"You're the evil in the world! It's you!" Aurora half gasped and half screamed at her as she turned and ran.
Ran away from Maleficent, from the Moors, from a truth she didn't want to face. The aforementioned faerie exhaled shakily, more of a gasp really, as the girl's words hit home. It felt like she had been punched in the chest. Her heart, which had been steadily mending, shattered. All her pain was released in a short little breath, and it hurt so much more than losing her wings.
She would gladly lose those precious appendages a thousand times over if it meant she could go back in time and never curse Aurora. She had never imagined words could hurt so much.
Without her permission, her mind began to replay the day before continuously.
"Aurora, there is an evil in this world, and I cannot keep you from it."
She had tried, oh how she had tried to tell the child. But then she had suggested living in the Moors, and another idea sprang to mind. With no Princess, there would be no curse.
The memory of that day was like a ghost, haunting and yet so beautiful, because for a just a moment, she had allowed herself to hope. To believe that everything would be all right.
"I'm almost sixteen, Godmother. I can take care of myself."
If only she had cut in and told her then. Perhaps she would have been able to explain herself and her actions. But she hadn't. She had allowed a world of pretty possibilities to cloud her thinking, and thus agreed to something foolish.
"I understand. But, I have to tell you-"
"I have a plan. When I'm older, I'm going to live here in the Moors with you. Then we can look after each other."
How wonderful it had sounded then! A life full of happiness at last after all the hardship of the past eighteen years! But alas, it was not to be. If only this three bumbling fools hadn't slipped and told her the truth! Then all would have been well.
She leaned heavily on her staff, momentarily stunned that her sweet little beastie could project so much hurt and hate. Her mind had shut down, save for the small part that played that snippet of memory over and over again. Finally, she straightened, and her senses came back.
"Find the boy," she called harshly, and it wasn't long before she heard Diaval caw a response.
She trailed behind him, and it wasn't long before he swooped down, squawking as he dive bombed the now visible prince. She swept toward him, not wasting any time in answering any of his idiotic questions. He was asleep in seconds, and Diaval was a stallion just as quickly. As soon as she had mounted his back and made sure the prince was securely settled atop his own mount, they set off, only one thought looping through her mind as she urged her servant on.
'I must save her.'