Maleficent opened her eyes. She was finally recovered of that fight against Prince Philip. The blade stuck in her heart had almost killed her, but even if it did, she wouldn't mind. She would always find a way to return after all, she was the Mistress of All Evil and wouldn't let a simple human defeat her so easily.
The fairy walked to the balcony of her tower and saw Diablo, that was turned into stone by Merryweather. Well, I can't let him this way, can I?, Maleficent thought. She quickly removed the spell, bringing her beloved pet back to life. She caressed his feathers gently. Her thoughts were far from there. Maleficent was thinking that she would need allies to do what she wanted to do.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a guard knocking on the door. "You know that I hate to be disturbed." Maleficent said to him. The guard, that was some kind of ugly goblin announced that there was a visitor for her. "Very well, I shall speak with whoever is here." She said. The guard left and she went to the Throne Room, with Diablo perched on her shoulder.
She looked at the stranger in the room. "Who are you?" The fairy asked.
One of Eric and Ariel's kingdom's allies were under attack. The prince, called Phillip, had anxiously sent a carriage with one of his messengers to Denmark, with the urgent message that they needed Eric's help right away. Of course, Eric had agreed. Despite his wishes for her to stay back, Ariel wanted to go to, to help in any way she could. She didn't care that she was pregnant. She would be fine.
Upon arriving in the kingdom, the couple discovered that whatever battle had been occurring had ceased. Phillip and his betrothed seemed to be okay. Eric had gone into the castle anyway, to make sure all was well. When he instructed Ariel to stay in the carriage, she sighed and said she would.
But Ariel noticed a tower, darker than the rest of the buildings in the kingdom. Her curiosity took the best of her, and she began to step out of the carriage. "Your majesty! Prince Eric said not to go anywhere!" the coachman had called to her nervously. "Oh, don't worry, I'll be fine," she dismissed him, heading closer to the mysterious column.
The redhead carefully started walking up the winded steps, when a hideous creature emerged and grabbed her arm. She gasped as it dragged her up the staircase. "Let me go! I'm not from around here!" she had said angrily.
Finally, the creature thrust her into a dark room, and Ariel saw a looming figure standing by the window. When it spoke, Ariel knew that it wasn't good news. She instinctively took a step back, wrapping her arms around her middle. "Ariel," she said shortly.
From her shoulder, Diablo cawed. He was obviously not happy with the redhead's presence, but Maleficent calmed him a little She wasn't used to have visitors and, after so long, seeing a human wasn't what she expected to see. The fairy looked at her. By the way that she was wrapping her arms around her, she could tell that she was pregnant. That was something easily noticed by anyone that was paying enough attention. "You are not from these lands." She said, It was not a question.
"You're right. I'm not," Ariel replied, holding back. This woman gave her a bad vibe, and the princess knew it was probably best if she left the tower as quickly as possible. But she had to be careful. I should have listened to Eric.
"I'm from an allied kingdom," she explained, hoping the green woman in front of her would release some of the tension that she seemed to have.
The fairy turned to the redhead. An allied kingdom? That was not good. "So you know Prince Philip, I presume." Maleficent said, again it wasn't a question. She was not happy with that and it seemed to be evident. The temperature of the room dropped, as it was influenced by her mood.
In fact, it was so cold that Maleficent could see Ariel's breath. The fairy seemed to be unaffected by the cold.
(Yeah I added that after reading Kingdom Keepers XD)
"Sort of," Ariel shrugged. "My hu-" She paused, deciding how much to reveal to this mysterious woman. "A friend of mine knows him." The redhead eyed the woman, seeing if she could find out more about her.
"So," she said lightheartedly, looking out the window at the celebrating kingdom below. "Why aren't you down there celebrating with everyone else?" Because you're the reason they're so relieved?
Maleficent looked at the young girl. "Simple child, they are my enemies. Why should I celebrate with them?" The fairy asked. But there was something that called her attention. They were celebrating and she hadn't been invited. Again. That was a terrible offence in the medieval era and the fairy had expected that they had learned the lesson last time.
"But it seems that I didn't get an invitation." The fairy said. Maleficent looked really angry because of that.
Ariel raised her eyebrows, feigning surprise. "Enemies? Why?" she asked curiously, tilting her head. Clearly this was the cause of the trouble that had almost destroyed the kingdom.
