Maleficent Read online

  “Aurora,” she began, “there is something I need to tell you.”

  “Yes?” Aurora said, looking up at her, innocent and pure as ever.

  Maleficent stopped walking and shuffled on her feet for a moment, unsure how to proceed. “There is evil in the world,” she finally said. “I cannot keep you safe from it.”

  Expecting the princess to look scared, Maleficent was surprised to see her smile. “I’m almost sixteen, Godmother. I can take care of myself.”

  Maleficent smiled despite herself. The girl was so brave yet so naive. “I understand. But that’s not—”

  Aurora interrupted her. “I have a plan,” she said, her face lighting up with excitement. “When I’m older, I’m going to live here in the Moors with you. And then we can look after each other.”

  Looking at the proud smile on Aurora’s face, Maleficent had no choice but to smile back. It was clear the girl had put a lot of thought into this. And that she not only wanted to live in the Moors but wanted to be a part of Maleficent’s life was beyond touching. Aurora didn’t know what her future held, the curse that was inevitable. She thought she had her whole life in front of her. And she wanted to spend it in the Moors, not in the cottage with her aunts, where things would be easier. There she had a home and was surrounded by family—at least, she thought they were family. There in the Moors, she would have only the woodland creatures as companions. True, she would also have Diaval and Maleficent, but what fun could they possibly be after any length of time? But it would be so nice.…

  As Aurora’s words sank in, Maleficent’s heart began to beat faster. Wait a minute, she thought. Why didn’t I think of it sooner? Maybe, just maybe, there was a way to prevent the curse and give Aurora what she wanted—and, frankly, what Maleficent wanted, too. If the girl lived in the Moors, she would never be able to touch a spinning wheel. She could avoid the fate placed upon her nearly sixteen years earlier. Her excitement building, Maleficent turned to Aurora. “You don’t have to wait until you’re older,” she said. “You could live here now.”

  But Aurora shook her head sadly. “My aunts would never let me.”

  “I thought you could take care of yourself,” Maleficent said, hoping she didn’t sound as desperate as she felt. Now that the idea had lodged itself in her brain, she couldn’t let it go.

  “I can,” Aurora said. “But they would be sad without me.” She paused and then smiled as she, too, had an idea. “Could they come visit me?”

  Maleficent stifled a groan. Knotgrass, Thistlewit, and Flittle? Here? The pixie traitors back in the Moors and, worse still, in her grove? The idea was abhorrent. The three little pixies had abandoned their home to live with the enemy…and yet they had raised Aurora. And while it pained Maleficent to admit it, they hadn’t done that bad a job. Even if it had taken a little unseen help from her and Diaval. Looking down at the hopeful expression on Aurora’s face, Maleficent knew she had no choice. If she wanted the girl to be safe in the Moors, she was going to have to let the pixies through the Wall. Though it wouldn’t be all the time. Just every once in a while. But that was something she and Aurora could discuss at a later point. For now, she was simply going to say yes.

  Aurora let out a happy squeal and clapped her hands. “Then I will!” she exclaimed. “I’ll sleep in a tree and eat berries and black nuts, and all the Fair People will be my friends. I’ll be happy here for the rest of my life. I’m going to tell them tomorrow.” As she spoke, she skipped ahead, lost in thoughts of her life to come.

  Behind her, Maleficent watched, pleased that things were going to work out after all.

  AFTER TUCKING AURORA SAFELY INTO HER BED, MALEFICENT SPENT THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT WANDERING RESTLESSLY THROUGH THE WOODS NEAR THE COTTAGE. The next day was important for so many reasons. In only three days’ time, Aurora would be sixteen. And before that day arrived, she needed to come to the Moors. While Maleficent trusted Aurora to stay strong and stand up to her “aunts,” she wanted to be nearby in case. And with Aurora’s sixteenth birthday fast approaching, she felt an even greater sense of urgency. Aurora needed to be in the Moors—and safe from spinning wheels—immediately.

  As the sun rose, Diaval joined Maleficent and the two made their way to the clearing. From the safety of the trees, they watched as life began to stir in the cottage. They heard the clink of pans being put on the stove and the sizzle as eggs were cooked. That was followed by the sounds of dishes being cleaned and the squabbling of the three pixies over who had left the dishes overnight. Maleficent smiled. It would be good for Aurora to get away from those three, even if they did have to visit occasionally.

  Finally, Aurora appeared at the cottage door. Looking up at the cloudless blue sky, she smiled and, after saying a quick good-bye to her aunts, began to walk into the woods as she was wont to do every morning. But that morning was different. Because on that morning, not only was she being followed by Maleficent and Diaval, she was gathering up the courage to tell her aunts the news.

