Rose and Odette left within the hour. Rose changed back into Jacques’s trousers and tunic and threw on a warm cloak. She tucked her two knives into her belt and paused before slipping the stiletto into her boot. She would need all the weapons she had to defeat Maleficent and, even then, in the deepest parts of her heart, she worried that it wouldn’t be enough. Though, she would never admit it to Odette, she was glad to have the warrior by her side.

Rose met Odette by the stables, where she was busy getting her horse ready. Rose began to saddle up Daffodil and Clover whinnied in protest to being left behind.

“We will be back soon,” Rose said, rubbing Clover’s nose. “Maric will be back for you.” She certainly hoped she was right, Rose thought, as she hopped onto the saddle. Odette was already on her black steed and seemed impatient to leave. Any other time, Rose would have dawdled a bit to annoy the woman, but instead she gave Odette a curt nod and they rode off into the night.

At their pace, they would reach Maleficent’s stronghold a few hours before dawn.

“What is the plan when we arrive?” Odette asked, echoing Rose’s thoughts.

“We get past the goblins and any other enemies and get inside the keep. Maleficent will be inside.” Rose remembered the strange green glow that came from one of the crumbling towers. She felt sick when she saw it and it had a strange pull over Maric. She knew without a doubt that she would find Maleficent in the tower.

“That is, perhaps, easier said than done, princess,” Odette said with a wide smile. Rose smiled back. Odette welcomed the challenge. Adrian didn’t need to send his entire army to fight Maleficent and her minions. He only needed to send this one ornery woman. Rose suspected that with Odette on her side that she had the upper hand to the upcoming conflict. She certainly prayed that she did.

They rode in silence for the rest of the trip. The night air was cool, but the adrenaline pumping through her body kept Rose overly warm. She wanted to throw off her cloak, but knew that was unwise. It would be a pity if she caught a chill before reaching the keep.

An hour or two before sunrise, Rose slowed down Daffodil’s pace. The horse was exhausted, exhaling large clouds of hot breath into the air. Rose slipped out of the saddle and motioned for Odette to do the same. They left the horses, untethered, and began to creep forward. Rose didn’t dare to light a torch and had to use the small sliver of moonlight to guide her way. However, it wasn’t difficult to find their way as they only had to listen to the loud clunks and crashes coming from the goblin horde.

Rose stepped out of the woods to see the goblins mobilizing below.

“They are readying to march,” Odette whispered over her shoulder. Their eyes fell on the hundreds of goblins milling around below.

“It looks like many have left already,” Rose said, pointing to the large amounts of tracks that lead down a wide path and disappeared around a bend. It was a miracle that they did not encounter any goblins on their way to the keep. “We can only hope that Adrian, Alistair, and the others will stop them before they reach Beaumont.”

Odette nodded. “What now?” Dawn was only a few hours away. By then it would be too late to sneak past all the goblins, though by looking down on the hundreds of them preparing for battle, Rose wondered if it was even possible to sneak by so many undetected.

Rose ran her tongue across her lips, thinking. “We can’t wait much longer. I do not know how long it will take us to get to Maleficent.” She nodded towards the tower, which, like before, glowed a sickening green.

“She will have guards inside the keep. She would be an idiot to leave herself defenseless seeing as she is in a weakened state. She will have her strongest with her.”

Rose frowned in worry. Odette was right. They would be long dead before they reached Maleficent if they went through the front gate and up the tower. “We will need to find another way in.”

Odette nodded, her eyes focusing on the river below. “You mentioned that the Boucher’s found Maric on a riverbank.”

“He had fallen from a window high up in the tower.” Rose didn’t mention that Maric had thrown himself deliberately from the window in hopes to escape his captors through his own death.

“Then the window is the best way in.” Rose followed Odette’s eyes up the tower. It was several stories from the ground and would be a long climb. The tower walls were made of large rocks, but several sections had crumbled away and Rose didn’t know how much more would fall away as they climbed.

“Then so be it.”

***

Rose gingerly made her way down the side of the hill avoiding the moonlight and any light from the many fires burning around the grounds outside the keep. Odette followed closely behind her. They kept their weapons sheathed in fear that the metal would catch the light and draw unwanted attention towards them. Rose was glad that she decided to change back into Jacques’s trousers and tunic. She could not imagine how she would manage the climb up the tower in a dress. Though, she tried not to think too closely how she will manage even in trousers.

