"Father, please don't be angry at them." Aurora asked, "They were doing what you asked them. This is my fault."

King Stefan frowned, "Your fault? I fail to see how a giant tree in the middle of the room is your fault."

"Well," Fauna stepped up, "we were trying to teach her how to cast some basic spells but, it seems your daughter's magic is more potent than we anticipated."

"So it would seem." said the King. "Am I to assume you can restore my castle to the state it was in?"

Flora stepped up this time, "Oh yes, of course, Your Majesty. Princess? Could you please go to your father? I would rather you not end up accidentally hurt by any falling bricks."

"Oh, of course." Aurora curtsied politely to the trio before walking over to her Father's side, offering him and the guards a polite smile.

"Aurora, are you hurt?" Stefan asked, immediately looking concerned.

She shook her head. "No, Father. I am a little surprised and, I think I should wash my hands after this," she showed him her hands covered in the remains of her wands, "but I am not in any pain."

"Oh thank the Lord." Stefan breathed a sigh of relief, bringing his daughter into a hug. "I don't know how I would cope if you had gotten injured or worse."

Aurora wrapped her arms around her father in return, "I'll do my best to make sure you never need to find out."

The guards behind the King smiled a little at this.

"Now then," Flora pulled out her own wand, "let's see about you, shall we?" she said to herself, turning to the tree, "I think I'll just have you turn back into a seed." she decided after a moment of thought."

"I'll take care of repairing any stone that was damaged by the tree." Merryweather chimed in.

"And I'll fix the roof and floors." Fauna finished. "Ready?"

Her sisters nodded at one.

"Alright then, here we go!"

A flick of Flora's wrist and a beam of emerald struck the immense tree, and it obeyed Flora's will, slowly shrinking, the process that had created it slowly being undone. "Watch out for any falling rocks, dearies." she advised.

The guards stepped in front of the royal family, holding shields above their heads, "Please do not move, Your Majesties." requested the one of the right.

"Thank you for your concern, Sir." Aurora said politely.

The guard tensed as he heard and felt a stone impact his shield, "I am merely doing my job, Princess. But, I am not a knight." much as he had aspired to be as a child.

"Are all guards not knights?" Aurora tilted her head, a frown creasing her forehead.

"I'm afraid not, Aurora." Stefan answered.

"Oh, I, see." she nodded slowly. She crouched a bit to see how the Fairies were doing, and much to her amazement, just as they said, the tree was now little more than a seed in Flora's palm, Fauna and Merryweather working in concert to fix the damage Aurora's magic had caused.

"There, that's much better." smiled Fauna, flying up to the roof to examine in, "Good as new."

"You may lower your shields now." Stefan told the duo protecting him and his daughter.

"As you command, Sire." the one on the left nodded, slowly lowering his shield in tandem with his compatriot.

"Now, what were you saying about my daughter's magic?" asked the King, turning to the Three Good Fairies.

"Well, her magic is far more potent than any sorceress her age I've ever seen. Between that and only developing it now, instead of showing signs of it throughout her life until this point, I'm afraid that," she hesitated, "her, gift, isn't what it initially seemed." Fauna told him, landing before him.

Stefan's left fist clenched, trembling slightly from his anger and frustration, "Were it not for my wife assuring me that not inviting Maleficent would have been worse, I would be very angry at her for inviting that witch."

"I, would not recommend calling her that to her face, Sire. Maleficent takes very poorly to insults." Flora said worriedly.

Merryweather huffed.

"Very well. So, what do you recommend I do now?" Stefan asked, forcing calm into his tone.

Aurora shrank into herself, "I apologize for having caused you all this much trouble." she said meekly.

"Oh no, dear, this isn't your fault." Merryweather consoled her. "Nobody expected you to have perfect control over your magic from the very first moment."

"As you say." Aurora didn't look very convinced. "But I must ask. Who is this Maleficent person?"

The three fairies looked unsure as to who should answer, until King Stefan spoke up.

"Maleficent is, a very powerful and very dangerous woman. She came when you were born and was the one who gave you your magic." he told her. "I don't know why she did this, but I suspect she has ulterior motives."

"Ulterior?" Aurora tilted her head at the unfamiliar word.

"She has motives for granting you magic that aren't immediately obvious." explained Merryweather.

Aurora nodded slowly, mouthing the word to herself to try and get a feel for it.

"As for your second question of what to do about your daughter's magic," Flora spoke up this time, "much as I don't like admitting it, I, don't think we're suited for this."

Stefan stared at her in disbelief. "Explain."

"Well, my kind is born with magic. To us, magic is like breathing." She explained. "It's so natural that having to explain it is strange."

"Wonderful." muttered the King under his mustache. "Then what should I do? I believe my desire for my daughter to be able to control her magic is a reasonable one."

"Permission to speak, Your Majesty?" piped up one of the guards.

Stefan turned to him in surprise, but nodded. "If you have an idea, I am willing to listen."

"I've heard tell that the King of England has a powerful Wizard aiding him. He apparently goes by the name Merlin. Why not ask if he can be loaned to you?" he suggested.

Stefan hummed in thought, stroking his beard, "Not a bad idea, actually."

"Merlin, now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time." Merryweather said to herself.

"You know this, Merlin?" Aurora asked.

"Oh yes." Flora smiled, "We met him five years ago. He's a lovely man."

"He's absolutely brilliant, King Stefan. If anyone can help Princess Aurora, it would be him." Fauna concurred.

"Indeed? Very well, I shall send a message to King Arthur to see if he's willing to let me borrow Merlin's services." King Stefan said.

Author's Note: Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals.