, inside their cage, Maleficent’s wings fluttered.

  Aurora’s eyes grew wide and a smile spread across her face. Now she knew just what to do. She had a plan.

  Using all of her strength, she began to push the case. It tilted a few inches off the floor…then a few inches more. With a giant crash, it fell to the ground, glass shattering everywhere. Aurora took a step back. All she could do now was wait and hope that her instincts were right—that she had just found a way to save Maleficent.

  Aurora ran back out onto the balcony and looked down at the Great Hall. To her chagrin, Stefan’s guards were beginning to get the upper hand. They had managed to tie the dragon down and had pushed Maleficent back into a corner. Still weak from her time under the net, the faerie could do little to fend off the attacks of their iron spears. Her face was pale and Aurora could see that her faerie godmother was shaking. Still, Maleficent kept her head held high.

  Hearing the sound of heavy footsteps, Aurora looked toward the hall’s main entrance. Her father had entered the room. King Stefan was clad entirely in iron, from the helmet on his head to the tips of his iron boots. Only his eyes were visible through the holes in his mask. In his hand he held a long iron whip. It was covered in spikes, and as he walked closer to Maleficent, he swung it back and forth.

  CRACK!

  Maleficent let out a gasp as the whip snaked out and knocked her to the ground. Taking large, purposeful strides, Stefan took off his helmet and stared down at the helpless faerie. Aurora was shocked to see such coldness in his eyes.

  “You have no idea how much I’ve regretted sparing your life,” he said, raising the whip. It snapped through the air, the metal wrapping around Maleficent’s body. Stefan began to drag her along the floor. “How does it feel to be a faerie creature without wings? In a world where you have no power?”

  Watching her father treat Maleficent like some sort of animal, Aurora felt sick to her stomach. She couldn’t believe that she had thought for even one moment that Maleficent was the evil in the world. Maleficent wasn’t the evil one—it was her father. He was the monster.

  Stefan threw Maleficent onto the steps of the throne. Sneering down at her, he pulled out his heavy iron sword. Maleficent struggled to her knees and looked up into Stefan’s eyes. Aurora knew Maleficent was defenseless. She knew the faerie felt trapped with nowhere left to go. But still Maleficent did not show fear in front of Stefan. She simply looked up at him, pity in her eyes.

  Stefan raised his sword high above his head, ready to make the final move. Maleficent closed her eyes. Aurora opened her mouth to shout.

  And then there was an explosion of light.

  Energy and magic filled the Great Hall, knocking soldiers off their feet and sending Stefan staggering back. When the light faded, Maleficent stood on the steps. She was no longer weak. She was glowing with power and with something much more. She was glowing with happiness.

  Tears fell from Aurora’s eyes as she watched Maleficent’s big black wings open wide. The wings had found their way back home. They had reunited with Maleficent—just as Aurora had planned when she toppled the glass case.

  Taking off into the air, Maleficent circled the hall. She swooped and soared, dove and swirled. Below her, Stefan’s men threw spear after spear, but she dodged them with ease. She had been born to move this way, and her body remembered how to do so with grace and ease.

  She flew over to one of the chandeliers and cut its rope. With a crash, it fell to the ground, the flames from its candles burning through the ropes that held the great dragon down.

  With a triumphant roar, the dragon lurched to his feet and began to wreak havoc once again. As he breathed a dazzling, glowing fire, Maleficent continued her flight.

  “She’s going for the window!” Stefan shouted.

  The guards on the ground shot more arrows. Once again, they fell harmlessly short. With a cry of rage, Stefan raised his spiked chain high. He began to twirl it over his head. Faster and faster it went. Then it whipped out and wrapped around Maleficent’s ankle. She let out a gasp as pain once again washed over her.

  “I’ve got you!” Stefan cried. He wrapped his end of the chain around his wrist for leverage. Then he began to try to pull her down toward him. But Maleficent had her wings back, and they gave her a strength she hadn’t possessed before. With a mighty flap, she moved forward, dragging Stefan along behind her.

