Aurora's Curse

In times past there lived a King and Queen who wished every day that they should have a child, but they had none. One day the Queen was relaxing in a bath after wishing once more for a child. A croak from the bottom of the tub startled the Queen awake. There on the rim of the tub sat a toad. This toad rose on its hind legs and spoke, "You shall have your child in less than a year's time". He turned and jumped off of the tub and disappeared from view. As foretold, the Queen became with child and soon delivered a beautiful baby girl. All of the kingdoms rejoiced, a feast was held for the child in the castle's Great Hall. It was decorated with all of the finest décor and tableware. Everyone was joyous in their celebration, all except the King. The King had not wished for a daughter. Having this child that cannot carry on his name brought malice into his heart. The King detested the child and wanted it gone. He easily slipped away from the festivities to travel into town to visit the Sisters. These three sisters were known throughout the land for doing the dirty work of any high paying customer by using magic. The King soon returned to the castle, seen by only one. The King and Queen took their thrones as the child lay in its cradle at their feet. A gust of wind broke through the hall halting everyone. The hall doors flew open banging against the wall. There in the doorway stood the Sisters, they had been given their orders and they were there to fulfill the evil wish of the King. Flora, dressed in a ratty red dress, reached the thrones first and screeched a high pitch laugh when she saw he child.

"We are here to bestow gifts upon the beloved child!" She spoke loud enough for all in the hall to hear.

"I shall bestow the gift of plainness!" Gasps filled the hall, the Queen stood from her throne, "No!" With a flick of her wrist, Flora sent the Queen flying back into her seat. The force knocked out her breath and she struggled to inhale. Flora looked out at the crowd and announced, "No one will stop us. We are here to bestow our gifts, and once we have, we will leave peacefully." Merryweather, wearing a blue dress covered in grime, stepped up to the child. "I shall bestow the gift of sorrow." The third sister, Fauna, was dressed unlike the other sisters. She wore a dress that hugged her figure and fell to the floor in a majestic shade of green. She stepped up to the child and turned to the crowd. "My gift shall be…" Fauna paused, a grin growing on her face. The smile stretched so far it seemed to split her face in two. She turned and looked the King in the eye never wavering in her gaze and continued. "That before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel, and fall into a sleep like death."

A sob comes from the Queen on the throne, "No, please no. Give her a chance."

"She may have her chance, for she can be awoken by True. Loves. Kiss." With her hands in the air, a green mist rose around her and the child.

Silence filled the halls, as everyone waited with bated breath for the mist to clear. When it did the sisters were gone and all that remained was the child.

The Queen devastated, by the events, sent for all of the guards. She ordered them to destroy every spinning wheel in the kingdom. The Queen took the child to her chamber accompanied by her maid. Once inside the room, the maid quietly told how she had seen the King sneaking into the castle. With this news, the Queen quickly set for the stables. She had to get her sweet baby girl away from this monster. The Queen left with the child and the maid and headed into the enchanted forest.

The Queen had heard of a woman who lived in the woods. She had never had children because her husband had betrayed her and she vowed to never trust a man again. This woman loved children and the Queen had often seen her in the town square telling children stories. She was young, as young if not younger than the Queen herself.

When they reached the cabin, the child was left with the woman. Her name was Maleficent.

No one knew she was a fairy because she looked like every other human. This was because of her husbands betrayal. She was the protector of the enchanted forest and she had been born with magnificent wings but her husband had stolen them from her. He was a greedy man and he cut them from her back and sold them for a pretty penny and left her to recover, alone. She vowed to never trust a man again. Now she was the protector of this beautiful baby girl. Not long after the baby was given to her she received word that the Queen had died. Many believed it was the grief of losing her baby and living with the monster who had caused the separation.

The girl grew into a lovely young lady, Maleficent had raised her in the enchanted forest. She shared the history and the joys of the forest with the child. Maleficent gave the girl the name, Aurora. She told Aurora about her true birth mother and father, Aurora knew that she was a princess. The one thing that Maleficent didn't tell her about was her curse. Every night when Aurora was asleep, Maleficent stood in her room fighting against the curse. The room would fill with gold and green mist, but she would be overpowered. She was the strongest of the fairies, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't win over the dark forces attached to Aurora.

On the day of Aurora's sixteenth birthday, Maleficent took her deep into the forest. She hoped to get Aurora as far away from the kingdom as possible. As they were hiking through the trees they happened upon a pond where a young man was standing with his horse. Maleficent put her hand out to stop Aurora from going any closer. "Stay here while I see who he is."

