Night Terror by FireAndFury

Disclaimer: I don't own Maleficent.

The charring smoke filled Aurora's already burning lungs as her sandaled feet carried her swiftly across the ash covered stone floors of the balcony. Her eyes darted back and forth at the battle below her. Well not much of a battle now. Diaval, in the form of a mighty dragon, had chains of iron wrapped around his scared legs, back, and snout. His breathing was uneven and ragged as he tried his very best to look towards his mistress. That's when Aurora looked in the same direction as Diaval and saw her. Her Godmother lying on the dust covered floor before the throne of King Stefan, the man that, only a few hours ago, she had called father.

Aurora watched as the wingless faerie struggled to sit up and face the man who had let madness consume and destroy him. Sky blue orbs met emerald green and Maleficent gave the blonde-headed beastie one last sad smile, her body weak and her eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

Aurora ran down the stairs two at a time and reached one of the many piles of smoldering rubble that surrounded the burning throne room when her blood froze at the image before her. Everything happened in slow motion. Stefan stepped forward and plunged the iron blade of his sword into the heart of her Godmother as a bloodcurdling scream ripped from the woman's throat. Dark red blood poured from the burning wound as Stefan twisted the sinister weapon further into her already beaten, blistered, and bloody body. The majestic faerie went limp. With a satisfied smirk, the deranged king tore the foul object, dripping with blood of the Protector of the Moors, from her figure as she dropped into the ashes, dead.

A sound more heart wrenching than any heard before made itself known from Aurora's mouth as she ran past a pair of large, ebony wings that had fallen at the same time as the faerie covered in blood and dirt before her. As Stefan, driven by his madness, went to boast to his men over his latest kill and Diaval struggled against his bonds to reach his fallen mistress, Aurora ran to the lifeless body of her Godmother. Warm, salty tears blurred her vision as she dropped to the hard ground beside the women she had come to consider a mother. She threw her arms around the faerie's body and screamed out in pure agony, her small frame shaking violently with each sob and her pale blue dress covered in dust and sticky, crimson blood. This wasn't right! She was too late. She found her Godmother's wings too late and it was all her fault for getting them into this situation in the first place. It was this thought that caused her cry out like a wounded animal and hold the lifeless body even tighter.

"Oh Godmother please don't be dead! Please! You can't leave me here! Diaval needs you! I need you! Please... I-I'm so sorry! I swear I didn't mean to hurt you... You're not the evil in the world. I've seen what evil is and it's not you. Please come back..." Aurora broke off in another fit of sobs.

Suddenly, cold, iron-clad hands wrapped around her arms and attempted to pry her away from the body. Aurora fought against her father's grasp, but his hold on her was stronger than she had anticipated. He roughly dragged her backwards from the dead form of her Godmother and away from the raven-turned-dragon who was still putting up a noble fight to reach his hatchling and his mistress. Aurora felt pure rage boil underneath her pale skin.

"No! No, you can't force me to leave her just lying there!"

"Aurora..."

"You're the evil in the world! It's you!"

"Aurora?"

"You killed her! You monster! You murdered the only person I loved like I would a mother! I hate you!"

"Aurora! Wake up!"