A/N: I know I really should be working on a familiar change but I promise the new chapter will be up soon. I saw Maleficent twice in the 24 hours since it's release and I can't get this out of my head so yeah...here it is.
Summary: At the age of twenty Queen Aurora has never known exactly how Maleficent woke her from the curse and when pressured to chose a suitor by her advisors her dear friend Prince Philip sheds a bit of light on the situation, leaving the Queen with more questions than answers. Prompting Aurora seek out the truth about that fateful night. Aurora/Maleficent fluffy femslash. Don't like, don't read.
Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent, Sleeping Beauty or any characters mentioned. I'm merely playing in the sandbox that Disney did a wonderful job of building.
Aurora let out a huff of frustration as she lowered herself into her favorite armchair in her personal study. She closed her eyes and took a moment to soak in the warm heat of the fire and tried to let the day's tension melt away, but to no avail. She made displeased sound in the back of her throat and tried once again to get comfortable and gave up when she heard an amused chuckle from the doorway. She looked up to see no other than her dear friend Prince Philip standing there.
"Rough day with the council, Your Majesty?" He asked as he took his seat in the chair next to her.
Aurora nodded and rubbed at her temples. "That is an understatement. Hours of listening to stuffy old men talk about what they think will be good for the kingdom and what they want me to do. Do you know that Lord Ashcroft had the audacity to tell me he was going to send his men over the The Moors to see if there were any resources he could bring to our markets. He didn't ask permission or propose it to me, he told me he was going to do it. As if I had no say in the matter."
Philip raised an eyebrow, knowing Aurora wouldn't tolerate The Moors being treated with anything but respect. "What did you do?"
"I reminded him of my decree that The Moors are now sacred ground and cannot be used for profit ever or have soldiers sent there without my approval and that in order to gain entry to The Moors you still must be granted passage by Maleficent. And I mentioned what happened when past rulers have sent men to The Moors without her permission." Philip nodded and took a moment to study the blonde closer. He couldn't help but think she wasn't being entirely truthful in what was bothering her.
"That's good, I've always told you Ashcroft was a pompous windbag and far to full of himself. But the lords and merchants pushing to gain access to The Moors is a regular occurrence and never has you this frazzled. Did something else happen?"
Aurora gave him a smiled and let out a sigh. "You really do know me well friend. My advisors are continuing to push me toward picking a suitor to marry. I am twenty after all and according to them; ruling without a king at my side for four years has been long enough and soon I will become an undesirable match for other kingdoms to pursue. Oh Philip if only you weren't promised to that Duchess across the sea, then I could at least wed a man whom I already know." Aurora stared into the fire as she spoke and reached up to toy with the pendant around her neck, thinking of the person who gave it to her; the one she truly wished could rule at her side. She noticed Philip giving her a question look, filled with confusion from where he sat.
"What?" He continued to give her the same look for a moment before speaking.
"Why not marry your true love?" Aurora couldn't help but let out a laugh.
"Oh yes, what a wonderful idea. But sadly my dear Philip I don't know if I have a true love, let alone who they are."
"How can you not know who your true love is? True love's kiss is what broke the sleeping curse you were under four years ago."
Aurora regarded him curiously before speaking. "No, Maleficent undid the curse. She was standing there with my Aunties and they told me so when I awoke."
Realization dawned on Philip and he spoke quietly. "You really don't know do you?"
He stood and knelt down in front of aurora's chair, gently grasping her hand in both of his. "Aurora, you know that you are my closest friend and that I would never lie to you, don't you?" He waited for the queen to nod before continuing, his voice just as soft. "The night you fell into your deep sleep, I found myself dropped outside your chamber doors-don't ask how because I do not even know-anyway your Aunts brought me inside and told me that you were placed under an enchantment, a curse; that you would sleep until the end of time and the only way to break the curse was with true love's kiss, they said not even Maleficent could take back the magic she had cast. Then I kissed you and your Aunties immediately threw me out after you didn't awake. They were determined to find the one who would wake you. So in order for you to be sitting here with me they must have succeeded."
