A/N: As promised, I wrote the Aurora POV chapter. ScientificHooligan - I always look forward to your reviews and I'm ecstatic that I've been able to satisfy you in every chapter! I'm putting a hold on Maleficent's exciting life, I mean really she deserves a break. But I'm not spoiling anything! Elsaholic - Grrggm Hmmhg (You're welcome!) I just thought it dark that Stefan seemed not to care that his wife was dying. Plus he was kind of going insane by that point to so I figured, why the hell not? Heather - Yes! Maleficent can't trust anyone! You'll see a peek of what's to come in future chapters in this one. MsHeatherette - Twinsies! Everyone else - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS! I READ AND RE-READ EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. I READ THEM WHEN I FEEL LOW OR UNINSPIRED. YOU GUYS ARE DA REAL MVP. PS - If you watch Lost Girl, you'll find a surprise in this chapter.
"This is unacceptable!"
"Please don't shout-" "Don't shout?! How am I supposed to get through to you when you won't listen! You've been her for two weeks... two weeks!"
"I have to be here, I can't just leave her."
"For goodness sake, Aurora. She's your bloody teacher, not your mother-" "and neither are you! So-" A short squeaky gasp from the older woman stops Aurora before she could say anything more, "I'm- I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean..." she started to say but her aunt held out a hand to interrupt her.
"I'm going to guess that you're only tired from sleeping in this... lump of a bed and that's why you're not thinking like yourself." her tone cold and biting, "I will pick you up this afternoon and you will come home or so help me... I will drag you out of here by your hair."
Imelda Knotgrass was never a violent woman but Aurora knew her long enough to know when she was being serious so she could only no; not wanting to aggravate her aunt further. The blonde watched as the older, albeit smaller, woman scooped up her bag from the chair beside the door before stomping out of the room; knocking a passing nurse to the side.
Aurora let out a deep sigh, all energy draining from her as her eyes trail over the sleeping woman on the bed. The woman that's been asleep for almost two weeks.
"Miss, it's time to wake up now." She whispers as she's done everyday. Her trembling hands wrap around Maleficent's taped and boarded hand. "What happened to you?" the girls asks as her thumb gently move over the tubes and tape on the back of the cool hand. A frown grazing her forehead. Maleficent looked so frail in the bleached white sheets of the hospital bed. All traces of her intimidating glare gone and replaced with a stone-like steadiness, no hints of dreaming. If it weren't for the constant rise and fall of her chest, Maleficent could pass off as a corpse.
A thought Aurora never wanted to entertain. She could already feel the flashback coming before she even saw it...
Maleficent's eyes were wide and panicked. She eyes were locked with something in the corner of the room. Aurora turned her attention to where her teacher was looking, to see what it was that was frightening her so much but she only saw the dirt stains on the walls. Disgusting but not at all frightening. "You don't see anything?" She had asked, her voice coated in fear and confusion. Aurora had just stepped back into the room when she saw Maleficent's body jerk violently, like how those actors in the movies are when they've been shot or speared through the chest. She could only watch as the older woman dropped roughly. Hearing a sickening "Miss!" She had yelped, "Oh God! Miss!"
"No. What are you talking about?"
Aurora would never forget the way her teacher's eyes stayed open and unseeing. Blue, green and gold mist seemingly floating in them.
"Mr. Diaval. Hi." She greets, wiping the fatigue from her eyes.
The raven-haired man steps in, carrying a large brown paper bag, "I figured you were still here." His voice was amused but Aurora could detect a hint of annoyance. She couldn't help but think that she done something wrong but what?
"Which is why I bought extra." Aurora watched absently as Diaval pulled the small boxes of Chinese take out from the bag, he hands one to the girl along with a pair of chopsticks, "I got you some Egg Rolls and Mr. Chin's famous Lo Mien." Diaval says excitedly before splitting the thin wood joining his chopsticks.
"Thanks." the blonde answers quietly. "Aunt Knotgrass is taking me home today. She says I've been here too long." she repeats with a roll of her blue eyes.
She hated that she was being forced to leave Maleficent's but in the back of her mind she could feel the exhaustion of going to school then coming here to care for the comatose woman. A painful knot had already formed on her lower back and shoulders from the uncomfortable cot she'd been sleeping in for the past twelve days.
