Night had fallen. Hours had passed since Maleficent had felt the pain in her finger and known Aurora¹ was lost to sleep. Now, standing² in front of King Stefan's castle, Maleficent and Diaval, once more in his human form, stared up at the big iron gates. Behind them, Phillip slept on, propped³ up against a tree. The gates were unguarded and oddly quiet. Noticing that, Maleficent cocked her head. On one hand, that was good news, as it meant Maleficent could enter the castle undetected. But on the other hand, it meant she had no idea what to expect once inside.

"He's waiting for you in there," Diaval pointed⁴ out. He didn't bother to say who, as Maleficent knew all too well. "If we go inside those walls, we'll never get out alive."

Maleficent continued to stare straight ahead, barely registering Diaval's words. "Then don't come," she said absently. "It's not your fight." Using her staff, she lifted the sleeping Phillip and began to move on.　

Behind her, Diaval let out a sigh. Once, just once, it would be nice if Maleficent were able to see what was really going on. It would be nice to hear her say, "Please come with me, Diaval. We can do anything as long as we're together." But Diaval knew those were words he would never hear. And while he wished it were different, he also knew he could never let Maleficent go into that castle alone. Letting out a little groan⁵, he ran to catch up.　

Inside the castle, the halls were quiet. News that the curse had been fulfilled had spread like wildfire, and servants and soldiers alike quaked with fear at King Stefan's rage. He had already taken his anger out on the three dimwitted pixies who had let Aurora come back too early. After berating⁶ them for hours, calling them useless and failures, he had ordered them to find someone—anyone—who could give his daughter the kiss of true love.

What he didn't know was that his own first love was now inside his castle, making her way closer with the one man who might stand a chance at waking up his daughter.

As soon as Maleficent had passed through the castle's main gate, she had felt the weight of the iron on her. While she was able to avoid touching⁷ it, the dark metal was everywhere. It lined the walls, carefully sculpted⁸ into the shape of brambles and thorns, effectively making it appear like an iron version of her Thorn Wall. The iron thorns thrust out of the wall and jutted⁹ down from the ceiling, forcing Maleficent to walk carefully and keep her pace slow. Eager to get to Aurora, she chafed¹⁰ at the speed. But when they heard a guard approaching and had to duck back into the shadows, Maleficent realized that walking was not as bad as the searing pain she felt when the iron touched her back.　

When the guard had finally passed and the coast was clear, Maleficent stepped away from the wall, gasping¹¹ for breath.　

"Are you burned?" Diaval asked, concern lacing his voice.　

But Maleficent didn't answer. Gritting¹² her teeth, she simply said, "Carry on."　

For the next few minutes, they walked along in silence. Hearing still more footsteps, they once again hid in the shadows. But this time Maleficent was careful to keep her back off the walls. Peeking¹³ out, she saw that the footsteps belonged to two handmaidens. They carried clean linens¹⁴ in their arms as they scurried¹⁵ down the hall.　

"How long will she sleep?" one of them asked.

The other shrugged¹⁶. "Forever, I guess."

Maleficent looked at Diaval and raised an eyebrow¹⁷. The women could be talking about only one person: Aurora. Maleficent waited until the pair had moved past, then silently slipped back into the hall. Diaval joined her, holding Phillip up in his arms. They began to follow the handmaidens.　

A short while later they arrived at the princess's room. They ducked behind a thick set of drapes that covered the wall opposite the room, and Maleficent took stock of the situation. Two soldiers stood guard, and through the open door, Maleficent could hear the grating voices of Knotgrass, Thistlewit, and Flittle.

Maleficent knew this was her chance. Moving slightly away from the curtain, she waved her hand in front of Phillip and softly whispered, "Wake." Then, with a gentle shove, she pushed him out from behind the curtain. He stumbled into the hall, the noise alerting the guards, who quickly raised their swords, unsure where the young man had come from. At the same moment, the three pixies bustled¹⁸ out, nearly crashing into Phillip.

