Queen Leila

My Mother Too

"I wonder what you would've been like, Mother," Aurora whispered as stared up at Stefan's castle. Even though it was technically hers now, she could never really claim it as such just because she did not feel a part of it. It belonged to her in name only. But today, she had not come to visit her father. Instead, she had come to visit her mother, Queen Leila.

The woman had died a few years before Aurora came back to the castle, so Aurora had no memory of her at all. That was what today was for: learning about the birthmother she never even got to meet. While Aurora had not known Stefan very well either, at least they had been able to speak once before death parted them. The same could not be said for poor Leila. Now Aurora finally had the time to come and "meet" her mother. The only reason Aurora had not come sooner was because of how busy her life was, now that she was the Queen of the Moors. But today, Maleficent had offered to take up her old duties again to give Aurora a day off. Now here Aurora stood, at the gates of her old home...

For a time, Aurora simply sat on Queen Leila's bed and thought. Even though Aurora had known that Queen Leila was dead, it just didn't really seem to sink in until that very moment. Granted, Aurora hadn't had much time before now to process it, but there was something about actually being in the place where her birthmother had died that woke something up deep inside Aurora.

"I wonder what you would've been like, Mother," she repeated as she looked at a portrait still hanging on one of the chamber walls. Queen Leila was gorgeous, and Aurora could see where she had gotten her own looks from. But Aurora didn't just want to know that. She wanted to know what her mother had been like in terms of personality, behavior, likes and dislikes. She wanted to know all the things she never could, because it was too late. Stefan had said that Leila would've been proud of the beautiful young woman she had become, but Aurora wanted to know even more than that. Most of all, though, she wanted to know what Leila might've thought about Maleficent...

Even though Aurora had never even met Leila, she was able to piece together that the woman had died from grief. The physical absence of her daughter, combined with the emotional absence of her husband, had left Leila as a very lonely, broken woman and it was no surprise that she finally passed away from the stress and trauma. It was a horrible fate and Aurora's heart went out to her late birthmother, but she wanted to know just how deeply Maleficent might've affected the late queen.

Maleficent's curse had really been directed at Stefan, an act of revenge over an old battle between the two of them, but because the curse had been so far-reaching, it affected far more than just Stefan. Aurora, herself, was obviously proof of that. But what about Leila? Did anyone think to talk about her? Or had the entire world forgotten about her already? That was what Aurora really wanted to meditate on today.

"I have no doubt that Maleficent's curse hurt you just as deeply," Aurora spoke to her mother's portrait. "You never got to know me. You didn't get to see me grow up. You lost your child. You might've know that I was alive and safe, but you were forced to live with the knowledge that even if I ever came back to you, someone else would've gotten to have my childhood..." Aurora began to think about her three aunts, Knotgrass, Thistlewit and Flittle. Did Leila hold any sort of grudge or envy against them that they should've been allowed to raise Aurora while Leila, herself, had to sacrifice her old child and lose 16 years they should've been together? Because even if Leila was still alive, nothing would get back those stolen years. It was a heavy blow and Aurora could only imagine the pain her mother must've been for the 16 years they were apart.

But even beyond the stress of knowing that her daughter was being raised by someone else, Leila surely must've been terrified of Maleficent and the curse from a more objective standpoint. Who wouldn't fear a fairy powerful enough to curse a child into an early grave? Who wouldn't mourn for that child? Aurora was sure that even if she had not been Leila's daughter, Leila still would've found the curse deeply upsetting anyway. But knowing that the curse had been placed upon her own child must've been that much more painful. And how might Leila have felt in terms of guilt? Surely she didn't just long for the 16 lost years, did she ever blame herself for allowing the curse to take place.

"Please don't," Aurora found herself whispering, pleading. "There was nothing you could've done. You did the best with what you had and I will forever be grateful. But please, please, don't blame yourself. You did your best and you did save me. Please don't blame yourself..." the young queen felt tears pricking her eyes. She wasn't sure where Leila was now. Heaven? Hell? Somewhere else? Was she a restless spirit? Or just a corpse in the ground? All Aurora knew was that wherever her birthmother was, she hoped to God that it was a place of peace.

Aurora honestly could think of no one else who deserved it more. If there was anyone on Earth who deserved a happy ending, it was Leila. She had been completely innocent and, unlike Aurora, she had been completely alone. Even though Aurora was the curse's direct victim, she'd had a happy life before dying. Leila could not say the same. Her life had been a living Hell, and because she had not been the curse's direct victim, it was easy to forget about and discredit her. In Aurora's eyes, this made her suffering all the more painful and tragic. And besides, while Aurora had been saved from her curse, Leila could not say the same. She was dead. At least Aurora managed to make it out alive. But there had been no kiss to wake Leila up, no true love to save her soul and bring her back to life. When she went to sleep, she did not wake up.

"I am so, so sorry," Aurora whispered, turning to caress her mother's pillow. But she wasn't just apologizing for Leila's loveless life or pointless ending. Aurora was apologizing for lost time, and a bond that would never happen. She was apologizing for the fact that she had woken up from her sleep even though Leila had not. She was apologizing for the fact that at least she had found love from her three aunts and fairy godmother. And she was apologizing upon that fairy godmother's behalf as well.

"I know Maleficent hurt you deeply," Aurora began. "She killed you just as much as she cursed me. I was not the only innocent life to be taken by the curse. I am so, so sorry for what she did to you... But I hope, I hope, that there is some way you could forgive her. I know that what she has done today cannot erase what she did 16 years ago, but you need to understand that she has changed. Maybe she failed to save you and father, but she saved me. She loves me, and I love her. I'm so sorry, but that's the truth..." Aurora paused to wipe at her tears.

"I promise, I am not replacing you with her. You will always be my birthmother and you will always have a special place in my heart, but Maleficent is my mother too now. She may have been the one to curse me, but she was also the one to save me. Even if actions of today cannot undo actions of yesterday, please try to understand that Maleficent is my mother too..." Aurora caressed Leila's pillow again, silently begging for her late mother's blessing. She knew how cruel it must've sounded, for her to call the woman responsible for all of their suffering her mother, but it was true. The love Aurora and Maleficent shared was real and Aurora did not want to give it up. She would be willing to acknowledge how problematic it was, but she refused to leave Maleficent just because of that reason. Maleficent was her mother too, after all.

"I know how deeply she has hurt us, but I have come to love her. I only hope that you will too someday. Even if you cannot, I hope that you can at least accept this. Us. And I so sorry it had to come to this," the young queen told her birthmother. "But don't you worry, because you are my mother too, and I promise that I will never ever forget you..." Then after Aurora had spoken her piece, she rose up from Leila's bed and left the room, giving it one last respectful bow before shutting the door again allowing silence to settle over the bedchamber once more...

AN: This fic goes out to schrijver. I thank you for your reviews and insightful conversations and I hope this fic met your standards. I agree that Queen Leila definitely did not get the closure she deserved. I hope this sort of fixes things.