Chapter One

Maleficent stood on a cliff in the Moors, looking out over the land she protected, down to the wall of thorns she had re-erected after faking her death with Beastie's help, and past to what she could see of Auradon. Although hidden for her own safety, and the safety of those in her care, Maleficent was anything but isolated and cut off.

Aurora snuck away to visit as often as she could without raising Stefan's suspicions, and her daughter Audrey was able to come more frequently. Hades was also a frequent visitor to see her and their daughter and usually had news as well. It could be frustrating, being unable to to fight Stefan and his plot with the villains, not that the other royal families knew he was involved, but the safety of her people, her daughter, and her daughter's friends always took priority.

Maleficent heard the beat of wings behind her, but didn't turn, only one other person had wings that big, as Diaval had to be in raven form to fly. Mal, her beautiful purple-haired and -winged daughter, landed softly behind her and stepped forward to scan the horizon with her.

Both fairies were silent for a time before Mal asked, "Do you think Aurora will be successful in convincing the other royals of Stefan's involvement at the gathering?" Maleficent let out a silent sigh and and replied, "We must hope there is a chance, but Stefan has his spies, and I would not put it past him to send assassins against them, even Aurora. Still, we have prepared her, posted our own to assist them, and Audrey is safe here with us."

Mal couldn't suppress her snickers, "Yeah, she and Harry are being moony over each other." Her mood changed and she sighed, "Hopefully Aurora can at least end the unofficial betrothal between her and Prince Benjamin. She deserves to be happy with someone she loves and who loves her. Like you are with Dad."

Maleficent reached out and wrapped her arm around her daughter, smiling softly as Mal leaned her head on her mother's shoulder. Looking back out at the land, Maleficent was glad she had been able to fake her death successfully, because now she had a real and true love and beautiful, strong, intelligent, powerful daughter to call her own, as well as the rescued children of the villains she had raised.

Mal stood with her mother and couldn't help but wonder how everyone had believed Stefan's lies about her mother being a villain. All the stories she'd been told had usually included magic, with exceptions like Milan's story, and fairies were involved fairly often. Surely by now the people realized that the rules were different when it came to fairies, especially those from the Moors.

She had also always wondered how no one had realized that her father's crazy behavior had come from being for all intents and purposes alone down in the Underworld for centuries. He had improved drastically after meeting her mother and making frequent visits, more so after she was born.

Mal's thoughts then wandered to the Heroes Audrey had told her about and their children. Honestly, Audrey made them sound like really great people and she had always wanted to meet them. Mal just hoped that they were able to escape if there were assassins.

Miles away, Crown Prince Ben of Auradon stared pensively out of the window of his room as an unexplainable apprehension gripped him. The royals and other Heroes from all across the United Kingdoms of Auradon were gathering soon to discuss a concern the Princess Aurora had expressed, but tellingly her father, King Stefan, would not be present at the meeting.

Briefly, Ben's thoughts strayed to Audrey. Although the two of them were unofficially betrothed thanks to King Stefan, Audrey had confessed to him in confidence several years before that she was in love with another boy, one who loved her in return. Honestly, Ben was happy for his friend and genuinely hoped they could figure out how to break the betrothal so they could follow their hearts.

Ben hadn't ever told anyone this, but for years he had dreamed of a beautiful girl with bright purple hair. He always seemed to be observing her when he dreamed, as she never seemed to be aware of his presence. He had always been enchanted by her surroundings, foliage and creatures that defied the imagination and rendered a person speechless.

His contemplation was broken by the sound of vehicles driving up. Glancing down, Ben saw a number of limos with flags starting to drop off their passengers. Taking a deep breath and straightening his shoulders, the young prince exited his room to join the meeting. He passed a man in the corridor and paused to glance over his shoulder at the man's back. Ben could have sworn he knew all those who worked in the palace, but maybe he was a new hire.