Author's note: Welcome back guys !

So... do you remember when I said this fanfiction is inspired by the events of descendants 1, 2 & 3 as well as the live action movie Maleficent 1 & 2. Well, today is the day, we start talking about this new version of the tale of Sleeping Beauty !

This chapter is not really a flashback, but not an exact retelling of the movie either (it would be too long and boring). It's sort of the story through Maleficent's point of view.

That been said, there are spoilers in this chapter ! So I would recommend watching Maleficent if you haven't seen it ! It's my favorite live-action remake Disney made.

Anyways... here are Maleficent's memories.

Enjoy !

Chapter 18 - Maleficent… or the real story of Sleeping Beauty

He should have killed her.

If only, he had killed her - none of this would have happened. If only he had killed her, she would not feel this unbearing pain. If she was dead, she would not have lost herself in hatred and darkness.

But, too weak to kill her and too cruel to spare her, Stefan had done something even worse. Even worse than death itself. On the same night, he broke her heart and mutilated her body. What was a fairy without wings ? Nothing. What was life without joy ? Nothing.

Maleficent grew bitter. Evil. Hurt. He had taken away from her the very thing that made her who she was. Now, she was just a lost soul in a incomplete body. And she only lived for one thing. Revenge.

If only she had never met him. She would have been happy, oblivious to the evil that existed in this world. If only, there were no humans - everything would have been good. But they were greedy, mean, selfish and cruel. Beautiful creatures with smooth words and bad intentions. Like mermaids, they gained your trust with care and flattery, and right as you let yourself open up to them - they stabbed you in the back. There were no exception. Every single one of them was evil. They destroyed everything they touched. When they saw magic, they wanted to steal away its power. When they saw kindness, they wanted to take advantage of it. When they saw love, they wanted to utilize it.

Now, Maleficent was bitter and so she decided that if the world had nothing left to offer her - she would make sure to take away every single drop of joy from the ones who had made her so sad. When Stefan had a baby, she cursed it. She cursed it with a spell so cruel - he was the one who had inspired its creation. On her sixteenth birthday, Aurora would fall in an enchanted sleep. Just like Maleficent had fallen asleep after he had drugged her that night. But Aurora would not wake up. Never. Not in a million years. Unless… she received true love's kiss. Just like Maleficent had received, a long time ago, from him.

But since true love did not exist - and they both knew it - Aurora would not wake up. Just like Maleficent wished she hadn't woken up that day. Thinking about it, she still had more mercy than he did. And yet, she was the "villain".

However, if Stefan had killed her that day, Maleficent would never had known Aurora. The first - the only - human with a pure heart. A literal miracle. Everything she touched glowed. Everywhere she looked, she saw beauty and wonders. Where they was bitterness, anger, fear and hurt; she would return light and love. Against all odds, Maleficent grew to love Aurora. Against all odds, her broken heart still had the ability to love. Maybe, if she hadn't been so focused on revenge and darkness, she would have gained the ability to heal over the years.

But Aurora was cursed. And on her sixteenth birthday, she poked her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fell in an endless sleep. And - as true love didn't exist - the prince's kiss was useless.

Maleficent had tried to reverse the curse. To break it off before anything happened. But fate was sealed. Her scepter was strongest weapon Earth had ever seen. It could untie any spell. But nothing could untie the spells it made.

Audrey closed the book - thinking of her mother, of the lies she had told her, and of the idea that "true love" wasn't real. To say that she was shocked would be an euphemism. But Audrey was also determined. She knew what she had to do.