Chapter 1: Your Worst Nightmare
''Aurora...'' This whispering in my ear... This voice... I know this voice. Deep, smooth, quiet, scary, tempting. It rings in my head, in my body, in my soul. No, it's not the first time I hear it, I am sure. But... Is this... Oh no.
A hand is touching mine. An icy touch. And still, a wave of warmth goes through my skin and takes possession of my whole body. I freeze, I am afraid. The hand attracts me towards a black shape, distant, impenetrable, and yet so close. An other hand is setting on my waist. My breath stops. My fingers are setting, in spite of myself, like drawned by a powerful strength beyond belief, on a shoulder covered with a soft fabric as dark as death. I should run away. Before it's too late...
''Who...who are you?'' My voice broken by fear pronounces those words, unwillingly. There is a lump deep inside my throat, my lips are dry. The ghostly shape drags me into an enchanting waltz. I let myself go. I know I can't do anything to stop it. Why did I ask this question? Oh! No. I don't want to know. No matter what that creature is. I shouldn't be here, I shouldn't...
''Oh. You don't recognize me, princess? What a pity! I must say I feel quite distressed. I thought no one could forget me that easily...'' Those words, cynic, honeyed, coming straight from those red lips, rolled up on teeth of a blinding whiteness, in a machiavellian smile, turn my blood to ice.
''I am sorry, I...I shouldn't be here. I have to— I must not speak to...'' I murmur this unconvincing explanation. I close my eyes, hoping everything will stop, hoping that mouth whose breath is warming my cheeks will move away from my face, that cold and sweet hand will deign to release mine... But I don't do anything. I can't...
''To strangers?'' The frightening voice supplied, turning into an ironic, shrill, endless laugh. ''Oh, but I am not a stranger...'' whispers the red scarlet mouth in my ear. I close my eyes again in order to better hear the hypnotic and languid sound of that voice. I should be thousand miles away... What would my aunties say? Oh! My aunties can go to Hell! I don't want to leave... I can't...
''But...who...who are you?'' I ask one last time, this time with a desire burning inside my chest, for the first time. The desire to know. Who is that shadow which is attracting me towards her without I am being able to resist her? This voice which is hypnotizing me and could lead me until the gates of Hell? Those lips I can't stop staring at?
The shadow stops abruptly. The trance in which she dragged me into vanishes. The imaginary music which leaded my steps disappears. This dance in the arms of the Devil ends.
Suddenly, the hand around my waist tightens its grip and attracts me even more towards that indefinable shadow whose darkness frightens me. My body hits that soulless silhouette. I look up slowly. Those red lips get closer and closer... An icy smile materializes on this scarlet mouth. I can't breath anymore. My eyes are frozen, my eyelids solidify. Those lips lean carefully towards my face, the hand on my waist is grabbing my dress fiercely. That sinful mouth is one inch away from mine. If those lips touch me, I would die. Then they start moving, they half-open...
''I am your worst nightmare...'' they murmur, against mine. I struggle to swallow my saliva. No word comes to my mind. My soul is empty. Dead, perhaps. This creature must have killed it. Or stolen it, for all I know.
''Your end will be mine. Be careful, princess Aurora. Be careful...'' the voice says those last words quietly, in an almost melancholic tone, before gradually fading away into the wind.
My lips shiver— no. My whole body is shivering. I close my eyes. A warm tear rolls down my cheek. Then a blast of air enters between my lips... I freeze, unable to perform the slightest gesture.
Eventually, I feel the touch of those red lips, warm and cold, sweet and dangerous...like a silk caress.
Her lips brush mine...
Then nothing.
Nothingness.
Yes, finally.
I am dead.
''Maleficent!'' A cry of rage and despair escaped from the Queen's mouth whereas she awoke with a jolt, straightening up abruptly in this bed she shared with the King Phillip for two years already.
The latter, alerted by his wife's scream, opened his eyes to stare at Aurora. That morning, he struggled to recognize the young maid he met two years ago in the woods and whose he fell in love with instantly.
