If Maleficent didn't already have something brewing in her head, I did. It seemed that I found my adversary in this generation of royals. But also maybe a potential weakness should I need to use her. Aurora's willingness to trust would ultimately be her downfall. And with how long I would be confined to a bed my hatred of Philip continued to grow more and more. It was him after all that was the one who caused me to be in this solitary space.

After a day of staying in bed I started to think I would go mad if I were to spend another day a prisoner in my own room, but more so if I were to miss the coronation that was only two days away. I tried pushing myself out of bed, but with each consecutive attempt the pain became more and more prominent until it finally got to be unbearable. My patience was wearing thin and I was more than ready to return to my daily activities. Despite her warning, I didn't care if the blade had been enchanted or not, but I was going to not let these wounds confine me any longer. I started to rip off the bandages that had been wrapped around my torso and shoulder.

With my left hand I levitated my hand mirror and caused it for the moment to grow large enough so that I could see for the first time the entirety of the damage that I had sustained on my back. They may not have been extremely deep but the number of small, square-shaped holes that dotted my back astounded me. With a flick of my wrist, I started to close the small gashes and watched as skin started to form over them and the blood clots started to fade away, only leaving light pink spots where each one had previously been. Once I was done with that I started to feel a little faint as I still hadn't quite gained my strength back despite my own opinion. My head also started to hurt with a throbbing pain.

Not willing to let either cause me to stop, I went onto work on my shoulder which was much worse off than any other injury I had. Getting to see it head on allowed me to realize how much damage had actually occurred. In fact despite the healing that had taken place, the wound had started to take a turn for the worse as traces of sickly green lines edged their way around the outside of the laceration giving it a more grotesque appearance than before. The blade must have been laced with poison along with its other enchantments that caused this delay in healing. Not wanting to wait for Maleficent to return again to get her opinion on the matter I started to try to pull to toxin from the wound. In doing so the green started to pull away from the lesion and swirl in a small pool above it. This caused the headache that I already had start to become more painful.

Once the last of the poison had been extracted I conjured a small basin that the toxins resided in while I finished patching myself up until I could spend time figuring out what its true identity was. Returning to my final injury, I watched as I forced the wound closed and skin started to grow back. As deep red turned to rose pink my headache continued to worsen. Even though I tried to push through the pain I couldn't hold back a painful howl that grew with intensity as the agony increased in magnitude. It wasn't until I stopped with the healing incantation that the pain slowly started to fade. I slowly started to rub my temple to try to help soothe the pain. The silence was broken by a gentle knock at the door. Looking down, I pulled the covers up to help keep some modesty in my current state before bidding my visitor entrance.

Upon entering and closing the door behind her Maleficent stated, "What on earth are you up to in here that would cause such a…" She paused once her eyes reached my face. I'm sure the slumped posture I was in wasn't very becoming of a lady, which is what must have stopped her, but I didn't much care at the moment. "What did you do?"

Motioning down to my arm I said, "I grew tired of being confined and healed my injuries. I apologize for the ruckus that I made."

"That would explain why those appeared."

"Why what appeared?"

I turned towards the mirror that was still floating before me thinking that more scales might have popped up. Instead atop my head sat a pair of mahogany horns that looked eerily similar to my mother's. Each looped backwards around itself until continuing to a point. Not sure that they were truly there, I nervously extended a hand towards them. They were cold and smooth like polished stone.

"I guess it was the only thing missing at this point," I said snidely. "I'm assuming it was in part due to this," I reached for the bowl that held the green liquid in it and handed it to Maleficent as she walked up next to me. Taking the bowl in hand, she pulled the serum up with a single finger and stared at it as it slowly spun around in the air above where it previously rested.

"A poor attempt at a poison for a human, but lethal to those who are of fae heritage. This was not intended for you, so its effects are much less severe."

"How so? I feel that this is not something minor." I questioned pointing up at the horns that had been the center of attention.

"It is an infection, mixed with fairy blood." She let the liquid fall back into the bowl and set it back on the table next to me. "It would seem that the effects were triggered by the blood attempting to remain in your system while you extracted it. Thus the more fae like appearance."

"Hmm…" was my response. Turning back towards the mirror I stared at my altered appearance. Observing the features that I had previously feared of possessing, I thought on how I still felt the same even though a stranger was staring back at me. Feeling the bed shift next to me I looked to my left to see Maleficent sitting next to me. Her gaze had fallen on the one scar that had not been caused by Phillip.

