Merryweather was bossing around Fauna and Flora, as she often did. She was instructing them on the importance of all three passing together as they waited for the exam to start.
“Oh, Maleficent, what are you doing here?” Merryweather said, her nose wrinkled up as if she’d smelled something putrid.
“I’m here to take the exam, of course,” Maleficent said, pretending Merryweather and the fairies at her side weren’t making ugly faces at her. Maleficent looked around, wondering why the rest of the class was standing off to the side.
Flora followed Maleficent’s gaze. “Oh, they aren’t taking the exam. They’re just here to watch us.”
Maleficent frowned. “Why?”
“Because they know they don’t have a chance with us taking the exams this year,” Merryweather said as Flora and Fauna giggled.
Maleficent shook her head. It seemed time had not changed the three. They were the same haughty, arrogant fools they’d always been.
“Even if they’re not given wish-granting privileges, surely they will want their certificates for completing the course?” Maleficent said.
“What good is a certificate if you can’t perform the most honored of fairy duties?” Flora said, making all three fairies laugh.
Just then, the Fairy Godmother cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. She was standing in front of the fountain to address the group. She wore her customary blue robes and large pink ribbon. Behind her were lovely cherry blossom trees, their petals softly falling around her and the students. “I stand here in the shadow of the Great One, Oberon, King of the Fairies. He was our great benefactor and protector for many years, until he saw fit to drift off into obscurity, leaving my sister and me the burden and privilege of continuing fairy education.”
Maleficent scoffed inwardly. Oberon had actually left the honor to Nanny alone, but she had decided to share it with her sister.
“And it is my privilege to once again pick the three students who will venture off into the many kingdoms to spread fairy magic to help their charges, young women and men in need of our special brand of magic. When I was a young fairy, waiting to take my exam, my heart fluttered at the thought of holding a young person’s dreams in my hands. It is a great responsibility, and an honor that must not be taken lightly. Only the best of us are granted this status, those of us who are truly good, and good of heart.”
Maleficent felt a pain in her stomach as the Fairy Godmother said those last words. Good of heart.
“Of course, there are other very honorable, important vocations for the fairies who aren’t granted status. You will all use what you have learned here from your instructors at this prestigious and venerable academy wherever your path takes you.” The Fairy Godmother paused, smiling at all her students.
“And with that, we shall begin our exams. Each of you will be given a young charge who needs your help. He or she will present you with his or her problem, and it will be your job to figure out the best way to help. You must choose the kind of magic best suited to his or her needs. Remember, even though this is only an exercise and the young men and women standing in for your charges are only here for the purposes of the exam, your magic is still binding. So please, do use caution, and whatever you do, please refrain from using harmful magic.”
The Fairy Godmother looked right at Maleficent when she said harmful magic. She might as well have punctuated the sentence with Maleficent.
Nanny and the Fairy Godmother created a series of paths, each spinning out in a different direction. Fauna and Flora grimaced at the idea of having to take their paths alone, without their friend Merryweather to help them. “Fairy Godmother, can’t we do the exam together?” Flora asked. “The three of us, Fauna, Merryweather, and I?”
The Fairy Godmother thought about it for a moment. “It’s not the custom by any means, but I don’t see the harm.”
Nanny objected. “If Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather take the exam together, then they should be counted as one fairy. Should they perform highest in the class, their wish-granting status should be granted to them as a group. Therefore, two other fairies should be selected, as well.”
“Well, I’m not sure…” The Fairy Godmother’s voice trailed off. But a demure golden-haired fairy dressed in sparkling blue spoke up.
“I would like to take the exam, then,” the fairy said softly.
Maleficent smiled at the fairy in blue. “Then you should! Come stand by me.” She looked at the other students who had just been there to watch. “Everyone who wants to take the exams should. Don’t let those fools intimidate you.”
Slowly, many of the other fairies stepped forward. Merryweather, Fauna, and Flora looked around nervously at the large group that had decided to compete against them. Watching the fairies, Maleficent had to laugh.
“What are you laughing at?” sniped Flora.
“Shhh, Flora, don’t speak to that creature! She won’t be laughing when she fails the exam,” said Fauna.
Maleficent ignored her, but the Blue Fairy shot Fauna a nasty look. “Fauna, leave her alone!” She took Maleficent by the hand and led her away from the trio. “Don’t worry about them, Maleficent. They’re just nervous you will do better than them. You were always a good student.”
Maleficent couldn’t stop looking at the Blue Fairy. Her skin was luminescent. Her glow seemed to come from within, as if her goodness was too awesome to be contained. “I wish you would have stayed in school. I hope you know not all of us hated you,” the fairy continued.
Maleficent smiled and squeezed the Blue Fairy’s hand as the two watched the Fairy Godmother and Nanny create additional paths for the students to follow. Finally, the Fairy Godmother commenced the exams.
“Choose whichever path speaks to your soul,” she advised. “You will only have your wits and magic to guide you. Good luck, my dears! Now begin!”
