Chapter Text
Aurora didn't know what was wrong with her.
She had been stupid, really, or so she thought. After having woken from a restless sleep by the sunlight of a new morning, she found that her brain wouldn't work. Not properly, anyway.
She felt as if she had a fog over herself, making it hard to think and hard to do anything at all. While she had been queen of the Moors for over four years, none of her daily morning tasks were coming easy to her.
It didn't help that Phillip was off with his father somewhere, he had given the vague explanation that he just wanted a simple hunting trip, but she knew her lover better than that.
If she knew any better, she would have suspected he was tentatively pitching the idea of a wedding to his parents.
Aurora had figured it out a long time ago, and now it was just a waiting game in terms of as and when he would do it.
Still, her partner's absence was keenly felt this morning, when she got up out of her mossy bed, snug in a willow tree, and immediately tripped and fell over.
Grumbling to herself, Aurora stood and dusted herself down, finding that her entire body ached.
She was unused to that feeling, particularly a sharp pain just behind her eyelids. And the day had only gotten worse from there.
She dragged herself through a morning briefing with a few of the trolls, feeling the pain increasing with every passing moment.
There was a lot to discuss of late, particularly regarding the state of the forest, and she tried her best to stay alert, but could feel her eyes dropping every few moments.
She had a feeling that her fairy friends suspected something was wrong, but decided against saying anything. Or so she thought.
It was just after midday when she was tiredly trudging back to her bedroom in order to get just moment's peace, when she heard the telltale sound of huge, beating wings in the distance.
Immediately, Aurora was filled with conflicting feelings.
She desperately wanted to tell her Godmother that she was feeling awful, and had been all day, but another part of her didn't want to bother the dark Fae with such a thing.
Maleficent had been busy the past few days healing trees in the forest of a pesky mould that had covered them. It was routine but a painstaking task, because if the trees died, many fairies would be out of a home.
And since Aurora had no magical abilities, she had to delegate the task to her Godmother.
She felt useless, not being able to fix the problem herself, especially since she was queen, but it wasn't something she had any remote clue about solving.
Not for the first time, Aurora felt a stab of fear over her role as queen. Of course, she loved the Moors more than anyone, and worked long and hard to keep it a paradise, but she was, at the end of the day, still a human.
She couldn't solve every problem, or pass every obstacle.
Aurora mulled this over miserably as she dragged herself towards her bedroom entrance, and didn't notice that same pesky tree root she had tripped over not three hours prior.
She hit the ground with a thud, biting back a yelp of pain. The fog in her brain plus her headache was coupled with a horrible spike of pain down her right arm.
The entire turn of events brought tears to her eyes, but she couldn't ignore her Godmother now that she had flown out to see her.
She got outside just as Maleficent landed, sending a light breeze in her direction. She attempted a smile at the regal creature before her, and was surprised when Maleficent returned one.
"Beastie," she said simply. "I heard rumours in the forest that you needed me."
Aurora groaned inwardly. Five years ago, her friends would never have dared to ask Maleficent of anything.
And while she was glad that her Godmother had been re-accepted in their society, now was not the best time for everyone to suddenly get along.
"Godmother," she replied weakly, attempting a smile, "is that so? Whatever for?"
Maleficent frowned slightly, striding purposely over to Aurora.
"Why are you standing like that?" she asked simply.
Aurora looked down and realised she had unconsciously been cradling her arm, the one in pain, and she let it drop awkwardly, ignoring the shooting pain.
"Like what?" she tried, forcing her smile wider, knowing that it wasn't convincing in the slightest.
She could feel the blood rushing to her head, and realised she could hear her thumping heart. Why was she nervous? This was Maleficent, for goodness sake!
If her Godmother noticed her anxiousness, she didn't make it obvious. She simply sighed, moving closer and cupping Aurora's face.
"Aurora," she said simply, surprising the girl by dropping her playful nickname in favour of her real name. "What's going on?"
Aurora squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head. "Nothing, I... nothing!"
Her head was swimming now, and she just wanted to go to sleep.
When she forced her eyes open, Maleficent was looking at her anxiously. "Aurora?"
Aurora just shook her head, letting her eyes slip shut as she fell forwards into a loving embrace, and as her hearing faded, she could have sworn she heard Maleficent start to cry.