With that, he headed off to his troops, steering Simon toward one of the mounted soldiers.
Diaval, in his winged-horse form, knelt down so that Phillip could more easily get onto his back. Phillip did, gingerly, and Aurora got up behind him.
Then, with a great sweep of his wings, Diaval pushed off the ground and they were flying. Higher and higher they climbed. Moments later, Maleficent was beside them, a wide smile on her face and a rare light in her eyes.
Maleficent was always graceful, but being in the air was her natural state, and she moved through it like a dancer. She dove and spiraled and flew with irrepressible joy. And her unfurled wings beat strong and steady on her back.
Phillip knotted his fists in the horse’s mane. Aurora put an arm around the side of his waist that wasn’t hurt, leaned back her head, and looked up at the clouds, her hair streaming behind her like a banner.
Aurora slept that night, out of sheer exhaustion. When she woke, dawn was just breaking on the horizon. She watched the sun come up and thought over what she needed to do. By the time Marjory entered with a breakfast tray, she had come to some decisions.
Marjory put the tray down, rushed to her, and clasped Aurora’s hands. “Oh, I am so glad you’re well. I was so worried.”
“I was worried myself at times,” Aurora admitted, squeezing Marjory’s fingers.
Aurora drank her tea and ate a piece of bread with butter and listened as Marjory told her about dancing at the festival. She’d even gone around the maypole with one of the Fair Folk and blushed at telling Aurora some of the compliments he paid her.
After breakfast, Aurora put on a robe and went up the stairs to Prince Phillip’s room. If they could meet in the middle of the night, then she wasn’t going to stand on ceremony now, when she wanted to know how badly he’d been hurt.
She didn’t expect to find him bare to the waist, having his wound rewrapped by an elderly doctor with wild white hair and long tufted sideburns.
“Oh, hello,” Phillip said, clearly a little embarrassed.
Aurora felt her cheeks heat and tried hard to keep her eyes only on his shoulders. “I just wanted to make sure you’re well.”
“No dancing for a few weeks,” he said. “But I’ve had stitches, and an ogre came over this morning bearing packets of a special tea in which I’m supposed to soak my bandages to speed healing.”
Aurora glanced at the doctor, wondering if he was suspicious of faerie remedies.
He saw her look and smiled. “Once your treaty is signed, most of the people in Perceforest will be excited to trade for gems, but for me there is no greater treasure than the herbs of the Moors. Ones humans have not been able to gather for generations, but which are rumored to be able to cure many diseases that plague us.”
“I hope you will come to the ceremony today,” she told the doctor, and then gave Phillip a smile. “And I hope your patient will as well.”
It was with a light step that Aurora returned to her room to get ready for the treaty-signing ceremony.
The pixies interrupted her on the stairs. They had a lot to tell her about, most of it regarding Nanny Stoat and how clever she was. Apparently, she had pressed Thistlewit, Flittle, and Knotgrass into service, getting them to do little magics around the castle and managing them with such flattery that they enjoyed it.
“You see,” said Flittle, “Lord Ortolan never saw our importance in this kingdom.”
“We should have known he was wicked then,” added Thistlewit. “After all we’ve sacrificed, how could anyone not reward our loyalty?”
“Very right,” Aurora agreed, smiling.
They also passed on some gossip. After depositing Aurora and Phillip at the castle, Maleficent had been convinced to go with Smiling John to return Simon to his family. Once the boy was done telling them about the awful Count Alain, they were not only trying to press tea and jam on Maleficent but paying her such flattering compliments that she had to flee in horror at their overwhelming gratitude.
“Although I don’t know why they singled her out in such a way, when no one ever bothers to invite us for tea, even though we are much more agreeable,” Knotgrass put in.
“A mystery, to be sure,” Aurora said.
Aurora entered the throne room in cloth of gold, wearing her crown, and with a smile lingering at the corners of her mouth.
Already there were the Fair Folk. Maleficent and Diaval stood at the front, beside tree sentries, wallerbogs, hobs, ogres, hedgehog faeries, and more. Maleficent was in a long black gown, with silver bands on the horns of her head and matching ones on the horns at the joints of her wings. Diaval was in a long black coat with cuffs made of feathers that were undoubtedly his own. The pixies hastened to make a place for themselves at the front, buzzing their bright wings and forcing everyone else to move.
The humans were also assembled in the hall. There were nobles, young and old, including Lady Sybil and Lady Sabine and a nervous-looking Lady Fiora. And Nanny Stoat was there, along with farmers and villagers. Simon stood beside his family, looking proud. She supposed that his story had been in great demand with everyone he met and that he had been made much of.
Aurora cleared her throat and began to speak. “Before me is a document that will set the terms of an enduring peace in our unified kingdom, one that I hope will live on past the end of my reign. It will be signed not just by me, but by representatives from the humans and the faeries. Will the representatives please come forward?”
Maleficent and Nanny Stoat moved to the sides of Aurora’s carved wood throne. A small table was brought forward by a footman, and a scribe set down a long scroll on which the terms of the treaty were set out.
“Some of you may know that a conspiracy to prevent this was undertaken by my advisor, and that was the reason for the delay in this ceremony,” said Aurora. “If anyone here imagines attempting something similar, know that both conspirators are in prison and will remain there for long years.
“Furthermore, Lord Ortolan’s wealth will be stripped from him and used to fund the distribution of rations of barley to anyone in Perceforest or the Moors in need of food. Once, he said such a thing was too costly for the royal treasury to undertake. I hope he will be pleased to know that because of him, it is now possible.
“As for Count Alain’s estates, they will go to his sister, Lady Fiora. We hope to be better friends with her than we were with her brother, and we hold none of his actions against her.”
Lady Fiora looked up at Aurora in surprise and gratitude. She sank into a deep curtsy.
“And now I am in the position of needing a new advisor,” Aurora said.
Of all the decisions she’d had to make, this one was the most difficult. It was evident already that Nanny Stoat made a much better advisor than Lord Ortolan ever had—even setting aside the whole treason thing—and Aurora was tempted merely to install her in the position. But the more she thought about it, the more that didn’t seem right, either. No one person could give her all the help she needed or represent everyone that needed representing.
“From now on, I will have not one advisor, but a chamber that will help me make decisions for these lands.”
There were a few she was sure she was going to ask. Maleficent, obviously, but also Robin. And Nanny Stoat. Maybe the doctor. Perhaps Smiling John. She knew that when she was done, though, she would have collected people—faeries and humans—who were committed to changing Perceforest for the better.
“But first,” said Aurora, “let us sign this treaty and agree to be good neighbors to one another.”