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[center][h1][color=maroon]Esmeralda Lovel[/color] - Present Day Evening - The Pride Lands[/h1][/center]

The dancers left quickly as Scar began to yell about wanting the scruffy man found. Esmeralda left with them, bringing up the rear once more, glancing over her shoulder at the furious King. She was curious about what it was that had infuriated him in such a way... The man or the magic? The girls walked in silence back into their room, through the quiet halls that carried only the echoes of Scar's rage. When they reached the room, Esmeralda watched as the other women went about their lavish living space, eating, drinking, talking, dancing, all as though nothing had happened. The woman took a deep breath and made her way to the bed that she had been pulled from earlier that day. Once she was out of sight from the other women, she allowed for more tears to escape her eyes as she remembered the young boy whose life she had taken. There had to have been another way that she could have saved him... Saved his mother. Had she not refused the King what he wanted, he wouldn't have hunted them down.... They would be happy and living with no worries of dying at the hands of a cruel beast. 

Her head snapped up at the sound of someone trying and failing to be quiet. She caught the gaze of an older looking woman with dark hair. She quickly looked away as she wiped her tears from her cheeks. The woman spoke, "I'm sorry... I was told to change your bandages."

Esmeralda sniffled, "It's fine... I just... Thought I was alone."

The woman moved to her and sat on the bed next to her as she began to prepare to change the bloodied cloth, "What's your name?" The woman asked in a soft voice.

"Esmeralda..." She replied in just as soft a tone as she watched her. She saw a small smile at the edge of the woman's lips, "That's a beautiful name... I'm Sarabi, once Queen of this castle."

"Oh... Well, you are the first one to ask me that," Esmeralda said, her eyes moving from the woman's hands to her face, "My name..."

A small sigh seemed to escape Sarabi's lips as she nodded, "People... don't really get names here... You're less of a person that way. Turn around."

Esmeralda did as she was told, leaning her head forward as she pulled her hair over her shoulder, "He's cruel..." She said quietly, "Scar..."

A humourless laugh escaped from Sarabi's lips causing Esmeralda to look over her shoulder at the older woman, "His name is not Scar... And he's more than cruel, child," She pulled away the bandages and sighed once more, "But I see you have seen that."

She slowly began to rub an ointment into Esmeralda's torn flesh to prevent infection. The girl bit her lip as she did before she spoke through the pain, "What do you mean.... His name isn't.... Scar?"

"He was born with the name Taka," Sarabi said, ""In our ancient language, its meaning is loosely translated to this language as 'garbage'... And the man is nothing but... He killed my husband, his own brother, in cold blood before he took this kingdom... And my son, Simba... his own nephew... they never found his body but Taka wouldn't allow him to live, if he had his way. I fear I have lost him too..." The woman bit her lip as she looked to the roof, as though she were trying not to cry, "He was only a boy. Had just turned seven... He had the... brightest future ahead of him... Out of all of us."

Esmeralda rested her chin on her knees, "They called him Garbage?"

"That is beside the point, dear..." Sarabi grabbed the girl's shoulders and turned her to face her, "The man left my husband's shaman, Rafiki, on a stake to be ripped apart slowly by nature because he doesn't like magic.... He is a monster."

"Why doesn't he like magic?"

Sarabi reached out and rapped Esmeralda on the forehead lightly, causing the girl to jump slightly, "That isn't the point. Stay away from that man as much as you can. No one wishes to be in his presence and no one should. Even his wife, Zira. She nor their child returned with him when Taka took over. Either she finally got her wits about her, grabbed Vitani and left him after he was exiled, or they are both now dead by his own hand."

Esmeralda nodded her head and Sarabi turned her back around before she started to cover her wounds once more. The girl bit her lip and started to think that without Scar's anger... He wasn't much different from the Romani... He was an outcast since the day his parents named him. He had been treated no better by the royals than the Gypsys... And he was their family... For that, she pitied him.


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[center][h1][color=crimson]Aurora Rose[/color] - Present Day Evening - The Moors[/h1][/center]

Aurora had sat the table that night in silence. Maleficent had told the girl to sit to her left and she had made certain to sit in the chair to the left of Maleficent's throne but the Queen never showed. Which left Aurora alone with the Witch and Maleficent's men. The Sea Witch tried to make conversation with the shy Princess and although Aurora spoke to avoid being rude, she did not reply in way that the conversation furthered.

"Do you wish to leave her, my dear?" The witch had asked her at some point of the night.

"No," Aurora said without hesitation, still looking at her plate, not daring to look at the Witch. She held her fork tightly as she rose a lettuce leaf to her mouth. The truth was Aurora wanted little more than to free of her curse. She'd give almost anything to be free of it but she knew the Witch could do little for her. No one, except one man could... A man Aurora had yet to even meet. Her one true love. She rested her fork back onto her plate and let out a small sigh. Maleficent was intent on never letting her find that man though. She was not allowed to have such feelings for people, as the Queen had said earlier about Gaston: It would not do well for either of them in the situation. 

She looked at the Sea Witch and stood, "I must retire to my rooms for my journey has made me awfully tired," She curtsied to the woman, "Good night, Miss Ursula."

Straightening, she turned and walked around the seat before she left the room without another word. Once the door had closed behind her, Aurora ran. She sprinted as quickly as her dress would let her from the dining hall to her room in the East tower. When she made it, she threw herself onto her bed and sobbed. Maleficent knew every which way to hurt the girl without laying a single finger on her. The years of being built up and torn down had truly damaged the girl. As much as she wanted to be free of her curse, as much as she wanted to find the man who would break it, she wanted Maleficent to love her... 

She rolled over and looked out her only window. The one good thing about her room being so high was that she could see for miles over the lush and green Moors. She pulled her pillow into her and sniffed as her eyes found the North Star, "I wish..." She said quietly. She wasn't sure what she was wishing for... Freedom, the love of a mother, the love of a man... Maybe all of it. She closed her eyes, causing more tears to fall and stain her cheeks, "I wish..." She said once more before sleep washed over her and took her away.