Looking around, Phillip shook his head, as though trying to clear his vision. "Pardon me," he said, seeing the three pixies. "I'm embarrassed to say I don't know where I am." Despite having just woken up from a magical sleep and not knowing where he was or how he had gotten there, he looked every part the perfect, handsome gentleman, Maleficent had to admit.　

The faeries must have thought so, too, because they didn't slam the door in his face. Instead, they informed him that he was in King Stefan's castle.　

Upon hearing that, Phillip looked surprised. "This is where I'm meant to be," he said, trying to understand. "Odd that I can't recall how I got here. My father sent me to see the king."　

Knotgrass perked¹⁹ up. If his father had sent him to see the king, perhaps this young man was someone of importance. There was one way to find out. "Who is your father?" she asked.　

"King John of Ulstead," Phillip replied.　

The three faeries exchanged looks as they mouthed, "Prince." Without a word of explanation, they pulled him into the room.　

In the hall, Maleficent anxiously waited, straining to hear what was going on. While she had been surprised to hear Phillip say his father was a king, she was rather pleased. It seemed only right that if Aurora, a princess, were to be awoken, it would be by the kiss of true love from a prince.　

"What's your name?" she heard Knotgrass ask, followed by the sound of footsteps as the group made their way toward Aurora.

"Phillip," he answered.　

"Well, Prince Phillip, meet Princess Aurora," Flittle said.

Maleficent didn't have to be in the room to know that as Flittle stepped aside, Phillip would see Aurora and his eyes would widen as recognized her from the forest.　

Sure enough, his next words were "I know this girl."

Not satisfied only to listen in on the events unfolding, Maleficent stepped out of the shadows. The two guards had only a moment to recognize the horns before Maleficent lifted her staff and quickly knocked them out. Turning, she gestured to Diaval to follow her.

Silently, they slipped through the open door. A huge bed dominated the center of the room, heavy curtains draped on either side of the massive headboard. Intricate carvings²⁰ were etched into the four wooden posts that held up the bed. And flowing down from the top, covering the now sleeping form of Aurora, was a thin white translucent²¹ fabric²² that made Maleficent think of a spider's web. Seemingly weak, but actually strong enough to keep things trapped inside.　

Glancing around the rest of the room, Maleficent felt a wave of sadness flood over her. This was clearly the room that had once been intended as Aurora's nursery. A small crib, the same translucent fabric covering it, was pushed against one of the three giant windows that lined the far wall. But while the large bed was clean, the crib was covered in a thick layer of dust, as were the toys and rocking horse pushed into the far corner.　

This is my doing, Maleficent thought, gazing around the sad room. This was where Aurora would have spent hours playing, reading with her mother, pouring tea with her imaginary friends. But I took that from her. I even took her chance of happiness in the Moors²³ away from her. And now she lies here, lifeless. And I have no one to blame but myself.

Shaking her head, Maleficent moved a bit closer, careful not to make any noise that would alert the pixies or Phillip. There was still a small chance, a very small chance, that all was not lost. But it depended on something intangible.

"Why is she sleeping?" Phillip asked, unaware²⁴ of Maleficent's arrival.

"She's trapped in an enchantment²⁵," Knotgrass answered.　

Maleficent rolled her eyes. The three pixies were hopeless. Phillip knew nothing of magic. Telling him it was an enchantment could frighten him away.

Luckily, it didn't seem to faze Phillip. He took a step closer to Aurora. "She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," he said.　

The three pixies exchanged excited glances. "Do you want to kiss her?" Thistlewit asked.

Phillip nodded. "Very much."

"Go on, then," Knotgrass said, gesturing toward the bed.

"I wouldn't feel right about it," Phillip said, hesitating. "I barely know her. We only met once."　

