"Beastie? It's time to wake up. Aurora."
Aurora groaned, vaguely aware of her Godmother's voice gentle in her ear, but not yet ready to bid sleep farewell.
"Come on, Sleeping Beauty." - Diaval's voice.
She opened her eyes for a moment, before snapping them shut again against the bright sunlight that stung them.
She felt Maleficent's hand against her forehead, stroking it as if to gently coax her out of sleep. The gesture had the opposite effect, and Aurora leant in to her touch, eyelids still heavy.
"Do you think she's unwell?" she heard Diaval ask.
"I don't imagine she is feeling her best," Maleficent responded. "In any case, it is… unusual for her to sleep so late."
Realising she was apparently the centre of attention, Aurora lifted her head up, letting the idea of sleep go.
"Hello," Diaval smiled.
Aurora groaned, becoming aware of the fact her whole body ached and her head throbbed – no doubt a direct result of her previous night's adventures.
"Y'okay there?" Diaval asked.
"Everything hurts," she mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Maybe you could find something for the pain? Some cloves, perhaps?" Maleficent suggested, and he nodded, disappearing.
For a moment, Aurora remained still, feeling thoroughly miserable.
"Come here Beastie," Maleficent extended a wing.
"How long did I sleep?" she asked, welcoming the contact and the swirling balls of light that surrounded her as the fairy took the edge off her aches and pains.
"It is… late morning," her Godmother clarified.
"You're never usually here when I wake," the girl noted. "You don't have to feel guilty, you know?"
"It is not about guilt," Maleficent began – though she did feel it – for what had happened in the caves, and for immersing the girl in unpleasant scenes from the past. ""I am here because you asked me not to leave you, and I saw it fit to oblige"
Aurora smiled faintly. "Perhaps I should get into trouble more often."
"Perhaps not. I think you have had your fair share of trouble, and I my fair share of sleepless nights on your account," Maleficent told her, running her fingers through Aurora's golden hair absent-mindedly.
"Are you going anywhere today?" the girl asked.
"I had planned to walk the wall later, to ensure its security," she said.
Aurora frowned. "The wall of thorns? Why? Do you think Darius will try and get through?"
Maleficent shook her head, thoughtfully. "No, that I am certain will not happen. It does not hurt to be vigilant, however."
"May I come?"
"Given your injuries, I'm not sure that is wise…" her Godmother began.
Aurora grabbed her hand. "Please, Fairy Godmother. I'm certain I'll feel better once Diaval brings the… the… things you sent him for."
"Cloves," Maleficent confirmed. "All the same, I think it would be prudent for you to remain in the nest today and rest."
"Please let me come. I want to be with you," the girl pleaded, big eyes full of hope.
Those blasted eyes.
Maleficent exhaled. "Very well. Only if you feel better this afternoon. In the meantime, I would like you to stay in the nest and recuperate."
Aurora's face lit up in a smile, and before Maleficent knew it the girl was curled in against her again, gently tugging on her wing until it folded around her.
It looked as if Aurora was not the only one who would be spending the rest of the morning in the nest.
Ω Ω Ω Ω
It was late afternoon and the sun was low behind the trees by the time Maleficent and Aurora finished their walk along the wall of thorns.
Maleficent had, under duress, agreed to let Aurora accompany her. She had had her reservations, but the girl had perked up throughout the day and was insistent on joining her.
And so they had walked, in silence at first and slowly.
When Maleficent was finally satisfied with the security of the moors, they stopped to rest against the trunk of an old tree, long since dead.
"Are you feeling well?" Maleficent asked as Aurora sat down beside her, the images of the state in which the girl had been returned to her still fresh in her mind.
Aurora nodded. "Much better. Thanks to you."
"Me? Whatever for?"
"Because… you're you," the girl said.
Huffing, Maleficent closed her eyes, tipping her head back to rest against the trunk of the tree.
"Sometimes, Beastie, you do talk nonsense."
Aurora smiled, leaning her head against the fairy's shoulder.
Arching a brow, Maleficent opened one eye and peered down at her. Lately, it seemed, the little beast was stuck to her like a limpet.
Better not to address it today however, Maleficent decided, given the events of the previous night.
