Aurora…
The whispers called her, a chant compelling her to follow its path to her doom. She knew it, somewhere in the deepest conscious of her mind, she knew that this was it, and she knew that she mustn't go, that she should go back to her room, where all was safe, but those voices were soft, so sweet; they would make the pain go away, they would make her feel better.
There would be no more betrayal.
And suddenly, they was gone. The voices vanished abruptly, and the thin sheen of green lighting her path evaporated, extinguishing any light in the dark hallway. In the pitch-blackness, clarity flooded through Aurora's mind. Breathing heavily, she ran, far, all the way back to the confines of her room.
…
When the orange and pink skies darkened, and the white moon rose, the doors burst open, and she calmly met the surprised guards.
"Your Majesty…" they spluttered "We apologise, we thought-"
"That's alright," Aurora answered with a wave of her hand. The title was unfamiliar to her- she didn't like it. "do you think I could leave now? The sun has set, the curse does not apply anymore."
"I-I,"
"Thank you." She stated, pushing past the stunned men.
Not waiting for any response, Aurora stepped quietly down the stairs, away from her prison, though not truly away.
She could not recall, exactly, the path she had taken to her apparent fate, and curiosity willed her to not sleep until she found it. The corridors she walked along now were dimly lit with hanging torches. The flickering flames and the sharp clacks of her footsteps were all she could hear.
When voices reached her ears, physical, human voices, she redirected her path to meet them. It was her father, the king- an idea her young mind still couldn't properly wrap around- discussing war plans with his advisors.
"The curse failed. She'll be here by tomorrow I am certain." The royal rasped, "I want all the iron-workers awake and working."
"My lord," said one older man "they have been working for months without proper rest, I am afraid that the quality of their work will not-"
"I want them awake. I do not care." He muttered. There was silence. "Wake them! Now!"
There was a scuttle and movement of fabric. Aurora stood back and pressed herself against the wall as one of the men rushed out of the room, face red.
"How are the defences?"
"Holding strong. The fairy will never get past."
"All iron?"
"Yes, and as pure as can be. One touch will burn her to the bone, I reckon."
Wincing, the princess turned and hurried away as quietly as she could, taking random turns. It disgusted her, how ruthless this kingdom was…so unlike the Moors, so unlike…
The reminder of her betrayal made her stomach drop and Aurora leaned against the nearest wall, suddenly nauseated. The stone was cold through the fabric of her nightgown. Her breath hitched as she raised a hand to her face, feeling warm tears slide down her cheeks; for awhile she stood there, trying to regain control and failing immensely.
When she noticed she wasn't alone, and that her gasps weren't the only ones present, Aurora moved to the sound, rather than away. Maybe she was worried for the other person, or maybe she just didn't care anymore.
"Hello?" she murmured softly, the echoes of her voice bouncing down the corridor. The other person fell silent, but as Aurora moved forward, a tall, hunched silhouette showed. "I'm not going to hurt you," she continued forward "come out."
"What if I want to hurt you?"
Aurora froze at the familiar voice. Anger and grief coursed through her painfully and she stepped away, biting her lip to stop tears and words from slipping, as the raven-man stepped out of the shadows.
"Hello, princess," he murmured softly, a small smile gracing his face. It slipped away for a blink when he caught her jerking away from him, but replayed, as if by default.
Diaval was dishevelled and dirty, but most of all injured. The injuries ranged massively, from small cuts to deep gashes that marked his pale, exhausted face. They ran down his neck and along the visible parts of his chest, disappearing into the cover of his torn clothes. Blue-black blotches lined and disfigured his pallor, especially under his eyes.
"Diaval…" Aurora whispered, horror leaking into her voice, but she forced herself to stay where she was. He was still the right hand man of the woman who cursed her.
"Princess," he bowed his head slightly "I understand you will be calling the guards, but please, I beg for a few minutes of a head start- I-I need to find, I let her out of my sight for a few minutes-" he broke off, looking away.