In the shadows, Maleficent's heart began to pound. He had to kiss her. He had to! The faeries couldn't let him walk out the door just because he was being a gentleman. This could be their last chance. This could be true love! Feeling Diaval's gaze on her, she turned and shot him a look. She knew what he was thinking. He was thinking I told you so. True Love's Kiss can exist. But she didn't even care. Hope was flowing through her, pushing aside the old, hard skepticism that had filled her for years.

Luckily, the pixies had no intention of letting Phillip walk out of the room just yet.

Flittle pushed the prince closer. "Haven't you ever heard of love at first sight?"

"Kiss her!" Knotgrass urged.　

Slowly, Phillip leaned down and gently moved aside the light fabric. Maleficent's breath caught in her throat as she waited for him to close his eyes, pucker²⁶ his lips ...

Then he leaned back up. "An enchantment, you say?"

Maleficent nearly cried out in frustration²⁷. At the same time, the pixies shouted, "Kiss her!" and, together, pushed him back down.　

For a moment, Phillip struggled, and Maleficent felt panic rise in her throat. But then he stopped fighting and, once more, leaned down.

And then, ever so slowly, he gently kissed her.

It was the perfect kiss. Soft, sweet, full of unspoken promises. It was the kiss girls dreamed of as they lay in bed at night. It was the kiss poems were written about. It was the kiss of fairy tales and romance. Maleficent couldn't have imagined such a perfect kiss sixteen years earlier when she cursed an innocent babe.

But it didn't matter how perfect the kiss was or how much love Phillip felt.

Aurora didn't wake up.

 

夜幕已经降临。从玛琳菲森感受到她手指上的那阵疼痛，知道爱洛已经陷入沉睡到现在，已经过了好几个小时。现在玛琳菲森和人形的迪艾瓦正站在斯戴芬国王的城堡前，盯着巨大的铁门。在他们身后，菲力靠在一棵树上，还在沉睡。大门没有人把守，安静得十分诡异。玛琳菲森看到这一切，歪着脑袋想，一方面这是个好消息，可以神不知鬼不觉地潜入城堡，但另一方面，不知道一旦进入，城堡里面等待自己的将是什么。

“他在里面等着你呢。”迪艾瓦指出，“如果我们进去，就绝不可能活着出来。”他没必要说到底是谁，因为玛琳菲森知道得很清楚。

玛琳菲森继续直盯着前方，几乎没把迪艾瓦的话放心上。她心不在焉地说：“那你就不要来了，这场战斗跟你无关。”她拿起魔杖，将菲力举到空中，准备继续前进。

迪艾瓦在她身后叹了一口气。一次，哪怕只要一次玛琳菲森能弄清到底是怎么回事就好了。如果能听见她说：“请和我一起来吧，迪艾瓦。只要我们在一起，我们就会无往不利。”该有多好。但是迪艾瓦知道自己绝不会听到这些话。尽管如此，他也绝不可能让玛琳菲森一个人进入城堡。他轻轻地叹了口气，向玛琳菲森追去。

城堡内的大厅很安静。诅咒应验的消息像野火一样传遍了城堡，仆人和士兵们都胆战心惊地应对着斯戴芬国王的盛怒。他先是迁怒于三个愚蠢的魔法仙子，是她们没有看好爱洛让她提早跑了回来。斯戴芬骂了她们好几个小时，说她们无能、没用。他命令魔法仙子去寻找一个—任何一个—能够给他女儿带来真爱之吻的人。

他并不知道他自己的初恋此刻正在城堡里，带着一位有可能唤醒爱洛的人，向自己一步步靠近。

玛琳菲森刚刚穿过城堡的大门，就感受到了铁器压在身上的重量。尽管玛琳菲森能够避免接触它们，可这种暗黑色的金属到处都是。铁皮布满了墙壁，被雕刻成荆棘的形状，看起来就像铜墙铁壁版的荆棘墙。铁荆棘从墙上和天花板上伸出，迫使玛琳菲森只能小心而缓慢地挪动脚步。玛琳菲森急于寻找爱洛，这样的移动速度让她焦急万分。当一名守卫逼近，他们不得不藏在阴影处，铁荆棘碰到了玛琳菲森的后背，带给她一阵钻心的灼痛，这时她才觉得刚刚那样走路的时候还不算糟糕。

