An hour and nineteen minutes later, Maleficent decided that this was the day she was going to let go of her pride and simply admit that standing in heels was the most lethal weapon she'd ever come across. Switching from foot to foot in a pile of burnt cigarettes, she glared at her clock every five minutes, and then looked at the entrance of Casa Rosso. She'd considered waiting inside, but funny enough, she felt more comfortable just outside, with the doorman only a few feet away.
He'd been throwing her glances for a while now, apparently weighting whether or not he should tell her to go home. But whenever he'd looked, she'd held her chin high, showing herself as strong and patient.
The truth was sadly completely different; her teeth were clacking by now, she could swear the insides of her shoes were filled with blood and worst of all; she only had two cigarettes left. 'You make your own bed', she thought to herself whenever the thought of giving in knocked on the door to her mind.
A blonde woman and a heavy man in a suit walked out of the theatre, and Maleficent felt her heart stop. She took one step closer, but quickly realized that the woman was too tall to be the one she was expecting. They turned away from her and began their walk, either home or to a hotel, and once again, she exhaled deeply and pressed her eyes shut. 'Come on already."
As if her prayer had been heard, finally, a familiar looking figure walked out of the theatre and stopped next to the doorman, who smiled at her and offered her his lighter. Her long, curly blond hair covered half of her gracious face, and she looked incredibly relaxed. Giggling, she inhaled deeply and threw her head back when she exhaled; euphoria, from her shift finally being over.
Maleficent hadn't even realized that she'd unconsciously backed away from the theatre. Her back suddenly hit the railing separating her from the river flooding between the two heavily crowded streets, and she turned to face the dark water, shaking. She was real. Fully dressed and talking. She was real. Maleficent brought a hand up to her forehead and rubbed it as she felt herself get cold feet, or colder than they already were. Peeking over her shoulder, she found the blonde still talking to the bald doorman, shaking her hips a bit, as if she was portraying some sort of a wild dance. Maleficent bit her lip as her eyes narrowed, focusing on the swaying hips that were clothed in tight shorts of denim. She was so young and vibrant.
Out of nowhere, the girl turned her heel and began walking down the street, and Maleficent peeked over her other shoulder to see where she was going. She silently cursed the doorman, but then again, she was thankful that he hadn't given her away. Quickly, she realized that the girl was heading towards the bridge, away from the city center. She walked with her head high, ignoring the looks she received from only having walked a few feet. Groaning, Maleficent let go of the railing and hurried off after the girl, every step informing her of her dying feet.
Walking behind the blonde, Maleficent managed to get a better look at her. She was wearing a hooded leather-jacket together with a thick, brown, woolen scarf, tied around her hair as well. Under her shorts she wore ripped, black stay-ups, the edges of them barely visible under the shorts. Maleficent had to hand it to her; she was bold, this one, walking through the city alone like that.
Continuing down, and then turning left into the narrow alley of Koestraat, the blonde picked up her pace as soon as the crowds were left behind, and all that was ahead of her was a sea of velvet booths, high, draped windows and dark figures. Maleficent noticed that the girl hadn't turned her head once. Her blonde hair swayed in the wind, releasing itself from the scarf as she went on. On her feet, she wore boots with flats and clearly had no trouble walking, as Maleficent almost needed to run to keep up with her.
When they'd walked the whole street and the opening of Kloveniersburgwal and its river revealed themselves, the brunette decided that she couldn't keep running after the girl anymore.
"Excuse me", Maleficent blurted out, her voice far more high-pitched than she'd expected. Embarrassed, she stopped in her tracks and waited.
The blonde stopped as well, and then slowly turned around. Her perfect, blue eyes were reflecting the lights of the lanterns along the river. She met Maleficent's gaze steadily, and then looked behind herself, as if to see if the woman had been shouting at someone else instead. Realizing that the square was almost empty, she looked back at Maleficent and raised her fair brows.
"Are you lost?" she laughed, pointing at the street-sign.
Maleficent sighed in relief. The blonde was British, so she herself was not mistaken. Straightening herself up, whilst cursing her shoes, she attempted to smile at the blonde as she took a few steps closer to her. "No, I'm not", she replied softly, studying the girl. She didn't seem afraid, more… indifferent.
"Right", the girl muttered, then tilted her head to the side. "What do you want then?"
A strange sensation washed over her; there were butterflies in her stomach. She let out a nervous laugh, and then brushed her hand through her hair. "I, uh… I wish to talk to you."
