"You told me of Stefan yesterday," Aurora said, wringing her hands anxiously. "I suppose this all begins with him."

Maleficent frowned in worry. Judging from the look on Aurora's face, whatever Stefan had done had not been very good.

"As children, you two were the best of friends. You eventually fell in love, and on your sixteenth birthday, Stefan gave you what he called 'True Love's Kiss,'" Aurora said. Maleficent suddenly felt very light-headed and giddy, and a tiny smile worked its way onto her lips. She and Stefan? Lovers? That was… amazing. "But… he began to grow distant from you, blinded by ambition. You hadn't seen him for a month when one day, King Henry's army attacked the Moors. With the help of the creatures of the Moors, you were able to fight them off. King Henry was injured… by you, as you fought to protect your home."

For a brief second, Maleficent felt guilty and ashamed for having hurt someone, but then she remembered - King Henry was one of the horrible humans. He killed Maleficent's parents.

"King Henry was dying when he offered the greatest reward for whomever managed to avenge him. Stefan - he wanted the throne very much," Aurora went on. She ducked her head for a moment before meeting Maleficent's gaze once more. Her gentle blue eyes were full of pain, but she did not tear them away from Maleficent. Maleficent wasn't sure if this made her feel better or worse. "He - went to the Moors, and you forgave him for living with the humans and being so consumed with desire for greatness. But… Maleficent, I'm sorry, but Stefan - he…."

"Don't sugarcoat it," Maleficent said, the words coming out harsher than she meant for them to sound. Aurora's shoulders sank.

"Stefan drugged you, and when you were asleep… instead of killing you…"

"He stole your wings," Diaval finished for Aurora, his eyes mournful.

"He betrayed me? For the humans?" Maleficent asked in a soft voice. Her nightmares had been true. Her wings had been lost. Stolen. Suddenly, the castle seemed much darker and less welcoming. She had a strong urge to leave for the Moors at once, but she needed Aurora, Diaval, and Robin to tell her the story of her life.

"Maleficent, I'm so sorry," Aurora said, walking over and bringing Maleficent into her embrace. Maleficent paused before hugging her back.

"I don't get it. If he stole my wings, then… why do I have them now?" Maleficent asked after a moment, stepping away from Aurora.

"That comes later," Aurora murmured before continuing, "Stefan's betrayal was brutal. Unbelieveable." Aurora made a face akin to a scowl, but her features couldn't quite manage. Still, Maleficent thought the look rather didn't suit the kind-hearted Queen.

"But you didn't let it kill you. You created a staff, the staff you saw by the Rowan Tree," Robin added. Maleficent nodded.

"You took up residence in the ruins of a castle, far away from the Moors," Aurora said. "One day, you came across a farmer, who had captured a raven under a net."

"That raven was, of course, me," Diaval said. "You saved my life by turning me into a man." A smile tugged at one corner of his lips. "You should have seen the farmer's face. 'It's a demon!'" Diaval cried, mocking the farmer. "And those wretched dogs were scared witless… Ha… Serves them right."

"Diaval," Aurora prompted.

"Right, sorry. In return for my life, I became your servant. Your wings, you called me. You sent me to the castle, where I found King Henry to be dead, and Stefan... as his successor."

"Stefan took my wings so he could be king?" Maleficent said, shocked. But Stefan - the boy she knew would never do that. But the looks on Robin, Aurora, and Diaval's faces told her otherwise.

"In retaliation, you became Queen of the Moors," Diaval said.

"Queen? But there had been no queen. I took power of the Moors?"

Diaval nodded sadly. "Yes."

"That's why so many creatures in the Moors are so cautious of me," Maleficent muttered. No one denied it.

"If it helps, you were a good queen. You took care of and protected the Moors," said Robin quietly as he flew over to Maleficent, landing on her shoulder.

Maleficent shrugged, causing Robin to sway. Helping the Moors was what she had always done, but without a queen's title.

Diaval hesitated before continuing. "Months later came the news… King Stefan had… had a child," Diaval said. "There was a christening, to which you came."

"I was invited?" Maleficent scoffed, raising her eyebrows. Why would Stefan invite her to his child's christening if he had betrayed her, if she hated him? Diaval shook his head.

"No, actually. You, um, weren't invited, but you came, and, um…you…" Diaval scratched at his skin, his eyes traveling around the room.

"I what?"

"You cursed his child, as revenge," said Diaval rather quickly. Maleficent hadn't thought she could feel any more awful, but her heart, which had been sinking, jumped into her throat. For a moment, she couldn't breathe.

"What? But that's… horrible," Maleficent choked out. "I would never do that, I wouldn't! Who could be that terrible to curse an innocent baby?"

"What Stefan did to you was unspeakable betrayal, you weren't - " Aurora tried to say, but Maleficent interrupted.