  Aurora watched the pair locked in battle. She didn’t want her father to win, but she didn’t want him to get hurt. She just wanted him to leave Maleficent alone. Yet even though he was the weaker of the two, Stefan clung stubbornly to the chain.

  Aurora saw that Maleficent was struggling with what to do next. Seeing the large stained glass window ahead of her, Maleficent flew faster and faster. There was a loud CRACK as her horns slammed into the glass, and a moment later, she crashed through, dragging Stefan behind her and into the outside world.

  Racing down the stairs and across the Great Hall, Aurora headed for the window. She leaned out through the now broken stained glass. A full moon hung high in the sky, illuminating Maleficent’s wings in a cool blue light as she flew over one of the bridges that spanned the castle. Below her, Stefan hovered a few feet above the stone edifice.

  Then Maleficent swooped down. The sudden movement caused Stefan to lose his grip on the chain. There was a thud as he hit the bridge. A moment later, Maleficent landed nearby.

  She quickly dropped to her knees and pulled the painful chain off her ankle. Then, standing up, she turned to stare at Stefan. From her spot above, Aurora saw a heated look pass between the pair. Fury flashed in Maleficent’s eyes and she began to stalk toward Stefan. In one swift move she grabbed him by the neck and lifted him to his feet.

  Aurora’s breath caught in her throat. She had never seen such anger in Maleficent. The faerie was shaking with barely controlled rage. Her fingers tightened around Stefan’s neck and the king gasped desperately for air. For a terrifying moment, Aurora was convinced Maleficent was going to kill her father. But then the faerie looked up at Aurora. Time stood still as their eyes locked.

  The anger seemed to leave Maleficent’s body in a rush. Without a word, Aurora knew that Maleficent had realized that anger would get her nowhere. Forgiveness was a far more powerful tool, and she would not hurt Aurora by hurting her next of kin. She would not use violence to solve the conflict. She would opt for peace. Maleficent dropped Stefan to the ground and turned. Smiling up at Aurora, she lifted her wings.

  Through the broken window, Aurora smiled back at her faerie godmother. But the smile faded as she watched her father struggle to his feet. The man was still gasping for air and his neck was red. His eyes bore into Malef
icent’s back.

  Letting out a shout, he charged straight at the faerie. His body slammed into her, the momentum pushing both of them closer to the edge of the bridge. Then they fell over the side. Aurora screamed.

  The pair hung in the air for a moment before they began to fall toward the ground. Faster and faster they went, tumbling head over foot. The ground rushed up at them and still Stefan clung to Maleficent. His arms were wrapped so tight that Maleficent couldn’t free her wings. If something didn’t change, they were going to die together.

  And then, as Aurora watched in horror, Stefan let go. Free of his weight, Maleficent swooped back up into the air. Below her there was a thud. And then all went quiet.…

  stared out over the large Thorn Wall. In the bright light of day, it seemed smaller than she remembered. So much had happened since she’d first laid eyes on its twisted, sharp branches. She had discovered magic, met fantastic creatures, and learned the power of a true love. She had learned the true cause of her mother’s death, a broken heart. She had met her father, only to lose him shortly thereafter. It was hard for her to think of his death—and of all the pain he had caused.

  After his fall, Maleficent told Aurora the whole story. She told her how she had once thought Stefan was her true love. How they had bonded because they were both orphans, how she had loved him despite what she’d heard about the greediness of humans and their wars against her kind. How she’d believed in his goodness and in goodness in other humans, despite the fact that humans had killed her parents.

  Both Stefan and Maleficent had agreed that peace could be possible between the two worlds. Peace was something Maleficent’s parents had fought for, a legacy Maleficent had so badly wanted to uphold. Maleficent and Stefan had believed that if they could lead by example, other fairies and humans could choose to live together in harmony.