A hand clasped down on Rose’s shoulder, pulling her to an abrupt stop. Rose nearly yelped out in surprise, but she saw that the hand was Odette’s. They both dropped down to a crouch behind a broken wall that Rose assumed was once part of the outer wall of the grounds, the first defense that had long ago collapsed. It would not even keep out an errant squirrel now much less two women trying to sneak into the keep.

Odette raised one of her fingers to her lips before pointing just beyond the wall. Rose peeked over the wall and saw a group of goblins sleeping around a dying fire. Looking back towards Odette, Rose realized that there was nowhere to go but forward through the camp. The group of goblins laid between them and the river, which they needed to cross to reach the keep’s wall.

Rose pulled one of her daggers from its sheath. It was too late now to worry about the blade catching the light. If any of the goblins woke, they would be dead in seconds. It was better to be able to defend oneself before the end.

Odette followed suit and pulled a long, thin sword from the scabbard on her back. She nodded at Rose as if telling her to continue. Rose nodded in return wondering at what point she decided to trust the woman. A few days ago, Rose would have thought that Odette would have gladly stabbed her with that very same blade when Rose’s back was turned.

Rose stepped around the fallen wall and into the light. The goblin to her right stirred slightly, his nose pointed high in the air as if trying to catch her scent. Rose stepped carefully around it, making her way down a small, but treacherous path through the sleeping piles of goblins. Odette crept behind her so silently that Rose had to turn once to check to see if Odette was still following her. If she had wanted to rid herself of Rose, this would be her chance. She would only have to call out and the goblins would wake grabbing their filthy, jagged knives and swords and pounce on Rose before she even had a chance to cry out.

Odette smiled toothily at her as if she could read Rose’s thoughts. Rose flushed and snapped her head forward and dropped to a low crouch as she slipped by another sleeping goblin. Suddenly, a blare from a trumpet sounded through the night.

“What the-” the goblin to her right said as it’s black eyes fell on her. In a flash, its head was separated from its body and rolled away into the darkness.

“Hurry!” Odette whispered harshly as both women took off into a flat run towards the river. Rose could hear shouts of alarm behind them and the whizz of an arrow or two fly by her head. Rose reached the river first and dove in. The water was freezing this early in the morning, but luckily slow and steady. She kept her head under for as long as possible as she swam until she could not bear it any longer, her lungs burning in her chest. Rose swam up to the surface and broke free only to see that the far side of the river was lined with goblins carrying torches trying to search the waters.

“We will have to swim across and hope they lose track of us,” Odette said, rising up next to Rose. They watched for a moment as the goblins scrambled along the shore, some running down river, and the others dragging a makeshift raft down to the river’s edge.

Rose and Odette swam the rest of the length of the river and reached the other side along the outside wall of the keep. Rose hastily removed her soaked cloak and dropped it to the ground. She felt chilled as she looked up and saw the tower above them. From this viewpoint, it looked small and unreachable.

“We have trouble,” Odette said, indicating to the small raft overfilled with goblins making its way slowly across the river. “You climb, I’ll keep them off of you.”

“Are you sure?”

Odette smiled, her teeth flashing in the moonlight, as she set her crossbow. With a single shot, she nailed one of the goblins in the head and it tumbled into the waters below. There was a bellow of anger and the raft began to hasten in speed towards them.

“Yes,” she said, the look of pure feral pleasure on her face.

***

Rose turned to face the wall in front of her. She could hear Odette let loose several more arrows, followed by the sound of goblins hitting the surface of the river. Another trumpet sounded and Rose knew that they were found. More goblins lined the far side of the river, waving their torches in the air.

“Hurry!” Odette called out to her, no longer caring to hide her voice.

Rose leaped up and grabbed at a stone brick protruding out from the wall. Her fingers were stiff and cold from swimming across the river, but she held on tight and began to climb up slowly. She could hear a few more twangs from Odette’s bow before the air filled with grunts and screams. Rose glanced down quickly to see that several goblins had made it across the river and were now coming at Odette with their swords and axes drawn high. Odette twirled among them slicing with her own sword, causing wide swaths of goblins to fall at her feet. Rose was not surprised to see that it wasn’t Odette’s screams that filled the air.