"That doesn't make any sense." Aurora stood up shaking her head. There was no way it could have been Diaval or one of her aunties, which left...no. She couldn't get her hopes up. "When I woke from my sleep the only people in the room where Knottgrass, Flittle, Thiseltwit, Diaval and...Maleficent. Are you telling me one of them must be my true love?"
"I don't know for certain, all I know is that I was told that only true love would bring you back and here you are." Philip stepped closer and placed a comforting one Aurora's shoulder. "Maybe you should talk to one of them. Find out what really happened that night."
Aurora nodded, wringing her hands. "You're right, I'm off to find my Aunties. I shall see you soon Philip." She spared him a quick hug and a smile before departing to look for the three absentminded fairies.
After nearly half an hour of searching she found them in the heart of the maze garden, tending to the flowers and trees there in the moonlight. She could hear them arguing about something to do with flower colors as she approached and waited to see if they would notice her presence.
"And I'm telling you Flittle, blue is not a natural color for roses!" knottgrass shouted at the other fairy.
"It is too! And who put you in charge of flower colors? It's my turn to do the garden and I'll make all the flowers any color I feel like! You get to help Thistletwit with the trees!" Flitter scowled and shoved the pink fairy.
"knottgrass, Flittle, calm down! It doesn't really matter what color that are as long as they're all alive." Thistletwit tried to intervene but was failing horribly. Knottgrass only became more incensed at the comment.
"Yes it does matter, we are trying to create a natural garden, not a freakshow!"
"Freakshow?!" Flitter screeched. "I'll show you a freakhow! I'm going to make all the-" Aurora decided it was time to make her presence known.
"Why don't you all divide the garden into portions and do whatever you wish with your share?"
"Aurora!" All three fairies squeaked and flew to great the queen.
"Why are you out so late by yourself?" Knottgrass asked before the others could say anything.
"Actually I was looking for you three. I need to talk with you." Aurora Drew herself up to her full height and put on her no nonsense face that she normally reserved for meetings with her council.
"Of course dear-"
"But what could be so important-"
"That it couldn't wait until morning?"
"I want to know what happened the day I woke from the sleeping curse. And I want to know the truth this time. Philip told me only true love could wake me with a kiss from my sleep and I don't remember any kiss but I'm here awake which means you all have been hiding something from me. I want to know what."
The three fairies looked between each other nervously before Thistletwit spoke up. "We never meant to hide the truth from you dear."
"We only wanted to make things as simple as possible for you when you took the throne." Flittle glided forward and gently stroked her cheek, as if she were small again.
"Yes but what did you hide from me in the first place?"
Knottgrass gently guided Aurora over to a stone bench. "You might want to have a seat, child."
Aurora sat in stunned silence as the fairies finished telling her the truth of what occurred on that night so long ago, he heart beating so fast she was sure it would bursts forth from he chest. Maleficent hadn't managed to simply remove the curse as she tried it once before but it proved impossible. The only way to wake her had been with true love's kiss. Maleficent had woken her with true love's kiss from a death sleep. Did this mean...? Is it possible that her feelings for the tall fairy we're returned? "Why would you hide this from me?"
"We didn't want to!" Thistletwit protested.
"It was Maleficent's idea!" Flittle agreed nodding enthusiastically.
"But why?" This didn't make sense to Aurora, why would Maleficent hide this from her.
Knottgrass sat on the queen's shoulder and stroked her hair comfortingly. "She felt you're life was already complicated enough. You had just found out your father was alive, what he had done to Maleficent, that you were actually a princess and you found out who she really was. She felt it would be best for you to not find out until you were ready. She made us swear not to speak a word of it until you came to us and asked."
Aurora's head was swimming with questions, a smile growing on her face. "Does this mean that I'm Maleficent's true love? That she's mine? Isn't there more than one type of true love? Was it out of family love or romantic love? Or something completely different? Could the curse have been broken by any kind?"
The fairies took a moment to talk quietly amongst themselves before turning back to the queen.