"Okay." Diaval watched Aurora fidget with the plastic handle on the takeout box, "How's your boyfriend?" he asked, forcing whatever talent for small-talk he had.
"My what?" the blonde asks, her hand stilling on the handle.
"You know... Tall kid, charming smile, luscious brown hair... What was his name..."
"Are you talking about Philip?"
The man points his sauce covered chopsticks at Aurora, "That's the one! How is he?"
"Firstly..." she starts as she wipes of some sauce from her cheek, "He's not my boyfriend."
"No?"
"No. Secondly, why would you even think that he was?"
"I just assumed. You two are always together and very sweet with each other. Maleficent certainly thought so." He answers honestly.
Aurora never did like it when people assumed things about her. It never really ended well. During fifth grade, a boy named Marcus pushed her into the camp lake assuming that she could swim. Then in Freshman year, she was bullied because she would wear boyish clothes and they assumed she was a lesbian. Although it turned out to be true, being bullied for her preference didn't help her accept her sexuality.
Maleficent had assumed that Aurora was dating Philip? She wondered what her teacher thought of that, did she like the thought of Aurora with someone else? Had she hated it? Hated Philip or worse, hater her?
"He's not my boyfriend. I'm... interested in someone else." She admits allusively, making Diaval laugh wryly. "He's not but he should be, instead of this... other person that you want."
Aurora pauses at the suggestive tone of his voice, did he know? Had Maleficent told him?
"Please... Don't look so surprised." he scoffs bitterly, "an explosion from an atom bomb is more subtle than you and Maleficent."
"That's- we-" Aurora shook her head,
The man waved his hands dismissively in the air, "I'm not trying to be the bad guy or anything, Aurora. All I want is what's best for her..." he jabs his thumb towards the sleeping woman, "...stay away from Maleficent. She's a teacher, You're her student. Nothing more. Anything between the two of you can never end well."
Before Aurora could retort, she's interrupted by three quick raps on the door pulled their attention away from their topic. "Doctor Lewis!" Diaval greeted as soon as a tall blonde doctor steps inside. The doctor was wearing a startling white lab coat over a grey shirt and black pants. A stethoscope draped over her shoulders, "I'm sorry to bother you, I'm just doing my rounds. Do you mind?" She gestures to Maleficent.
"Go ahead." the raven-haired mad answers, stepping aside to let the doctor through.
Aurora was still brooding over how Diaval had spoken to her that she failed to notice the look of concern on the Dr. Lewis' face.
"Interesting." She muttered more to herself but Aurora caught it right at the end, "What?" the girl asks.
Dr. Lewis reached forward and opened Maleficent's hospital robe, Aurora had almost looked away when she noticed a large blotch in the middle of the sleeping woman's chest. It looked like she was hit with the butt-end of a knife. "These contusions weren't here yesterday. Has anything happened?" the older blonde asks before fishing a small flashlight from her coat pocket.
The light that shone on the bruise made the colors stand out. Aurora couldn't help the twist in her chest at seeing the damage, It was almost bright purple in the middle then black, green and yellow around the edges. "Did something drop on her? Did she fall out of bed?"
Aurora answered with a firm, "No. I watched over her all night."
Dr. Lewis hums, "Unexplained bruising can be caused by a number of reasons. Lack of vitamin C, Anemia, Diabetes, even bleeding disorders, You know when the body is unable to properly clot a wound-" she says, counting off with her fingers then pauses when she notices the lost look on the faces of the two people with her. She had always forgotten to use simple terms and would tend to nerd out when something interesting happens to her patients. "Anyway, we'll need to run some additional tests."
"Do what you can. Please." Dr. Lewis wasn't surprised at the intensity of Aurora's voice.
"We will."
Diaval stepped beside the doctor before tapping her shoulder, "Doc, why isn't she waking up?"
"Right! That's why I came her too, to tell you since she doesn't have family." She says quickly, "We ran all the tests on her that we could. Checked her blood count, Electorolyte, Glucose, thyroid and liver functions." She sighs, "I personally checked her for Carbon Monoxide poisoning and performed a spinal tap to check for any infections that might linger in her nervous system. There is no medical reason for why she's still in a coma. She's had no severe trauma, no brain infection to speak of, no drugs in her system... It's possible that this is a residual effect of her accident."