"Where is Maleficent?" the princess asked.
"I don't know." He said before straightening. "I have to keep moving." He paused, reaching out to touch a blonde curl. He smiled "It was good to see you again, Aurora." He said, before passing her.
Aurora clenched her jaw before fisting her dress and twirling around. Biting her lip, she took off, trying to catch up with the raven-man.
.oOo.
"You shouldn't follow me." Diaval said, turning around. Aurora almost ran into his chest. She stood back, a determined look on her face. "It isn't safe."
"I don't care. With me, there's a smaller chance of you getting killed."
"What makes you think I'm about to be caught, let alone killed?" There was amusement in the raven-haired man's voice.
"The fact that you're just strolling down the hallways like you own them."
They continued walking in silence. Aurora fought back a gasp, but not the look on her face as the 'defences' came into view.
"Is this what the iron-workers have been doing?" asked Aurora. Her eyes took in the protruding spears, swords and spokes before looking to her battered, bloodied and…burned…once-guardian. "Is this why you're-"
"Fairies are burned by iron." He stated "And so are the products of their magic, though it is more severe on them, than us. She was determined to get past- it was borderline sui-" he cut off, the end of the sentence hanging grimly in the air.
Once again, they continued, passing by endless other corridors and junctions. One in particular made Aurora halt and raise a hand, forcing Diaval to do the same.
"Is everything alright, princess?"
Flashes of green moving down the stairs in front of them came to Aurora's mind's eye.
She will fall into a sleep-like death…
When the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday…
It was borderline…suicidal.
Aurora's eyes widened in realisation and she let out a strangled gasp before racing down the stairs, uncaring of the noises her shoes made.
"Princess!" she heard Diaval hiss after her as he followed.
"As the sun sets on my sixteenth birthday, she will fall into a deep sleep." Aurora reasoned, panting "She. The curse didn't work on me."
They both reached he bottom of the almost endless staircase, and Aurora continued jogging forward until the reached the wide doors of the dungeon.
"It didn't work on me, because she found a loophole."
"But the curse can't be broken."
"I didn't say she broke it, but what if she-" she stopped, as she moved to the large, ajar doors, trying to open them further to let them pass. They groaned but didn't budge. "-Diaval, help me."
"Here, move." He murmured, before taking the door in his own hands and yanking it open. It took him three tries before they groaned, scratching the stone floors.
"What if she moved the curse…transferred it? It states that she will fall to sleep. She, not anyone specifically."
"Oh lord." Diaval swore quietly "She wouldn't…she couldn't…"
He stopped, letting out a strangled cry when he stepped on the ends of the ever-so-familiar midnight fabric. Jumping away like it had burnt him, Diaval took off, following the long train. Aurora followed, going faster when she heard another cry ahead.
A woman's slim fallen figure came into view under the blanket of her cloak. Aurora followed it, unable to look up and confirm that it was she. But as she trailed her gaze up the body, to a hint of white skin, to those dark horns, there was no denying that who it was.
Diaval was sat when she found him, suddenly devoid of emotion as he looked to Aurora with dead, dark eyes. He took his mistress's head gently and placed it on his lap, her surprisingly serene, closed-eyed expression coming to view. Her ruby lips played a small smile, one Aurora rarely saw.
Tearing her gaze away, her eyes caught the full, unbroken spinning wheel, sitting there regally, almost taunting the princess. It was wooden, and bathed in some eerie light. The top of the spindle was lightly crusted black.
Kneeling next to Diaval, tears slowly slipping down his, and her face, she took her godmother's hand in hers, and turned it, palm up. There on the pale pad of her index finger, was a dark, miniscule spot: a pinprick.
Aurora met Diaval's gaze then, her despair mirrored in his dark gaze.
"Over here! I saw her go in here!"
Footsteps, multiple pairs, sounded, thundering closer and closer.
"We need to wake her." Diaval muttered.
"We can't now."