"We're sorry your Majesty but we promise Maleficent-"
"That when you came to us asking this we would only-"
"Tell you what we have and then send you to her for the rest of your questions."
Aurora nodded. "Very well, thank you for being honest with me." The ruler stepped forward and gathered all three fairies in a gentle embrace. "Well now it seems I need to-"
Aurora was cut off as a boy of no more than fourteen she recognized as a messenger for her council ran into the garden and let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her. He gave a quick bow before addressing his queen. "You Majesty, we've been looking everywhere for you. An emergency council meeting has been called, a group of wanted bandits had been sighted near a fishing village along the coast and the generals need to know how you want to proceed."
"Very well, your name is Malcolm isn't it?" The boy nodded stunned that The Queen of both the humans and the Moors knew who he was. "Well Malcolm will you kindly escort me to the council chamber so we can get this dealt with and get you sent back to bed?" She gestured for the boy to lead the way and mentally prepared to run the gauntlet know as dealing with her advisors yet again.
Two hors later an exhausted Aurora found herself back in her chambers. She was supposed to be preparing for bed-having dismissed her chamber maids hours ago so they could sleep. But her mind kept wandering back to the one person she wanted to see more than anything. She had been so busy in the human kingdom that she hadn't been able to return to The Moors for weeks and since she had reinstated Maleficent as protector of The Moors, when Aurora was gone Maleficent became just as busy and had no time to travel to the castle. She was not used to going weeks without seeing the woman she though of as a fairly godmother for so long and didn't think she could stand it a moment longer. She though back on a conversation she had over heard between Maleficent and Diaval only weeks after she was woken from the curse...
"You have to tell her!" Aurora stopped short of the clearing where she was to meet a Maleficent that day. She had never heard Diaval this upset before.
"I will do no such thing and you shall keep your beak shut if you do not wish to end up a dog for the rest of your life." Maleficent's calm voice was easily recognizable.
"What if people ask questions? Half the kingdom knows how it was supposed to work and now she's awake and walking around with no explanation."
"Everyone will be told the same thing we told her. Nothing else."
"She has a right to know Maleficent!"
"And she will...when and only when she is ready."
"It isn't fair to hide this from her, it will have a huge impact on her life and she has just as much if a right to know as you do and you know it!"
"I also know that telling her at the wrong time could have a negative impact on her and that is not something I am willing to risk."
"That's it, if you don't tell her I will, she deserves to-!"
"ENOUGH!" Aurora jumped at the sound of Maleficent's voice. "You will do no such thing, when she is ready she will know and I will not discuss the mater further."
"CAW CAW!" Was the only response she received as Aurora could hear the sound of small wings flapping signaling that Diaval took his leave. She waited a few minutes before entering the clearing to find a perfectly calm Maleficdnt waiting for her. Were they arguing about her? But what about her?
It had made some sense now but she still had more questions that answers. She once again reached up to touch the necklace Maleficent had given her as a coronation gift. The former dark fairy had gained permission from the other residents of The Moors to take a emerald from The Pool of Jewels to give as a gift to their new Queen. She had fashioned it to a silver setting and chain charmed to be un breakable while many marbled at it's beauty they did not it's true purpose. Maleficent had enchanted the jewel with her pure magic so that Aurora and only Aurora simply needed to whisper where she wanted to go and the jewel would take her there. Or in this case, to the person she wanted to see.
She fondly looked down and watched as the gold of Maleficent's magic swirled beautifully deep within the emerald hanging from her neck. She couldn't help but smile as she lifted the stone to her lips and whispered:
"Take me to Maleficent."
The gold mist of Maleficent's magic swirled and surrounded her, clouding her vision and when it cleared she was met with the breathtaking view of The Moors from the cliff where a Maleficent resided in her tree. The protector of The Moors was certainly a creature of the night and was often awake when all the other residents of the enchanted land were sleeping,-either taking a late night trip flying amongst the stars or gazing up at them from her home in her trees-but it was the wee hours and Aurora knew that even Maleficent would bee sleeping peacefully. She quietly made her way to the edge of the cliff to look down at the heart of the valley, quietly greeting the wisps and other nocturnal creatures that arrived to greet her.