Digging her fingers into the stone and her boot into the cracks in the wall, Rose climbed upwards quickly. An arrow bounced off the wall by her head, but she didn’t turn to see where it came from. It was too late to turn back now and she knew that if she looked down, she may freeze with fear and would certainly be dead as she was picked off by archers. It was better to keep moving and quickly so that they could not get a bead on her.

Rose cried out loud when the brick she was grasping gave away. She hung by one arm, the pain searing through her body as she regained her grip on a lower stone. The only thing she could hear now was her own labored breaths and her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

She squinted her eyes upwards. The window was slowly getting closer. Turning her head, she could see the sky lightening on the horizon. The black night was turning a dark shade of purple. The stars began to fade. Dawn was less than an hour away.

Rose quickened her pace, screaming inwardly as she could feel her skin on her palms tear away on the stones. She knew that they were ruined. She just hoped she had enough strength in them to grip her knives. She looked up the dark window. She would need them soon enough.

With one last push, Rose threw herself into the opened window. She gasped out loud, her whole body trembled from pain from the climb. She felt the tears trickle down her face as she stood. The staircase was empty. No torches lit the stairs. Rose tilted her head, she didn’t hear any sounds other than the commotion outside the keep. She looked out of the window that she just climbed through and saw that the goblins were gathering in large groups as if readying for battle. There was no sign of Odette.

Rose braced herself and wiped the tears of pain from her face as she faced the winding stairs.

***

Rose reached to her belt and pulled free her knives. She had sharpened them before they left Beaumont and they gleaned menacingly in the soft moonlight. Taking one cautious step after another, Rose slowly made her way up the winding stone staircase. Most of the steps were crumbled or missing and Rose took care with each step as her eyes adjusted to the dark.

A faint green light emitted from above, the same she had seen from outside and the same that transfixed Maric before. Her heart began to thunder in her chest the closer she approached it. She knew that she would soon face Maleficent, the sorceress who set her life down a path that led to this very moment. Their fates were as intertwined as her and Maric’s. All three of them were tied together forever.

It was time to end it. Rose reached the final landing and stood before a large wooden door. Unlike the rest of the keep, the door was thick and sturdy constructed out of wood that seemed fresh. Dark, thorned vine grew from the ground and wrapped itself around the door and Rose began cutting away at them. They seemed to shrivel away from her touch before regrowing rapidly. Rose grunted out in frustration as she doubled her attack on the vines until she was able to reach the door knob and turn it, pushing the door open forcefully. It slammed against the wall.

So much for a surprise attack, Rose thought, as she stepped into the room. The vines on the door returned to their place when the door closed.

Rose turned her attention to the room. She stood in the outer room, which was surprisingly luxurious in comparison to the rest of the keep. Thick red velvet curtains lined the windows, keeping out the chill. A fire was burning in the hearth. The whole room was bathed in the sickening green light which came from the inner room.

Rose took a step forward and stopped suddenly when she heard a loud squawk coming from one of the uncovered windows. A black raven watched her intensely, it’s yellow eyes tracking Rose’s every movement. It took all her effort to ignore it and make her way across the room. As she reached out to push aside the curtain that separated the outer room and the inner one, drawing closer to the source of the light, she felt a gust of wind coming from the window. It was as if all the air in the room was sucked out. She felt a sharp stab of fear through her heart.

She’s here.

***

Rose turned quickly to find a woman standing in the opening of the window where the raven sat only a moment ago. She was tall and thin, with a sharp face. Her skin was gray, but it was hard to tell in the darkness its true color. Her eyes, however, were a bright yellow that watched Rose sharply.

Rose was struck by how beautiful the woman was. There was a hint of sensuality in the way she smiled down at Rose.

“At last,” the woman said, taking a step forward. Rose took a step back away from her. She could feel the air thicken nearly crackling with unspent magic. “At long last, you are here.”

Rose swallowed and raised the knives in her hands. Maleficent’s eyes dropped to them briefly before returning to Rose’s face. She smiled widely. “Oh child, you do not know who you are playing with.”

“You do not know me either.”