There were dark blue shadows under her purple eyes full of tears, due to anger or sadness, which were running down her cheeks. Her usual pink skin was now as pale as a ghost, her sweet and thin hands were grasping the sheets sharply, twisted, contorted by fear or wrath, he couldn't say. When he looked into Aurora's eyes at that very time, Phillip would never admit it, but he was afraid.
''Oh, my love. What happened? Please, calm down! It was just a dream...'' He tried, putting his hand on Aurora's shoulder soothingly. The Queen drove away from his touch, and got off the marital bed.
''No. Don't touch me.'' She snapped in an icy tone which was totally usual of her.
''But, Aurora... Tell me! What was that dream that upset you so badly?'' His husband asked her in a sweet voice that was meant to reassure her. ''Every night you wake up in a jolt, with red eyes, pronoucing her...her name, and without even deigning to explain yourself! I don't understand you, Aurora. Please, explain to me, so I can help you!''
Aurora, who had walked to the terrace of their chambers, was contemplating the moon, this pure and graceful star, which seemed to be mocking her and her vain fears and doubts, from up there.
The Queen sighed and resigned herself to talk, for the first time in months.
''It's always the same dream. She's here, she's talking to me, she drives me into a dance... I'm dancing with her in the woods and...and she...Oh! I am so afraid! I can't move, I am...I am petrified, and...'' Aurora explained before she burst into tears.
Phillip who had followed her took his wife's hand and brushed her cheek fondly with his other hand.
''Don't worry, my love. This monster is dead, I told you. She won't hurt you anymore. She tried to separate us, that is true, and she almost succeeded... But I bested her, and now I can promise you you're safe with me. Forget about her, forget about everything. It's behind you, now. Now come on, lie down and try to go back to sleep...''
Aurora rose her eyes full of tears to look at Phillip, then she nodded before she got back into the bed where she lay near her husband.
While she was looking at the ceiling, lying on her back, one hand behind her head and the other setting on her breast, she heared the peaceful snoring raising just beside her. She sighed. Then she thought about this dream, so strange, so frightening, and yet so beautiful. She thought about this touch, these hands on her body, this mouth against hers... She placed her hand on her lips and caressed them slowly. It was burning, like driven by a flame which should be turned off for years. It was hot and wet, whereas her husband hadn't touch it for...two years, maybe? She had stopped counting. What was the matter anyway? Marriage of love is an illusion. Love is not meant to last forevermore.
Of course Phillip didn't understand, of course he couldn't understand. He had no idea what she went through, he had no idea what she was thinking either, nor what she was wanting. He did all of that for her, to marry her and live with her. And above all, to become King. But what about her? Had he ever wondered if it was what she desired? No, of course. A princess always wants to marry a prince.
Yes, but she was not a princess. She was still that young peasant girl who used to collect berries in the forest and sing along with the birds.
He had thought he protected her. He had thought he freed her by killing the dragon and giving her a kiss. He thought he did well. In the books, the prince kills the dragon to save the princess. But she was not a character from a novel. The prince didn't save the princess. By killing the dragon, he had killed the princess. By killing a dragon, he had killed a woman. He had killed her. Her. Maleficent...
Thinking about that name, a tear fell from her eye again. She whispered her name again, and again, as if repeating it over and over again could bring her back to life.
No. This couldn't last anymore. He had thought he acted well, but he was wrong. Now it was her turn to choose instead of him and to do what was good for herself.
The Queen stood up slowly, she crossed the room as silently as she could and opened the door with caution before she closed it behind her. She walked through the corridors, barefoot, until she arrived in front of the big wooden door with golden mouldings of the royal library. She pushed the door which creaked slightly and went in. Without thinking, she headed towards the shelf which contained magic guides. Her aunts, now her counsellors after being her parents', had brought all the magic manuscripts and books they possessed at the caslte so they could consult it at any time if needed. The Young Queen had spent hours leafing through those strange books, just out of curiosity, and perhaps a little on the advice of...
No. Don't think about her.
