A/N: This fic is based around a prompt request I got from Merikiwi. I'm anticipating this to be much shorter than Trials and Turbulence, probably no more than seven or eight chapters.

Chapter 1

"Thirsty?" he asked softly as she leaned against his shoulder. They were at their spot, out in the woods, just like they had done many times in the course of their now three year affair. His arm was wrapped almost possessively around her shoulder.

She smiled and nodded as she took the flask of honey mead from him. She took a healthy swig before handing the flask back. It didn't take long before she started to feel woozy. Something was very wrong, but she did not have time to voice her concerns before she felt the darkness consume her.

When she woke later, her head throbbed with her heartbeat. It took several minutes for her to identify where she was: on the blanket that Stefan had ever so kindly laid out for them the previous night in their spot in the woods. Her clothes were gone, and her nether regions felt sore…and violated.

What happened? That question repeated over and over in her mind, intermixed with where is Stefan? She groaned and cried as realization of what must've happened hit her like a ton of bricks…

Buzz… Buzz… Buzz… Buzz…

She rolled over and forced her eyes open to check her phone. Diaval was calling her. Her eyes narrowed. It was 8:36 in the morning. He knew better than to call her in the morning hours, even if his call saved her from the third nightmare that week. She answered the call with a displeased huff.

"This better be important, Diaval."

"Mistress… I—well, there's been a—a new development," Diaval's nervous voice responded.

"What is it?" Maleficent demanded in a clipped tone. Impatience began boiling over the surface, and she fought to keep it contained, lest she frighten her manservant from telling her why he was calling her at such an hour.

"He's hiring a caretaker for his daughter for a week…"

That he could only mean one person. There was only one man Diaval knew not to name, at least to Maleficent.

"Go on."

"Qualifications include: woman, can cook, clean, and able to provide a respectful role model for his daughter."

Maleficent rolled her eyes at the list Diaval provided her. "Hypocritical ass," she muttered under her breath.

"What should I do, Mistress?"

"Do whatever is necessary to get me in there."

"Of course."

"Contact me when it's done." With that, Maleficent hung up. She fell back against her pillows and brought her hand to her eyes. It was going to be a long week, she was sure of that. She had not seen Stefan or his spawn in many years, during which she bided her time.

After several long minutes of just lying in bed, she rolled out of her bed and padded down to the bathroom to shower. The hot water helped her to remain grounded, even as flashes of her nightmare played back in her mind. Facing Stefan again…that wasn't going to be easy. She had changed her appearance over the years since he betrayed her. Her once light brown hair was now a mahogany, and required constant maintenance to keep up her appearance. She lost several pounds over the years, to the point that her cheekbones were more pronounced, giving her a more severe look. Her once bright eyes were now shadowed to reflect the pain she carried.

Once she stepped out of the shower and dried herself, she dressed in a pair of pinstripe slacks and a white button down shirt. She fussed with the collar for a few minutes until she had it looking straight. She then applied her makeup before her phone buzzed on the bathroom sink. She glanced at it, and once she saw that it was Diaval calling her back, she answered it.

"Yes?" she asked expectantly in a low, almost threatening tone.

"You're in. Stefan and his wife are leaving at 6:30 this evening. They want to meet you at 6."

"Very well."

Aurora gaped at her parents in disbelief. Her father had just announced over breakfast that they were leaving for a week, and that she was going to have a babysitter during the duration of her parents' trip.

"We're leaving tonight," Stefan informed, sounding disinterested in his daughter's protests.

"But I can just stay with one of my friends!"

"No." Stefan's eyes narrowed critically.

"I'm seventeen! I don't need a fucking babysitter!"

"Language, young lady!" Stefan barked while Aurora's mother gasped.

Aurora looked affronted at her parents. She got up from her spot at the table and marched upstairs to her bedroom, ignoring her father's orders to come back to the table until she was excused. Once she got up to her room, she slammed the door and walked over to her stereo and turned up her music before throwing herself to her mattress.

She sighed forlornly into her pillow. Her parents were always doing something like this. It wasn't fair! She punched her mattress until exhaustion forced her to take a nap.

Later that evening, Maleficent grimaced sourly as she gazed up at the Briars' residence. It had been years since she had set eyes on that place. Doing so now made her stomach turn, and she was expected to spend the next week within its walls. She had to remind herself that it was all in the name of revenge against the man who took everything from her. With that thought, she opened her car door and walked with dignity to the front door.