Maleficent raised a brow in surprise. “I have been with you since the very beginning. I was with you when you were a babe. My magic is inside you. Even now I can feel it wanting, needing for release. You have kept it imprisoned for far too long. You and I are one, our fates intertwined, it all leading to this one moment.”

A black staff materialized out of the air.

“Now, you will die as you were fated to do so many years ago.” Rose held up her knives and Maleficent laughed out loud. “Child, you think you can kill me with mere mortal weapons?”

“I will certainly try,” Rose snapped back, bracing herself. Maleficent raised her staff and black thorned vines began to crawl out of the floors and walls until the entire room was encased. Rose swallowed as the room darkened, the vines shielding any fire and moonlight. Rose could only see the yellow of Maleficent’s eyes shining in the dark as they watched Rose with amusement and hunger.

Rose took a deep breath before lunging at the sorceress. Maleficent laughed at the pathetic attempt, as Rose plunged down her knives at the air. She turned quickly, surveying the room, but found that it was empty except for the pulsating thorns.

A laugh seemed to echo all around her.

Suddenly, the vines began to twist and turn heading towards Rose. She sidestepped over them quickly but was not fast enough as one began to crawl up her leg and hold her fast. Maleficent materialized next to her.

“Your dear Philip did not last long under my ministrations.” Rose felt the thorns climb up her body, encasing it as it went. They tightened and tore through her clothes and pricked at her skin. A crown of thorns bound her head. She felt a sharp pain as they drew blood. “Let us see if you last half as long.”

“You witch!” Rose struggled against the vines only for them to bind her tighter. She dropped her knives and they clattered loudly against the stone floor. “You will die for this!”

“No, you will.”

Rose screamed as the vines dug into her mind.

***

A kiss. Just a single kiss.

Rose breathed in with contentment, her lungs filling with the sweet spring air. It smelled of flowers, like roses in full bloom under a hot sun, a heady scent. She sighed into her pillow as she slowly blinked her eyes open.

A man smiled down at her, his face hidden in shadow.

“Maric?”

“Maric?” the man asked. “Should I be jealous, Aurora?”

Rose reached up and touched the man’s face. “Philip.” Philip broke out into a wide smile, his brown eyes filled with mischievous laughter. She traced a finger down his straight nose idly wondering why it looked and felt wrong. Philip sat back and Rose saw that he was wearing a finely embroidered tunic made of blue silk and a long red velvet cape. His hair was short and neat but a thick curl fell free across his forehead. Her hand itched to reach up and brush it back. Philip held out his hand to her.

“They are waiting for us,” he said.

Rose placed her hand into his and he drew her up until her hand rested against his chest. She could feel his heart beating below her palm. It was strong and steady and when she looked up at him the laughter in his eyes had faded and were filled with soft admiration.

She blushed under his gaze. The gown she wore, the same that her godmothers had given to her, rustled softly as she stood. It was a rich blue that reminded Rose of the ocean on a clear day. She remembered Fauna and Merryweather arguing over the color of the dress, whether it should be blue or pink. Rose didn’t mind either way. It was the loveliest thing she had ever worn and she was astounded that her godmothers could create something so beautiful.

And she wanted to be beautiful for Philip. She wanted him to always look at her as he did now, half in love and half with desire.

Philip brought up her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her hand, his eyes holding hers fast the entire time. A courtly gesture that had Rose blushing brightly again. He was so handsome, almost terribly so, and she could not believe he was hers.

“Shall we?”

Rose nodded. She could hear the din of people talking and music playing below.

Philip tucked her arm into his and he led her out of the room and down the winding staircase of the tower. Rose kept her eyes on Philip as they walked, and his on hers. He smiled down at her and leaned in to steal a kiss before they made their final descent into the ballroom below. “I love you, Aurora,” he whispered into her ear.

Rose’s heart filled with happiness. “I love you too, Philip. With all my heart.”

For a moment, Rose thought she saw a glint of malicious glee in his eyes before he blinked and it was gone. They turned the corner and were in full view of the ballroom. Rose tore her eyes away from Philip, but still felt his heavy gaze on her.