Taking a deep breath, Maleficent looked back at Nanny. Nanny flashed Maleficent one of her magnificent smiles and mouthed the words I love you, Daughter. With one last wave to her mother, Maleficent turned and walked down the path that felt like it might be hers. She soon found herself in a world that was very unlike the Fairylands.
Maleficent was standing near a small well that lay in the shadow of a beautiful castle with many spires. The castle’s roofs resembled red witch hats, and the surrounding lands were lush, green, and heavily wooded. There seemed to be all manner of forest creatures romping about, making the scene more picturesque than if it had been reality. Sitting on the edge of the well and kicking her feet was a young girl with black hair tied with a red ribbon. She was a pretty little thing, with her pale face and apple-red cheeks.
She was crying.
“What’s the matter, dear?” Maleficent asked. The girl looked up and gasped. “Shhh, I’m not here to harm you,” Maleficent assured her. “What’s your name?”
The little girl looked at Maleficent, terrified, but she managed to speak. “My name is Snow White.”
“Snow, don’t be afraid of me. I’m here to help you. What’s the matter, why are you crying?”
“It’s my mother. She won’t eat or drink, and she spends her days talking to someone who isn’t there. She has been ill and heartbroken since my father died…and…”
“Tell me, please,” Maleficent said, coaxing her.
“I’m afraid of her. She’s changed since my father died. I’m afraid she may kill me.”
“Where is your mother now?” asked Maleficent.
“She spends all her time in her room,” Snow replied. “I think she may be going mad. I hear her talking endlessly to someone who isn’t there. Sometimes I hear her screaming at something.”
Maleficent was concerned. “Has no one looked into this? Is she being tormented by someone or by something? Has anyone been to see her to lift her spirits? To help her through her grief?”
“No one except my father’s cousins. But she banished them long ago, along with her best friend, Verona. I’m afraid she is very
much alone,” Snow replied, wiping tears from her face.
Maleficent didn’t understand how the girl could leave her poor grieving mother alone to wither and suffer, but she remained sweet and understanding. “Stay here, my dear. I will see to your mother.”
As soon as Maleficent entered the castle, she could feel despair weighing heavily in the air. The home was cursed with sadness and something much worse, something sinister and unnerving. As she made her way up to the queen’s chamber, she heard a woman’s voice. How long has this woman been alone up here raving like a madwoman? And to whom is she speaking? Maleficent whispered a charm that allowed her to see through walls. The effect was much like creating a window. She could see whoever was on the other side, but they were unaware that they were being spied on.
Standing in the middle of the room was a beautiful queen, sobbing with despair as she screamed at a man’s image in her mirror. “I command you to tell me the truth!” she shrieked through tears.
A horrible wicked voice came from the man in the mirror. His face was cruel and twisted with hatred. “You killed your mother the day you were born, and your face reminds me of hers.”
“That’s why you despise me?” The queen was crying so hard she couldn’t catch her breath.
“I wish you had died that day, not her!” spat the man in the mirror.
Maleficent was horrified. The man was the ghost of the queen’s father, and he was tormenting her from beyond the grave. She had no one to defend her from him. He was slowly turning the poor woman mad.
“If I could reach through this mirror and kill you myself, I would! You’re ugly and vile and your heart is black as night. You repulse me.” The queen cried even harder as the man in the mirror continued. “Your daughter, Snow White, is the fairest in the land. I could never love you or find you beautiful while she lives.” The queen looked up at her father through swollen, tear-filled eyes. Maleficent thought the queen must be bewitched or under his spell, because she couldn’t fathom any other reason the queen would want the horrible man’s approval, or want that creature to love her and find her beautiful. It made Maleficent ill.
“Will you love me if I kill Snow White?” the queen asked, an evil smile on her lips.
“Yes, my daughter. That would please me. That would make me love you more.”
Maleficent had heard enough. Snow White had been right to be afraid. Something had to be done. Maleficent opened the door, startling the wicked queen, who turned around, ready for a fight. Maleficent raised her hand, using her magic to send the queen flying into the far wall of her chambers. An invisible force left the queen unable to move or speak. The wicked queen was trying to scream, but no sound came from her lips.
“You are a monster for treating your daughter so cruelly!” The evil queen was shocked to see that Maleficent wasn’t speaking to her but to her father’s reflection in the mirror.
“I condemn you to Hades, where vile and wicked things belong! I banish you from this mirror and from this house, never to revisit it again!” Maleficent cried.
The mirror shattered with an explosive crash that reverberated through the entire castle. She heard Snow White’s scream from the courtyard. The young princess ran into the castle and up to her mother’s rooms, where she found the queen crying in a heap in Maleficent’s arms.
Before Maleficent could tell Snow White that she and her mother were safe, everything around her melted away. It was the strangest sensation, seeing the queen’s castle slowly disappear and the courtyard in the Fairylands appear. The courtyard was cluttered with the eager faces of fairies waiting for the students to come out of exams. Maleficent desperately wanted to stay with the queen and her daughter. She wanted to be sure they would be okay. She wanted to comfort Snow White, to make sure the queen would recover. Surely this wasn’t what it was going to be like if she became a wish-granting fairy? She hoped she would have more time with her charges.
