Maleficent Moors (or Mal as she preferred to be called) hadn't expected her day to go like this. She did not expect to have to rush from her job, jump into her car and race over to her daughter's school. She had rushed into the school and was told where to wait by a small blond woman at the front desk. She had now been waiting in the hallway outside the principle's office for almost twenty minutes now and her mind had started conjuring up the worst-case scenario for why the Principle had been called her here - that scenario being Aurora's father Stefan. Stefan Kingsley had been charming when Mal had first started dating him. He had brought her flowers and chocolate and she had fallen completely under his spell. After about a year of dating they had gotten married and Mal thought she was finally getting her happily ever after with her prince charming.

About two months into their marriage however, Stefan slowly started to turn abusive and started to get more controlling over Mal. Over the next two years, the abuse quickly went from emotional to physical and the breaking point finally came one night when Stefan had attacked her with a knife. Luckily, someone had heard the commotion and called the cops. Mal wasn't seriously injured, but she had gotten two shallow cuts on her back as she tried to run away from Stefan.

Due to this, and the fact that she was still in shock from the attack, the hospital staff decided that it would be best to keep her over night. The doctors did the usual things; they checked over all her vitals, took a blood sample and then allowed her to get some much needed rest in a safe environment. In the morning, Mal was given the news that she was about a month and a half pregnant. The knowledge that she had someone else to protect finally snapped Mal out of the daze she had been in since the attack. Mal swore that she would never be so foolish again and that she would always protect herself and now her baby from the Stefan's of the world. Over the course of the next year Mal gave birth to a baby girl who she named Aurora, divorced Stephan and gotten sole custody of their daughter, then watched with relief as the judge had sentenced Stefan to life in prison for attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

Once she was finally free of Stephan, Mal packed her newborn daughter and their few belongings into her car and drove away. She drove halfway across the country and ended up settling in a small town called Thornwall. Mal managed to find work at the local flower shop, which was owned by an elderly woman named Kathy. Kathy was fifty-six years old and had a soft spot for the young mother as Kathy had left a bad marriage with two sons and no money thirty years prior. With both her sons grown up and moved out, Kathy had the space to rent out the basement of her house to Mal. Kathy's house had originally been a duplex, so the basement had it's own bathroom and kitchen, along with two bedrooms and a small living room. Kathy had helped Mal move in, helped redecorate the basement, baby-sat Aurora when Mal had to run errands and allowed Mal to bring Aurora to the store when they had to work. When Aurora was three and had just talk, she had started to refer to Kathy as "Granny" and Mal followed suit. They had become a little family and by the time Aurora was five and in school, Mal had become very accustomed and happy with her life in Thornwall. Until about twenty minutes ago that is.

Twenty Minutes Ago…

"Hello, thanks for calling Magic Forest flowers. How may I help you?" Mal had answered the phone like she always did.

"Is this Maleficent Moors?" Mal sat up strait, suddenly nervous. Very few people used her full name. "Yes, this is she." "Hello, I'm calling from Thornwall Elementary School. It's regarding your daughter Aurora, there was some trouble today and we need you to come here as soon as possible." Mal's heart gave a small jolt of fear and she had assured the woman that she would be there in about ten minutes. Mal ran into Kathy's office and told her what was going on. After promising to call Kathy as soon as she had had news on Aurora, Mal had hopped into her car and raced to the school.

Back to the Hallway…

"Miss. Moors?"

Mal looked up to see a short, brown haired woman wearing a pink sweater and skirt looking up at her. "Yes?" the shorter woman smiled kindly. "My name is Penny Knotgrass, I'm the principle here. If you'll come this way please." Mal followed her into her office and had just managed to walk through the door when a small blond blur launched itself across the room at her screaming "Mama!" The small blond blur, or Aurora as most people called her, had grabbed onto her mother's leg and started squeezed tightly. Mal smiled down at Aurora and reached down to pick her up, pressing a small kiss to her daughter's temple before settling Aurora on her hip. Carrying Aurora, Mal made her way over to a chair facing Miss. Knotgrass's desk. Once she had sat down with Aurora in her lap, Mal addressed the woman. "May I ask why I was called here today?" Miss. Knotgrass sighed and nodded tiredly. "There was a fight between Aurora and another student in her class, Damon Riley, that got out of hand. I'd like to wait until the boy's father arrives to get into the details." Mal noticed and absentmindedly started to stroke her daughter's soft blond curls. As she was rubbing her daughters head, she felt a small lump. "Aurora?" Mal looked down into a pair of wide blue eyes. "Yes, Mama?" "What happened to your head?" Aurora's eyes filled with tears. "He hit me!" Aurora yelled pointing across the room. The "he" in question was a small, black haired boy who was glaring at Aurora.

"Did not!" He yelled back. This denial didn't go over well with Aurora and pretty soon the two five year olds had started a full-blown yelling match. All anyone could hear was mixed yells of "Did not!" and "Did to!" After a good ten minutes of trying and failing to get both children to calm down, a dark haired man burst through the door.

"What have you done to my beautiful son?!"