Redeemed - Sleeping Beauty 1
Maleficent scowled as her goons scurried about the Forbidden Mountain. All these years of searching they had been following her instructions, in exacting detail but they were too foolish to realize that the babe would age and grow. She rubbed her temple with her fingers. She had finally sent out loyal Diablo. One last chance to find the hidden princess and accomplish the curse.
The fairies should be close, trying to return the princess to her family as soon as possible after the curse was broken. They should be on one of the roads leading to the king's castle. Maleficent lifted her staff and scanned the roads once again. There were hundreds of people on the roads, but no sign of three colorful fairies or a maid of sixteen with hair of sunshine gold and lips that shamed the red, red rose.
Now all she could do was sit on her dark winged throne and wait. She had searched the continent and the world where her foolish goons could not go, but even she had come up empty. For the past few months she had flit from town to village to city trying to find the hidden princess, the fairies or the prince. She knew all the most beautiful girls across Europa, yet not were Aurora.
Maleficent knew that everyone was expecting the princess at sundown tonight. The great danger was that if the fairies waited until after to start home then the curse would rebound on her. Not that it mattered to Maleficent if she lived or not.
There were no true heroes any more. There was none to save her kingdom from the wrath of her true love's father. She caressed the ring her true love had given her a lifetime ago as a symbol of his love. There had been none to challenge her here. Phillip was hiding from her. She was a power like the world had never seen before, yet her fate hung in balance with three foolish fairies and a beautiful princess.
Maleficent knew how stories like this were supposed to go, but she was ready for that. One way or the other she would make them all pay in pain and heartbreak.
Hearing excited caws, Maleficent stood and strode to the balcony. As Diablo saw her, he told her what he had found as he lit on the balcony rail.
Maleficent looked with amazement from her familiar to the forest below and back again. Then she threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, those dear fools. I did not think they could take such a risk. All these years and they were right under my nose. Good, good, but the game is up and they have lost."
She lifted her staff and looked into the crystal. "They are on the move and no longer in disguise. They are going to castle."
Maleficent didn't really care if the princess was killed or not. She wanted the fairies to love the princess and from the worried looks and scared movements, the way Fauna reached out her arms as the princess stepped over obstacles told her that she at least cared for the princess, probably loved her.
Diablo told her more and she smiled, "Oh dear, the princess has found love and it isn't her prince. Well, we'd better deal with that peasant."
Maleficent was sure she could also capture Prince Phillip, he would appear at the castle soon too. The princess may be bound in sleep, but there could be great entertainment to be found in pitting the betrothed and the true love of the princess against each other.
Maleficent turned back to her throne room and shouted to the cowering goons. "I want you two squads of goons to follow Diablo to capture a young peasant man, prepare a trap for him, I want him alive! The rest prepare the castle for a potential assault. Open the gates and drop the drawbridge, I'm going to deal with the princess myself."
Maleficent strode out of her castle while Diablo harangued the goons.