There, next to a waterfall and in the most open area of The Moors sat her home here. Standing tall and grande; made of stone, trees, earth and all kinds of plant life that Aurora could imagine was the small castle Maleficent had constructed for her. An addition to her coronation present she had said. She could even hear the former dark fairy's smug voice in her head, almost as if she were standing behind her and speaking gently into her ear, as she had on that day so long ago.
"Since you will be coming and going as you please you'll need a place to stay and I thought unlike most of your subjects you might enjoy an actual structure more than a cave or tree stump. Though you will need to know that this is no ordinary castle, it is living, growing. And it will grow and expand and shrink as you need it. A fitting home for The True Queen of The Moors, don't you think, Beastie?"
In the years that the castle had stood there Aurora had rarely use of it, except for the rare occasions that she was hosting someone from the human kingdom and it had changed very little in size or appearance. In fact in all of the countless nights and days she had spent in The Moors she had never slept in it, preferring to climb up into Maleficent's tree and fall asleep gazing at the stars next to the woman whom she secretly loved for so long. As she thought of Maleficent she turned her gaze to the familiar tree and saw no sign of movement or light that indicated the fairy was awake. Excellent.
As quietly as possible she crept over the the tree and climbed up to find Maleficent sleeping peacefully on her side, one of her wings wrapped over her for warmth. Diaval stirred on his perch and the queen gently ran her fingers across his smooth feathers with a whispered: "Hello, pretty bird."
After he fell back asleep Aurora reached up to remove her crown from her head with one hand and found the familiar branch she had been hanging it from for years with the other, slipping it into place quickly before moving to lie down next to the other woman. Reaching out gently she stroked a downy soft wing in the way Maleficent found soothing and it automatically recognized her touch and lifted away from Maleficent's body to creat a space for Aurora to quickly slip into, before it lowered again around them both. And Aurora fell asleep as she had many nights before, gazing up at the stars and wrapped in the wings of her secret love-who may not be a secret for much longer she thought gleefully as she drifted off.
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Maleficent had never been an early riser, always preferring the serene beauty of the night to the bight light and bustle of morning. Aurora however, was truly named well as she would wake every morning shortly after dawn and if she was in her castle in the human kingdom she would lie in bed for a few moments before getting up to start her day, but if she had spent the night in The Moors she would lay quietly and divided her time between watching the rest of the magical world around her come to life and observing the beauty sleeping peacefully next to her. And this morning proved to be no different for either woman.
Maleficent woke slowly, mentally taking stock of her surroundings while her eyes remained shut. As she did every morning since the return of her wings she took a moment to revel in absence of the throbbing ache that she had grown so accustomed to in the years that she was separated from them. She also noticed the familiar warmth pressed into her side under her wings and could feel a slender arm wrapped around her waist. Suddenly she felt that arm lift from her waist to run comfortingly through her hair and the fairy knew from years of experience that if she opened her eyes she would be met with clear blue pools fixed on what they thought was her sleeping form. So she decided to have a little fun and waited for Aurora to move slightly closer and bring her hand up again when...she snapped her eyes open.
"If I had known that you would spend all your time in The Moors sleeping in a tree I never would have wasted my time with building the castle." Aurora let out a startled yelp and fell back, Maleficent couldn't help but chuckle.
"I hate it when you do that!" Aurora protested, propping herself up on her elbow to mock glare down at the fairy, not noticing how her other arm slipped comfortably back around the other woman's waist. "You were supposed to be asleep."
"But that's exactly why I do it. Truly you should expect it by now." Maleficent sat up slightly to stretch and fan out her wings before reclining back against the trunk of the tree. From her perch she could see that the valley was awake and thrumming with life as the creatures that lived there already had their daily activities in full swing. "How long have you been awake and staring at me?"
