Maleficent didn't say anything at first. Instead, her attention was fixed on Aurora beside her, her lips parted when she softly spoke, "Dear, what do you think?"
Inside her chest, Maleficent had long waited for this, to make Stefan suffer for years before eventually ending his life once the curse was activated. Who would've known she would be the first to yield and slowly care for the very same child she cursed years ago?
Aurora was silent for a while, her face went through several expressions—fear, curiosity, happiness, solemnity, and even rage.
Finally, she replied, "Henry is right, it's your call to make…" Then she smiled, "…Mother."
Maleficent's breath caught; her eyes widened in shock as Aurora's last word resonated deep inside her. For a moment, her control over emotions slipped as her eyes burned and her vision started to blur.
'Is she crying?' Henry was the first one to notice, and unfortunately, he was the only one as Maleficent was quick to pull her tears back to where they came from—Henry is not even gonna ask how in the nine hells she managed to do that.
Maleficent smiled, sweetly and motherly. She raised her hand to caress Aurora's cheeks who leaned on it, "You're absolutely right, dear…"
She turned her head to Henry and established another Mind Message with him.
"Take him to the Dungeons and kill him. I need not show mercy for the likes of him."
Henry tilted his head, initially surprised for a brief second before recovering and replied, "Are you sure? Don't you want to do it yourself? Stab that wooden staff straight into his guts?"
Maleficent barely showed an emotion to that, "Remember when I asked you if you would be willing to fix your mistakes in exchange for the experience? I finally got my answer to that." And then she pulled Aurora closer to her and walked away, the Mind Message connection being severed at the same time.
There's no need for Henry to hear her answer. He watched her walk away, followed by Diaval who shifted back to his raven form and perched atop Maleficent's staff.
It would've been a touching scene if it weren't for the fact that they were slowed down by the unconscious knights on the ground and they had to avoid stepping onto them.
In the meantime, Henry grabbed Stefan and started dragging him down the hallway. When he eventually reached a certain floor, he came across a familiar room.
The Trophy Room. The place where Maleficent's wings were locked behind a glass cabinet.
'Right, almost forgot about that.' Henry rubbed his nose and walked inside with Stefan still in tow.
There's no need to find a key hidden somewhere or search Stefan's body. A simple concentrated fireball blast was enough to shatter the locks including the glass, damaging everything except for the contents inside.
Instantly, the wings flew out on their own, leaving the trophy room in a matter of seconds. Just as Henry was about to grab Stefan and leave the room, he noticed there was something else on the now-shattered glass cabinet.
It was a dagger with intricate golden carvings on the handle. It didn't look like any simple iron, its edges were sharper than normal and when the moonlight outside peeked through the window, the blade glowed very bright.
"Fascinating. Is this some sort of iron variant?…" Henry murmured to himself. He laid his hands on the dagger's handle and flipped it around his fingers.
He eyed the blade closely, "Seems to be a mix of iron, steel, carbon, and some other element?"
And then, he quickly realized what the dagger is and why it is displayed in the same glass cabinet as Maleficent's wings, "This must be what he used to slice her wings off…"
He looked down on Stefan's sprawled figure and then back to the dagger in his hand, "Yeah I could use this. The irony is that the same dagger you used that started this entire mess would be the same dagger to end it all."
After that, he finally went to the dungeons. Whatever happened there is nothing short of interesting and extremely dull. Nothing is exciting in killing an unconscious person after all, perhaps burning it to ashes is the only interesting part.
———
As Maleficent and Aurora walked down the hallway, they came across several more guards but unlike the others, they immediately stepped aside to let them pass.
It's either their fear of Maleficent, as her reputation tends to be exaggerated courtesy of the dead King, or perhaps because of Aurora. Despite staying with them for just four days, they have grown to like the princess more than their own King.
Aurora is kind to them, compassionate, and actually listens to their problems whenever she manages to get them to open up to her. She not only acknowledges it but also makes an effort to make the changes.
Among the knights, one certain man complained to her about the lack of entertainment during their boring patrol hours. The next morning, Aurora would come back with a chessboard in tow, a luxurious entertainment reserved only for the wealthy.
Of course, Henry had a hand in it, he's its inventor after all but there's no need for them to know that. All that matters is that in just under four days, Princess Aurora had done something for them more than King Stefan ever did.
Hence, how she earned the respect of every single knight in and out of the castle.
"Your Highness…" They shifted uncomfortably, not knowing whether they should swallow their fear and rescue their princess who seems to be held hostage by Maleficent. At least to their eyes, that's what the entire scene looks like.
Aurora held her hand up high and spoke loud enough for the others in the back to hear, "Please stand down, Sir Marcus. She's not a threat to this Kingdom nor to me…As a matter of fact, she's my savior."
That's it. That's all they needed to hear. They trust their Princess fully and they quickly sheathed their iron swords. Though a small part of that reason was just their fear of fighting Maleficent.