"There's a way," he said, suddenly determined. He yanked her to her feet and pulled her away from the body, wrapping his arms around hers protectively "just follow along, okay?" he murmured against her ear as the guards came into view.
.oOo.
Diaval stood before the tyrant King, hands clasped humbly behind his back. The new clothes he was given were scratchy in all the wrong places but he resisted the annoyance with frightening amounts of self control.
"The witch killed my parents and sister- my whole family, and forced me to show her into the castle. My father worked here when the Old King was still in rule, so she thought I would know the way. I did, and I was forced to lead her to the dungeons, where the wheels were destroyed and watched as she used her dark magic to restore a single wheel." He stated, contorting his face to look, hopefully, like one of disgust.
"Auro- Her Majesty," he corrected, making a short bow to the blonde girl "sorry, your Majesty."
"That's alright, Diaval." She murmured softly, looking away.
"Her Majesty was a friend of my younger sister when they were children, since they were of the same age. They used to play together all the time, and she was a sister to me, soon enough, and seeing her when the witch used her magic to compel her to come…she was trapped," Diaval paused, taking a breath. He was telling the truth, with hints of lies, making it easier to go along with this faux, "and I couldn't take it. I pushed her, taking her by surprise, and she fell against the wheel, and now here we are."
When he stopped talking, no one filled in for the silence. Panic quietly rose, and he shifted uncomfortably. Then, there was clapping- a single continuous sound coming from the King's throne. After a few moments, others joined in cautiously and soon the entire court was applauding Diaval.
"What is your name, son." The King asked gruffly. Resisting the urge to spit at the king, he answered as calm as he could.
"Diaval, my King." Aurora's eyes met his, a look of disbelief on her face. He shrugged- there was no point lying about names- the King would forget it by his next words, anyway.
"You have done us a great deed, Diaval." Maybe not be his next words, exactly "And you shall be rewarded as much as my daughter seeks fit." He turned to the princess, a vision in her pale gown, "Aurora, child, what would you entrust to your saviour?"
Diaval nodded to Aurora with encouragement as she stood shakily. Thankfully, others would see it as post-trauma, rather than nervousness.
"Diaval is someone I trust whole-heartedly, and his recent actions justify, to the kingdom and myself, of my feelings for him, so as my reward to you, I want to keep you by my side, and in court as my advisor, away from your peasant life. I hope it is enough, and that it can begin to compensate the losses you have suffered- your sister was a dear friend to me." she looked to the King "Father," she started, the word slipping uncomfortably from her mouth "is that sufficient?"
"Very well." Stefan answered.
Aurora moved from her seat and moved to Diaval, who kneeled before her. She grasped his shoulders lightly and allowed him to rise. Taking her hand, he kissed the back of it lightly.
"We'll find a way to get her back." Aurora murmured as they moved back to her throne.
"We will do whatever it takes to do so." Diaval murmured, taking his new, yet familiar, position by her side.
"Now, the body of the witch." The King started "What are we to do with it?"
Shouts and suggestions sounded around the room, each so much worse than the last one.
"Burn it!"
"Throw it into the deepest ocean!"
"Destroy it!"
"Maul it!"
"Feed it to the dogs!"
"Why don't we preserve it?" suggested Aurora, loud enough for the hall to fall silent. "We can keep in on display, in a chamber somewhere, a reminder to the beasts of the Moor, and to other enemies of our strength."
Diaval sighed in relief at the manic grin on the King's face. For now, Maleficent was safe. He squeezed Aurora's shoulder lightly in thanks and stared ahead at the court he was now a part off.
He had made it clear to Aurora, his promise, and he was going to see it through to the very end, or so help him, die trying.
Maleficent was going to wake, no matter what the consequences.
I watched Maleficent yesterday, and just couldn't stop wondering what would happen if this happened instead, so here is my version :D. Pairings will come and go as they please, and depends on how the story takes its course, if it takes its course.
R&R!
-Ash :)