"Not long, an hour at most." Aurora spoke absentmindedly stroking Maleficent's wing not realizing how that sounded until she saw The fairy's raised eyebrow and the quirk of her lips. She blushed and stuttered a correction. "Not that I was staring at you for an hour-not that I wouldn't stare at you for an hour. You're beautiful...but I didn't mean that I think-"
Maleficent decided to take pity and rescue the Queen from her self imposed embarrassment. "I knew what you meant, dear Beastie. What I'm curious about is why you awoke so late this morning, you're normally up and about before even the water sprites."
"I arrived her during the wee hours of the morning. I couldn't sleep at the castle I had to much on my mind and..." Aurora blushed and looked down.
Maleficent used a single finger to tilt the blonde's chin up so that blue pools stared into multi-colored orbs. "And...? What? Is there trouble in the human realm?"
Aurora shook her head. "No more than a few bandits, nothing I can't handle. Though the lords and advisors of the council are becoming rather pushy about my status as an unmarried queen." The last but was grumbled and she couldn't help but notice Maleficent's eyes flash with something unknown at the mention of marriage. She cleared her throat before she spoke more quietly. "I just felt the need to see you. I missed you. And The Moors, but mostly I missed their protector."
"I've missed you too Beastie. In fact I planed that if you did not appear today I would journey to the human kingdom this evening with enough time for us to have dinner before taking one of our night time walks. Though I doubt the garden's there would compare to the one's here."
"They don't, nothing can compare to here really. It's completely unique, just like those who live here.." Aurora sat up to look out over the valley but couldn't help but glance at Maleficent out of the corner of her eye, blushing when the other woman caught her.
"You said you had much on you mind last night, do you wish to speak of it?"
"The members of my council are pushing me to marry, they say it is unacceptable for me to be almost twenty one and still unmarried and that it is even worse that I'm a queen with no king. Among a few other things."
Maleficent's eyes hardened and her wings bristled at the though of stuffy old men attempting to force her Aurora into an unwanted union. "You must remember Aurora not only are you the Queen of the humans but also queen of The Moors, you hold the most powerful title in the lands and you are their sovereign. Not the other way around. If you wish you can marry a water sprite or remain unwed and when you are old and grey you could name one of our mud dwellers your successor and they could do nothing to stop you. You mustn't let them bully you into what they want, Beastie. And if they continue to be a bother I could simply show them they joys of flying at the speed of sound, and diving off of cliffs only to recover that the last moment."
Aurora contemplated Maleficent's words the knowledge she gained last night weighing heavily on her mind, if she could marry a Water Sprite and name a Mud Dweller her heir maybe there was hope for her and Maleficent after all. "Thank you my brave protector, that truly helps put things into perspective."
"You said there were other things weighing in your mind? What else is bothering you?"
Aurora wrung her hands fixing her eyes on the valley below. "That is another thing I wish to speak to you about, but I wonder if we might go on a walk first; so that I might put my thoughts in order first."
"Of course we can, though you might want to spend a moment to greet you adoring subjects as they seem to have found out their queen is here." Maleficent stood and gestured to the crowd gathered around the flower throne where her keen eyesight could see numerous Fae creatures pointing up at her tree excitedly. She helped Aurora stand and as she always did took the golden crown from where it hung and gently placed it on The Queen's head. "I fear that if you don't soon they might take a page from a certain someone's book and violate the sanctity of my tree as they please in order to see you." Maleficent teased. And Aurora blushed and ducked her head.
"Does that bother you? That I invade your personal sanctuary whenever I please? I can start staying in the castle from now on if you want."
"Don't be ridiculous," Maleficent brushed a lock of golden hair out of Aurora's face and gently caressed her cheek. "You do not invade my personal sanctuary, you have brought light and happiness back into my once dark world. I enjoy your company more than anything, I crave it. And no matter where I am you will always be welcome Aurora. Now shall we go?"
