The Curse of Maleficent Page 9

  Walking through a pair of swinging doors, she found herself at the top of a short staircase. She could make out a long hallway at the bottom and tiptoed down to it. On either side, doors led into various rooms where servants went about their daily chores, safely hidden from the eyes of the royals. One of the doors was open, and through it, Aurora saw a long table. Several older women sat around it, mending sheets and dresses by hand.

  That’s odd, Aurora thought. In a place this big, one would think seamstresses would be given spinning wheels to use. Her aunts had always told her that spinning wheels were silly things. That you could sew much better with your fingers than with a wheel. But Aurora wasn’t completely naive. There was no way a castle this size could have everything mended by hand. That once again raised the question: where were all the spinning wheels?

  Keep looking, a voice urged. Keep looking until you find the spinning wheel. You need to touch it.

  Aurora shook her head. Where was that voice coming from? And why was it telling her to keep looking for a spinning wheel? Her finger throbbed again, more painful now than ever. Aurora walked on, pushing through the rows of hanging laundry and ignoring curious looks from the women who were sewing and washing. Outside, the sun began its final descent beneath the horizon, turning the sky a glorious shade of orange. But Aurora barely noticed. All she could think about was stopping the pain in her finger.

  Pushing through one last line of clothing, Aurora found herself at the end of the laundry room. There, in front of her, was an object draped with cloth. It was old and covered in a thick layer of dust, but it had the distinct shape of a spinning wheel. Grabbing a corner of the cloth, Aurora pulled it away, sending a cloud of dust into the air. She sneezed. Then she looked down at the object she suddenly found so interesting.

  It was old. The wheel had lost some spokes and the wood was cracking. But the needle on the tip of the spindle still shone as though it had been used only the day before. Taking a step closer, Aurora reached out her hand. The throbbing in her finger intensified. She was vaguely aware that the sun’s final rays were spreading across the countryside. The room was growing darker, and yet the spinning wheel seemed to glow from within. From somewhere behind her, Aurora thought she heard someone call out “Stop!” But she didn’t pay attention. All she could think about now was touching the tip of her finger to the spindle of the spinning wheel.

  Everything around her blurred. Time seemed to slow. She forgot to care that her father was cold and heartless. She forgot to feel sad that she would never meet her mother. She even forgot to be mad at Maleficent. In fact, she couldn’t remember why she was mad at her in the first place. All she could think about was the spindle.

  Slowly, Aurora’s hand moved closer and closer. Her index finger, still throbbing, was now mere inches away from the spindle. It hovered right above the needle, while inside her mind a voice was saying, “Yes! This is exactly what you should be doing at this moment!” And then, with the gentlest of touches, she placed her finger on the needle.

  There was a small prick. The throbbing in Aurora’s finger stopped. She felt a moment of relief and then…nothing. She slid to the floor, asleep.

  The curse had been fulfilled.

  was in trouble. She had known it as soon as she and the others had discovered Aurora was gone, and then when they’d found that the horse was missing, too. It could only mean one thing: Aurora had gone home.

  Not only was this extremely dangerous for Aurora, what with the time of the curse fast-approaching, but it didn’t exactly bode well for the pixies. As soon as King Stefan realized the pixies had failed to keep his daughter safe in the woods, he would be furious. And while Knotgrass had no idea how he would act on this anger, she knew she did not want to find out.

  So Knotgrass made a decision. In order to save herself and the others, she turned all of them back into their original pixie forms—complete with wings. They teetered and tottered in the air, trying to get used to flying again. Knotgrass had to snap at Flittle multiple times for running into her. Finally, after a few more bumbling moments, the pixies were buzzing toward the castle.

  It was strange returning to castle after so many years. It looked different than Knotgrass remembered. For one, there were iron plates lining the walls, making it look more like a cold fortress than a grand castle. For another, dozens of menacing-looking guards immediately stopped them.

