The Impostor

Sleep Disorders

"Maleficent?" Aurora's trembling voice called as she was about to leave her to sleep in the tower room next to her own chambers.

She froze at the doorstep, but she didn't turn around to look at the Queen's questioning eyes, for she was not sure if she would be able to exit the room then.

"What is it, my Queen?" She asked in a neutral tone.

She heard a warm and beautiful sound as the young woman chuckled lightly.

"Please, Maleficent, you know you don't have to bother with those kind of formalities with me."

Maleficent smiled in the dark, her back still turned on Aurora.

"I suppose you are right," the dark fairy agreed. "But still, you did not answer my question, Aurora."

"Oh, well..." The Queen straightened up in her tidy bed. "I just wanted to tell you that I am sorry for all you had to suffer because of me– because of him. I... I didn't know. If I had known, I swear I would have come sooner, but..."

"There is nothing to feel sorry for, Aurora." Maleficent cut her off, putting her head down even though she knew Aurora couldn't see her in the dark. "Now, you should get some rest, Sleeping Beauty."

The young woman smiled at the nickname but she couldn't resign herself to let Maleficent go just yet.

"But, er... Please, wait." She said quietly, in fear of the older woman's reaction.

The wicked fairy finally turned around to face her, but even if she could scarcely distinguish her silhouette in the obscurity of the room, the Queen guessed she showed the same features furrowed in an eternal haughty grin of pure annoyance.

"What is it again?" She asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I... I was just wondering..." Aurora sputtered, embarrassed. "I left my castle, you see. I left my husband, my aunts, everything and everyone I've ever known in my whole life, and I have nowhere to go. So, er... Would you mind if I stayed with you, er... I mean here, at the Forbidden Mountains for a while, until I find some place to go and–"

"Aurora." Maleficent's black eyes locked with Aurora's, and even the dark couldn't protect Aurora from Maleficent's piercing orbs. "You can stay here as long as you please."

The Queen bit her lip, hesitant but relieved. "Thank you, Maleficent."

"There is no need to thank me." The fairy turned away and led towards the stone staircase. "Now sleep, Your Highness. If you need anything, all you have to do is scream my name and I shall be right by your side."

Aurora tried to suppress a giggle as she let herself slide down into her bed and rested her head on the soft pillow Maleficent created for her.

"Goodnight, Maleficent." She closed her eyes, finally appeased.

"Goodnight, Aurora." She heard Maleficent respond from the stairs, but the mesmerizing voice was already starting to fade away.

Queen Aurora didn't have to wait for the slumber to take her, and she soon fell into a deep sleep. However, it wasn't meant to be a dreamless sleep.

__________

Maleficent lay on her bed, but she found herself unable to sleep. It seemed Queen Aurora's presence in the next room wasn't the best cure for sleep disorders. She waved a hand in the air and a thick dark leather-covered book appeared in her lap.

She opened the book on the first page: a perfect ink drawing was slowly fading into view on the white sheet. Once again, the Forbidden Mountains had become the first magical place in the world and she, the Mistress of All Evil, the most powerful fairy on earth.