Darkness and pain.  Those were the two things that occupied Aurora's thoughts as she fought against the black hell she had been warring with for what seemed like an eternity.  Demons shot down from the grey smoke sky, their taloned extremities grasping for her as they plunged down from the air.

One of the creatures managed to slash a deep score into her shoulder and Aurora howled through gritted teeth.  A shriek and scream filled the air as the bat-like being cried out in victory at the success of his score, but it was cut short as Aurora extracted her sword from the nearest felled creature and plunged it deep into the chest cavity of the demon that struck her.

It howled in pain before it fell, bleeding black onto the dark grass beneath her feet.  More creatures cried in fury and rained down wrath upon the princess.  Aurora held her shield above her head and looked forward into the darkness.  She staggered against the onslaught of demons as they bore down from the sky at her.  Through the gloom and the demons she spotted the outcropping of rocks she had been using as a shelter for the last month.  It would be no use trying to hide there. The creatures would still be able to get at her.

She went there anyway.

Aurora swung her sword again, the blade splitting another creature clean in half.  The strike gave her a second of respite as the demons shrunk back from the bite of her blade.  Aurora bolted, charging for the outcropping that was positioned against a cliff above the sea.

She looked back once to gage the distance of the creatures who were only a few wing flaps behind.  It wasn't them she feared though.  It was the Fae woman they flew for.  Aurora knew she didn't have much time before their mistress came for her.  The Fae woman was always a close step behind her loyal minions. The thought sent hot fear down her body and only made her move quicker.

How the creatures had found Aurora in the first place was a mystery.  She had been so careful not to draw their attention.  Even when she infiltrated their stronghold a few days ago.  The only consolation for risking her location was the small weight in the right pocket of her trousers.  The object she had been pursuing the last few years.  Hopefully her means of escape from the dark hell she was a prisoner of.

Aurora ducked inside the small cavity on the cliff, grabbing her knife from the side of her belt, she unsheathed it in trembling haste, slicing her forearm and drawing blood.  One of the creatures flapped at the entrance and Aurora flung the knife at it.  The demon shrieked in pain as it hit home and flapped away.  

When there was enough blood pooling she drew a combination of runes onto her sword with her finger dipped in the crimson.  The blood on the blade glowed a bright red and caught fire an instant later.

With renewed courage, Aurora stepped outside again.  The demons were there waiting, knowing she had nowhere else to run.  When they saw the light from the fire, the closest ones shrunk back, as if burned by the brightness itself.

Rain pelted down from the sky and plastered her hair against her face.  The sword burned on though, not effected by the rain.  She raised her chin and clenched her jaw.  If she was going down she'd take all these things with her.

Aurora swung at the creatures and more flew back, trying to get away from the flickering flames. Her shoulder pulsed and stung in the effort to hold up her shield. "Get back!" She howled at the demons threatening her with their bared sharp fangs.

You cannot escape me Aurora.  I rule this world.  You will never be allowed to leave it.

Aurora darted her gaze left and right.  Up and down.  The dark Fae Queen's words were clear in her mind.  She must be close, Aurora thought as another jolt of terror shot through her.

"Closer than you think."

Aurora whipped around, her sword at the ready.  The Fae Queen stood not even five steps away. Her black eyes bore into Aurora.  No white shown like a human's would, and when she smiled her teeth were a yellow brown.  Her canines were elongated and she looked about ready to bite.

Aurora slashed at the Faerie.  The demon woman however wasn't fazed by the flames like her sycophants and only stepped aside with inhuman speed.  "Join me Aurora.  I will let you rule with me and together we can cleanse the world and rebuild it to our own liking."

Aurora lunged again but her pacing was off and the dark faerie knew it.  With the flick of her hand, she engulfed Aurora's sword in darkness, stuffing out the flames.  The runes forged in the princess's blood flickered as if fighting the darkness that was smothering their power.

Frightened, Aurora stepped back towards the edge of the cliff.  If it came down to it, Aurora would jump.  She knew she could survive the dive, perhaps not the frigid waters below though. Only the Gods knew what was under the depths of those crashing waves.

She met the threshold of the rocky ledge, "I'll die before I go with you Maleficent."

"Don't be so certain my dear.   You just might be the only thing that stops me from completely destroying Felnar.  Don't you want to save your people?"

Aurora knew her people were probably in danger of Maleficent. She had no idea how they fared. If her parents were alive.  Her sister.  Phillip...

"I will never help you take my kingdom."

"We shall see," Maleficent said.  Her voice was elegant compared to her hideous features and the devil-like horns protruding from her head. In a second Aurora was enveloped in darkness. Maleficent's magic took hold of the princess by her throat and Aurora struggled to catch her breath. "For now, how about we find you a cozy cell to sleep in for the night? Perhaps after some time in my fortress you will see reason to side with me."

Aurora was brought to her knees from lack of oxygen.   She started to black out when suddenly Maleficent was sent flying.  The dark faerie hit the stone hard but only growled in fury and spun to where the attack had come from.

Aurora was breathing rapidly and in tight restrictions, trying to catch her breath after the darkness had vanished from around her when Maleficent was hit.

"Aurora!"

The princess looked up, and in the distance she saw another woman.  She was so hard to see from where Aurora was but she swore the woman was translucent.  And familiar too.  The latecomer launched another attack on Maleficent.  Aroura realized it was a giant branch swathed in thorns.  She flung it at the dark Fae Queen but Maleficent was ready this time and sent a wave of her black power at it, halting the attack in it's tracks and splintering the branch into tiny fragments.

"Aurora!  Use it now! Get out!" The woman was screaming at her forcefully as she called forth another thorn branch to protect herself from the evil faerie.

Still kneeling, Aurora's hand went to her pocket and slipped inside, grabbing the small device. She pulled it free from the fabric of her trousers and held it in her palm.  It was a small halfmoon disc with runes engraved on the outside of the mechanism.  This was her path home.  Her way back to those she loved.

"Aurora now!" The woman's scream was vigorous but everything seemed to move in slow motion.

Aurora dipped her fingers into the wound on her shoulder which was bleeding more heavily now and painted a single rune on the disc with her blood. It was not like the runes she used on her sword.  This was different.  Alive with magic.  It pulsed with power and lit up like a beacon.  It beat with the hope and relief Aurora suddenly felt at returning to her family.  Returning home.

Maleficent was distracted from her new opponent when she saw the light emanating from the halfmoon disc Aurora held.  "It cannot be,"  She said in disbelief.  The translucent woman flickered once then was gone.  "No," Maleficent said in a growl and lunged at Aurora.

It was too late as the disc pulsed a pale red and Aurora vanished instantly, leaving no trace behind with the exception being the shield she had used and the sword that burned bright with flames once again.