"Didn't I already tell you to leave?" Turning around and seeing Henry standing behind her with a smile on his face, Maleficent couldn't help but frown.
Even Diaval, her raven, tilted his head in confusion. Could the man in front of them want to die or what?
Henry nodded his head, "Yes, you did. But I wanted to ask you for something…"
Maleficent's face turned cold, "Is sparing your pitiful life not enough?" Followed with a raised hand, spewing green flames out of her palm.
Even Diaval spread his wings in a threatening way, "Kawww!"
However, Henry stays rooted on the ground, explaining his reason, "As you can see, I'm a sorcerer, a little bit talented at that. I'm looking for a teacher who could help me truly master the art of flames."
Maleficent snorted at his words, "Best you leave now or I'll show you my mastery over flames. I don't like children, much less brats like you."
Hearing her words, Henry had an idea why. But it's best not to mention Aurora in front of her. Henry still has no idea how she would react to it. Not to mention, he's here to show his goodwill and hope to get on Maleficent's side.
Antagonizing her by mentioning her love-hate relationship with Ironmere Kingdom's princess would do the opposite of what he intended.
"But I just want to learn. Out of all the teachers I had, they never delved into curses, and dark Magic. Not to mention, they don't focus too much on fire magic."
Maleficent raised an eyebrow at his claims, "Bold of you to try to find other teachers when you already had a few."
Henry casually shrugged his shoulders, "What can I say, the more the merrier. It'd be better for me to learn everything magic has to offer, I want to hear both sides, the good side and the so-called evil side."
To his surprise however, Maleficent gave him a slight begrudging look of respect, "An open-minded sorcerer. I respect that."
Just as Henry was about to smile, Maleficent seemed to have predicted what he was about to say next, "No, I still stand with my decision. I'm not taking you in as my student. So go away before I lose my temper."
Although Henry could feel the hint of seriousness in her tone, he truly wanted to learn from Maleficent. This is a true once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that he can't pass on!
"What would it take for you to take me in?" Henry asked with a crossed arm, trying to appear calm. Though deep inside, he was already prepared to dash away in case Maleficent really took offense at his insistence.
To his surprise, Maleficent appeared to be thinking about what he just said. Even Diaval was confused.
On the other hand, when Maleficent heard what Henry just said, her mind immediately went to Aurora. During the past few years, the girl has been under her care—sometimes. Even when she doesn't want to.
Throughout the years, she has watched the girl grow up, and the more time that passed, the more she began to regret the curse she had placed on her years ago.
Only a true love's kiss can lift the curse. And looking at the boy in front of her, a malicious and bold idea starts to form in Maleficent's mind.
There had been a history of several sorcerers tricking curses and finding loopholes out of them. It wouldn't be the first time another loophole would be found in a curse.
She stated in the curse that only a true love's kiss would be able to lift the curse. Now, if she could somehow make the boy in front of her meet her Aurora and turn him into her one and true love and have him kiss her, the curse could be lifted.
As long as she refrained from telling Henry the truth, she could manipulate him into meeting Aurora and make him fancy her.
"Have you heard of Princess Aurora from the Ironmere Kingdom?"
Facing the question, Henry was curious why she asked and answered with a nod of his head.
Another question was thrown by her, "Which means you are also aware of how I cursed her, right?"
"Yes?" Henry wanted to ask her to get to the point but refrained from doing so. If he has a death wish that is.
"Soon her sixteenth birthday is about to come. During that time, I want you to get close to her, watch over her, and report everything that happens to her directly to me. I have an inkling her father will fetch her back the night before her birthday." After Maleficent was finished, there was silence in the atmosphere for a good few seconds.
Henry initially stared at her in shock before shifting to understanding. Obviously, he knows about Maleficent's feelings for Aurora, what started as hate towards the princess just because she's the daughter of the man who betrayed her, transformed into someone she came to cherish and care for.
So when he heard what she wanted him to do, he instantly knew her hidden agenda. It's pretty obvious that with Maleficent's capabilities, mere castle walls are not enough to hide Aurora from her gaze.
'She wants me and Aurora to develop feelings for each other. Make me be the one to lift her curse.' Henry stated the obvious under his breath.
But still, Herny weighed out the pros and cons. By playing her game, he would be able to train under her, get her on his side, and, at the same time, save her from the painful future she's going to face.
"How many days are left until her sixteenth birthday?"
Facing this question, Maleficent quickly answered, as if the date was just as important as her own name, "Four days from now."
"Four days…"
Maleficent nodded her head, "Is there a problem? If not, it's best you go to her now and do as I told you. There is a cottage nearby, Diaval will lead you there." She then waved her hand at him, gesturing for him to leave.
'She's really that desperate to save her, huh?' Henry murmured to himself once the realization of the situation settled on him.
