Once Upon A Nightmare

- TWENTY SEVEN -

- Maleficent -

Ah, I could finally breathe again and this pesky human flu was gone from my body. I could feel my magic coming back to me and everything was... evil. Today seemed like a good day to check on our little heroes and maybe tamper with the events.

Walking into the building, I could smell the fear of the Saturday security guards. Mmm, delicious. Making my way to the garden, walking fast, my breaths started to shorten. Something inside me began feeling drained. My magic. Using what little I had, I transported myself over it the shed only to find it open. The stupid wind began blowing up the skirt of my dress and shoved me inside.

The book began floating and the pages were ripping from the spine, circling into a tornado. No, this couldn't be happening. How could this be happening? Why is this happening? What―

My eyes landed on three stupid imps. The blonde one stood out to me the most. My anger began rising and words flew from my mouth. They all looked terrified and they should have been.

Get them out of here, Maleficent. Get them out now! That little voice in my head kept nagging me. These children have no idea what they have done, what they have released. The foul creature locked away in that book was never meant to be released. He shouldn't have ever been allowed into this world.

Emmet was no ordinary man. He was the devil. He grew powerful after he ripped out the heart of a fairy or any other magical being. He would prey on anything that held magic and sucked them dry of it before finishing them off. And as a token, he would keep parts of them for his little display case.

Emmet was my biggest mistake and it wasn't a mistake I would make twice. I needed to get these kids far away from him; I needed to get Aurora far away from him. He would hunt her till her death and use her against me. She was my one weakness and he would exploit that.

He wouldn't just kill her, no, I must have left some magical imprint on her when she was a baby and it has lasted till now. He would use her to trap me and force me to watch as he ripped her to shreds before moving onto me.

I shoved the children to the door but it snapped shut. No, I'm too late. I tried to hide them with my magic but it didn't work. I tried shielding them with my body but I was too easy to work around. Aurora's small frame dragged towards him. You could smell her fear. She was scared but couldn't do anything. He trapped her. He had trapped us.

With each pop of his bones, my heart raced. I knew what he would do. I knew he wouldn't make this easy. But Aurora could have never seen this coming. She was innocent. She didn't deserve to die for my actions to protect my kind. She shouldn't have to go through this but she did. All because of me.

"Hello, love. Miss me?" his smooth voice sounded amused. He knew my answer and wanted to hear it from my mouth.

I pulled Aurora behind me. "Never. You will never hurt this girl. You will never hurt my little one."

He chuckled. "Oh, darling. I think you misunderstand my question. I simply asked you if you missed me."

"I have never, and will never miss the monster that you are."

Darkness filled his eyes. "A simple 'yes' or 'no' would have been fine." His eyes shifted from me. "And as for your little, sparkling sunshine, she will die. Her words, not mine. The price she must pay to have all the magic she wants. Greedy little thing she is." Her neck was in his hand before I could blink. "Well, time to go, little one. It will sting just a little and by a little, I mean a lot."

Everything stopped.

Crack! Her body fell limp to the ground with a hard thud.

Snap! My heart was ripped from my chest.

Thud! I fell to my knees beside her.

"Aurora?" I touched her soft, angelic face. "Aurora, sweetie, wake up. Wake up, honey, wake up." My vision blurred.

"Maleficent... she's... gone," one of the boys whispered.

No. No, she wasn't gone. She couldn't be gone! She just couldn't! I― I could bring her back. Yes, I could bring her back to life with my magic. She would be okay, she would be here.

Wiping my eyes, I placed my hand on her heart and said my little spell. Nothing happened. I did it again. Still, nothing. No, this couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening. I shook her body.

"Wake up! Wake up already! Aurora, wake up! I need you! I love you, just wake up!"

I pulled her to my heart, waiting to feel her breath but nothing happened. No, please fairy godmother, please don't let her be dead. Please don't let her die. Please! I felt arms wrap around me. I shook them off and petted the blonde hair of the little girl in my arms.

"Maleficent, stop. She's dead. Stop! She's gone!" they shouted.

She's gone? Gone where? Gone home? Gone back to our story?

I felt my arms lighted. Emmet took her in his arms, remorse written on his face. What was he doing with her? I reached out for her like a child does for their toy. He met my eyes and placed his hand over her heart.

His magic transferred into her body as I sat and watched in confusion. Her heart began beating and her hair darkened many shades. Why was her hair darkening? She jumped up, gasping for air. I could feel my heart beating once again and relief flooded into me. A thud sounded and Aurora looked next to me.

She was alive? She was alive!. I got to my feet and held the living girl in my arms. She shoved me away and looked at the room around her. She smiled.

I took in the room around me. One of the two boys had turned into this hideous monster while the other had started to pale in complexion. What was going on?

"Well, well, well. It looks as if the tables have turned, Maleficent. Isn't that... splendid?"

With her small hand on my shoulder, she threw me to the other side of the room. My body slumped to the ground as her laughter rang out through the shed. My eyes felt heavy and dots filled my vision.

I fell deep into the darkness but not before she clipped my wings.