"But you sent her home?" He asks accusingly.
"Yes. The other doctor's think that we might have missed something but I can tell you, we didn't. I ran the tests personally and checked and double-checked everything. Her CT-Scan, MRI, EEG. Everything came back normal. It's literally like she's sleeping and dreaming a lot. Did anything strange happen before her collapse?" Dr. Lewis asked as she closes Maleficent's hospital gown.
Aurora stepped up and said what she had kept from the police. "She was hearing... something. She asked me if I could hear or see anything then she just... collapsed."
"You mean, voices? she heard voices?" She asked and the younger woman nods. "Interesting. That sounds similar to a seizure."
Diaval frowns from his place, "She's not epileptic or anything. I've know her for years and this has never happened."
"There are lots of different types and causes of seizures. Some are caused by conditions such as low blood sugar or a temporary change to the way the heart is working. What seizures all have in common is that they are usually sudden, short, and cause a change in the person's awareness of where they are, what they are doing, what they are thinking or what they are feeling." The doctor explains quickly before turning to Aurora, "What else happened?"
Aurora racked her brain for anything else, any small detail that might help, "She- when she passed out, she was talking. To somebody that wasn't there. She was asking 'who are you?' or 'what do you want?, she was pretty out of it at that point."
The doctor only listened then stated her opinion once Aurora was done. "Hearing voices is just something that happens when your brain malfunctions. During a seizure, the brain going haywire and a lot of strange things happen. Often, what they here are their own last thoughts running through the person's mind or the muffled voices of onlookers. I'll have a specialist check on her for any symptoms of Non-Epileptic Seizures." She says before closing her clipboard and excusing herself from the room.
After a finishing his meal, the man stand and kisses Maleficent's head, "I have to go to." Diaval says apologetically. He grabs his thick wool jacket and bag that were hanging by the door then swings it open. "Think about what I told you, Aurora." He calls out from the hallway. Leaving Aurora alone with the sleeping Maleficent.
The girl sighs and fidgets with the hem of her teacher's hospital blanket, "What shall we do today, miss?"
"Gronk! Gronk!"
The loud cawing made Aurora jump from her seat, "Gronk!"
She sees a large black bird hopping just outside the window, "Grawk!" it sounded out, seeming playful.
"Hello, pretty bird. You scared me for a second." She giggled before pushing open the window, letting the bird hop just inside the room. "Do you want to play?"
"Grrr-ak!" The raven caws happily.
It took three days for Aurora to make it back to Maleficent's room. Apart from having her classes, Aunt Knotgrass was so bent on keeping her away from the teacher that the old woman had kept her own bedroom door open; since her room at the far end of a large hallway, she could see anything and anyone that passed by or tried to sneak out.
It was only today, when the three women arrived home tanked from a night out, that Aurora was able to sneak out early the next morning while the rest of the house was asleep.
As soon as she enters the room she sees a large bouquet of red roses beside her teacher's bed. Slowly, she approached it like a bomb that an enemy might have planted for her to find. The closer she got the stronger the smell of roses were, it was so pungent that it felt like acid wafting through her nostrils.
Her fingers close around the shiny white card in front of the large basket.
To Maleficent,
Get well soon.
Todd.Aurora read out loud, bitterness coating her words. She had never been one for petty jealousy but she couldn't help but feel like Mr. Todrick Rudder-Hall was stepping into her territory whenever he stared lovingly at Maleficent for a second too long. Of course, that caused Aurora to feel stupid because she was nobody. She had not right to consider her teacher to be hers, and that stung.
The door suddenly swung open and Diaval walks in with a sandwich in his mouth, Ham & Cheese by the looks of it, and a cup of coffee in his hands. The man walks around the room as he hummed to whatever song he was listening to, bumping his hips to the rhythm and making Aurora laugh.
Her light laugh catches his attention. Diaval whips around and sees Aurora, laughing and red-faced. "I'm surprised to see you here!" He says loudly.
Then as if realizing his volume he puts his hand up an pulls his headset off, "Sorry."
"It's alright." the girl answers with a smile. "I'm only visiting, my Aunts forbade me stay over." She says sadly.
"Don't you have class?"
