Chapter One: A Happy Ending
Maleficent laughed as she revealed the sleeping Princess Aurora. The curse had been fulfilled, and there was nothing that could be done.
Except…
Phillip valiantly rode his horse to the castle, accompanied by his loyal and trusty handmaiden, Emily, who swore an oath to protect him at all costs. After bravely defeating Maleficent in her monstrous dragon form, they made their way to Aurora's chambers. Phillip looked at Emily, saying, "Here goes nothing." And then he kissed Aurora tenderly. To both of their surprise, nothing happened. Emily, confused, shrugged her shoulders and said, "Maybe it takes a while".
They waited one minute… two minutes… three… four… It had been a good ten minutes before Phillip shouted, "I should have known it would never work!" and stormed out, embarrassed. Emily remained, willing to wait as long as it took for the curse to break. As she stared at the princess, she couldn't help but admire her beauty, even in sleep. Emily knew she couldn't possibly break the curse, but what was the harm in trying?
But then, something magical happened. As Emily's lips touched Aurora's, a spark of magic, barely perceptible, passed between them. To Emily's surprise, Aurora's eyes fluttered open, and when she saw Emily leaning over her, dumbfounded, she smiled.
Emily learned that Aurora had secretly been in love with her the entire time. As they kissed for the second time, Phillip entered the room and saw what was happening. Emily hung her head, expecting Phillip to scold her. Phillip walked over to Emily, put his hand on her shoulder… and smiled. "I'm happy for you. I realize now that I was arrogant, and only wished to be with Aurora out of strategy, wanting to unite our kingdoms, not of love. But your love is something rare in this world… something pure… true, unyielding love. You deserve each other."
Emily was ecstatic, and leapt into Aurora's arms. Back at the castle, King Stefan fully expected to see his daughter in Prince Phillip's arms, but he was surprised to see her kissing his handmaiden. At first, the King and Queen objected to this, but given time, they came to accept their unconventional love with open arms.
And so, Princess Aurora and Maiden Emily lived happily ever after.
