The Return Of Maleficent

Chapter 2

Faunas home

Flores had thought her sister had been exaggerating about Maleficent's peculiar state,and the urgency in which she needed her here, but looking at this fresh faced young woman who sat on the bed before her, Flores realized she hadn't. This girl looked sweet and kind, nothing like what she recalled the wicked witch being.

"What spell did you say you used?" She asked her sister Fauna, as she slowly circled the girl.

"It was an awakening spell. One of my own."

"You were not to use your own spell unless it was an emergency." Her tone was clipped.

She was annoyed.

"Well I thought this was an emergency, seeing as the damned spell you gave me didn't work."

"Fauna! Language, please!" Flores hated the use of swear words in her presence.It seemed with time swearing was the thing to do. As Queen of Fairies she knew she could never lower herself to those type of standards. She continued, "Now,What do you mean it didn't work? All my spells work. And don't swear!"

"Oh, alright! I'm telling you it did not. I had to use my spell and now her mind's being ripped to shreds. You have to help me fix this before she goes insane."
Flores saw the sympathy in Fauna's eyes and couldn't understand why she herself could feel nothing for young Maleficent. If only to appease her sister she walked back over to the bed to further examine the girl. Maleficent lay curled up in the fetal position with her hands pressed hard against her ears. She was in tears, slowly rocking back and forth. Flores sat down on the bed and gently touched Maleficent's shoulder. Magic rushed through her body and showed her Maleficent's dreams, nightmares and past, and in a flash it was gone. Maleficent must have felt it too. She stopped rocking and looked at Flores. There was recognition in her eyes in that moment and she spoke.

"You." Maleficent hissed. "You trapped me in that cave hoping to never see my face again, but I will be freed and I will stop at nothing to destroy you!"

She cackled low sending chills up Flores spine. That was the Maleficent she was familiar with. She watched as the girl's breath became labored and her body fell limp on the bed. She was unconscious.

Flores gave Fauna a disapproving look.

"What did I do?" She asked no one in particular.

"I have no idea, and I think that is the point. I told you to use the spell I gave you, and what did you do? You just had to use a stronger spell."

"I told you sister, I used the spell you told me to. When it failed I used the one in the book."

"My spells never fail."

"And I never lie."

They glared at one another.

They both turned their attention to the living room when they both heard the knocking on Fauna's door. Fauna answered it. It was Mary. She smiled at Fauna. She could feel the palpable tension between her sisters. She knew Flores was giving Fauna a hard time. That seemed to be the nature of their relationship since they had been young. Mary stayed out of it because she loved them both dearly. Flores could be too rigid. They trusted her to be their leader but they needed her to trust them to use their better judgment. They both thought that over the decades their sister would mellow out and delegate more responsibility to them and loosen the reigns of running the Fae but it seemed with more time she continued to hoard the power and become more rigid in her way of thinking. She wanted absolute perfection at all times from everyone around her and that unrealistic notion was slowly turning their big sister into someone they didn't know. Mary could recall a time when she and her sisters had once been so carefree using their magic for fun. Now it seemed like they only used it when it was necessary, and that had started to grow fewer and fewer by the decades.
She had drove back to the small town and still the people slept. The binding cloaking spell they used seemed to still be holding up. She had been told by Flores that was her daily task, to check on the town. She didn't mind.

"Hello sister." Mary said and gently hugged Fauna.

They hadn't seen each other since the curse had been cast.

"Hello."

Before she could say anything else, Flores was once more her commanding self and giving orders from the bedroom.

"Mary come quickly. Tell me the news."

"Sister there is none to tell. The status of the spell is still the same. There is no change."

"Not yet anyway" Flores added as she paced the floor at the foot of the bed.

Fauna rolled her eyes. Sometimes she couldn't stand how her sister had to always be annoyingly right.

"How long do you think we have?" Mary asked.

"I would say a week and a half at most."

Mary looked to the bed and saw the beautiful girl sleeping in it.

"Who is this?" she asked

"It's her." Flores said, not wanting to say her name anymore than she had to.

"You mean that's ..." Mary trailed off.

"Yes, that's Maleficent." Fauna finished for them both, causing them to look at her and roll their eyes. She smirked at her sister's as she leaned against the doorframe of her bedroom.

"What's wrong with her?" Mary asked.

"She has no magic." Flores furnished.

Fauna walked over to where they stood.

"Why?"

"I gave the Prince the sword of Destiny and the shield of Truth. When he used it on her it removed the darkness from within her and all her dark powers. Any darkness in her would have been vanquished. Not to mention our lovely sister here used one of the most powerful awakening spells. All magic leaves traces. I was hoping that there would be some remnants of it left. Maybe there still is. I'm not altogether sure."

She thought back to what Maleficent had said to her before she went unconscious.

"So what do you suggest we do?" Mary asked

"We have no choice but to wait. And if she cannot remember who she is we will make her."

Fauna and Mary didn't know if they liked the sound of that. Dabbling with dark magic or any magic that wasn't their own always came with a price...