The ballroom was filled with people dressed in fine suits and beautiful gowns. The talking stopped the moment they locked eyes on Rose and everyone smiled at her as she and Philip made their final descent down the staircase. Rose smiled and nodded her head graciously in return to the men who dropped into a short bow and the women into a low curtsy as she and Philip walked by.

Why does this feel so familiar? Aurora wondered. Why does it feel as if I have done this all before?

When they finished greeting all the guests, Philip led her into the middle of the ballroom. Music began to play and Philip spun her into the waltz. She laughed out loud in surprise and she could see that the people lining the walls laughed along merrily with her. Soon, other couples joined them on the dance floor, a whirl of colors surrounding her.

She was so happy. Philip pulled her closer, until her head rested on his chest.

This was the happiest moment of her life, Rose remembered. She thought if she could bottle this moment up forever, she would be able to die happy. She would never need anything else.

But, that was not to be. It was foolish to think so, because life went on. And this moment was just that, a moment in time.

Rose gasped and pulled away from Philip, but the hand around her waist gripped her tightly. He looked down at her with concern. “What is wrong?”

“We’ve done this before,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“This dance, this very moment. Everything is the same as it was after the curse was broken.” Rose felt the room darken around her, the chattering and laughter begin to fade.

Philip’s brow creased with worry. “What curse? Are you feeling unwell?”

“The curse that Maleficent placed on me as a babe,” Rose replied impatiently, tugging her hand as she tried to free it from his. He clenched his hand hard against hers until Rose cried out in pain.

“Who?” he asked, his voice oddly flat and dull.

“A sorceress. I was…” Rose clenched her eyes shut tightly trying to remember. The ballroom fell silent and when she opened her eyes again the room was empty except for her and Philip. They kept dancing even though the music was gone. “I was fighting her before I woke up here.”

Understanding lit up in Philip’s eyes. “Ah, it was just a dream.”

“No, no dream, I-”

Philip crushed his lips onto hers. When he pulled back, Rose could taste the coppery bite of blood in her mouth.

“It is okay, Aurora, things are as they should be now. Aren’t you happy here with me? Don’t you love me?”

Rose narrowed her eyes at his question. “This is a trick.” She struggled against him but his hold tightened. “Let me go!”

“What are you doing? We can be happy here.” He grabbed her and pressed her face into his chest. She screamed, the sound muffled by the tunic he wore, as his arms tightened and she struggled to breathe. She clawed at the arms that held her down, but he held firm. “I love you, Aurora. I’ve always loved you. Now, we can be together, forever.”

***

“No! Not like this!” Rose screamed and felt a power inside her expand shattering the dream around her. She breathed heavily and opened her eyes again only this time she saw Maleficent glaring at her incredulously from across the tower, her own breath heavy. Rose felt as if her entire body was sore and beaten.

“How did you break the spell?”

Rose roared through the exhaustion, the thorns disintegrating into ash around her as if they had been burned. She charged at the Maleficent, grabbing both knives that she had dropped earlier. The sorceress widened her eyes in fear for a moment before parrying Rose’s attacks with her staff. Maleficent staggered back under the weight of Rose’s attacks. “How can you break my spells?”

“It is your own magic,” Rose growled out. “As you said, I am filled with your magic. And I will use it against you.”

Maleficent struck again as Rose jumped away. Despite the quick efficiency of Rose’s attacks, the knives were short and she needed to close the distance between them to strike true. Maleficent’s long staff kept her just out of Rose’s reach.

The sorceress smiled triumphantly as if she had come to the same conclusion. She struck her staff against the stone floor and manifested into a wild cloud of ravens. Rose screamed as they descended on her, pecking and clawing at her skin. They tore at her clothes and her hair, pulling her effortlessly across the tower to an open window. Rose tried to beat them back with her knives, but they passed through the birds as if they weren’t even there.

They’re not real, Rose thought suddenly remembering what Queen Nymphea had said about the dragon Philip had defeated. Maleficent was not the dragon, it was only a part of her, an illusion created by her magic. Like the dream Maleficent had forced Rose into.

Rose dug into her heels until she stopped mere inches away from the wide open window. She could see that the sun was rising over the horizon breaking away the darkness. It was a new day. It was beautiful.

She could not let Maleficent win. Maric would die if she won and Rose would never let that happen.