  “Aunties,” Maleficent heard her say as the girl walked along. “I’m almost sixteen and I need a life of my own.” Maleficent smiled as she listened to Aurora practice her speech. “I love you very much but it’s time—”

  Her voice cut off abruptly as she heard a noise in the bushes. Looking about, she saw a wide tree and ducked behind it. Maleficent had heard the noise, too, and turned her head toward the nearby bushes. A moment later, she watched as a handsome young man stepped out, leading a large white horse. He pushed a strand of thick brown hair out of his brown eyes and looked around.

  “Is someone there?” the young man called out.

  From her hiding spot, Aurora peeked out. Seeing the man, she quickly ducked back, her cheeks turning red.

  Seeing Aurora’s reaction, Maleficent was filled with an ominous feeling. The princess had never seen a man up close before, let alone one this handsome. And there was no denying it: the young man was very, very handsome. He had a regal way of carrying himself and broad shoulders that tapered into a narrow waist, and from what she could see of them, his eyes looked kind. What would happen if he and Aurora spoke? Would he enchant her the way Stefan had enchanted Maleficent all those years before? Would she still want to live in the Moors? Or would she betray the faerie world like her father before her?

  As those thoughts raced through Maleficent’s mind, the young man took another step closer. “Hello,” he called out toward where Aurora hid.

  Cautiously, Aurora stepped out. “Sorry to bother you,” he said. “But I’m on my way to King Stefan’s castle and I’ve become hopelessly lost. Can you help me?” As he spoke, he took another step forward.

  Nervous, Aurora stepped back, stumbling over a rock and falling to the ground with a thump.

  “I’m sorry,” the young man said. “That was my doing. I rushed in too fast and frightened you. Forgive me?” He held out his hand to help her up.

  Just as he pulled her to her feet, a ray of sun shot down, turning Aurora’s golden hair still more golden and illuminating her tall, lean body and beautiful face. Maleficent watched as the young man’s eyes grew wide. He was entranced. She saw his breath quicken and his face flush. She also saw that Aurora’s hand nervously went to her throat, as though she was unsure of herself in front of the man.

  “It’s that way,” she finally said, her voice breathless.

  The young man nodded but didn’t answer.

  “The castle,” Aurora added, worried that he didn’t know what she was talking about.

  He nodded again.

  Watching, Maleficent didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The young man was clearly love struck. And Aurora? Well, she was growing bolder, less shy, with each passing moment. If it weren’t so upsetting, Maleficent would be proud of her brave Aurora. But selfishly, she wanted the girl to stay quiet.

  “What’s your name?” Aurora asked, trying to get him to speak.


  The young man once again didn’t say anything. Not for a moment. He just stood there, transfixed and seemingly unable to think of his own name. Finally, he shook his head and blinked, as if coming to from a long sleep. “Phillip,” he said. “It’s Phillip.”

  Aurora smiled. “Hello, Phillip.”

  “What’s yours?” Phillip asked, mesmerized.

  “Aurora.”

  “Hello, Aurora,” he said softly.

  As around them the birds chirped and the wind blew gently, the pair stood there, gazing into each other’s eyes. For them, it was as though time were standing still. For Maleficent, it was as though time were speeding up. She could clearly see what was to happen. This Phillip would woo her Aurora. Take her away and never be able to protect her from the curse. And Aurora would go, unaware of the danger she faced. With a sigh, Maleficent waited to see if she was right.

  “Well, thank you for your help,” Phillip said, finally breaking the silence. “I’d best be off, then.” He whistled loudly and his white horse trotted over. Phillip pulled himself into the saddle and reluctantly turned to go.

  “Will you be back?” Aurora called out.

  Smiling, Phillip looked over his shoulder. “Nothing could stop me.”

  Letting out a happy laugh, Aurora said, “Then I’ll see you soon. Good-bye, Phillip.” She waved as he rode off, looking back over his shoulder as if to make sure she was still there.

  Long after Phillip had disappeared over the horizon, Aurora stood there, until, humming a happy little tune, she left the glen. In the woods nearby, Maleficent fretted. Diaval, who had been sitting on her shoulder the whole time, began to pick incessantly at her with his beak. Reaching up, she grabbed his bird feet. “Stop doing that!” she hissed. When he began to squirm, Maleficent waved a hand, transforming him into his human form.

  “That boy is the answer!” Diaval said the instant he could speak.

  Maleficent shook her head. “No, Diaval,” she said sadly.

  “Yes!” he countered. “True Love’s Kiss, remember? It will break the spell!”

  “True Love’s Kiss?” Maleficent repeated. Was he serious? Did he really not get it? This was why she had wanted to keep Aurora in the Moors in the first place. Because there were fools who might actually believe there was a way to stop the inevitable. But there wasn’t. There could never be. She knew the truth all too well, as she had lived it herself. Filled with renewed bitterness, she went on. “Have you not worked it out yet? I cursed her that way because there is no such thing.”

