WHILE MALEFICENT HATED TO ADMIT IT, DIAVAL WASN’T THE ONLY ONE WHO WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THE BABY. As the days turned into weeks and then into months, the curiosity ate at Maleficent. It ate at her while she wandered the Moors, checking on the Thorn Wall. It ate at her while she sat on her throne, listening to the buzzing of faeries complaining or gossiping. The curiosity nearly overwhelmed her when she stumbled upon a bird and her newly hatched babies, their little beaks jabbing at the air helplessly. And when she saw three pixies that bore an uncanny resemblance to Knotgrass, Thistlewit, and Flittle in the middle of a fight that caused them to ignore their little faerie children, the curiosity got the best of her.

Before she could think twice, she found herself parting the Wall and making her way into the forest. With purposeful strides, she moved toward the cottage in the clearing. Arriving, Maleficent saw that the back door was wide open and the pixies were nowhere in sight. But Aurora was. The infant had grown into a beautiful toddler with soft blond curls and rosy cheeks. As Maleficent watched, Aurora backed herself down the two steps and then began to toddle about. She burbled and giggled to herself, clearly used to being alone. Something we have in common, Maleficent thought, despite herself.

Determined to get over her curiosity, Maleficent approached the baby. Leaning down, she made the scariest face she could and screamed, “Ahhhhh!”

It worked! The baby began to wail and throw her arms about. Smiling, Maleficent waited for Aurora to run away. And sure enough, the baby did run. But to her surprise, Aurora ran straight at her. Then she threw her little arms around Maleficent’s legs and buried her head in the faerie’s long dark robes.

“Off! Off!” Maleficent cried, pushing Aurora away as though she were a bug. But the baby just threw herself right back on Maleficent and continued to cry piteously. Then Aurora raised her arms, silently begging to be picked up.

Maleficent glanced around. Despite the loud wails, no one seemed to be coming. And if no one was coming, that meant the baby was going to keep crying. And all that crying was giving her a terrible headache…

But no, Maleficent resolved. She would not fall for the big blue watery eyes that looked up at her hopefully. She folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. Aurora kept crying. Before she could stop herself, Maleficent leaned down and picked up the wailing child. “Shut your mouth,” she said, though her tone was softer than the words she uttered.

Instantly, Aurora melted into Maleficent. Wrapping her pudgy arms around Maleficent’s neck, she whimpered and gasped for a moment. As Aurora calmed down, Maleficent tried to ignore the warm feeling spreading through her body. She tried to ignore the fresh scent of Aurora’s hair. She tried not to feel the fluttering heartbeat against her own chest and the way it made her instinctively want to tighten her grip and keep the baby safe. This was the enemy. She had to stay strong.

Then Aurora let out an adorable babble and, with absolutely no fear, reached up and grabbed one of Maleficent’s horns. Shocked, Maleficent pulled her head back. Aurora’s bottom lip quivered a bit. Curious to see what she would do next, Maleficent slowly bent her head ever so slightly. Aurora’s lip stopped quivering instantly and once more she let out a giggle and latched on, completely unafraid.

It was too much for Maleficent. Quickly she put Aurora down and, without looking back, left the clearing. But as she made her way back to the Faerie Mound, her mind was racing. She couldn’t deny it. Aurora was sort of, kind of, maybe just a little cute. And that she even thought that at all made Maleficent furious at herself. Because she couldn’t afford to think the baby was cute or sweet or cuddly or precious. No. She had cursed her to eternal sleep. So there was no point in even paying attention to Aurora. Was there?

Yet as the saying goes, the best-laid plans often go wrong, and Maleficent quickly found that she couldn’t help keeping an eye on Aurora. Diaval didn’t help the situation, either. Growing bolder about his attachment to the infant, he now dragged Maleficent along with him when he went to watch Aurora —which he had to do, often. The three pixies were useless, more concerned with themselves than with the baby they had been charged to protect. Oftentimes, as she and Diaval watched from the shadows, Maleficent would overhear them bemoaning their lot in life, stuck in the awkward human-sized bodies, out in the middle of nowhere, unable to partake in the royal trappings, and forbidden by Stefan to use magic unless absolutely necessary. They occasionally paid attention to Aurora, but for the most part, the baby fended for herself.

One particularly beautiful afternoon, Maleficent reclined in a tree next to Diaval, who kept a raven eye on Aurora as she played below. Nearby, the pixies had laid out a picnic. Fresh berries, bread, and cheese lay neatly on a brightly colored towel. But Aurora wanted nothing to do with the food. She was having too much fun playing with the butterflies that were flittering around nearby.

Glancing over and watching the baby play, Maleficent was struck, not for the first time, by Aurora’s complete innocence. The baby had no idea what her future held. She had no clue what her father had done or who her mother had married. Aurora just knew that that day it was sunny and there were butterflies to chase. Maleficent felt anger bubble up in her chest. She had been that innocent once, that trusting and carefree. And look what it had gotten her. Shaking her head to clear her negative thoughts, Maleficent tossed a nut to Diaval. She needed to amuse herself with something other than thoughts about her past. Something to remind her that she was free to do what she wanted, when she wanted.

Noticing that the pixies had all sat down and were lounging lazily in the warm sun, Maleficent smiled mischievously. She made a tiny gesture, mimicking the movement of pulling someone’s hair. On the ground below, Thistlewit let out a yelp.

The faerie immediately looked next to her, convinced that Flittle had pulled her hair. In retaliation, she pulled a strand of Flittle’s hair —hard. Soon the three pixies were in the midst of an all-out hair-tugging war. With a satisfied smile, Maleficent leaned back and tossed a nut into her mouth.

For a moment, Maleficent just sat there, reveling in the shrieks and cries from the three pixies below. Robin would have been proud of her trickery —maybe there was some of the old Maleficent left somehow. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Aurora chasing a butterfly. The baby’s little feet pounded on the warm grass, her hands were out in front of her, and her fingers grabbed frantically. Looking ahead, Maleficent raised an eyebrow. Intent on catching the butterfly, Aurora was oblivious that she was heading straight toward danger.

“The little beast is about to fall off that ledge,” Maleficent said nonchalantly to Diaval.

With a worried “awk,” Diaval flew off the branch and to the pixies for help. He began to caw wildly, flying around their blanket. Unfortunately, Knotgrass, Thistlewit, and Flittle were far too absorbed in their fight even to give notice to Diaval, shooing him away absentmindedly as they continued to bicker.

Meanwhile, Maleficent watched as Aurora continued to run headlong toward the ledge. She was only fifty feet away. Then forty. Then thirty. Maleficent glanced over her shoulder and saw that the pixies still had no clue what was going on and Diaval was still cawing madly. The coast was clear. Quickly, she made her way out of the tree and raced over to the baby. Just as Aurora’s little foot took a step into nothing, Maleficent grabbed the baby and pulled her back. Seeing Maleficent’s familiar face, Aurora smiled.

Maleficent quickly plopped Aurora down safely and then retreated to the tree. A moment later Diaval landed next to her. Giving up on the pixies, he had flown over to try to help Aurora but found her safe and sound. Now he glanced at Maleficent and cocked his head, a quizzical look in his eyes.

“What?” she asked innocently. So she had saved Aurora’s life. What was the big deal? It certainly didn’t mean she liked the brat or anything.