I Know You

25

Aurora became aware of the fact that she was screaming long before she opened her eyes.

Long before she was able to. Because for what felt like an eternity, she lay paralysed on the bed – fully aware of her consciousness but unable to move at all.

Eventually, the girl was able to wrench her eyes open, and they darted round the room frantically as her limbs struggled to catch up.

Gasping for breath, Aurora was finally able to pull herself into an upright position, and when her eyes adjusted to the darkness she startled, as she caught the movement over by the window.

Over where her father had been stood in her nightmare, moments before.

For a split second, Aurora's breath hitched in her throat.

And then, the curtains gently billowed with the breeze, allowing the moonlight into the room and allowing her to make out the shape of Maleficent's horns.

Her Godmother moved towards her and came to stand at the foot of the bed.

Aurora choked back a sob, reminding herself that she had left the moors for a reason – she had made this decision for a reason.

Yet in that moment, arms reached out, searching for the fairy. Searching for comfort.

And then Maleficent was sitting on the bed and Aurora was wrapped in the familiar warmth of her wings, face buried in the crook of the fairy's neck, and Maleficent's hand stroked the back of her head.

And although Aurora knew that she didn't deserve any of it, that she needed to learn to survive without the fairy, for the time being, everything was okay.

Her eyelids became heavy again and sleep returned much more easily than she had expected.

And when Maleficent laid her back down against the pillows, brushed the stray tears from the girls' flushed cheeks and slipped silently from the room, Aurora didn't so much as stir.

Ω Ω Ω Ω

Ingrith glanced up from her seat by the fire as the large oak doors to the reading room opened and her right-hand woman stepped inside.

"Your Majesty, they have returned," the redhead told her, in the typical monotone voice she used to announce guests.

Ingrith rose an eyebrow. "So soon, Gerda?"

The two guardsmen appeared behind her just then, looking as though they had made back to the palace in a hurry.

"I asked you to keep a watch on the girl and the fairy's movements, not ride out there and return within a matter of hours," Ingrith told them. "Explain yourselves!"

"Your Majesty, there's been a development," the taller man panted.

"An update?"

He nodded. "The girl has left the moors."

"Left the...? What do you mean?" she asked.

"She's not far, Majesty," the other elaborated. "But she has left the perimeters. She's returned to the cottage where she was raised."

"Alone?" Ingrith enquired.

The two men nodded.

"Why?" the Queen asked.

"We aren't entirely sure. But she appeared to be upset. Perhaps a disagreement?" the first man suggested.

Standing up, Ingrith began to pace in front of the hearth.

"The girl needs to return to the moors," she said, thoughtfully.

"Your Majesty?" Gerda asked, stepping forward.

"There is little use in Phillip growing close to her if she is not in a position to provide intelligence on the fairy or lead us to her," Ingrith told them, turning to look at the guardsmen. "You must ensure she returns to the moors, immediately."

"How will we do that?" one asked, somewhat nervously.

"Use your imaginations!" she cried, losing her cool. "I don't care what you do! Just get on and do it!"

Gerda cleared her throat.

"Your Majesty, don't you think it prudent to discuss your plans with King Magnus before –"

"I do not need that man's permission nor his blessing," Ingrith cut her off. "I have grown tired to playing the long game and wasting time at the whim of that imbecile. The girl must be driven back into the moors – she should not return to that house again. Am I clear?"

Glancing at one another, the two men nodded their heads.

Ω Ω Ω Ω

Lifting her head from its resting position against the trunk of the tree she had taken to spending the night in, Maleficent blinked the sleep from her eyes.

She did not recall drifting off and was a little surprised she had – after all, she was not within the safety of the moors. She had not seen it fit to return that night without Aurora, and although she was unable to remain within the confines of the cottage itself, she had chosen to stay nearby in case the girl needed her again.

As she came to, the fairy wondered whether the child had suffered another nightmare – whether it was the screams that had awoken her. But sitting up straight, she was met with silence.

Maleficent frowned, as an unpleasant smell filled her nostrils.

For a moment, she struggled to place it, yet it was familiar.

Smoke.

Springing herself effortlessly from the tree, Maleficent rose up into the night sky to obtain a better view of her surroundings.

She scanned the scene below her for several seconds before it dawned on her.

Maleficent looked over at the cottage in horror.

The cottage was on fire.

And Aurora was still inside.

Ω Ω Ω Ω