Megan Wray

Intro to “Once Upon a Dream” In the original tales of Sleeping Beauty, also known as Little Briar Rose, Maleficent was a begrudging fairy vindictive enough to sentence the king’s daughter to death on her sixteenth birthday over the offence of being denied an invite to the child’s christening. In the end of Disney’s 1959 version, Aurora is set free of the curse by the kiss of a charming prince and Maleficent is impaled by his Sword of Truth, the righteous weapon that faultlessly prevails over evil. However, according to Disney’s 2014 version of Maleficent, there is another side to the story. As a young girl, Maleficent meets a boy named Stefan. The two children grow together and fall deeply in love. However, as a man, Stefan lets ambition overshadow his love and betrays Maleficent in an excruciating way. He burns the wings from her back in trade for the opportunity to become king. This act wounds both her body and heart and she becomes a corrosive version of who she once was. When Stefan’s first child, Aurora, is born, Maleficent curses the baby girl in a fit of vengeance. The only remedy to the curse is true love’s kiss, strategically chosen because Maleficent believes there is no such thing. Aurora is sent away to be raised by fairies. Maleficent quietly watches over the child and intervenes due to the incompetence of her guardians. She becomes Aurora’s protector, whom Aurora affectionately calls her fairy godmother. The curse, unfortunately, is irrevocable and, on Aurora’s sixteenth birthday, she falls into a deep sleep. Maleficent is stricken with remorse and apologizes over her goddaughter’s sleeping body, then kisses her on the forehead. Much to Maleficent’s surprise, the kiss awakens Aurora. True love. Not only does Maleficent regain her belief in love, Aurora also rescues her fairy godmother’s wings from the clutches of her father.   Originally published in Willow Press’ Wild: Vol. 1