And so she closed her eyes again, allowing her cheek to come to rest against the top of the girl's head. Aurora reached out her hand, finding Maleficent's and lacing their fingers together.
Maleficent wasn't quite sure when the girl had become so comfortable in her company, or indeed when she had allowed herself to become so utterly blinded by love for this child that she was able to allow this level of physical contact with a human.
The fairy thought back to her own feelings the night before – the panic and dread that had consumed her, not knowing whether Aurora was okay, whether she was even alive.
She breathed in the sweet, flowery scent of the girl's hair, wondering if there was any possible way of her ensuring she never had to feel like that again.
Not likely, given the little beast's penchant for finding trouble.
As if on cue, the sound of nearing hooves filled the air and Maleficent's eyes snapped open.
She was in her feet in a matter of seconds, ready to fight the figure drawing ever closer.
"Stay back," she said, sensing Aurora had come to stand behind her.
"It's okay," Aurora said softly, as the grey horse came to a halt not far from them. "It's just Prince Philip."
This did not serve to dampen the emerald green mist that swirled around them.
"Princess Aurora!" Philip called cheerfully, hopping down from his steed, seemingly blissfully unaware of the danger the fairy represented.
"It's okay," Aurora said again, reaching out to touch her Godmother's arm.
Maleficent watched as the prince approached them, but her anger died down on account of the stupid, love-struck grin plastered across the boy's face- he was no threat. At least, not in this setting.
"Princess Aurora. Maleficent. A fine evening for it," Philip said as he reached them, giving the fairy a small bow.
"Indeed," Maleficent drawled, bemused.
Aurora smiled. "Hello."
An awkward silence.
"What brings you here?" the girl asked, fully aware that her Godmother was going to do nothing to fill the gap.
"I'm returning from a trip to one of the eastern villages. The village of Wolfslock, I believe it is called. The strangest thing has happened there. A prominent group of men from the village have vanished, leaving in their place a number of large, hideous-looking toads," Philip told her, perplexed.
"Is that so?" Maleficent purred, avoiding eye contact with Aurora.
The prince nodded, turning to Aurora again.
"In any case, I'm glad I have met you along the way. You have not left my thoughts since… well, since the night in the castle," he explained.
Aurora gave him a shy smile, evidently unsure of how best to respond.
"If it's okay with you, I'd like you see you again," Philip continued. "A dinner, perhaps? At my home in Ulstead."
"I'd… I'd like to see you too, but I'm afraid I can't travel to Ulstead. I haven't had the best experiences with human kingdoms of late," Aurora told him, quietly.
"Well, perhaps you would find Ulstead to be different? Maleficent could accompany you," he suggested.
"Tempting though your offer is, I'm afraid my kind are not welcome in kingdom of Ulstead," the fairy told him.
Philip considered Maleficent's statement for a moment but chose not to argue, instead turning back to Aurora.
"Then, a picnic. Right here," he said, gesturing to the ground beneath them. "Three days from now I shall be passing by this place again at about this time of day and I should very much like to have dinner with you here."
Aurora smiled again, glancing across at her Godmother. "Can I?"
Maleficent hesitated, fully aware that agreeing to such a thing was going against her every nature, especially after everything that Aurora had been through recently. But there were those eyes again, so big, so bright in anticipation.
The fairy exhaled. "Very well."
Aurora giggled, turning back to Prince Philip. "I'll be here."
"Then I will count down the days," he told her, taking her hand in his and pressing his lips against it.
Aurora's cheeks flushed pink and she watched in silence as the prince climbed back onto his horse.
"Good bye for now, Princess Aurora."
"You know, I'm not a princess anymore," Aurora told him, regaining her composure.
Maleficent watched as Prince Philip raised an eye brow, a smug smirk plastered across his face which said 'we'll see about that.'
We certainly will.
Neither of them spoke as the prince pulled his horse away and off in the direction of Ulstead.
"Well, we should be getting back, it is late," Maleficent said, eventually.
"Fairy Godmother?" Aurora began, her tone inquisitive.
"Yes?"
"Did you turn Darius and the others into toads?"
Maleficent considered her for a moment, and Aurora didn't miss the small smile on the fairy's lips as she turned back towards the moors.
"Come along, Beastie."
Ω Ω Ω Ω