There's no way he could make someone fall for him in just four days, not to mention, make himself fall for Aurora. He just can't fathom the fact that he's going to make a damsel in distress fall for his charm just because someone told him so, it was just wrong.
'Fine, I'll just wait until the day she pricks her finger in a spinning wheel. I'll make Maleficent realize the true way to lift her curse…'
"So let me get this straight. In four days, you want to get close to her and during so, you'll train me in magic?"
Maleficent nodded her head, "That's right. I believe four days is enough for you to learn something from me, minuscule or not. You can only hope you're talented enough to learn as much as you can."
She then changed the topic after, it seems like she's eager to get rid of him, or rather, spare no time to make him get close to Aurora and lift the curse.
"Diaval, lead him to the cottage."
The raven nodded his tiny head at her words. Albeit he has hundreds of questions he wanted to ask of Maleficent, she's still his master and it would be better for him to do as she says before asking questions.
"Kawww!" He flapped his wings and took off into the air. He doesn't care if Henry will be able to catch up to him or not.
———
Needless to say, the cottage turns out to be not that far from the Moors Forest and its deadly thorn-like walls.
You can say the cottage almost shares borders with the Moors forest, like neighbors.
'And the King thought it would be a good idea to leave his daughter to the hands of the three fairies whose home is near Maleficent's.' Henry shook his head in disappointment.
Pushing his thoughts away from it, he turned his attention to the raven beside him, "Thanks for guiding me here, Diaval. If I can call you that."
Diaval didn't bother to speak. Just releasing a kaww! noise before departing.
"Nice meeting you too."
Not minding the raven's slight rudeness, considering the mistress he's serving hates humans to the core, aside from Aurora, Henry turned his attention back to the little cottage.
He's slightly curious about the fairies. It would be his first time meeting one. And if the legends stand correct about them, they should be kind to neutral at most, and their favorite pastime is weaving stories and interacting with humans. Either to cause healing and blessings or cause chaos depending on their personality.
Also, based on what he watched in the film, these fairies are capable of granting great blessings with little to no effort on their part. Henry was hoping he would be able to get their respective blessings as a bonus part of this mission—call him greedy or something, he's just not the type to pass on the opportunity.
Henry trudged forward, smoothly slipping down through a slope, avoiding trees, and all that. However, before he could fully reach the bottom of the hill he was standing on, a voice interrupted him.
"Who are you?" Standing beside a large oak tree was a white-haired girl with soft features and twinkling eyes like the stars.
Matter of fact, she has been watching him for a few minutes now. Starting from when he was at the top of the hill and how he slowly made his way down while staring at her cottage as if it were the destination he had in mind.
At first, Aurora assumed he was a bad man, she intended to go back to the cottage and expose him to her three guardians. However, as he gets closer to her, she couldn't help but find his appearance breathtaking, to the point that her suspicion of him slowly faded away.
To her, this is her first time meeting someone of the opposite gender, not to mention someone who looked to be around her age. So she couldn't help but reveal her presence to him to interact with him. Possibly, to get to know him.
Henry, startled by her presence and blaming his sharp ears for getting rusty, waved his hand at her, "Hi there. I'm a little bit lost, I was trying to find my way out of that creepy forest I accidentally wandered into. Can you help me?"
Hearing his description of the creepy forest, Aurora instantly assumed that he was talking about the Moors Forest.
"You mean the forest where my Fairy Godmother lives?"
"Fairy Godmother?" Henry feigned surprise and curiosity. It's pretty much obvious that the best way to get close to someone is to prolong your conversation with them.
In this case, Henry, who had just prepared several topics to talk with Aurora about, found himself appreciating the ammunition she just provided him. Now it's just up to him to pull the trigger. And pulling the trigger he did.
Aurora eagerly nodded her head. Aside from herself, she has no one to talk about her Fairy Godmother with. Her three guardians are unaware of her secret meetings with her Fairy Godmother and she's afraid of exposing that fact to them.
"She's my Fairy Godmother. The kindest fairy you will ever meet! Did you know, there was this huge monster that was chasing me? I was so afraid and I kept running for my dear life. And then she stepped in, out of nowhere, like a shining knight saving a damsel in distress. With just a stare, she scared the monster away!" Before he knew it, Aurora started to animatedly describe her experience with Maleficent.
Although Henry doesn't remember it being shown in the film, he just attributed it to a few random events that happened during the film's timeskip.
"She sounds amazing. Say, we haven't really gotten to know each other's names, right? My name is Henry Charming, Crown Prince of Lioncrest Kingdom. How about you?"
"Briar Rose. My name is Briar Ro—hold on, you're a prince? As in, a real-life Prince out of a fairy tale book!?"