  After suffering through an intense line of questioning about who exactly they were and just what they were doing at the castle (a line of questioning which Knotgrass did not appreciate), they were quickly escorted into the castle, toward the princess’s room.

  “Excuse us, excuse us,” Knotgrass called to the servants and handmaidens as they flew through the halls. “This is an emergency.” The guard leading the pixies turned around to glare at her. Knotgrass harumphed quietly. Honestly, they didn’t get any respect in this castle.

  Soon the guard stopped before a set of large wooden doors. He opened them and paused before entering, giving the three pixies a view of a very somber scene. Thistlewit and Flittle gasped in unison, and Knotgrass merely stared. They were too late. It had already happened.

  For there, lying on a bed, looking as though she were merely resting, was Aurora. Even in sleep she was beautiful. Her long golden hair fell on the pillows, shining in the candlelight. Her hands were clasped together, a single rose matching her red lips positioned between her fingers, her mouth parted in the smallest of smiles. She looked so serene.

  Standing at the princess’s bedside was King Stefan. And while Aurora looked peaceful, he looked furious. Hearing the guard enter with the three pixies in tow, the king whirled around to face them. “Look at her!” he shouted.

  Knotgrass gulped and glanced once more at Aurora. Then she looked back at the king. He was angry, that was clear, but Knotgrass couldn’t help asking herself why? Was it because he had lost his daughter all over again? Or was it a different reason? A less sentimental one. Was he, in fact, mad because Maleficent had won…again?

  Either way, it didn’t matter. If Knotgrass wanted to stay in the castle, she was going to have to fix this. “She’s only sleeping,” she pointed out.

  “She might as well be dead,” Stefan snapped.

  “But what about the kiss?” Flittle asked softly.

  Thistlewit nodded. “Yes! A kiss will wake her!”

  King Stefan looked out the big windows at the Moors in the distance. He seemed lost in some long-ago memory. There was a moment when his features softened as though he was recalling a happy encounter.

  And then they immediately hardened into a scowl again. It was as though he was remembering the moment Maleficent cursed Aurora all over again. “True Love’s Kiss,” he repeated. “Yes.” Turning his attention back to the pixies, he added, “Find someone to do it. If you fail me again, you will rot in the dungeon…forever.”

  Knotgrass, Thistlewit, and Flittle wasted no time. They perused the castle for eligible young men but only found grumpy guards and busy servants. Nobody seemed to be a good candidate for breaking a sleeping beauty’s curse.

  “What about that one?” Flittle asked.

  “That’s a statue,” Knotgrass said exasperatedly.

  Flittle squinted her eyes at the stone figure propped up against the wall. “Oh, yeah.”

  “If only this castle was bigger,” Thistlewit sighed.

  Then Knotgrass came up with a brilliant idea: they needed to look outside the castle and find someone worthy of kissing a princess. A wealthy nobleman, perhaps.

  With a new plan in place, the three pixies flew as fast as they could through the large castle doors. They decided to make their way to the home of the richest member of Stefan’s court. The family had a son. He was almost royalty. Aurora was royalty. Perhaps, Knotgrass reasoned, those were the makings of true love.

  When they got to the home,
they banged on the door until it was opened by the son. What luck!

  “You have to come with us,” Knotgrass announced, pulling his sleeve.

  “What?” The young man was clearly confused.

  “Hurry!” Flittle said impatiently, grabbing the other sleeve. “By orders of the king.”

  “Do not anger your king,” Thistlewit added, not wanting to be left out.

  Knotgrass rolled her eyes. Why couldn’t the others let her do the talking? But she was pleasantly surprised when the young man started to follow them to the castle. Sure, he asked all sorts of annoying questions on the way, but at least he was going with them.

  Finally, the three pixies and the young nobleman were standing in front of Aurora. Knotgrass told the boy to kiss the princess.

  “But she’s asleep,” the young man pointed out.

  “She won’t mind,” Thistlewit said, trying to sound reassuring.

