Chapter Text
In a land far away, there lay a quaint kingdom. It was small but lively as the crowds celebrated the birth of a new royal. The king and queen were so elated to be blessed with an heir that they held a regal christening ceremony. They’d sent out invitations to monarchs and gentry from near and far, as well as some infamous mages who travelled far and wide to bless the newborn.
The Queen sat upon her throne, a delicate smile gracing her face, as she witnessed the arrival of the esteemed guests, no matter how late they were to enter, “My dear friends, how time has been kind to you! You all look like you haven’t aged a day!”
“In all due respect, Your Highness, I might have to argue that statement on behalf of my companions,” Dire Crowley chuckled as he bowed to the monarchs before him, “Trein is but only one moment away from throwing out his back and dear Crewel’s sporting more than a few strands of white hair.”
A wave of laughter erupted from the noble crowd behind them, only to be silenced by Divus Crewel and Mozus Trein’s venomous glares, dying down to nervous coughs.
Crewel, not so subtly, nudged the birdman to the side and bowed in respect, “Yes, well, not all of us go around hiding our crow’s feet under masks.”
“All right, that’s enough.”
The hall fell silent as the king spoke, “Let us not argue over such trivial things on this merry day. Come and place your gifts.” The king chuckled, giving a loving glance towards his wife and child.
The three mages nodded and ceased their bickering, regaining their composure.
Trein stepped forward and approached the cradle. He softly smiled at the child, a rush of nostalgia hitting him as he remembered his two daughters’ birth. As he cast his incantation, sparkles flew down from his magic pen, causing the baby to sneeze and giggle. “Your Highness, I hereby bless you with the gift of knowledge and judgement. Let this help guide you on your journey throughout life to make wise decisions,” he then added under his breath, “Gods forbid that they turn into one of those bumbling fools.” The crowd murmured in approval.
The older man retreated into their makeshift line before the black and white fur-draped mage stepped forward, “My gift for this little pup is the blessing of charisma and grace. May they harness it to tame even the wildest beasts, and perhaps create their own pack.” Content with his blessing, he turned his heels (which were ridiculously high, some might add) and smirked at his feathered friend, “Let’s see what incompetent sham you grant.”
The man in question bristled at the taunt and strutted up to the dais, “Just you wait and see. Beautiful child, I grant you the blessing of work ethic-”
“Nope.” Trein and Crewel interrupted him. Trein sighed and rubbed circles at his temple, “You’re not going to give her a stupid gift like that just because you’re too lazy for your own work. Do better.”
“Fine, fine,” Crowley pouted. King Phillip leaned forward, intrigued by the last mage’s blessing. “Dear, sweet, lovely child, my official gift shall be”
Suddenly, a vicious gust of wind ripped through the audience, blowing the doors wide open as lightning and thunder shook the hall. All the nobles scrambled for their escorts and guards, all on high alert and struck with fear as a wave of smoke began to envelop the room.
Once the smoke cleared, a tall, lean figure gracefully walked into sight. Large, protruding horns stuck out from the top of her head. The guests all gasped, and whispers sounded out.
“Why, it’s Maleficent!”
“I heard that she ran off to start her new kingdom. What was it called?”
“Right! That Briar Valley! Dreadful place.”
“What does she want?”
The whispers were silenced as the woman spoke up, “What a glittering assemblage, Queen Aurora. Royalty, nobility, the gentry, some renowned mages, and…” She paused before cackling, “My, my, this brings back memories. The rabble are absent from this, though… a shame that they couldn’t make it.” A wicked glint in her eye indicated something far more sinister behind her words.
Maleficent appeared before the thrones in all her glory, flashing a toothy, fanged smile at everyone. The crowd began to scramble for the exit, only to find it blocked off by a short boy with long, bright red and black streaked hair. “Now, where are you going?” The boy stared them all down from behind his mask, brandishing his cleaver-like sword at anyone who tried to get near.
“Maleficent! What’s the meaning of this!” Phillip cried out. The three visiting mages all took defensive stances, readying themselves for the worst to come.