"I understand, Your Highness." Unnoticeable to some, but the tension in his shoulders quickly relaxed, as if a huge boulder was lifted off his back.
After that they were allowed to pass through, fortunately, Aurora recalled something and said, "Oh, and Sir Marcus?"
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"I still have a friend inside. The Crown Prince, Henry. I'm sure you've heard of him. He is this Kingdom's benefactor. I want you to remind the others of that."
Although Aurora doesn't know what Henry intended to do when he dragged her father's body with him earlier nor does she want to know. All she wants is to make sure that the Kingdom's soldiers don't mistake his actions for those of their enemy in case they stumble upon him in the worst possible moment.
"Understood!"
Crash!
Before they could take another step forward, Maleficent's eyes widened in surprise. Followed by the sound of windows crashing from above, a blur smashed against her back, much to the surprise of everyone present.
"Mistress!"
"Mother!" Both Diaval and Aurora cried out in shock as the latter stepped forward and caught Maleficent as she stumbled forward.
The next thing she saw, a pair of enormous black feathered wings unfolded behind her back, covering almost everything in its path, two sharp bones protruding at the top of her wings where they fold. While Aurora was flabbergasted, Diaval's eyes gleamed with familiarity and then excitement afterward.
"Mistress…It's your…wings."
When Maleficent finally recovered and heard Diaval's words, she slowly craned her head behind and when she saw the wings she had lost years ago, she couldn't help but reach out to touch them.
There it was, still silky and smooth. It's just as beautiful as the day she lost them.
She then caught something in her peripheral vision. As she focused on it, she realized it was Henry peeking out of the broken window from the fifth floor of the castle. He gave her a nod that looked like a mix of a bow and a nod before pulling back inside.
Back on the ground, Maleficent was left with the widest smile she had ever had in years. Inside her heart, she couldn't thank her student enough.
———
The rest of the day was spent cleaning up the entire castle. Servants worked overtime, with almost no room for rest, though deep inside, they didn't mind the mess. Perhaps it's because they have finally been freed of the mad King or maybe they're just happy their new ruler would be Princess Aurora, someone who is less mad and more compassionate.
Meanwhile, the knights who fought against Henry and Diaval finally woke up, albeit screaming and kicking thinking they had died from the fire. Henry could only pray they would recover from the trauma soon enough.
Surprisingly enough, Aurora stayed and even bid her farewell to Henry, promising him gifts and that she'll visit him in Lioncrest Kingdom soon once she has the time.
In the meantime, Henry left the Ironmere Kingdom with Boy. Even though Aurora stayed back to clean the entire mess that her father left behind, Maleficent couldn't. Even if the word spread about her heroics and how the Princess trusts her like a mother, it would still be impossible to change the minds of the Ironmere citizens who went through years of brainwashing regarding Maleficent's supposed evil nature and wicked reputation in a single day.
It will take time and time is the least thing Maleficent had to worry about.
When Henry rode Boy towards the Moors Forest, he wasn't surprised to see that the sharp thorns that had served the place's defense for years were gone. Without the mad King to launch skirmishes to harass Maleficent, there's no reason to put up the thorns that had claimed the lives of many who desired to enter.
Though the same can't be said of the other Kingdom on the other side, that's a story for another time.
"You're finally here." When Henry arrived at Maleficent's home, he quickly noticed the changes. The first thing to be addressed was of course, the huge soft smile plastered across Maleficent's face as she picked several flowers from several bushes and grass beds.
Second and last, the entire atmosphere has changed. The environment feels more lively and green. When Henry first got here, the place was lackluster. Sure it's a forest, but the green scenery was mixed with something dark and grey, making it look gloomy and haunted.
But now, it's the opposite, it looks like a real forest now, perhaps even more vibrant and buoyant than your average forest.
'Truly a Disney world I've been living in. I've never seen a forest look more forest than a forest. Does that sound weird?'
Upon hearing Maleficent hum, Henry shifted his thoughts.
'Perhaps the entire Moors Forest displays Maleficent's mood and emotion? Is that how the place works?'
"What do you think?" Maleficent asked, opening her palms and letting the small flowers she collected fly up in the air, spreading outward in several directions.
"Think of what?"
"Of everything that just happened. You're not just here to learn magic from me, do you? I'm sure that's not the only reason your master, Elias sent you here."
Henry responded with a shrug of his shoulders, "….Actually I'm also not sure myself. If know him better, I'd say Master Elias probably took pity on you and sent me to help you smooth things out."
Maleficent snorted, "Never in my life would I hear your master's name associated with the word pity. That old man always acts like he knows everything and everyone. I told him the dangers of messing with time and yet he insists on shouldering the responsibility of the so-called greater good of the world."
"If I were Elias. I would send you here not just to learn or help a damsel in distress…Instead, to help you realize something, perhaps that particular something is what you've been missing."
"Tell me, Henry. What does someone like you, whose talents are greater than the greatest men of all, whose status is envied by most, looks and charm that people would kill for, is missing?"