"Mister White gave us the day off, says he was going to visit his wife or something." the blonde answers politely.
"Well, that's perfect because Mal here needs your help."
Aurora's head snaps to attention, "With what? Has she woken up?" she asks, as she examines her teacher's face.
He shakes his head, "No, but that's what this is about. She hates hospitals and I'm sure she'd want to leave as soon as possible. I need you to gather some clothes for her, I'd do it myself but I'm swamped with paperwork. Is that alright?"
Her brows furrow, "You're going to give me the keys to her house?"
"Maleficent trusts you to a degree, so I do too."
The simple statement made Aurora's heart swell with pride, Maleficent trusted her? If that were true, aside from Diaval she was probably the only person to gain the mysterious teacher's trust. "Okay, I'll have some clothes ready for her." The raven-haired man clapped once before grabbing a piece of paper and jots down what appears to be an address, "Okay great, because I have to go!" He says before leaving the paper on the bedside table and grabbing the basket of flowers; he heads outside without another word.
Aurora stood and watched him, "What are you doing with that? That's Mister Hall's present!" Diaval ignored her. He opened the door and turned right towards the exit. Aurora scratches the back of her head in confusion when Diaval pops in from the doorway, "Maleficent hates roses." he winks before tossing her a set of keys then disappearing again.
The girl turns to her teacher with an amused smirk on her lips, "I knew it." she smiles.
At a quarter past four, she left the hospital to pick up some clothes for Maleficent. It took Aurora almost an hour to find the house thanks to Diaval's horrible handwriting but soon she was parked outside an average-sized white and black colored home. It looked modern and clean but uninviting. There was a large space between the fence and the house itself that was covered in cement, there were no flowers, no plants, and not even a bird outside. Which was odd.
Aurora notices a large heap covered by blue tarpaulin in what appears to be the garage, it took her a moment to recognize the black and gold twisted piece of metal as Maleficent's bike.
Jesus. It was worse than I thought. How could she have survived that? Aurora thought as her mind pulls her thoughts towards the accident again. The cloud of smoke she saw as she drove away from the school, the sinking feeling that it was Maleficent, the announcement from Principal Penelope, seeing her teachers broken body wrapped like a mummy and the fear that the little beeping machine attached to Maleficent would go quiet. The words 'Miracle' and 'Extraordinary' being thrown around when she finally woke up.
No, I can't think about that. Not now. She shakes her head lightly before using the key to open the door. The first thing she notices was the space. Since the second floor only covered half of the home, it gave the impression that the house was taller that it actually was. There was only a small fireplace, a living room of four couches and a coffee table, the empty kitchen and another set of couches in front of a large LED TV.
The inside wasn't much different that the facade of the house. It was cold, detached and anonymous. There were no pictures of Maleficent anywhere, only frame after frame of forest art. She checked the refrigerator and found it empty except for a pack of bacon, a few bottles of wine and a case of beer.
Has Miss Maleficent always been living like this?
Aurora heads to the second floor and as per Diaval's instructions, she easily found the duffel bag in the third drawer. Sometimes, it made her jealous to think how well Diaval knew everything about her teacher. They had always been rumored to be together but as far as Aurora has seen, it was nothing more than friendship.
Still, she couldn't help but wish that she knew Maleficent just like Diaval did, or even more so. The thought made her heart swell but quickly deflate as she remembers Diaval, Philip and Aunt Knotgrass' words.
"Stay away from Maleficent..."
"Everyone says she's trouble."
"She's your teacher!"Their words ringing in her head like a silent alarm.
Aurora suddenly felt like all her energy had just drained from her body again, her shoulders dropped and she felt slightly light-headed. "What do I do? How do I not feel anything for her?" She wonders aloud as she plops down on Maleficent's large bed.
It was raised just above the knee, a California King with a black wooden frame and four corner posters. The sheets were plain white with accents of green and gold. It was breathtaking. Aurora couldn't help but imagine how her teacher would sleep on it, did she sleep on her back? Maybe she slept on her belly or on her side with her legs and arms on a pillow?
The thought made Aurora's eyes land on a large white body pillow, does she hug that while she sleeps?