The redhead took note of the woman's anger, realizing how offended she really was. "Maybe they just.. Expect you to come?" she offered, shrugging her shoulders. She bit her lip for a moment before adding, "Who are you?"
"I'm Maleficent." The fairy asked. Expecting her to come? That was absurd. Last time they weren't very happy to see her, not that she was worried about it in that time. "And no, they aren't expecting me. But I'm surprised that they can be foolish enough to commit the same mistake twice, after such small period of time." Maleficent said.
"What.. mistake?" she asked, taking a step towards the door, noticing the guards had disappeared. Maybe I can just walk away quietly without her noticing..
Maleficent noticed that Ariel was trying to get away unnoticed. But of course that she would be caught before she had the chance to get away. "Haven't you heard of Princess Aurora?" She asked.
Ariel stopped moving and looked back at Maleficent intriguingly. "Uh, yes, I've heard of her," she nodded. "My husband is friendly with her husband. Prince Phillip, I think his name is." She shrugged. "But I haven't met his wife yet. I hope to one day." Maybe Eric was planning on taking me to see her now! I shouldn't have left the carriage..
Maleficent was disliking that girl more and more. After a few moments, she decided to ask. "Have you ever heard her story?" She asked. The fairy turned to Ariel, her face not showing one single emotion. "It's quite famous, especially in this kingdom."
"No, I.. I haven't." She shook her head, taking another step towards the door. "I'm sure my husband will tell me when he comes back, though. I'll definitely ask, that's for sure." The princess cleared her throat. "He's probably waiting for me now. I should go.." She took another small step.
Maleficent turned to Ariel, arching one eyebrow. "Leaving so soon?" She asked. She looked at the doors, that were open, and it closed. But not before a few guards entered the room. They moved, forming a circle around the princess. "But you just got here." Maleficent continued.
Ariel gasped when the doors loudly shut behind her, and she silently scolded herself for being so obvious with her attempt to leave. Trying to shake off the awkward encounter, she said casually, "No, no.. I mean, well, yes. I'm sure my hu- uh, friend, is waiting for me. I should really be going." She half-smiled at Maleficent.
"Oh that's a pity." Maleficent said. "You see, I can't just let someone allied to my enemies leave my castle unarmed." She said. And it was true, after all, she was the Mistress of All Evil.
Ariel took a nervous deep breath. "Uh.. And who's that?" she asked, biting her lip and twisting a lock of red hair through her fingers anxiously. "I mean, it was a pleasure to meet you, but I really should be going." She shook her head. "I won't tell anyone that I met you, if you want," she offered hopefully.
"People would think I'm soft." The fairy answered. " I can't let it happen, can I?" Maleficent asked, arching an eyebrow.
Ariel frowned and shook her head. "Psh," she said, shrugging. "Letting one person go won't ruin your reputation, I'm sure." She smiled earnestly, praying that Maleficent would just forget about her. Then she added, "Especially if no one knows I was ever here."
Maleficent thought about it for a second. "I'm going to give you a chance. A small one. If you manage to leave the castle, you are free to go." The fairy said. No one would call her unfair for that. "But of course that my guards will be after you."
Ariel tried her best to mask her excitement, thankful that the evil woman was letting her go. "Sounds good," she said simply and calmly, turning to face the door and glancing down at the little guards, staring up at her with malicious expressions. But soon it won't matter. Soon I'll be back with Eric, and we can go home. After he scolds me for putting the baby in danger. She rolled her eyes to herself as she thought of her protective husband.
The ugly guards appeared next to Maleficent and she looked at Ariel. "Go ahead then." The evil fairy said.
With a quick nod, Ariel took a step back, then quickly turned and headed back down the winding staircase, growing eager to get back to the carriage. When she reached the foot of the tower, she hurried over back to a waiting Eric in the carriage. At his confused expression, she shook her head, letting him know she would explain later. "You were right."
The carriage soon began to bounce back towards their kingdom. Sitting next to Eric, Ariel turned to look behind her at the rejoicing kingdom, then saw the looming tower that belonged to Maleficent. The princess knew this would not be the last time she would encounter the witch.. sorceress.. whatever she was. There was no way that she always let her visitors go without a fight.