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How Sleeping Beauty Really Happened

Prologue

"Must you leave so soon, Stephen?" Maleficent asked with a pouty face, Stephen smiled softly,"Unfortunately yes. After all I have a kingdom to run..." he trailed off knowing he wasn't being entirely honest with her.

"I know that look, what aren't you telling me Stephen?" Maleficent questioned suspiciously and glared at him.

"Nothing my love but I must get back to the kingdom as there are some things I must take care of that weigh heavily on my mind, that's all." Stephen replied although he knew she didn't believe him.

"DON'T LIE TO ME STEPHEN!" Maleficent roared in fury at his lies.

"Why are you really leaving? And I want the truth Stephen, I am not so easily fooled as if I were some high maiden!" Maleficent hissed at him and Stephen sighed.

"Because I'm not really the king, not yet anyway. My coronation is tomorrow and because I'm getting married. I wish I didn't but there are things that cannot be ignored simply because I fell in love with a dragon fairy. I will be the king soon and there are obligations I must obey, I am sorry. I should have told you sooner." Stephen replied with a sigh and bowed his head what seemed to be sorrow.

"You're damned right you should have told me but what has been done cannot be undone. No matter, simply tell the current king that you no longer wish to rule and that you love me and no longer wish to marry his daughter." Maleficent suggested although it was clearly not a suggestion but a demand.

"Do you know who his daughter is? She is the princess Briar Rose and considered by the entire kingdom to be the most beautiful woman in all the lands with hair like sunshine and lips of ruby red, eyes of the bluest skies and the voice of an angel. To refuse her hand in marriage would be an insult of the greatest kind, I would be exiled to the farthest reaches of the kingdom and I would never see you again but if I become king then whatever I say is law and you would be welcomed in the kingdom whenever and for as long as you wish. There are secret passage ways through out the entire castle and would make it easy for us to-" Stephen tried to explain but Maleficent interrupted him.

"I do not wish to be your misstress Stephen and if we are to be honest with ourselves, I think we both know that I would never be a welcome guest in the kindom. I can hear them now, Oh look it's the dragon sorceress from from the forbidden fortress too bad she hadn't stayed there where she belongs. No I think not but if you wish to be a king and marry some self rightious princess as your queen then be my guest but I will say this, if you choose to leave the life we share for one of luxury then go and swear to never return. If you choose to stay and spend your life with me, your life will be the better for it knowing that chose happiness over obligation but the choice is yours Stephen. However know this, leave now and I swear that there will come a day when you suddenly realize that you should have chosen me." Maleficent warned him but never the less left the decision to him.

"Maleficent-" Stephen tried to reason with her but Maleficent wouldn't hear of it,"Don't you dare Maleficent me Stephen! Either you stay or you go but whatever you decide, decide with haste and for your sake I hope you choose wisely because your future will depend on it." Maleficent hissed angrily.

Stephen glared at her and his expression changed from apologetic to one of hatred,"You have the chance to be a queen and rule by my side and what do you do? You say that if I leave that'll it will be my undoing! You act as if you are someone to give me ultimatums but you see my dear Maleficent I will king by the break of dawn and what if I were to announce to my kingdom and all the lands around that you are a dark and evil beast the likes of which no one has ever seen. Of course they would believe their king and many would try to rid the land of you and bring your head to me as proof of your demise. What will you do then, hm? You act as if you've been scorned and led on by a mighty king but you are nothing more than an evil harlet with a heart blackened by dark magic. Nobody will believe you when you try to tell them about the tyrant king who scorned you, not once they believe that you seduced me with your dark powers of temptations." Stephen threatened and Maleficent drew back her hand before she slapped him with as much force as she could across his cheek.

"GET OUT OF MY CASTLE! Leave this place at once and never return for if you do, the day you show your petulant face to me again will be your last! Now get out of my sight before I change my mind and roast you like roast duck at a feast! You are well aware of my ability to change form and what said form is so if I were you I would get out before you wake the sleeping dragon!" Maleficent roared with a fury like never before and Stephen left never to return but Maleficent would never forget what he had done to her.

One week later

King Stephen sat at his desk in the royal library reading when a raven landed on the desk in front of him with a note attached to it's foot.

King Stephen looked at the bird curiously, who would send him a message this way he wondered to himself but quickly shook off the thought and slowly reached out to take the note.

Stephen retreived the note from the raven's foot carefully but before he could pull his hand away the raven quickly bit him and then flew away before the king could stop it.

"Bloody bird." Stephen muttered as he opened the note and gasped as he saw who it was from,"Maleficent!" he hissed before reading what she had written.

King Stephen,

Believe me when I say that if there were any other method I would not be writing to you now but alas, I'm afraid there is no other way so I shall be quick and to the point. As we both know, You and I spent many nights together and I don't think either of us expected things to end as they did but what's done is done and cannot be undone. As it happens, our last night together was eventful and because of the events of that last night together it seems now that I am to become a mother and while I am aware that the child I carry is of your blood regardless of whether or not you choose to acknowlage the fact I am merely writing this letter to inform you of your relation to the child. However... And let me make myself perfectly crystal clear, This child may be your blood but they will never be yours! You lost the title of Father when you abandoned me, unfortunately for both of us you unknowingly abandoned your unborn child as well which is unfortunate but nothing I cannot manage on my own. That being said, I will raise the child myself and I will raise them on the pretense that their Father was not a king or even human. They will be raised to think their father was a mighty dragon who fought bravely in the wars between dragons and humans but never made it home because a power-mad king named Stephen killed him as the dragon forces were surrendering. My child will grow into beautiful young woman or a handsome young man and they will learn to resent you for something that never even happened as your kingdom will grow to resent me for whatever you might have them believe to be true even when we both know it is not the truth. Be warned Stephen, if you try to take my child from me you will not live to regret it and that is a promise I shall keep even if it means my own death but know this and know it well if I die, you die with me while my child will grow up knowing that I died protecting them against the same king who killed their father!

P.s. Their father was a mighty dragon once upon a dream but then he gave the happiness he could have had and for what? A crown and a few trinkets? Where as if he had remained at my side as the dragon I once knew, we may not have had power or fame or glory or even luxury but atleast we would have been happy but you chose power and luxury over the family you could have had so now you must deal with the consequences of your actions and live with the choice you made. Was it worth it? Did I, did we really mean so little to you?

Sincerely,

Maleficent.

Stephen heaved a heavy sigh and thought about her words, he knew she was right of course but as much as he deserved it somehow it still didn't seem fair to him that she keep the child, no his child away from him and raise them to hate and fear him.

So the king set about planning to kidnap his own son or daughter when they were born and raise them as heir to the throne as well as raise them to hate her for the monstrous beast she was.