当守卫最终离开、险情解除之后，玛琳菲森从阴影处走了出来，大口喘着粗气。

“被烧伤了？”迪艾瓦问道，声音中透着关切。

但是玛琳菲森没有回答，她只是咬紧牙关说道：“继续走。”

在接下来的几分钟里，他们一言不发地向前走着。他们又听到了更多的脚步声，所以又一次藏在了阴影处。但这次玛琳菲森很小心以避免自己的后背碰到墙壁。她偷偷向外看去，是两名女仆抱着干净的床上用品向大厅赶去。

其中一位女仆问道：“她会睡多久？”

另一位耸了耸肩膀，答道：“我猜，可能是永远吧。”

玛琳菲森看了看迪艾瓦，扬起了眉毛。女仆们在谈论的只可能是一个人：爱洛。玛琳菲森等两位女仆经过后，悄悄地溜回了大厅。迪艾瓦抱着菲力，跟上玛琳菲森的脚步。他们开始跟着女仆向前走。

不一会儿，他们就到了公主的房间。他们躲在房间正对面一帘厚厚的帷幕后面，玛琳菲森打量着周围的情形。两名士兵把守着门口，门是开着的，玛琳菲森能听到红叶仙子、绿蕨仙子还有蓝果仙子刺耳的说话声。

玛琳菲森知道机会来了。她稍稍走出帷幕，用手在菲力面前挥了挥，轻声说道：“醒来吧。”然后轻轻一推，将他推到了帷幕外面。他跌跌撞撞地走到了大厅里，那动静引起了士兵的警觉。士兵立刻举起剑，不知道这位年轻人是从哪儿冒出来的。正在此时，三位魔法仙子涌了出来，差点撞到了菲力。

菲力摇了摇脑袋，向四周看去，像是想要弄清楚周围的状况。他看到了三位魔法仙子，说道：“对不起！不好意思，我不知道自己现在在哪。”尽管刚刚从神奇的睡眠中醒来，不知身在何处也不知是如何进来，菲力怎么看都是一位完美、帅气的绅士。这一点玛琳菲森也不得不承认。

魔法仙子们也一定这么认为，因为她们并没有将他拒之门外，相反，还告诉他这就是斯戴芬国王的城堡。

菲力听到后有些惊讶：“这里正是我要来的地方。奇怪的是我记不起来我是怎么来的了。我的父亲派我来觐见斯戴芬 国王。”

红叶仙子来了精神。如果他的父亲派他来觐见国王，那么这位年轻人可能也十分尊贵。有一个办法可以弄清楚，她问道：“你的父亲是谁？”

菲力回答道：“阿尔斯特的约翰国王。”

三位魔法仙子互换了眼神，无声地用嘴巴比画道：“是王子。”然后二话不说，便将他拽进了房间。

玛琳菲森在大厅里焦急地等待着，竖起耳朵想要听清房间里发生了什么。听见菲力的父亲是一位国王，这让玛琳菲森既惊讶又欣慰。如果爱洛公主能够被一位王子的真爱之吻唤醒，那真是再好不过了。

玛琳菲森听见红叶仙子问道：“你叫什么名字？”接着便是三位仙子带着菲力走向爱洛的脚步声，

“菲力。”他回答。

蓝果仙子说道：“好的，菲力王子，这位是爱洛公主。”

玛琳菲森不用亲自在房间内也知道，当蓝果仙子站到一边之后，菲力就会睁大双眼，认出爱洛就是他在森林里遇见的女孩。

他的下一句话肯定是：“我认识这个女孩。”