The fae woman ignored the king and slowly stepped forward, “I must say, I really felt quite distressed about receiving an invitation.”
Aurora gulped, trying to swallow her fear and repress the tears she felt threatening to spill, “You… You weren’t wanted.”
“Oh dear,” Maleficent was taken aback for a brief second before recomposing herself, “What an… awkward situation. Quite similar to the one at your own christening.”
Suffocated by trapped emotions, Aurora blurted out, “You’re… not offended, Mo- Maleficent?”
“Offended? No, my sweet beastie,” Maleficent’s gaze softened.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
“But I’m extremely disappointed in you. To sink as low as your arrogant father… I thought I raised you better.”
Her gaze hardened as she focused her sight on the cradle. “Let’s just say, I’m thankful for your betrayal, Aurora. It really opened my eyes to how I should raise Malleus.” She looked down and into her cloak, which she raised slightly above, “Come out, child.”
A small boy with matching, shiny black horns stepped out from beneath Maleficent’s cloak, his aura as overwhelming as the woman who stood beside.
“I would like to introduce you to Malleus, my grandson.”
The hall fell silent. Each person’s breath was held, too afraid to break the silence and too shocked to react. A thought crossed their minds; since when had Maleficent had a grandson? Let alone any children.
Aurora’s face had gone ghostly white, the surprise evident on her face. “Grandson? How…? What?”
“Well, my little beastie. After you cut ties with me – quite rudely, I might add. I mean, to send me on a fool’s errand of creating Briar Valley just to declare it a threat?” At that, Aurora and Phillip had the decency to look guilty. “We found a child. A powerful young fae, and a manifestation gifted to me by the Great Dragon.”
“We?” Crewel raised his manicured eyebrow.
Maleficent beckoned for the short man to her side. After securing the doors with an enchantment, the red-streaked man joined her by her side. “General Lilia Vanrouge, my most trusted aide, and one of the fiercest of the fae I’ve ever met.” Lilia smiled at the compliment from beneath his mask.
“What happened to Diaval?” Aurora’s breath hitched.
“The same as what happened to my child. The humans hunted and killed him, along with my precious daughter and son-in-law. I believe that they were some of your finest knights.”
A sob broke out from Aurora’s mouth as she covered her mouth. Phillip rushed to her side, trying to comfort his wife and console her. He looked at Maleficent and cried out, “We didn’t know! The prophecy said-”
“That your child will die at my own hands… or I will die at theirs.”
Mozus Trein decided that enough was enough. “Your Highness, if you’ll indulge us, why did you decide to show up today? It couldn’t be just to flaunt your grandson.”
“No, I decided today for this. Lilia, look after Malleus for a moment,” The fae woman approached the cradle and peered down at the baby. A rush of deja vu hit her as the child's face began to blend and distort into Aurora’s. She sneered at the child who only blinked up at her in wonder.
“ Listen well, all of you,
The child shall indeed grow with intelligence and charisma,
They may grow with their mother’s charm and father’s determination, ”
The doors flew open, the enchantments shattering on impact, and a trio of fairies broke through and beelined for Maleficent. “Stop her!” Flora called out.
In the blink of an eye, the three fairies had been tied and captured by a singular chain, the short general standing beside the gaggle. “It’s rude to interrupt her majesty,” He grinned.
“Thank you, general.”
“Don’t do this,” Aurora pleaded with Maleficent, trying to pull the latter’s arms away. In the flash of green light, the queen was flung away from the fae and crashed into her husband as the king tried to intervene. “I’m fine! I’m fine! We need to stop her!” Aurora tried pulling herself up from the ground, but she found her body incapable of moving. Everyone, minus the fae and child in the room, had been placed with a spell that froze them.
Crowley’s eyes widened. “That child is doing this.” And sure enough, Malleus stood in between the thrones, his emerald eyes glowing, and a green glow encircling his body.
Lilia and Maleficent grinned at looked at the boy. “Good job, my grandson,” The fae queen cooed.