Aurora nodded and the two vacated to comfort of the tree loft and made their way down to the dais by the river. Once there the assembled fae and fairies did not hesitate to express their joy at Aurora's return. She greeted each in individually and Maleficent stood back and watched as memories of the first time she had brought her into The Moors as a princess. She had changed so much in the past years. She had continued to grow more graceful and beautiful as the three imbeciles had predicted but what they could never had predicted was her free spirit, her kindness toward any living creature and her fierce determination. She had grown from a princess into a true queen and as Maleficent watched her interact with both the humans and the Fae she realized she was falling more and more in love with the younger woman.
Since the return of her wings the other inhabitants if the enchanted valley had warmed back up to Maleficent and no longer cowered as she walk past but greeted her with the same enthusiasm they did when she was a child. Over the he next few hours she found herself soon engrossed in conversations with the others and had even been invited to judge a mudslinging contest. After a time she approached Aurora to find her sitting on a rock by the stream with several different Fae children surrounding her weaving flowers into her hair. Aurora looked up from her seat with a beaming smile on her face as the children finished their work. She gave each one a hug before standing and turning to show Maleficent a full view of their work. "What do you think?"
"You look beautiful as always, though the roses truly suit you best." The sorceress offered Aurora her right arm. "Would you like to take our walk now?"
"I would love too." Aurora took the offered arm and the two set off to find a more private corner of The Moors. The two gradually slowed to a stop near a section of Weeping Willow like trees with fluorescent leaves that seemed to form their own cocoon, blocking out the world beyond. Maleficent sat down on a soft section of the grass that was shaded from the bright sun light and Aurora followed. When she sat she picked up the brunette's right hand and began toying with her taped fingers and felt a strong wing extend to rest comfortingly across her shoulders. It was not lost on her that she was the only one allowed anywhere near Maleficent's wings and the other woman had no problem with her reaching out to stroke them at random. After a moment she began to speak.
"Where is Diaval? I haven't seen him since last night." There that was a good place to start.
"I would imagine gorging himself on some form of insect, or maybe bathing in the river by the dais. Prince I have my wings back I do not need him to stay as close and he has free reign to do as he pleases unless I call for him."
"Didn't you release him form his debt to you years ago?"
"I tired. But alas the stubborn old bird refused. He said he gave me so much of his life he wouldn't know what to do with the rest of it. And apparently he enjoins being a man and being able to experience life as any member of the animal kingdom. So instead he has as much freedom as he likes. Though I do not think we are here to talk of Diaval and his latest escapades, are we?"
"You're right. There is something else I had wish to talk to you about but I only now seem to have the courage to do so."
"You're not normally so undecided with your words Beastie. Is what is bother you truly that frightening as to render you inarticulate?" Maleficent was genuinely concerned as to what had the young queen so bothered.
"I haven't been this afraid since that night you battled my father, I was terrified that night that I would lose you and now I feel that if I misspeak I will lose you all the same."
"Aurora look at me." She waited for the blonde's eyes to meet her own before speaking. "There is nothing on this earth that you could do or that you could tell me that would cause me to want to distance myself from you. If you can forgive the fact that I cursed you as a baby then I'm sure I can easily move past whatever you have to tell me. You will never lose me, Beastie."
"Philip told me that when I was cursed four years ago that Knottgrass and the others had told him only a true Love's Kiss could wake mea and this his kiss failed. And if just is true than in order to be standing here my true love had to have kissed me but when I awoke it was only them three, Diaval and you in the room. I didn't understand at first as you and the other's told me that you had managed to lift the curse from me while I was sleeping. So I went and I spoke to Knottgrass and the others and they told me the truth of that night. That you kiss me and your kiss is what saved me from my eternal sleep..."
Maleficent smiled gently at the other woman. "I wondered when you seek the truth of that night. What else did they tell you?"
"Only that. They said that if I had any more question I would have to ask you directly."
"Well then, ask and I shall answer all of your questions to the best of my ability."
"For the kiss to have worked, does that mean we both had to experience some type of love for each other or could it have been one sided?"
The sorceress took a deep breath before formulating a response. "It depends on the intention and feeling behind the curse. Some curses and spells are weak and could be broken with not true love but just a kiss fueled by a one sided compassion. However when I cast this curse...I was so angry, so full of hate that I made it as strong as possible and in all honesty I did not believe that true love existed at the time. It was a curse that was never meant to be broken and I did not think for a moment that my kiss would work so for it to have broken the spell it would have to have been mutual."