Here it is. She had found the book she was looking for: ''the Sleeping Curse.'' She blew on the red leather cover to get rid of the thick layer of dust and opened the manuscript, her heart pounding.
''Side effects.'' Yes, that will do. ''Nighmares.'' Of course.
I should have guessed, thought Aurora, rolling her eyes before she sat to better read the paragraph devoted to side effects of the sleeping curse.
''The Sleeping Curse, a very powerful spell, mainly leads to bind the victim to her persecutor, thus creating a link straightly between the two souls.''
A link...?
''However, once the curse broken, the sides effects can last. If the victim is not under the influence of the spell anymore, the bond between the victim and the author of the affliction remains. This indestructible link will show itself according to the nature of the curse, namely in the case of the Sleeping Curse, by means of the sleep, which could explain the existence of recurring nightmares.''
Then all these nightmares, it was because she...she was bound to her tormentor. Maleficent, by casting this spell on the princess Aurora, didn't think she had linked her soul to her victim's... Aurora was bound to Maleficent.
Though one question remained unanswered...
''There is nevertheless one only way to definitely break the link between the victim's soul and her persecutor's: death. Indeed, the tormentor's death shall cancel the effects of the spell, as well as the sleep itself, but also all the sides effects created by it, including the nightmares.''
By surprise, Aurora's jaw dropped. She opened her hands, letting the book fall and crash on the wooden floor. Unable to move, on the contrary, her brain was bubbling.
So...if she dreamt all these nights about Maleficent, the woman who had cursed her eighteen years ago... It was not because she was haunted by her death, like she had first believed, but because she was bound to her, and as a consequence, haunted by her soul, her very presence...
Maleficent wasn't dead. Maleficent was still alive, somewhere...
The Queen bent down to pick the manuscript her aunts forbid her to read, and put it away. She stood still once again, deep in thought. Her aunts had prevented her from reading this book, so... Wait. Did that mean...?
They knew Maleficent was still alive. Phillip didn't kill her, yet that's what he had her believe. Why? Why did he lie to her? He had no idea what linked her to Maleficent... Then why did he lie about the fairy's fate?
Aurora clenched her fists.
Impostor. Phillip was an impostor. Not the King, not her husband. Nothing more than an impostor.
Her aunts had betrayed her. They had lied to her, once again.
Maleficent...
Maleficent was alive.
The Queen smiled. Tears ran down her cheeks, warming up her heart. Joy. It's been a very long time since she had experienced that feeling.
Now, it was her turn to lie. It was her turn to betray them. It was hers to decide for all of them. For Phillip, for the fairies. For herself. For Maleficent. She wouldn't tell anyone. Not the fairies, not the king. She wouldn't tell she had discovered their precious little secret. No. They shall understand when they'll see her empty bed in the morning.
Aurora smiled in spite of herself. Finally, she was going to get her revenge. They will know the feeling of being betrayed, being deprived of the truth, being prisoners of lie.
She had to discover the truth. She had to get some answers. And for that, there was only one way: finding Maleficent.
Aurora left the library with firm steps. She walked down the stairs leading to the ballroom, she grabbed her purple cloak and some shoes, and she exited the castle by an attached door usually reserved to servants. She ran to the stables where she saddled her horse, a beautiful black stallion she had called Diablo.
After two days of ride interrupted by short nights, she turned off to the path filled of thorns which leaded to the Forbidden Mountains, Maleficent's domain.
Suddenly, Aurora noted a intriguing detail about her last nights spent in the forest. Not once she had been haunted by Maleficent's face. Maybe then...
Of course. Those dreams...those dreams were a call. For two years, Maleficent had tried to make her understand she was still alive, and she was waiting for her somewhere.
Maleficent was calling for her.
When Aurora looked up, she made out the fortress of stone in the distance, which had served as housing to the well-known wicked fairy for maybe decades already.
She smiled.
After all these years, she hadn't forget the way leading to that desolate place where her former enemy was taking refuge. After all these years, she still knew how to find her.
I am coming, Maleficent.