She reaches up almost dreamlike and grabs the end of the long pillow before laying her head on it. "I'm such a stalker." She groans, taking in a deep breath. She could smells traces of Maleficent's shampoo, it smelled like honey... and beer. It was intoxicating to say the least. The blonde slowly closed her eyes and let herself be overwhelmed by the addicting aroma.
"Leave me alone, demon! Aunt Flittle! Aunt Knotgrass! Somebody! Help-"A sharp blow to her chest caused Aurora to jerk awake, gasping for breath as she sits back up on the bed. "What a dream..." She mumbles as she ran a clammy hand through her hair. She looks around disoriented, the sky had gone dark outside. "Shit. I fell asleep..." The clock on the bedside table read 20:23. She took a moment to count it off in her mind, "8:23..." She groans. She had fallen asleep for almost four hours.
A soft glowing light caught her attention, it was coming from under the bed and the color shifted from green, to blue, to gold. Like a rave was happening right under her. "What the-"
Aurora stood and crouched beside the bed, peeking at whatever was emitting the strange lights. She see a long wooden stick with a glowing ball at the top, "Whoa...". The girl grabs and pulls it out from under that bed. The colors on the ball on top was drifting together but separately like water and oil, Aurora couldn't help but stare at it in wonder. She realized that the swirling colors matched the blotches of color on Maleficent's eyes before her accident.
Suddenly, she hears a shuffling noise downstairs. Aurora walked to the railing and sees a hooded man forcing open one of the large windows. "Oh god. Oh my god. Oh shit." she hisses in panic, her mind racing, trying to find a way out.
She couldn't head downstairs and there were no windows up in the bedroom, "Oh no. Oh no."
Aurora could hear the window creaking open followed by several heavy footsteps. She could hear him talking to himself, "Where are you? I gotta find you. I have to destroy you. I know you're here. I felt you. I know." The man's deep voice says maniacally.
She hid as she watched him walk from one end of the apartment to another. Opening and closing drawers and door along the way. Aurora took another look at her surroundings. She couldn't hide under the bed or in the closet, that would be two of the places he'd look first. Her eyes land on a small space between the closet and the wall, it wasn't much but the footsteps leading up the stairs weren't giving her very many options.
Just as the man reaches the top of the stairs, Aurora threw the body pillow back to it's original place then slipped into her hiding spot, the staff in her hands. She could hear the intruder whispering to himself, "Gotta find it. Gotta destroy it. Can't end up down there. No way. Can't have her breaking the curse."
Aurora risks a peek and sees the man crouched beside Aurora's bed, his shirt riding up and allowing the girl to see his skin. It was dark, like chocolate and there was a tattoo of some kind on the left side of back.
A pair of legs?
The dim light in the house didn't give Aurora any help in recognizing what it was. It could have been anything- "WHERE IS IT?!" he screams in frustration, making Aurora's heart jump as a frightened squeal gets caught in her throat.
Your cuts will drain your heart away
Take someone else's life away
Someone else's life awayThe ringtone blares from his pocket, "I can't stay here. I have to go. Can't be seen. Have to keep my cover. She has to keep trusting me. I can't stay." He whispers to himself as he quickly opens the closet door. He grabs something from one of the drawers before running downstairs.
She let's out a huge sigh of relief before slipping from her hiding place. She peeks into the closet and sees Maleficent's underwear drawer a mess. He wasn't just a thief, he was a pervert too! Aurora thought to herself as she struggled to control her rapidly beating heart.
Aurora quickly gathered some clothes for Maleficent, just a simple gray long-sleeved shirt and black sweatpants for when she wakes up. She shoves a random bra and panties next to it and a soft olive green towel. She leaves the staff in her hiding place before half-jogging around the house; making sure that all the windows and doors of the house were locked.
Once she's in her car, she scans her surrounding for anyone that might have followed her from Maleficent's house. Aurora breathes a sigh of relief as she realizes that the coast was clear. Still, to be on the safe side, she stops by Sonic and orders food for Diaval and herself; figuring that he would be back with Maleficent as it was way past school hours.
A sonic burger with a strawberry limeade for her and a Footlong Quarter Pound Coney plus a coke with double vanilla for him. She had seen him eat the exact same thing almost a week ago, although the taste wasn't on of her favorites, Diaval seemed to like it a lot.