Aurora soaked that in, hope blossoming in her chest. "But there is more than one type of love, isn't there? Love for family? Love for friends?...Romantic love? Could it have been any kind of love that broke the curse?"
Maleficent shook her head. "No, as I said when I cast this curse my intentions were very specific. I designed it so that only true love's kiss from your soulmate and nothing else could wake you and that the curse could never be altered or lifted until you received that kiss. So when the curse broke and you spoke to me I was in shock, I knew how I felt for you but I never imagined a simple kiss on the forehead would be enough to save you."
Aurora almost fainted at that and couldn't help but beam up at the tall fairy. "So that means...you're my soulmate? My actual true love? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Wait-a kiss on the forehead? The other fairies didn't tell me it was only on the forehead." Aurora couldn't help but pout at this bit of information.
Maleficent couldn't help the chuckle that bubbled out of her throat. "Did you think I had woken you with a kiss to the lips as that Prince had tried? Oh you poor Beastie, those nitwits have mislead you I'm afraid. At the moment I honestly though about it but as I said I did not think anything would work so I decided that it would be best if I only kissed you in a neutral way besides did you honestly think that I would let those three imbeciles witness our first kiss?"
She shook her head and sobered. "As for why I didn't tell you I felt that if you found out before you were ready that you would react poorly and that with what was going on at the time that it would be too much for you to handle. But to answer your question; yes, I am your actual true love...and you are mine. I hope this does not cause you to distress."
Aurora was actually relieved that she had not missed their first kiss and felt that if she smiled any wider her face souls surely split in two. She gave the hand she was still holding a squeeze and held it with both hands. "Distressed? Maleficent learning my feelings are returned could never cause me distress, I've loved you since I was fifteen."
The former dark fairy could not help but mirror Aurora's grin in a sincere smile of her own. She looked the blonde in the eyes and a feeling of warmth filled her as she saw blue orbs filled with love and happiness. "Even knowing what I'd did my dear Queen that is truly a relief to hear you say after all this time."
"You'll need to become accustomed to it then because I plan to tell you often just how I feel about you."
"And how exactly do you feel about me?" Maleficent responded with a teasing smile.
"From the moment I saw you I was captivated by you and it was during our time together that I realized I was in love with you. That is why I wanted to move to The Moors, to be with you always. But now I want to shout from the mountain tops that I am in love with Maleficent the Protector of The Moors. I love you more than words can say and I can not wait to spend the rest of my life with you at my side, my love."
"I have care for you so deeply and for so long Aurora and now there is not force that could keep me from you. I love you, My Beastie, more than any words could say." Maleficent slowly lifted their intertwined hands and maintained eye contact as she pressed a loving kiss to the back of her love's hands. She noticed how aurora's breath caught in her throat and only then realized that during the conversation her wings had slowly moved Aurora closer until there was hardly any space between them.
"Was that supposed to be a kiss?" Aurora playfully asked with her eyes flitting between the sorceress' eyes and lips.
"No...but this is." Maleficent leaned down and closed the distance between them oh so reverently pressing her dark red lips to sweet pink ones. The older woman had never believed in the tales of a kiss taking one's breath away and leaving you weak in the knees but in this moment she was proven wrong. With just a sweet simple press of lips she could see stars bursting forth behind her eyelids and felt that she could live forever just off this feeling as her hands moved up to cradle Aurora's jaw in her hands.
Aurora was having a similar reaction and depended the kiss by parting her lips slightly and allowing her lips it slip between those of her love, her hands moving to tangle in Maleficent's soft, sweet smelling hair. It was the sound of cheering and laughter that drew them apart, both turning toward where the sound had originated. The river.