The blonde shrugged her shoulders and sighed, irritated. "Sure you do. Tell you what; why don't we go for a Big Mac? It's only five in the morning, isn't it?" Sarcasm penetrated her words; she turned her heel and continued her walk, not bothering to look at the woman.
"I saw you in there!" Maleficent shouted and stepped forward. Now, she realized that her face had been in the shadows; the lanterns lit her up, making her momentarily shut her eyes.
That got the girl's attention. She put her hands in her pockets and turned back around. Facing the woman, her expression was suddenly different. She gaped at Maleficent, as if this was the first time she truly saw the smoldering, emerald orbs looking at her. And then, she found the cheekbones, on which her eyes lingered far longer than allowed. Maleficent saw the girl's eyes travel down her body and up again, and then she saw her swallow. Swallow.
"You… you did?" the blonde stammered. Her expression was hesitant but contained traces of excitement.
Maleficent nodded, happy that she finally had the girl's full attention.
"What in the world were you doing there?" She eyed the brunette's clothes with a look of suspicion and disbelief.
Maleficent's mind went blank for a second, before she realized that she very well could tell the girl the truth. "I'm in town on a business trip. My friend wanted to go to Casa Rosso, so… Well, I went with him. We went together."
"Hmm." She pursed her lips as she nodded. "Where's your friend now?"
"What?" Maleficent realized that she'd dug herself a hole by being honest. "Oh, him, he's at the hotel. That was - uh - we went yesterday, together."
The girl chuckled and brought her slender fingers up to her bottom lip. "Sure. And tonight you just, what, came back on your own? A woman like you in De Wallen, alone? Oh, please."
"I wanted to see you", Maleficent said faster than she'd meant to. Her throat was annoyingly tight and she was sure her pulse was hitting new levels as she spoke. The blonde raised her eyebrows even more, clearly confused. Suddenly, she felt ashamed that she knew what hid underneath the girl's clothes, like she had no right to know. "I'm sorry, that came out wrong… What's your name?"
She glared at her feet before answering. "Sissy."
Maleficent grinned. They both knew that she was lying, but deciding to let her have it her way, Maleficent looked the girl up and down. "I know your father."
The blonde's face became serious, but quickly turned into an image of amusement and she chuckled while she shook her head. "That's really clever of you, Miss. You know my father. Well, if you know him, do tell him to sod off, yeah?" Her low chuckle became a pure, sarcastic laugh, and she shut her eyes, holding her hands up. "I give up. You're quite something. Any other day I'd love to play along, but I really am freezing, so… Goodbye."
The petite girl pulled her hood over her scarf and hair, hiding herself, and then turned towards the bridge nearby. Maleficent gasped in panic; she simply couldn't let her go now.
"Aurora", she said softly, letting the name linger on her tongue.
As if she'd turned to stone, the girl stopped and blankly stared in front of her, the brunette's gaze burning into her back. Frowning, she turned back around, only to find the stranger wearing an insecure, careful smile.
"What did you call me?" she whispered.
Maleficent sighed and felt fear creeping up her neck. The girl was going to run, but she had to try. "Aurora, please remember."
She frowned again and opened her mouth to say something nasty when her eyes suddenly grew wide and she let out a quick gasp. And then, Maleficent knew what memory she was reliving; she was seeing them talking over glasses of expensive champagne, in a crowded hall, full of people and beautifully wrapped presents. She was seeing them walking in her father's gorgeous rose garden, picking up fallen, pink rosebuds and laughing about politics and nonsense. And then, she was seeing them dancing to the slow beat of the music, their dresses as different as possible, clear contrasts, yet so easily perfect together. And then, she was feeling the tension between them; fingertips on warm skin and hungry, sensual looks.
A flicker of hope lit itself in Maleficent's chest when the girl's expression went from surprised to calm. She wanted to go to her; to tell her that she could take her away from this place, but something stopped her; the paralyzing fear of rejection.
The girl - Aurora - closed her eyes for a few seconds, and when she opened them again, her azure diamonds were surrounded by tears. "Go home, Maleficent", she whispered quietly, yet Maleficent heard her and felt her heart sink at those words. "This place wasn't made for you."
With her tone as strong as ever, the girl threw one last look at the beautiful ghost of her past who had followed her, before walking off and disappearing into the cold, dark night.