玛琳菲森并不仅仅满足于倾听事情的进展，她从阴影处走了出来，两名守卫刚一认出她的犄角，她就举起魔杖将他们打晕了过去。然后她转身示意迪艾瓦跟上她。

他们悄悄地穿过了那扇开着的门。只见一张巨大的床占据着房间的中心，厚实的帘幕遮住了床头和床尾，四根木制床柱上面雕刻着精美繁复的花纹，轻薄透明的白色床幔从床顶倾泻而下，罩在熟睡的爱洛身上。这床幔让玛琳菲森想起了蜘蛛网，看起来很薄弱，但却足够将你困顿其中。

玛琳菲森环视着房间，只觉得一股悲伤席卷而来。显然这间屋子原本就是为爱洛准备的婴儿房，一张小小的婴儿床上面覆盖着同样轻薄的床幔。远处的墙壁几乎被三扇大窗占据，婴儿床就靠在其中一扇窗下。尽管大床很干净，那张婴儿床却和堆放在角落里的玩具以及摇摇马一样，落了厚厚的一层灰尘。

玛琳菲森望着这间充满悲伤的屋子想，这都是我的错。爱洛本该在这里玩耍，和母亲一起读书，为想象中的朋友举办茶会。但是我夺走了这一切，我甚至夺走了爱洛在摩尔森林里幸福生活的机会。现在她躺在这里，毫无生机。除了自己，我无法责怪任何人。

玛琳菲森摇了摇头，又往前挪了一点，她很小心，以免发出任何声响引起仙子们和菲力的注意。还有一点机会，还有那么一点点挽回的机会。但这机会却寄托在一个虚无缥缈的东 西上。

菲力并没察觉到玛琳菲森的存在，他问道：“她为何在沉睡？”

红叶仙子回答道：“她被魔法困住了。”

玛琳菲森又翻了个白眼。这三个仙子真是笨到家了。菲力一点也不懂魔法，告诉他说魔法的事可能会把他吓跑的。

还好，菲力并没有惊慌。他向爱洛靠近了一些，说道：“她是我见过的最美丽的女孩。”

三位仙子兴奋地交换了一下目光，接着，绿蕨仙子问道：“你想吻她吗？”

菲力点了点头：“非常想。”

红叶仙子指了指床说：“那就去吧。”

菲力有些犹豫，他说：“我觉得这样做不对。我还不怎么了解她，我们只见过一面。”

玛琳菲森的心脏怦怦狂跳。他必须吻她，必须吻！仙子们可不能因为他是位绅士就放他走。这可能是他们最后的希望。他可能是爱洛的真爱！玛琳菲森感觉到迪艾瓦在盯着她看，便转过头来看了迪艾瓦一眼。她知道他在想什么，他在想：看吧，我早和你说过，真爱之吻是可以存在的。但是她不在乎，现在的她满怀希望，之前那个固执、怀疑的她似乎被抛在了一边。

还好，仙子们并没有打算让菲力离开房间。

蓝果仙子将王子又朝爱洛推近了一些：“你没有听说过一见钟情吗？”

红叶仙子催促道：“快吻她！”

菲力慢慢俯下身，轻轻地将床幔拨到一旁。玛琳菲森的呼吸悬在喉咙之中，就等着他闭上眼，噘起他的双唇……

然后他又站直了，问道：“你刚才说什么，魔法？”

玛琳菲森崩溃得几乎要叫出声来。与此同时，仙子们也嚷嚷道：“快吻她！”又一起将他推了下去。

菲力挣扎了一会。玛琳菲森的心都快要跳出嗓子眼了，不过他终于不纠结了，又重新俯下身去。

然后，慢慢地，慢慢地，他温柔地亲吻了爱洛。

这真是一个完美的吻。柔软而又甜蜜，充满了欲语还休的许诺。这是女孩们晚上躺在床上时梦想的吻，这是诗歌中描绘的吻，这是童话和爱情小说中的吻。十六年前，玛琳菲森诅咒那个天真无邪的婴儿时，她绝对想不到会有这样一个完美之吻。

但是不论这个吻多么完美，无论菲力觉得自己多么喜欢爱洛，都没有用。

爱洛并没有醒来。

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