She glared at her trembling hand as she pressed the doorbell. Her skin crawled with anticipation. Still, she stood there with a façade of calm. She did not have to wait long before the door opened to reveal a smiling blonde woman. It took her a moment to recognize Leila Briars.

"You must be Ms. Raven," Leila said pleasantly, smiling up at Maleficent.

"Why yes," Maleficent forced out with a smile of her own before she could choke on her words. She glanced past Leila to see the face that had haunted her nightmares for years, Stefan Briars. She forcefully quashed the wide range of emotions raging under the surface of her pleasant mask.

"Aurora!" Stefan shouted grotesquely. "Aurora, get down here!"

When Leila invited Maleficent inside, she wanted nothing more than to run away, but she quelled that feeling and stepped through the threshold. She heard the stomping of feet coming from the stairs. It was not long before she laid eyes on a much younger version of Leila, from the blonde hair to the brilliant blue eyes. She frowned. The girl was still his spawn.

"Aurora, darling, this is Ms. Raven," Leila said.

Aurora frowned in what Maleficent could only describe as disgust and contempt.

Maleficent arched an eyebrow in response.

"Leila, we better go now," Stefan said stiffly. "We don't want to miss our flight. Ms. Raven, you will find my instructions in the kitchen."

Maleficent gladly stepped aside for Stefan and his wife. She turned back toward Aurora, only to find her charge already gone, probably back to her room, if she were to guess. She huffed and shook her head. "Teens," she muttered under her breath before going to where she knew the kitchen was.

The house had not changed much over the years. Stefan had always been very meticulous about maintaining appearances. Maleficent knew that he came from an impoverished background. It was one of the things he used to lure her in during those wild rebellious years before he violently cast her away. She noticed that there were not very many photos of his daughter hanging up, and certainly none of them recent, leading her to wonder for a fleeting moment what sort of family dynamic existed. She shook the thought away. She needed to remain focused on why she was there in the first place.

She found the list of instructions hanging on the fridge. She glanced at it and rolled her eyes at a few items. Bed time by 8pm, private vocal lessons Thursday at 4, homework must be completed before dinner—that one got a rise from Maleficent. What sort of parent made their child wait to eat? Obviously, the answer was Stefan. She slammed the piece of paper on the countertop and marched up the stairs.

All she had to do was follow the angry sounding music to find Aurora's room. She knocked on the girl's door.

"Go away!"

Maleficent's nostrils flared at the uncouth way Aurora addressed her. She closed her eyes and silently counted to three before she opened her mouth. "Dinner will be in an hour." With that, she returned to the kitchen to take stock of what was available.

It seemed that Stefan either did not have time to provision his daughter, or simply did not care. Maleficent wasn't sure which was worse. Again, that led her to wonder just how much he actually cared for Aurora. She grimaced at that intrusive thought.

Perhaps she could take Aurora out for dinner? That would enable her to get the girl to trust her, and thus a way to get at Stefan. And while she took the girl out, she could have Diaval do some grocery shopping.

With the plan made, she called him and gave him a list of essential groceries for the week. By the time the call was finished, Aurora had wandered down to the kitchen.

"I thought you said dinner would be ready in an hour," Aurora sniffed.

Maleficent turned to Aurora and forced a smile. "I thought we could go out to eat tonight."

Aurora could hardly believe her ears. Did this woman say what she thought she said? She blinked. It could be a trap. Her father could have brought this woman over to spy on her. It was certainly a possibility that she had to consider.

"I'm not hungry," she said stiffly. She folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the fridge while she watched and waited for the woman's reaction.

"Well, I am, and I am not leaving you here by yourself."

Aurora gaped at her. She was treating her just like her father, like a child. It downright pissed her off. "You can't force me to go."

"No, I can't. And I have no interest in forcing you to do anything against your will."

Aurora blinked, suddenly surprised. "You don't?"

"Is that so surprising?"

"No…" She turned away quickly, so as to prevent the strangely familiar woman from seeing through to the doubt.

"Go get ready. I want to leave in ten minutes."

Aurora stared at the woman for a moment, perplexed. This woman was being much more polite than any adult she had ever met. But at the same time, Aurora got the impression that she would not get away with any of her usual shenanigans that she often tried whenever her parents left her with a babysitter.

She walked back up to her room to grab her shoes and a light coat. When she went back down the stairs, the woman her father hired to watch her for the week was waiting by the door.

"My name's Maleficent, by the way."

"Maleficent," Aurora repeated, enunciating each syllable. The name sounded oddly familiar, and it tugged at some far off memory that refused to surface. She shook it away and followed Maleficent out the front door.

To be continued…