"No! No, what I did was unforgivable - evil - I was evil," Maleficent gasped. It hurt. She had grown up to become someone very, very wicked.

"Maleficent, love, you weren't evil, you were hurt," Robin tried to say. Maleficent hastily shook her head as she began to pace, her hands trembling.

"No - no, I would never, ever - I couldn't - " Maleficent's eyes brimmed with tears, and she turned back to her friends. "I cursed a baby. I really cursed a baby?"

For a second, Maleficent hoped that one of her three friends would shake their head, say that for some absurd reason, they were lying. But they didn't.

Maleficent couldn't think of anything to say or do, except move on. Inhaling shakily, she asked "Just… what happened next?"

"King Stefan sent his child away, hoping to protect her," Aurora said.

"What was the curse?"

"Before the sun set on her sixteenth birthday, she would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel, and fall into a death-like sleep," Diaval recited. "Stefan begged for mercy, and you said the only way for his daughter to be awoken was by True Love's Kiss."

"So the princess wasn't doomed?" Maleficent perked up, relieved.

"No, she wasn't. You and Stefan both thought she was, because neither of you believed in true love anymore."

"Oh." That was depressing. Well, really, the entire conversation was quite depressing. It felt so surreal, too. Maleficent couldn't imagine any of this really happening, but she knew her friends were telling the truth. She trusted them.

"The princess," Aurora continued, "was sent away from the castle. She was raised by three… aunties. However, they were perhaps not the best suited for the job." For some reason, Aurora gave a watery chuckle.

"They knew nothing about raising a child," Diaval said. "She would have actually starved to death if you hadn't sent me with food."

Some of Maleficent's pain lessened. So she hadn't been completely horrid. She had cared enough to help the child.

"Over the years, you watched over the girl from the shadows, helping her to stay safe. You claimed you were protecting her so that you could watch your curse unfold on her sixteenth birthday. But I knew that you were slowly growing to care for the princess," Diaval said. "The princess was nothing like her father. She loved and respected nature. She was actually quite a bit like you are now. And she was curious. There was a great thorn wall grown outside the Moors, not too far from the cottage she lived in."

"A thorn wall?" Maleficent asked, confused. "I've never seen anything like that by the Moors."

"You grew it, to keep Stefan's people out," Diaval sighed. "They attacked it many times, hoping to breach it and kill you. But they never managed. On one such occasion, the princess was there, exploring the Thorn Wall. To protect her, you put her to sleep and, well, brought her to the Moors. When she woke up, she was fascinated by what she saw around her. She met you for the first time, and you began to take her to the Moors every night."

"She had no idea I had cursed her?"

"She didn't know she had been cursed at all," Diaval said. "As you bonded with her, the princess's sixteenth birthday grew nearer. You tried to revoke the curse, but it - it wasn't possible."

"The princess," Aurora pitched in, "wished to live in the Moors with you, and you realized this would protect her from spinning wheels. So she decided she would leave her three aunties, and live in the Moors. While she was off practicing what she would say to her aunties, she met a handsome young man."

A fond, almost-dreamy smile overcame Aurora's face. "They were instantly smitten with one another. Diaval thought that the man might be able to awaken m - the princess. But you didn't believe it, until the princess learned of her curse and who had cast it. She was - angry and hurt for the first time, and she made a big mistake. She ran away from the Moors, to the castle. There she was recognized as the princess, and immediately locked in her room."

"Why?" Maleficent asked, frowning. She thought a princess might receive a better welcoming.

"She had come back a day too soon. The curse could be fulfilled. You tried to save her, stop her before it was too late, but she pricked her finger on the spindle, and fell asleep."

"Forever?" Maleficent whispered, a chill running down her spine. It was bad enough thinking that somewhere in the castle, there could be a maiden trapped in a sleeping enchantment. Worse still was that it was the enchantment she had inflicted on the princess.

"No. The young man tried to awaken the princess with True Love's Kiss. But they didn't know each other well enough to be in love." Maleficent's mouth fell open. So the princess hadn't been - no, Aurora said she had been awoken. But then, how.… "You thought you had lost the princess forever. In farewell, you kissed her forehead, promising to protect her as she slept. And the princess woke up."

"She did?" Maleficent said, blinking in astonishment. "But how?"

"The love between a mother and a daughter is just as true as any," Robin said. Maleficent turned her head, and he smiled affectionately at her. She offered a slightly weaker smile in return.

"I - I'm glad the princess is alright," Maleficent said. "Where is she now? And how did I get my wings back?"

"Well, after the princess awoke, she, Diaval, and you set off to the Moors. But you were attacked in the castle," Aurora continued. She shivered, and her fingers clutched a bit of her dress. "You turned Diaval into a dragon, and told the princess to run. She did, and she - she would have regretted it the rest of her life if she hadn't found a big glass case with a pair of wings in it. She pushed it over, and when it smashed, your wings flew back to you. You were able to fight off the soldiers, and return home safely."