  Knotgrass watched as he looked down at the princess in front of him. Then he shrugged, leaned over, and kissed her.

  They waited. Nothing happened.

  They waited some more. Still, nothing happened.

  “You didn’t do it properly!” Knotgrass shouted when it was clear Aurora was not going to wake up.

  Flittle nodded. “It’s supposed to be True Love’s Kiss,” she pointed out, as though it were clear he had only given her a regular old kiss.

  “But I don’t even know her,” he protested.

  Knotgrass sighed. “Get out,” she said. When he was gone, she ordered the other two to go find another suitable young man in King Stefan’s court and bring him back at once.

  It didn’t take them long.

  “This is Princess Aurora,” Knotgrass said to the young man who walked into the room. “Are you in love with her?”

  While their first choice had seemed sweet and shy, this young man was brash and bold. He walked right up to Aurora’s bedside and kneeled down. “Madly,” he answered.

  Knotgrass nodded. Good. “You may kiss her, then.”

  Eagerly, the young man leaned down and pressed his lips to Aurora’s. And just like last time they waited. Nothing happened. Then they waited some more. And still nothing happened.

  “If it was true love, you would have woken her!” Flittle finally cried.

  And just like last time, Knotgrass sighed and said, “Get out.”

  This was not going well. How were they supposed to find Aurora’s true love when she had never even met a man before? There were only so many young men in the royal court. Eventually they would run out of chances, and then what? Knotgrass couldn’t spend the rest of her life in a dungeon. She had already spent too many years trapped in a cottage in the middle of nowhere.

  With a frustrated groan, Knotgrass turned toward the door. She needed to find a true love for Aurora, and fast. But where to start? If only somebody knew just who Aurora’s true love was. And if only that somebody would bring Aurora’s true love straight to them. Wouldn’t that be nice?

  But no, it was up to them to do all the work. Knotgrass sighed, pushing up her sleeves. She supposed she’d better start looking.

  turned out Knotgrass didn’t have to go far. Opening the door to Aurora’s room, she found herself face to face with a young man. He was standing in the middle of the hallway, looking around as though he had no clue how he had gotten there. Despite the rather confused look on his face, he was the handsomest young man Knotgrass had ever seen. He had light brown hair and kind eyes. His shoulders and chest were broad and he carried himself well. He had a long cape around his shoulders and his leather riding boots were spattered with mud, as though he had recently been out riding.

  Seeing the pixies, the young man smiled uncertainly. “Pardon me,” he said. “I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know where I am.”

  “King Stefan’s castle,” Thistlewit answered.

  The young man perked up. “This is where I’m meant to be,” he said, sounding surprised. “Odd that I can’t recall how I got here. My father sent me to see the king.”

  Knotgrass’s ears perked up. If the young man’s father was sending him to see a king, it could mean…“Who is your father?” she asked.

  “King John of Ulstead,” the young man replied.

  Knotgrass nearly squealed with joy. A prince. The young man was a prince! Who cared if he seemed to be bad with directions? It was just too perfect! He had to be the one who was going to give Aurora the kiss of true love. Why else would he have so mysteriously shown up there?

  Grabbing him, the three pixies pulled him into Aurora’s room and ushered him toward the bed.

  “What’s your name?” Knotgrass asked.

  “Phillip,” he replied.

  “Well, Prince Phillip, meet Princess Aurora,” Flittle said. Stepping back, she gestured at the sleeping beauty.

  A look of surprise flashed across Phillip’s face. “I know this girl,” he said. “What happened to her?”

  “She’s trapped in an enchantment,” Knotgrass answered as she stared at the young man. He actually seemed besotted by Aurora. He had met her? Where? And when? Wouldn’t Aurora have told her if she had met a man? Knotgrass shrugged. It didn’t matter if it meant Aurora would wake up.

  “Isn’t she beautiful?” Flittle asked.

  Phillip nodded. “The most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

  Knotgrass shared an excited glance with the other two pixies.

  “Do you want to kiss her?” Thistlewit asked.