When she got to the hospital, the nurses and doctors were abuzz. Running to and from room 147, one of the nurses catches Aurora's eye; she was pushing a machine that had two curling wires attached to paddles. "Right here, Doctor Palmer! Make a path!" The male nurse says as he runs inside.
Maleficent... She thought to herself, her footsteps slowing as she approached the bustling room.
"Come on. Don't let go yet. Come on." She could hear the blonde doctor say to the sleeping woman. "We're losing her!" Doctor Lewis adds and Aurora could see her inject Maleficent with some type of clear white liquid.
The beeping of the heart monitor was quicker now than how it had been for the last two weeks. The girl slips in behind the nurses and sees Diaval in the corner of the room, his face was blank as he stared at the woman in bed. It was like Aurora couldn't comprehend what was happening, like her mind rejected the mere thought of what was happening in front of her.
Maleficent in bed and surrounded by the doctor and her staff, fighting to keep her alive.
No. No. It couldn't be. There must have been something she was missing. This had to be some kind of dream, a nightmare that wouldn't stop. The long high-pitched beep resonated through Aurora, it rang in her mind before echoing through her chest and made her stomach drop. "Flat line! She's flat-lined!" A random female nurse shouts as Diaval and Aurora looked on helplessly.
The male nurse that Aurora saw earlier pushed the defibrillator closer to the doctor. Despite everything that's happened, the blonde woman had kept herself calm, moving quickly and carefully. She grabs the paddles and sets the dial on her own, only getting help when another nurse reached over to squirt a clear gel on the metal plates.
Aurora didn't even notice that Maleficent's hospital gown had been removed to give the doctor a clear space to work, her eyes were trained on her teacher's face and the hands working on her delicate body.
She noted just how smooth Maleficent's smooth looked, like cream colored silk. It was free from any blemish. She was beautiful... even in death. Aurora quickly shook her head at the thought as she watched Doctor Lewis place a paddle on Maleficent's bare chest, a few inches under her right collar bone. The other, pressed against her left rib cage.
"Clear!" The doctor calls out before pressing a button on the handle, making a high pitched sound erupted. Maleficent's body arched up quickly before plopping back down, the long beep from the heart monitor jumping once but stayed flat.
The world quickly blurred for Aurora. Her arms wrap around herself as she watched the doctor try to bring Maleficent back from the dead. She felt like she was underwater, or dreaming, all the voices were muddled together.
"Give me... Clear!" the older woman calls out again. Her teacher's body arched and crashed harsher this time but there was no changes from the heart monitor. It was like Aurora's whole world zeroed in on the long beeping sound.
"Come on, Maleficent!" Diaval shouted from his place. He was in tears too. His heart breaking at the sight of his best friend's lifeless body. "Come on!" Aurora's gaze drift from him then back to the bed where she could see Doctor Lewis kissing Maleficent. Her brows furrow in confusion. "Come on, Mal. Come on...!" The blonde mumbles as she starts pushing her hands against the woman's chest.
CPR.
"Come back." Doctor Lewis huffs, her voice sounding defeated. "Come on, Maleficent!"
Diaval joined in, shouting a pleading "Mal!" at the woman.
Aurora couldn't find her voice, she was in shock. Maleficent couldn't die. She couldn't. Her eyes snap up when the doctor stops pumping the brunettes chest, "Time of death..." Doctor Lewis says quietly as she glanced at the clock, "10:54 PM."
No. No. No. No. No. No! The chocking sobs overwhelmed Aurora's body and she's only vaguely aware as Diaval drops to his knees beside her. No. She can't be dead. She can't be..."MALEFICENT!" Aurora let out a a heartbroken cry that shook everyone to the core as she let the sobs wrack her body. Suddenly, the long beep stops. Making all the heads snap up to it, except for Aurora who was still broken and crumpled on the hospital floor.
Lauren quickly moved to it and inspected it but there was no reason why it had stopped, "What's-" She's cut off when Maleficent suddenly takes in a large gulp of air, like she was literally swallowing back her life in a long gasp. It made everyone jump and even the young blonde's gaze snaps up. Maleficent had her eyes open but it was blank and unseeing.
"A- Aur-" The woman chokes but never finishes as she slowly drifts back into her sleep. The heart monitor beeping normally as if it had never stopped.
