The truth according to Lucas: When Maya Hart was a baby, she was also a princess, and because of this, her christening party was attended by all in the land. Except for one person. A fairy. Maleficent, to be exact. Burned at not being invited, Maleficent placed a curse on her, that when she turned sixteen she would prick her needle on a spindle and die. The fairy, Zay, had given her beauty. Riley had given her song. And Isadora, about to give Maya the gift of wisdom, had been rudely interrupted by the death sentence.

So, she thought fast and changed the curse. Maya wouldn't die, she would fall into a deep sleep, taking the rest of the kingdom with her, only to be awoken by True Love's Kiss. King Shawn, distraught and terrified for the child he had just begun to love, ordered all spinning wheels to be destroyed and sent his daughter to be raised by the fairies in the woods, prepared to wait a long time to get to know his little girl.

That plan worked for sixteen years. And one day, Princess Maya, who was Just Maya in the woods, was singing and dancing in a clearing when Prince Lucas stumbled upon her. She had never seen another person her age, let alone a boy, so she quickly left once he'd seen her, but he promised to meet her that very night at the same place.

Except she never met him, because she'd gone home to her family, to the fairies she had thought were human, only to have a lifelong betrayal uncovered, only to be sent to the palace, abandoned and alone, only to be married to someone she didn't know while the boy she truly loved was elsewhere, waiting for her. And then, she heard the voice of an evil fairy, followed it, and pricked her finger, falling into a deep sleep, just as the curse had once said.

The fairies then found Prince Lucas, learned that he was the same prince who Maya was promised to at birth, who had found her anyway, even as she was hiding, and took that as a sign that he must be her True Love, to which the prince eagerly agreed. Once freed, Prince Lucas looked Maleficent, the fairy-turned-dragon, in the eye - oh yes, she was a dragon at this point - and killed her. He was led to his princess' chamber, the girl he loved both in the woods and in the palace, and he knelt by her bedside and kissed her.

Princess Maya awoke, saw the prince, and was overjoyed. Happily Ever After. The End.

"But that last bit didn't happen. You can't just make things up," Maya said.

Lucas sighed. "No, but it should have happened. Everything else I said was true."

"So you kissed me and got transported here? Into this… whatever this is."

Lucas nodded. They were sitting across from each other in a field, greenery all around them. Maya still had to remind herself to be grateful for the life she was surrounded by now when for so long she was surrounded by dust and darkness and nothing. "You wanna know my theory?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I think when I killed Maleficent, a piece of her went inside you."

Maya frowned. She didn't want to think of Maleficent again. She didn't want to think of anything except for this feeling of safety and peace, and finally, for once, not being bored. But she couldn't do that. If she listened to Lucas' version of things - and it did make sense - then none of this was real, which was strange. The grass tickling her ankles, the wind whistling through the trees, Lucas. It all felt real. She had told him earlier of her childhood as she remembered it, the one here, in this dreamscape. She was very careful to leave out the worst bits, because even at the minor details his face wilted with concern. Which was both annoying and nice. And it was annoying that she found it nice at all.

When she looked back up, Lucas was grinning. "What's got you so happy?"

"I just realized. I didn't even know your name. And now, I'm in your head."

"You and a whole kingdom of people. Don't go thinking you're special."

"I am special. You love me," he teased her. Maya liked that he was teasing her, though she didn't like that he seemed to mean what he said.

"Or so you say. But the thing is, if Maleficent is inside me now, why is there an outside? Why not make her lies true and have the Outside be a barren, empty landscape?" Maya was quiet for a moment, trying to think. She'd done more thinking in the last day than she had in her whole life, which was a gloomy thought all on its own. "If part of her went inside me, then maybe this is my dream and she can't control it. And she's just using it. Using me."

Lucas didn't quite meet her eyes as he said, softly, "Or maybe you're stronger than she is. I mean, think about it. In the real world, you grew up here. She can't take that away from you, no matter how hard she tries."

Maya nods. Okay. It made sense. But they could spend a lifetime reasoning out the truth of what was happening to them. Now, they needed a game plan. "I need to find my family again. They appeared to me once before. If I could find them now, they'd know what to do."
"How would we find them?"

"The cottage where I grew up. Maybe it's here."

And so, they started their journey. Into the woods, and deeper and deeper, this time with a destination in mind. They walked in silence for a while. Maya was still wary about touching any tree, so she stayed a little closer to Lucas than she would've liked. He kept peeking at her when he thought she wouldn't notice, looking out of the corner of his eye and then smiling to himself, like just the sight of her was enough to make him grin.

Maya didn't know how to feel about that. Or any of this. But it seemed simpler than most everything else, so she figured she should try and figure it out, at least, so she said, tentatively, "So… we were in love?"

"Yeah, of course. I mean, we still are." He looked at Maya, a little nervously, and then added, "At least, I am."

"But -"
"But what? What do you need me to do to prove it, slay a dragon? Hate to break it to you, but I've already done that." He scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I guess I could do it again…"

It took Maya a moment to realize he was joking but when she did, she shoved him. He made a mock wounded expression, and then grinned back at her. Oh. She hadn't even realized she was smiling. "But we only met once."

"Once was all I needed, Maya. I said love at first sight, and I meant it. My mother always told me it was like that with my grandparents, but I never…"

Maya didn't get to hear how he finished his sentence. The word mother had thrown her for a headspin. She was diving into memory again, but this time, it was two memories at once. A memory of sitting in Riley's lap as a child, asking where her real parents were, and a memory from the palace, from months ago, when she heard them in the dungeon with Maleficent. Oh, god.

In the present, Lucas had his hand around her waist, keeping her steady as she swayed. "My parents," was all she gasped out at first. "They're not dead. And they're not evil. My family lied to me. Zay, Riley, Isadora, they lied. I could have - I could have talked to my parents. They knew it was just a dream, and I never even questioned it, I -"

She broke off, taking some deep breaths. She was spinning out, reeling from both the memories that had just run through her and the betrayal she felt from everyone, everything, from the whole fucking world. Lucas had one hand around her waist still, and one hand on the side of her face, forcing her to look at him. Maya was too overwhelmed to push him away. "Maya, you couldn't have known. You couldn't have - hey, look at me."

Maya shook her head. She needed everything to go away, to be quiet for a moment. "Tell me something," she said to Lucas. "Something else. Tell me about the dragon you slayed."

"Okay," he said, nodding. "Well, it was over in a matter of seconds. The fairies had given me this sword, this magic sword, the one I have right here, and they told me I'd be fine, but nothing helped when I had to look the dragon in the eyes."

"You were scared?" she asked, a little surprised. She didn't know why.

"I was terrified," he said. In her memories of the woods, he was just this beautiful boy with a shining steed. He had seemed invincible. But it was nice to hear he was human. He smiled, then, but not his usual grin, this smile felt like it had more inside of it. "You have to be scared to be brave. Otherwise, it's not bravery at all."

"How did you know that was real and this isn't?"

He shrugged. "You just know. You can just tell."

Maya felt herself start to cry, in spite of herself. "But nothing I've ever known has been real. Not in any life. Not my parents, or my family," she said, crying harder now. She started thinking of Missy for no real reason at all, but the words came out anyway, "or my friend, my - my only friend, none of it has been real," until finally, she let Lucas hold her for the first time, let herself fall into his arms, crying for many things - for too many things to count.