There sitting on rocks watching the display of affection were a group of small mermaid like creatures and several water sprites. All of whom where grinning and making kissey-faces at the new couple, smacking their hands against he water excitedly. Maleficent flicked her wrist, her magic gently splashing them with water. "Off you go, there is nothing more to see." She tried to be serious but her grin was still in place. Never the less the group swam off at top speed, no doubt to go and spread the news of what they just witnessed.
Maleficent turned her attention back to Aurora and gently stroked a hand down the side of her face. "Does that kiss meet your approval your Majesty?"
"Close but I think we can do better." And with that she Maleficent closer and connected their lips once again. This kiss deepened much quicker and Maleficent moved to wrap her wings around them, shutting out any prying eyes that might wander by. The fairy tilted her head to the side and cradled Aurora's with one hand as their lips began to move together, the other hand wrapping around the small of the other woman's back to pull her as close as possible. After what seemed like an eternity the need for oxygen made own and they pulled back only far enough to breath, their foreheads erasing against each other. The pair stayed like that, wrapped up in their embrace, passing the time talking and simply holding one another, sharing soft pecks and deep kissed full of pent up desire. They remained so engrossed in each other that they failed to noticed the sound of flapping wings and excited cawing coming toward them until a Raven almost collided with them as it made it's descent, causing them to pull apart.
"Diaval!" Aurora said excitedly as Maleficent transformed him back into a man, bring her arm back around the smaller woman's waist once it was done.
"So it is true!" He crowed excitedly. "You finally told her the truth. And it worked out fine, didn't it? Didn't it?!"
Maleficent rolled her eyes but kept her smile in place as she spoke. "Yes, you were right. Enjoy it now because I assure you it will never happen again."
"I'll take what I can get." He walked over and rested a hand on each of their shoulders with a beaming smile. "I'm just happy you both got your heads out of your arses and that you're happy together. You are happy aren't you.!"
"We are." Aurora said from where her head rested on maleficent's shoulder and wrapped in her wings. "More happy that I could ever imagine at least."
"I am as well."
"Good, excellent in fact, well now that I saw it with my own eyes I think I'll give you two a bit of privacy. Wait a minute-!" He turned to Aurora. "You're not twenty one yet are you?"
She eyed him curiously. "No, I'm still only twenty. Why?"
"Yes! He jumped into the air and cheered. "That means Balthazar owes me twenty-five pounds of salmon!" He turned and ran off, Maleficent turning him back into a raven mid stride.
Maleficent turned her attention back to the woman in her arms. "I do believe they placed a wager on us. I should turn him into a dog again for that."
"Let him enjoy his fish, it was a harmless bet after all. Besides you have other things to be doing."
Maleficent quirked an eyebrow. "Such as?"
"Helping me plan how I'm going to inform my advisor that I found my true love and will not be marrying any of the suitors they've shoved at me."
"Well, Maleficent appeared thoughtful for a moment. "You could tell them that you met your true love and plan to wed them and then unveil who your betrothed is later."
"Yes but we would have to be betrothed first." Aurora stared off, think of how wonderful that would be.
"So we would." Aurora turned back to Maleficent and froze when she saw the other woman holding a silver ring with a large diamond on it flanked by two emeralds in her hand. "Aurora, I feel we have waited long enough and I have certainly love you long enough. I want to spend the rest of eternity with you, will you become my wife in the human world and allows us to be bound for life in the Fae world?"
"Yes! Yes of course I will!" Aurora pressed solving kiss to Maleficent's lips and pulled away as the band was slid on her finger. Maleficent took a moment to admire the sight with a smile. Aurora noticed that the ring matched her necklace. "How long have you had this?"
"I made it when I made your necklace, I simply knew I would have to wait until the right time. Now," She stood and gently guided Aurora to her feet. "Now we should return to the main valley don't you think? It would appear we have an engagement to announce."
"Yes, yes we do. And a life to plan." Aurora kissed her betrothed once more before they made their way back to the dais and gave their announcement. That night off of The Moors celebrated the love between their Queen and their Protector and for Maleficent and Aurora, their world was finally at peace.
A/N: hey, so I just had this idea and it grew into this. I feel kinda iffy about how it turned out do let me know what you think. :)