Aurora couldn't sleep. Even if there wasn't the loudest storm ever outside, her nerves would still have kept her awake. The next day Philip was leaving for 2 months to help with the building of the bridge between this kingdom and Ella's. She kept on praying that nothing bad would happen to him.

Beside her, King Philip was sleeping like a bear, the thunder didn't even seem to bother him.

How can he sleep through this? Aurora wondered. She got out of bed and walked towards the window to see the storm had damaged anything outside.

She opened the curtains, and peered through.

Outside, the tiny shed beside the castle used to store leftover dirt from last week's gardening day had collapsed and was completely destroyed. But that was all. Who cares about that shed? It was never built to last anyway. She was about to turn and go back to bed when something caught her eye.

Under the ruins of the shed, she saw a tiny creature who seemed to be escaping the rain inside one of the bags meant to store the dirt. Aurora realized that it was a mouse who was shivering like crazy. Poor creature, the shed must have been its home. She then saw that if the mouse stayed there all night, it would drown. The water was rising and the mouse wouldn't be able to escape from the bag, not now, that the bag stood upright.

She decided to go and help the creature. She put on her raincoat stored in the closet and headed towards the gate. With her umbrella in hand, she opened the gate and went outside.

The lightning was very close, so she knew that she had to be quick. She ran beside the castle to where the shed -or what was left of it- was located. She saw the mouse.

Do mice give you 'raivies? Or whatever you call it? The queen wondered. She then decided to ignore her concerns and bent down to pick up the little rodent.

She held the creature in her hands, and he mouse didn't seem to mind, the umbrella was a lot better than the bag. He's so cute.

Aurora headed back to the castle gate, but suddenly, the mouse she was holding froze, and then spoke.

"Oh, my sleeping beauty," the mouse said. Aurora gasped, then gasped again when she realized that it was Maleficent's voice speaking.

She dropped the creature, and it turned into Maleficent, surrounded in purple smoke.

Aurora backed away, "You are supposed to be in prison! And we took away your magic!"

Maleficent smiled wickedly, "Yeah, umm…. No, you just thought you did."

"GUARDS! Maleficent has escaped!"

"They can't hear you in this weather." Maleficent had cornered Aurora against the fence, leaving her nowhere to run. "And you are lucky turning into that dragon drained nearly all my power, or I would have ended you a long time ago." The rain didn't bother her at all, neither did the thunder and lightning.

"Don't run," she continued. "I am not here to hurt you. Well not yet, that is."

Aurora gulped as she tried to back away even further, but her back was already attached to the wall.

"Then what are you here for?" She tried to sound unafraid, but that was impossible. Especially soaking wet in a menacing storm.

Maleficent stiffened her back, then replied. "For a warning, a threat. Just to let you know what is going to happen tomorrow."

Aurora didn't want to listen, but the evil fairy definitely caught her attention. "And you had to turn into a mouse to do it?"

"It was a rat, not a mouse, you idiot. Get your facts straight." Her mocking tone made Sleeping Beauty flinch. "And the rat was just an accident, but I decided, What a perfect way to get Aurora alone at night during a storm!" She let out an evil laugh.

"Look at me," she continued as her eyes glared right into Aurora's, eyes full of hatred and insanity. "I cursed the bridge between the kingdoms with my power. Tomorrow, it will collapse the moment King Philip sets foot on it. Oh, and I heard the bridge is two hundred feet above the lake, and the lake is very well known for its piranhas and undertows, am I right?" Lightning flashed, followed by thunder.

Aurora let out a scream, "Why?" She was now terrified to the max.

"For REVENGE, of course!" Maleficent replied. "And when you picked me up as a rat, I cursed you so you aren't able to tell anybody about this whole thing. If you want me to cancel the curse, I am willing to make a trade."

In her mind, Aurora scoffed. Did Maleficent seriously think she was going to trust her with a compromise? "What trade?" she asked, to see if the sorceress actually did have something planned.

"Come with me to my base," Maleficent said. "Leave your castle and your life and spend the rest of it as my slave, and I will use the last of my power to get rid of the curse. It's your choice."

Aurora gasped. How could she be so cruel? The rain on her face was now mixed with her tears. She despised Maleficent, and blamed all of her troubles on her. Why...Why didn't we just kill her instead of throwing her in prison?

Then, through the rain, she heard a sound. It was faint, but she could make out the sound of a mouse. It came from Maleficent.

She said that turning into a mouse was an accident, so she doesn't have a lot of control. Also, she hasn't completely changed back, she's still got a bit of mouse in her. Or rat, doesn't matter.

If so, then it's true, Maleficent's power had been weakened when she turned into a dragon, and cursing the bridge and me should have made it even weaker. And I bet she used magic to escape from her cell.

"Tell me your choice right now, or Philip dies."

Aurora took a stance to make her look tough. "How will you make me your slave?"

"So you choose to come with me?"

"No," Aurora's tone made her sound unafraid. "How will you get me to be your slave, how do you know I won't try to get away?"

Maleficent rolled her eyes. 'Were you not listening? If you don't serve me, then your husband falls into the lake!"

"No, I mean after you cancel the curse on the bridge, and I come with you, how are you sure I won't say 'no' to your commands?"

"Then I will kill you."

"How will you kill me?'

"I WILL THROW YOU DOWN A CLIFF."

This answered Aurora's question. Maleficent couldn't even use magic to kill her afterwards, which meant saving Philip would be the last of her magic.

Maleficent grew impatient. "Decide now, or I'm leaving and the king dies." Maleficent started to turn away.

"Wait!"

"What? You want to be my slave?" She stopped.

"Give me twenty seconds." Aurora looked at the sky. The thunder and lightning seemed to come at the same time, which meant the storm was extremely close. She had to get back inside quick.

She then realized something else.

"Will you care for me? When I get sick or injured?"

Maleficent couldn't wait any longer. "I will not if you take any longer to make your decision!"

Aurora looked at her enemy closely. She noticed a scratch on Maleficent's wrist. It must have been from the collapsed shed. Aurora smiled, and smiled even harder when she realized Maleficent was even wetter than she was.

"Okay, I make my decision."

Maleficent smiled, "What is it?"

Aurora looked at herself, and realized that she was also in harm's way. It will come, but, at me or her? I got to take this chance.

"I-I-I….. I decide… to come with you as long as I actually see you cancel the curse on the bridge."

"Alright then." Maleficent seemed disappointed, which meant that she was planning to not cancel the curse.

"But first." Aurora started.

"What?"

A flash of light appeared, and it hit Maleficent right in the back. The sound of thunder blocked out her scream, and Aurora watched as Maleficent began to fall to her knees. For that moment, Maleficent seemed like a normal, sane individual, who showed fear for the first time. Even when Philip was about to stab her with his sword, she didn't look afraid.

If she wouldn't even heal a scratch on her wrist, there is no way she could heal this.

Aurora was far away enough to not get hurt, but Maleficent received the full shock. The rain added even more pain.

Maleficent was a magical fairy, so instead of dying like a normal person, her back started disintegrating, and in a few seconds, all that was left of her was a pile of dust that was soon carried away in a little stream that led to the sewer.

Aurora was awestruck. Her plan actually worked. She didn't even feel sorry for Maleficent.

"I owe you, mother nature," she whispered.

If what Philip had told her was true, then, when a fairy died, all her of his magic would disappear, including the spell on the bridge.

She then made her way back into the castle.

BTW, I have nothing against Snow White, I just wanted some variety.