“No,” Rose whispered and she felt a pulse of magic expand out of her chest. The ravens screeched, dropping dead at her feet before disappearing into ash. Rose turned and walked unsteadily back to the center of the room. Her clothes were torn to shreds and she was slick in her own blood. Even though the ravens were not real, the damage was, and Rose winced in pain, keeping her eyes away from the deep gashes.

Her eyes fell on the strange, green glow coming from the inner room and pushed aside the heavy curtain.

Maleficent screamed behind her.

***

Rose stifled a shriek of horror herself at the sight before her. Sitting on an ebony throne carved out of a single piece of large stone in the shape of a winged demon sat Maleficent. The real Maleficent.

Rose would not have thought the creature sitting on the throne was a woman or even alive if not for the yellow, baleful glare that held her nearly prone. Gone was the beautiful woman that Maleficent once was. What remained was a nearly desiccated body, dried and shriveled, that clung onto what little life remained. The black robe that Maleficent wore hung loose on her skeletal body. Her head bent forward as if the horned crown on her head was too heavy for her to lift. Maleficent’s eyes, filled with malice, followed Rose as she entered the room.

“You are dying,” Rose said as she approached the throne. Before she could reach it, she felt an invisible barrier stop her in her tracks. Rose stood still as she looked at Maleficent with pity. “And, you need the magic inside me to revive you.”

“My magic,” a voice called out in Rose’s head in anger. “It is my magic in you, not yours.”

“Why? Why did you curse me? I was just a babe. I was no threat to you.”

“You were merely the catalyst for war. My stupid sisters casted me out, forced me to live amongst you disgusting mortals.”

“You tried to start a war between the humans and the fey. But, you failed. There is no war coming. Our kingdoms are in peace.” A fragile peace, that was true. Distrust between the two realms have been brewing for generations. “What you have started will end with us.”

The voice in her head snorted. “You foolish child. You still do not understand.”

“Fate?”

Maleficent’s eyes seemed to narrow. “Fate is an accursed thing. An oppressive king that forces your hand at every turn.”

Rose shook her head. “No one forced this on you. It was your own greed for power and revenge that consumed you until you are nothing.”

“Perhaps,” the sorceress conceded, “but the die has been cast. War is coming.” Her eyes flickered over Rose’s shoulder but before Rose could turn, she felt a sharp painful stab through her back. She looked down to see the end of a twisted black knife sticking out of her side.

Rose fell and saw Maleficent, the young illusion that she battled before, standing above her laughing. The barrier dropped and to Rose’s horror the desiccated form of Maleficent began to rise from the throne and reach out for her. Its fingers grasped into Rose’s tunic and raised her up until she was face to face with the sorceress, her feet hanging off the ground. Rose screamed out in pain, dropping her knives and desperately clutching at the open wound in her side. She felt faint, blackness shadowing her sight.

“Now, you will die. You and your beloved prince.”

Maleficent clenched her hands around Rose’s throat and slowly began to squeeze the breath from her body. Rose gasped and wrenched at the fingers, but they held firm.

“You should have stayed in the dream. You could have died happy with your Philip in your arms. Now, you will just die.”

Rose choked out a cry as she grabbed onto Maleficent’s icy hands trying to loosen them. Philip, Maric, she thought. She felt a pull within her, a draining sensation, and when she gasped and looked up at Maleficent’s face, she could see it filling, as if beneath the papery dry skin was suddenly flushed with blood.

The sorceress smiled triumphantly. “With my power returned to me, I will bring death and destruction to all that oppose me.”

“No…” Rose croaked out, reaching desperately for her boot. Her hands were slick with blood, but she grasped the hilt of the stiletto, the needle-like knife, and pulled it free. Maleficent’s eyes darted to Rose’s hand and filled with surprise as Rose stabbed upwards under the soft palate under the sorceress’s chin and into her skull.

Rose crashed to the ground as Maleficent stumbled backwards, tearing the knife from her chin. Black blood poured out of the wound. With a look of disbelief, the sorceress fell backwards into her throne. Maleficent’s still body pulsated with green light, brighter and brighter, filling the tower and blinding Rose.

It is finally over, Rose thought, as the room exploded and Rose closed her eyes as the tower collapsed around her.