Disclaimer: I own nothing, just the ticket stub and that yummy pizza before the movie.

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The Revenge

Maleficent had her revenge long before Aurora turned sixteen and nobody, not even her, quite realized it.

The bi-horned faerie with no wings saw the baby Aurora, the bundled beastie, beaming from the window and that sweet smile the imp projected was for her. Flustering such an occurrence might be, they happened more than once. It happened more than Maleficent could care to count.

While for the king, he didn't have a single memory of his baby smiling. Or might be he did, but he hadn't seen it properly for when he was looking at Aurora, with her tiny lips quirking adorably, he was sorely reminded of the curse and couldn't, just not at that precious moment, appreciate the beauty before him.

Still an infant, that was the last time the king saw his princess. Whereas Maleficent, the villainous faerie, not just saw but watched the infant turn into a very curious toddler.

Crawling, not letting her short legs deter her, Aurora went in pursuit of a butterfly up to or rather down the cliff. But someone saved her...just like a faerie godmother would do.

Maleficent, the strongest among the faeries, saved the beastie. With eyebrow cocked mockingly, she answered her raven's unspoken inquiry as to the why. She did what she must for the curse to be fulfilled when king Stefan's daughter turn sixteen.

Unbeknownst, unrealized someone other than the crawling toddler was saved that day. For just being there, for just being near the beastie, Maleficent's hatred started to thaw whilst the king's fear started to grow.

And the irony was that the king wasn't there to save his little girl from falling. However, Maleficent was...and in a way it was a sort of revenge. A strike to a father's pride for failing to be his daughter's knight with the shining armor.

Time passed, Maleficent kept Aurora on her sight while the king continued to lost sight of what was truly important.

Days shy from sixteen, Aurora had become more lovely in face and disposition. She was ray of light as her name. But she was also smart and observant. She felt the presence that watched over her. Really, the beautiful girl knew that it was the two horned being that offered her protection over the years.

As such another point went to Maleficent. All in all, it added up, declaring her the winner against Stefan.

Those years spent watching over the beastie became Maleficent's memories alone for the king never saw his child grow up. For sixteen years he didn't witness that beatific smile. That smile that could have changed him.

The tragedy was that, his offspring could have been his salvation. But it was Maleficent who was saved instead. It was really ironic.

It should be known that the resulting death of the king wasn't the fulfillment of a revenge. It was simply an end. It was not even calamitous for no one would miss him. Not his dead wife. Not the child that grew up not knowing him.

The villainous faerie, with her stone heart, had seen the melting smile. With her black power, she had saved a life and with her brooding presence, she had become welcome. In the end, Maleficent's revenge was she was love.

So you see Maleficent had beaten the king long before princess Aurora turned sixteen.

—o0o-

~6 5 14A 14~