"Excuse me," the young man turned around to face Maleficent at the sound of her voice. "Who are you?"

"Oh, hello. I am Prince Phillip. I am traveling through to the next kingdom and I seem to have taken a wrong turn. I stopped at the water so my horse could rest for a while."

"Well, the next kingdom is east of here. Go through that valley over there and you'll reach the bridge to the gate." Maleficent pointed over Aurora's shoulder in the direction of the valley. He turned to look and noticed her for the first time. Their eyes locked and time stood still. "Who is that?" The question was barely a whisper; Maleficent noticed the tension between them and for the first time since Aurora was brought into her life she had hope. This could be the person who breaks the spell. "That is my daughter, Aurora."

"Can I meet her?" Maleficent gestured for him to go ahead. Prince Phillip took his horse by the reins and walked over to Aurora. With a bow, he says, "Hello, I'm Prince Phillip". Aurora curtsied and answered, "My name is Aurora."

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am on my way to King Stefan's castle. Have you ever been there?"

"No, I have not, I have lived in this forest all my life. I have only traveled as far as the tree line. I have dreamt of going."

While the two of them were conversing Maleficent had gone around to the side of the pond to collect some herbs. As she was putting the last handful into her bag she heard a horse's hooves in the distance. When she turned to check on Aurora her heart plummeted. Both the Prince and Aurora were gone. Maleficent knew they must be headed in the direction of the castle and Aurora would not be safe there.

After the Queen had died, the King ordered for every spinning wheel that had been destroyed to be rebuilt. He had no desire to keep the kingdom free of the machines since he didn't care if the curse was fulfilled. Without the knowledge of the impending danger she was in, Aurora rode into the kingdom with Prince Phillip. They dismounted the horse when they reached the gate and were allowed entrance. As they entered town Aurora suddenly became quiet. Prince Phillip turned to look at her and saw that she seemed to be in some sort of trance. Her bright blue eyes were now spinning loops of green. Her stare fixated on a woman sitting in front of a shop, she was working on a spinning wheel. Aurora started to walk toward the wheel with her arm outstretched. Prince Phillip heard a commotion behind him and he turned to see Maleficent running towards them screaming.

"No! Stop her, don't let her touch it!" Tears were streaming down her face and she had her staff pointed towards Aurora. Time slowed down as her magic came out of the staff trying to reach Aurora in time. Prince Phillip turned to rush towards Aurora to pull her away. But before either of them could reach her Her finger had touched the spindle, a drop of blood fell towards the white thread. As the blood fell so did Aurora. Phillip was able to catch her just before she hit the ground, the blood continued and stained the thread.

Maleficent reached them and took Aurora into her arms. She couldn't help the sobs that racked her body. The child she had raised, the one she had cradled in a tiny blanket in infancy, the one she had held when she fell and skinned her knee, the one she had soothed during storms, was now in her arms again and she was helpless. There was nothing she could do to help her baby girl from this wicked curse. She looked up and saw Phillip, he had to be the one to help her. He had to be the one to break the curse. "Phillip, you have to kiss her. The only way she will wake up is if you kiss her. The spell can be broken by true loves kiss, you have to save her."

He looked at Maleficent with a shocked expression. "I can't do that. She is beautiful and I like her I do but we have only just met. Do you even think it would work?"

"It has to Phillip, you are my only hope." She rested Aurora in his arms and sat back. She watched as he slowly laid his lips on hers. She held her breath hoping that it would work. When Aurora didn't move she knew that all hope was lost. Phillip looked at Aurora and as a tear slipped down his cheek he lowered her back into Maleficent's arms.

She cradled Aurora to her chest. "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you. I tried to keep you safe, I tried to break the curse. I don't understand why I have these powers if they cannot save the ones I love." Maleficent looked at the sleeping figure of Aurora. With a whisper she promised, "You will always be my baby girl and I will never stop trying to save you. I love you, my little princess". She pressed her lips against Aurora's forehead like she would every night when she would put Aurora to bed. She looked up to Prince Phillip to ask him to look for a place to lay Aurora when she heard a soft voice.

"I love you too mom." She looked down at Aurora to see her bright blue eyes staring back at her. "Oh, Aurora." They wrapped their arms tight around each other and cried. She had been awoken by true loves kiss because nothing is stronger or mor true than the special love a mother and daughter can share.