Maleficent blinked a few times, adjusting to her new surroundings. She must have been the first to finish the exam, because she didn’t see any of the other students. She stood there, trying not to fidget. She was unsure what to do next until Nanny ran up to give her a big hug. “You did beautifully, my darling! Just brilliantly. I am so proud of you.”
The Fairy Godmother cleared her throat. “Let’s save the comments until everyone has finished. No sense in getting her hopes up unnecessarily.”
Nanny flashed her sister a dirty look. “What do you mean? She did really well.”
The Fairy Godmother shook her head. “Of course you would think so, but I think she should have done things differently.”
“What should I have done differently? I saved the queen,” Maleficent said. But the Fairy Godmother didn’t answer her.
Just then, the Blue Fairy appeared next to Maleficent. “How did you do?” Maleficent asked. The Blue Fairy looked concerned she hadn’t done well, but Maleficent had a feeling that she had performed the exam beautifully. Soon all the fairies except Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather had appeared. The Fairy Godmother refused to give anyone her results until they returned.
“I wonder if they’re okay. Should someone go check on them?” Maleficent asked.
“You would like that, wouldn’t you? To have them disqualified?” the Fairy Godmother snapped.
Maleficent was shocked. It was true she didn’t like the three fairies, but she wouldn’t want to see them unfairly disqualified. “What do you mean?”
Nanny put her arm around Maleficent’s shoulders. “If an instructor has to go into the story, then the fairy is disqualified.”
“Can another student go in to help? What if they’re in trouble?” Maleficent insisted.
The Fairy Godmother looked at her suspiciously but seemed to be considering the possibility when the three fairies finally appeared.
“Oh, my goodness! Finally! It was so dreadful. I can’t believe we made it out alive!” Merryweather said dramatically. Fauna and Flora looked as if they were stricken by some sort of ailment. Maleficent wondered what they had faced in their scenario.
“Are you okay?” she asked them, but the fairies didn’t thank her for her concern.
“It’s your fault! You attacked us!” Merryweather snapped.
Maleficent was shocked. “I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what we’re talking about, Maleficent!” Merryweather shouted.
“You tried to sabotage us, Maleficent!” Flora screamed.
“I did not!” Maleficent looked at Nanny, confused. “I swear I have no idea what she’s talking about!”
Merryweather pointed her finger accusingly at Maleficent. “You know what you did! You attacked us, trying to protect your evil birds!”
Nanny had never seen exams devolve into such chaos, but she did know her daughter had nothing to do with it. “The Fairy Godmother and I will look at your story, and we will figure out what happened,” Nanny said.
“I don’t think the One of Legends should be able to help decide, even if she is the headmistress!” Merryweather insisted. “She is Maleficent’s adoptive mother. She can’t be objective!”
Nanny looked at Merryweather, wondering where they had gone wrong with that one. How had she let those three fairies become so petty? Had she spent so much time trying to lift up Maleficent that she had neglected those three, leaving them to her sister? She suddenly felt responsible for those fairies and wondered why she hadn’t taken the time to guide them and set them on the path of goodness that she had thought was their fate. She searched within herself and through time to see how the three would end up. In spite of their pettiness, she saw goodness, kindness, and pure hearts. There would be squabbling, and perhaps a bit of bullying on Merryweather’s part, but she saw her pushing the other two because they needed guidance. She saw there was a child they would care for deeply, a child who would need their protection. She sighed with relief, knowing she hadn’t failed them entirely. However, that didn’t change who they
were today—three petty girls hurling insults at her and her daughter.
“Girls, please! I won’t be deciding who passes or fails. But I imagine you’d be very pleased if I did. I see an important task for you in the future, a task you will not be able to accomplish without wish-granting status,” Nanny said.
The three fairies looked at each other in disbelief.
“And I promise we will look into this matter of Maleficent attacking you,” Nanny finished.
The Fairy Godmother cleared her throat. She didn’t like her sister taking things over, so she took the matter in hand herself. “I suggest everyone go back home and have some tea. We will interview the charges and decide who will be granted status. We will make the announcement later today. I know you are all eager for the results. We promise to make our decision as soon as we can.”
Maleficent looked at her mother with worried eyes, her skin turning a pale shade of purple. “My darling, don’t fret. Go home. The odd sisters are there waiting for you,” Nanny told her.
Maleficent kissed her mother on the cheek and did as she was asked. She followed all the other students filing out of the courtyard to go home and wait for the exam results.
The Fairy Godmother quickly got to business. With her wand, she conjured up a little round table with a dark pink tablecloth that matched the cherry blossoms behind them. She also conjured two white chairs with pink cushions to match. “Sit, Sister. Sit!” And with another wave of her wand, a teapot, teacups with saucers, and little plates, all a pale shade of pink, edged in glistening silver, appeared on the table. “Have some tea, Sister, before it gets cold. Oh! And I almost forgot!” With another wave of her wand, little white cakes decorated with pink roses settled on the plates. “There! Now we’re ready.” Nanny laughed to herself, but she let her sister talk. “We’ll discuss each student in order of completion of the exam. Does that sound fair?”
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