"Hello, Aurora." Ellis spoke. Her voice was soft and smooth.
"Hello, Ellis." Aurora smiled. She extended a hand for Ellis to climb on.
Ellis fluttered on and allowed the young Princess to slowly raise her closer.
"My, your feathers look so soft." Aurora said admiringly.
"A well summoned familiar is a reflection of one's soul, little Aurora." Maleficent observed this interaction from a small distance.
"May I show my parents, Your Grace? Please?" Aurora turned to face her teacher, Ellis fluttering onto her shoulder.
"If you wish." Maleficent waved her off.
"Thank you, Your Grace." Aurora curtsied. She then grabbed her dress and started running through the castle to find her parents, Ellis letting out a surprise sound, before following by flight.
Maleficent slowly watched her leave. This would be most interesting.
…
King Stefan and Queen Leah had been escorted to a room for guests, alongside Merlin, who kept casting side glances at the pig like beings that served as Maleficent's soldiers, a pair of them staying at the entrance to the room they were in.
"Something wrong, Merlin?" Stefan asked.
"Hm? No, no, just, thinking, is all. And having a sneaking suspicion about something."
"About what, may I asked?" Leah spoke up.
"The reason these, I hesitate to use the word people, look this way." the wizard gestured to their guards.
Before Stefan could ask him to elaborate, they heard footsteps rapidly approaching them.
Stefan rose up, wondering who was approaching them at this speed.
"Oh, now what?" Archimedes lamented.
"Mother! Father!" they heard a young voice.
"Aurora!" Leah cried out, rushing towards the door and being tackle-hugged by her daughter, the pig like guards having been ordered to leave the young Princess be.
"Oh, thank the Lord, you're safe!" Stefan put a hand on his heart.
"I say, you seem to have made a new friend." Archimedes tilted his head, noticing the dove that had followed her in.
"Yes!" Aurora pulled out of the hug and held out a hand for the bird to land on. "This is my familiar, Ellis."
"Ellis." Merlin said to himself, mulling over the name. "Fitting."
"Thank you." the bird tilted her head towards in an approximation of a bow.
"You, are like Archimedes?" Stefan asked.
"I am a familiar, father of my summoner."
"Your Majesty." Archimedes spoke. "The way to address royalty such as King Stefan is 'Your Majesty'." he corrected.
Ellis tilted her head, as if processing this information, then nodded. "I apologize if I caused offense, Your Majesty."
"You have not, Ellis. This is just, very strange for us." Leah told the small creature.
"Your life will become stranger still." spoke Maleficent.
Aurora jumped and turned around. The sorceress had just appeared in the doorway when she was fairly certain she'd not been there before.
"If you wish for her to not suffer from my curse, she will need to spend three years training under me. Here." Maleficent skipped to her point.
Stefan's face reddened with growing anger. "Three-" he cut himself off before he could actually raise his voice at the woman before him, doing all he could to master his temper.
A small, cruel smile played on Maleficent's lips. "Yes. Three years. Unless of course, you would prefer for her to bring ruin to all mortal men?"
Leah paled. "No, Your Grace. It's just, she's so young."
"I'll be fine. I promise." Aurora put a hand on her mother's arm with a smile. "I'll be strong." honestly, she felt very scared, but, she had Ellis. Lovely Ellis who seemed to be calming her soul. She had to be brave. For her mother.
"Hm." Merlin scowled under his beard. "Maleficent, would you be opposed to hosting another guest?"
"I hope you don't mean yourself, Merlin." the fey managed to make his name sound like the vilest curse.
"Not at all. I mean Archimedes."
"Wait, what?!" the owl shrieked.
"Simply to keep an eye on Aurora, and continue her education." Merlin said calmly.
"Have you gone insane, Merlin?! You want me to stay here of all places?!" the owl flapped his wings to yell at Merlin face to face.
"Yes. I do." Merlin didn't so much as flinch. "Because quite frankly," he looked over at Maleficent, "I don't trust her to not try to corrupt Aurora in some fashion."
Maleficent just smiled, warm as a winter's grave.
"And I trust you to continue her education." Merlin continued.
"I-! You-! Oooh!" Archimedes spluttered, before he sighed. "Fine. If it means keeping Aurora safe to some extent," he glanced back at his future host. "then I'll do it."