She turned back to the child who had begun to cry. “Hush, child, no need to cry,” Maleficent wiped the tears away before continuing.
“ But, on their twenty-second birthday, they will prick their finger on a spinning wheel and fall into a sleep-like death. ”
The woman stepped away from the cradle, raising her voice and drawing her magic around her hands.
“ A sleep from which they will never awaken. ”
“No!” Aurora screamed, “Not my baby! Please, not my baby! Don’t do this! Mother, please don’t do this! I beg you!”
Maleficent paused and spared a glance towards the human queen’s direction. She took a moment to think before grinning, “Alright.”
“ The royal can be awoken from their death sleep,
But only by… true love’s devotion. ”
The all-powerful fae turned around.
“ This curse will last until the end of time!
No power in any land will change it. ”
And with that, she unleashed the curse, its potency so great that it unfroze everyone and knocked them over. As she exited, she beckoned for Lilia and Malleus to follow.
Malleus followed her out with a thoughtful face. Lilia chuckled, “You’ll soon be strong enough for your spells to do that.” The child beamed at that.
Queen Aurora and King Phillip gathered the visiting mages and fairies to discuss their plan of action. The tension in the room was high, and everyone’s anxieties were obvious on their faces.
“What are we going to do?” Aurora clung to her sleeping baby as tears streamed down her face, some droplets falling onto the baby’s blanket.
“We could do the cottage thing again!” Fauna suggested.
Crewel scoffed. Merryweather glared at him, “What’s so funny?”
The monochrome-styled mage laughed at the fairy’s temper, “Well, it’s just that your ‘cottage thing’, as you’ve put it, didn’t go so well the first time around.”
“He’s right, Maleficent still found you practically right away,” Phillip said as he held his wife and wife close.
The room went silent to think and formulate a plan. “What about Mozus, Divus, and me all take the little one?”
Everyone stared at the birdman as if he’d grown another head. “You want us to what now?” Crewel exclaimed, his eyes narrowing at Crowley.
“Why on earth would we do that?” Trein glared at Crowley while softly patting his cat, who gave an equally withering glare.
“Just hear me out, Mozus,” Crowley held up his hands, “We take the girl, protect her, raise her as our apprentice until she’s twenty or so, and we all travel around the world in the meantime! It’d be a fun vaca- I mean- it’s the smartest idea! Two relatively strong mages and me, the ever so kind Dire Crowley, and we go far away from Maleficent’s grasp!”
“You just want a vacation!” Flora pointed an accusatory finger at the man, who gasped.
“How dare you! At least my plan won’t entail being found the second we hide, unlike a certain someone’s .”
“Oh, how dare you .”
And so, bickering amongst the group ensued.
“Quiet!” Phillip’s loud voice cut through the mahyem. The group all effectively shut up. “Crowley, are you suggesting that we send our only daughter to go who knows where with you and two other men on a joy trip across the world?”
“Yes.”
Crewel sighed. He was most opposed to the idea; he didn’t want a pup yipping at his heels for two decades.
As for Trein, he wasn’t as against the idea as his fellow mage was, but he was over the diaper changes and potty training. Going through it twice with his own daughters was enough for him.
Surprisingly, it was Aurora who spoke up in agreement, “I think that we should listen to Sir Crowley’s plan.”
“Aurora, you can’t be actually considering this,” Merryweather’s mouth hung open.
“Well, unless someone thinks of a better idea – preferably within the next few minutes – then it’s the only plan we have,” the queen looked over to the men in the room, “It’s better than doing nothing and sitting on our hands.”
In the end, everyone begrudgingly agreed with Crowley’s plan, on the condition that the three mages always keep the king and queen informed about their child and that they return home every few months.
It wasn’t the perfect solution, but as the queen had said, it was better than nothing. While it was true that Aurora and Philip would be forced to part with their baby, they could know that their child would be safe.
Well… as safe as it could be with Dire Crowley, Mozus Trein, and Divus Crewel looking after them.