Aurora paused, and glanced at Diaval before carrying on. "You took down the Thorn Wall, and you - you gave your crown to - "

"To you," Maleficent finished slowly. Something clicked in her head. "You're the princess!"

A moment of silence, and then Aurora whispered, "I am."

"I cursed you." Maleficent couldn't believe it. No, no, she had not cursed Aurora, because only a monster could curse someone as sweet and loving and wonderful as Aurora, and Maleficent was not a monster, she wasn't -

"You couldn't have known that Aurora would grow up to be who she became," Robin said softly. "You were hurt, you - "

"No," Maleficent said forcefully, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter why I did it. I cursed a child, how could I - Aurora, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean - I couldn't - "

Aurora came over and hugged Maleficent again. Maleficent refused to let herself cry. She shouldn't be crying, Aurora should be, because she had been cursed by Maleficent….

"It's alright. It's in the past, and all is forgiven," Aurora soothed. Maleficent hugged Aurora back, still feeling bad. She didn't deserve Aurora's forgiveness. Aurora had never been anything but nice to her, ever since the day they met. Maleficent remembered their first conversation, how even then she had known that Aurora was good and kind and -

"You were raised by the pixies?" Maleficent blurted out incredulously, arching her eyebrows.

"Excuse me!" complained Knotgrass, her face coloring. "Don't sound so surprised!"

Deciding it wasn't worth it to point out every reason she had to be surprised, Maleficent apologized, then asked Aurora, "Why were you raised by them?"

The pixies and Diaval stiffened, and Aurora threw Diaval a suddenly worried look. "Um, my parents… are dead."

"I'm sorry. Mine are, too," said Maleficent.

"You said your parents were dead. When we first meet, you said your parents were dead."

Aurora tensed, and Maleficent's arms fell to her side as she took a step back. Robin flew off her shoulder, his expression worried and sympathetic. It wasn't true, it could be true...

Once, when Maleficent was young, she had tried to go swimming. Now, faeries didn't swim very often - there was a reason they were faeries and not fish. But it had been a hot day, and Maleficent wanted to cool down. So she went to a pond and tried to swim.

After an awful lot of thrashing her wings and several unwanted mouthfuls of water, Maleficent was able to stay afloat. She went out a little further, and a bit further, and then she was in the middle of the pond. She drifted on top of the water peacefully, enjoying the cool water. She closed her eyes and leaned back her head.

The next thing she knew, she was sinking down in the water. She panicked, and tried to return to the surface. But her waterlogged wings dragged her down. She flapped them hard and kicked and flailed, and finally managed to break free. She never swam again, but she always remembered sinking through the water, her wings useless, and terror coursing through her lungs instead of air. That was how Maleficent felt now, waiting to hear of Stefan's fate. Her head was spinning - she couldn't process all that she had been told, and it seemed impossible to absorb one more bit of information, but she had to find out what happened to Stefan.

"Aurora?" Maleficent said, looking up at the young Queen. "What happened to Stefan?"

"Stefan - he - he would not stop fighting. He was absolutely obsessed with killing you, and in trying to take your life, he - " Aurora stopped, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Maleficent, but the boy you know - that wasn't him."

Maleficent wasn't sinking through water anymore. She was uncontrollably falling through the clouds, down, down, down, to a ground she couldn't see. She took a shaky breath, her eyes tearing up. Aurora tried to hold her close again, but Maleficent stumbled away. She had to get away, go back to the Moors, away from this castle of curses and darkness.

Startled servants backed out of the way as Maleficent ran down the hallways, tears blinding her. Aurora, Diaval, and Robin must have realized she needed space and time, because they didn't chase after her.

Stefan is dead.

Maleficent couldn't find the entryway.

Stefan is dead.

Perhaps she could escape from the garden.

Stefan is dead.

Maybe she should jump out of a window.

Stefan is dead.

Maleficent yanked a door open and thundered up a flight of stairs, tripping several times. She found herself at the top of a tower, and took off. Maleficent's wings pumped as hard as they could go, but she couldn't escape her new knowledge.

Stefan is dead.

...

Greetings, Malefifreaks. Sorry this took so long to get out. To be honest, I had trouble writing it. Once I had, I spent ages editing it because I felt like Aurora and Diaval were a bit out of character. So here's my question for you guys- do you think Diaval and Aurora were in character? Not just in this chapter - how well have I kept them in character throughout this entire story? If they weren't in character, what made them feel off to you? Any suggestions on how to right my errors in their portrayal?

Thanks for reading! Please review. Constructive criticism and random jokes welcome!

Kitty