"You know with all the others I had almost forgotten about that one." I said to her. She remained silent. "I guess now it has a full set to complete it."

"It should not be that way."

"If anything they are part of my story and a reminder of no matter how shattered and broken things may seem, we can fix them even when faced with impossible feats."

"Since when did you become such the optimist?" she asked with a chuckle.

A simple shrug was my only response, which for some reason she found hilarious. Letting out a genuine laugh she wrapped her arm around me and pulled me against her side. Once she had finished she said, "I guess you will be able to attend the coronation tomorrow after all."

"With a royal invitation, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Enjoy the quiet while you can." She rose and headed towards the door.

"Your excellence, is it customary to bring a gift to these sorts of things?"

She turned and replied with a puzzled look on her face, "If the two parties are at some sort of peaceful agreement. But with our present opposition, I am sure they would prefer for us not to bestow anything on them."

"I have a gift of sorts for them."

"And what is this gift?"

"The sort of gift that you are known for, a promise of impending torment and misery."

She arched an eyebrow, intrigued with what I had proposed. Returning to the edge of my bed, she crossed her arms. "Indulge me in the details of what it is your twisted mind had concocted."

"Of course, but perhaps once I am decent enough to no longer be clutching sheets to myself?"

Looking down to notice that I was indeed covering myself with bed sheets, she nodded then returned her gaze back up to mine. "I'll be waiting in my study then." About to close the door, she continued, "Don't keep me waiting."

As soon as the door closed, I threw the covers off of myself and gingerly moved my legs off the side of my bed. Even with the speedy recovery my body ached as I slowly pushed myself to stand up. Motioning for one of my dresses, a light purple one flew to my side. The shades of lavender a nice contrast from the dark blues and blacks I had been wearing as of late. I hastily ran a brush through my hair and proceeded to pin some of it back to try to make myself look presentable enough. Doing so proved to be more difficult with the addition of horns and caused it to take longer than normal. I knew that Maleficent wouldn't mind in privet quarters, but I wanted to show her and any others who I might pass on the way that I was well enough to go to the coronation.

It was a slow and steady walk to Maleficent's study. Trying to remain dignified while forcing my legs to do more work than they had done in the past two days was not as easy as I had hoped it would be. There were a few points where I had to stop and regain my footing or simply lean against the wall to catch my bearings.

As I reached my destination and closed the door behind myself, Maleficent was staring out the window that looked over the courtyard. Turning her attention towards me, "Now, let us hear about this 'gift' that you are so giddy to bestow on our hosts."

Starting to lay the groundwork for what I had planned I watched as my predecessor's face slowly changed from slight amusement to concern to a blank slate. She moved from her position at one end of the room to the other where she sat behind her desk. I stopped upon seeing her intertwine her fingers amongst each other and gently place them to her lips. With her brows furrowed she asked, "And how do you plan on carrying this out?"

Proceeding to explain further, I became slightly embarrassed as I hadn't expected to explain the details of what I had planned out loud to someone else. However I continued to elaborate on what it was that I had planned, despite the flush in my cheeks that I'm sure was extremely noticeable at this point. Upon finishing, Maleficent stood and locked eyes with me. Even though we were on good terms, I still felt uneasy in my stomach when she would put all of her attention on me.

"Are you sure this is something that you are comfortable accepting? Once you do, there is no going back, for any of you."

"I am willing to make this sacrifice if it means putting that pompous prince in his place. It will also ensure that your legacy will live on."

"Hmm," was her only reply. She started to pace the floor, obviously still running through all the potential ramifications that could come from my plan. "Before you make a final decision on this, a small lesson that might shed some light on your endeavor." I walked up next to her desk and leaned against it, propping myself up and crossing my arms. "This one will sound familiar to you. Many years ago a king and queen longed for a child, and asked the help of a fairy to make their wish come true. She agreed, but upon not receiving an invitation to the child's christening, or any form of repayment for that matter, she became consumed in her plot for revenge."

"Why are you telling me your story? I was there through all of it."

"But you did not see it through my eyes. Casting a curse can consume you so that it is all that you will think about night and day. Do not let yourself be drawn in by its temptation."

"Your concern is touching, but I know what I am doing." Her stern features caused me to let out a sigh. Pushing myself off the edge of her desk, I walked over to her side. "You don't have to keep being over protective of me like I were a child."

"But you are my child, and I will always be concerned about your well being."

"I know, but Mother…" this seemed to catch her attention quite rapidly; almost causing her to freeze where she stood, "you have to trust me."