  Diaval didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, softly, he said, “That may be the way you feel. But what about Aurora? That boy could be her only chance. It’s her fate, not yours! Haven’t you done enough?”

  The words cut deep. What Diaval said was true. She had already done enough, too much. She had put Aurora in this position, yet…it made her furious that Diaval had to point it out. He knew nothing! What right did he have to make her feel worse than she already did? Her temper flaring, she lifted her hand, ready to transform him. But Diaval spoke, surprising her.

  “Go ahead!” he cried. “Turn me into whatever you want. A bird, a worm. I don’t care anymore.” Not waiting to see what she would do, Diaval turned and walked away.

  Behind him, Maleficent watched him go, her emotions churning. She hated him for talking to her like that. Hated him for making her feel guilty. Yet if she hated him so much, why was she so upset to see him go? Maleficent sighed. Why had everything gotten so complicated?

  MALEFICENT WAS ABOUT TO FIND OUT THAT THINGS HAD INDEED GOTTEN MUCH, MUCH MORE COMPLICATED. In the little cottage in the clearing, Aurora awoke on the day before her birthday in the best of moods. She had met the most handsome man, was going to live in the Moors, and, best yet, would get to spend more time with her faerie godmother. The only thing that gave her pause was that she needed to tell her aunts she was leaving. That part dampened her mood slightly. After all, the three of them had raised her when her parents had died, and while they could be a little odd, she loved each one of them. Sighing, she got out of bed. It was time.

  Walking into the cottage’s main room, she smiled when she saw her aunts bickering once again. Hearing her footsteps, they all froze, then turned toward her, looking oddly guilty. But Aurora ignored that and plunged ahead with her news. “I need to talk to you about something,” she began.

  “Anything, lovie,” Flittle said, straightening out her hair, which was a tad disheveled.

  “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, and please don’t be sad, but I’ll be sixteen tomorrow and so…”

  Her voice trailed off as she struggled to go on. “Yes?” Thistlewit prompted.

  Aurora took a deep breath, and then in a rush, her words running into one another, she said, “I’m leaving home.”

  Expecting tears and sadness, she was surprised when Knotgrass’s face turned red with anger. “Oh, no you aren’t!” she cried. “I didn’t suffer all these years in this miserable hovel with those two imbeciles so you would ruin it on the last day! We are taking you back to your father—” As the last words left her lips, Knotgrass slapped her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to say that.

  Aurora’s face grew pale. “My father?” she repeated. “You told me my parents were dead.”

  The three aunts looked at one another, silently figuring out what to do. Finally, Flittle patted the bench next to her. “You’d better sit down,” she said.

  Confused, Aurora did as she was told and listened as they began their story.

  “Faerie Godmother!”

  Aurora’s voice rang out through the glen. Hearing the panic in her voice, Maleficent emerged from the shadows while Diaval hung back. It was the day before Aurora’s sixteenth birthday, and she was supposed to have come after telling her aunts that she was leaving. Clearly, something had happened, and knowing the three pixies and their conniving ways to stay on Stefan’s good side, Maleficent figured they must have told Aurora about her past to try to keep her with them. But just how much had they said?

  “I’m here,” Maleficent said, glancing at the princess. The girl’s usually bright eyes were full of tears and her hair was a mess, as though she had been pulling at it incessantly. Maleficent waited, fearing what Aurora was about to say.

  “When were you going to tell me that I’m cursed?” she asked, her voice full of pain.

  Maleficent had been right. Those meddlesome faeries-in-waiting had told Aurora what had happened years earlier. But Aurora had said only that she had been cursed. She hadn’t said who had cursed her.…

  “Well? Is it true?” Aurora asked, her voice pleading.

  Maleficent nodded. “It is,” she said simply.

  Aurora’s face fell. “I was just a baby!” she cried. “Who would do such a terrible thing to a baby?” Her big blue eyes met Maleficent’s. “My aunts said it was an evil faerie. They said her name. They said…they said…” She choked on her sobs, unable to say the name out loud.

  Seeing the hurt this moment was causing her, Maleficent couldn’t stand it any longer. Turning away so as not to meet Aurora’s gaze, she said the name aloud. “Maleficent.”

  Behind her, Aurora’s eyes grew wide as something clicked and she began to put the pieces of the puzzle together. “Is that your name?” she asked. “Are you Maleficent? Are you the one who cursed me?”

  Slowly, Maleficent turned to face the princess. This was not the way she had wanted Aurora to find out who she was and what she had done. But what else could she do? The truth was going to come out one way or another. “Yes,” she said softly.

  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 t
he 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.