  “Very much,” Phillip replied, his eyes never leaving Aurora’s face.

  “Well go on, then,” Knotgrass urged.

  Phillip hesitated. Then he looked over at the pixies. “I wouldn’t feel right about it,” he said. “I barely know her. We only met once.”

  Knotgrass stifled a scream. Why was Phillip being such a gentleman? It was irritating. The longer he waited, the longer it would be until she knew if she was safe from Stefan’s wrath or not. She was about to just push his head down when Flittle spoke up.

  “Haven’t you heard of love at first sight?” she asked, trying to reason with him.

  Phillip nodded. Then, ever so slowly, he began to bend his head down toward Aurora’s.

  Knotgrass held her breath. He was getting closer and closer. And then he leaned up.

  “An enchantment, you say?” he asked.

  “Kiss her!” the pixies screamed.

  Once more, Prince Phillip leaned down. And once more, he bent his head toward Aurora’s. Knotgrass didn’t dare breathe. It felt as if the whole room, the whole world, was holding its breath with her, waiting for this moment. Slowly, gently, Phillip pressed his lips against Aurora’s. There was hope in the kiss. There was love. It was, in the history of kisses, one of the most perfect.

  And still Aurora didn’t wake up.

  Leaning back, Prince Phillip looked over at the pixies. “Is something supposed to happen now?”

  “Get out!” they all screamed.

  Stumbling to his feet, Phillip exited the room. Behind him, the three pixies stood together, trying to figure out what to do next.

  “I was so certain he was the one,” Flittle said sadly.

  Knotgrass crossed her arms. “We just have to keep looking,” she said. “Scrape the bottom of the barrel. He doesn’t have to be a prince. He doesn’t even have to be handsome.”

  “Or that clean,” Thistlewit added.

  Together, they left the room. But they had only made it halfway down the hall when Knotgrass realized they hadn’t shut the bedroom door. They couldn’t have people wandering in and out with the princess in such a vulnerable state.

  “Go ahead,” she told the others. “Start looking for the next young man. I’ll be right behind you.” Then, turning, she made her way back to the room.

  Reaching the door, she took o
ne last look inside to make sure Aurora had not just woken up a bit late. Her eyes grew wide. Her heart began to race and she had to force herself not to scream in fright.

  Because there, standing by Aurora’s bedside, was Maleficent. Knotgrass couldn’t believe her eyes. What was she doing there? And why did it look like she was crying? Tiptoeing farther into the room, Knotgrass ducked behind one of the dressers and waited to see what would happen.

  As she watched, Maleficent sank to her knees. Then, ever so gently, she reached out and touched Aurora’s hand. “I will not ask for your forgiveness,” Maleficent said. “What I have done is unforgivable.”

  You can say that again, Knotgrass thought. Cursing a baby and making me spend sixteen years as a human? It was downright rude. Then Knotgrass looked at the genuine pain etched on Maleficent’s face and she softened. Perhaps they hadn’t been the only ones to suffer.

  Unaware of her audience, Maleficent went on. “I was so lost in hatred and revenge. I never dreamed that I could love you so much, sweet Aurora.”

  Knotgrass’s jaw dropped. Love? Maleficent loved Aurora? When had that happened? She had thought Maleficent incapable of emotion, except perhaps the mean and evil variety. Yet it was clear from the look on Maleficent’s face that she truly did care, greatly.

  Holding her breath, Knotgrass waited to see what the horned faerie would say next.

  “You stole what was left of my heart,” Maleficent said. “I used to be so bitter, so angry. I thought I would never love anyone again before you came along. And now I’ve lost you forever. But I swear no harm will come to you as long as I live. And not a day shall pass that I won’t miss your smile.” Ever so slowly, Maleficent leaned down and placed a single kiss on the girl’s forehead.

  Knotgrass felt a surge of magic wash over the room and her eyes widened. The air seemed to shimmer and there was the sound of something old ripping away.