《沉睡魔咒》第8章

The day of the christening arrived. The castle was bustling with activity as servants raced to and fro, decorating the halls and sweeping rooms long since used. Festive flags flew from the top of the castle while trumpeters stood on the battlements, heralding the infant. Below, carriages were parked for miles, their passengers dispatched to partake in the huge event.　

Inside the Great Hall, In front of the thrones stood King Stefan and Queen Leila. The queen glowed with pride as she looked down at the infant sleeping in the bassinet. Out of habit, Leila reached up and fingered the bright stone pendant that Stefan had given her when they were first married. She had never seen anything like it, a jewel that seemed to have been made by the sun itself. Catching her playing with the jewelry, Stefan smiled and leaned down to whisper something into her ear.

Well hidden in the back of the crowded room, Maleficent watched Stefan smile at Leila and grimaced. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could see them clearly enough. And what she saw on the queen's neck was a stone from the jewel pond—another precious item Stefan had stolen from the Moors. How dare he! Maleficent's hands twitched eagerly.

She watched as Knotgrass, Thistlewit, and Flittle approached the baby. They looked older and perhaps a bit plumper, but otherwise they appeared the same.

Stefan isn't the only one to have fooled the kingdom, Maleficent mused. Simple humans. So scared of magic, yet so in love with tricks. They probably thought the pixies adorable, with their little wings and harmless magic. Shaking her head in disgust, Maleficent waited to see what they would do next.

Knotgrass was the first to say something. "Sweet Aurora," she began. "I wish for you the gift of beauty." Reaching down, she touched the sleeping baby's blond curls.　

Aurora? So that was the baby human's name, Maleficent thought. Surely Stefan hadn't been the one to name her. It was actually a nice name. It meant "dawn," which was Maleficent's favorite time of day. She shook her head. Now was not the time to be pondering the definition of a name. She turned her attention back to the bassinet.

Next Flittle granted a wish. "My wish," she said, "is that you'll never be blue, only happy all the days of your life."　

Finally, Thistlewit stepped forward. "Dear baby," she began. "I wish you ... I wish you ..."　

Maleficent could no longer idly stand by. Raising her staff, she sent a frigid wind whistling through the hall. Headpieces and clothes were blown about, and the crowd let out scared cries. Thunder cracked and lightning flashed and a dark gray smoke filled the hall. When it cleared, Maleficent stood there, her head held tall, her horns held high. On her shoulder sat Diaval.　

The room erupted in whispers as the assembled court tried to figure out who this strange creature was. But one person knew for sure.　

"Maleficent!" Stefan cried, his hand at his throat.　

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, well. Quite a glittering assemblage, King Stefan," she sneered. "Royalty, nobility, the gentry, and, how quaint ..." She paused and pointed at the three smaller pixies. "Even the rabble." She turned and looked at the queen. "What a pretty necklace. I really feel quite distressed at not receiving an invitation."　

"You're not welcome here," Stefan said, puffing out his chest while beside him Leila brushed the stone at her neck with her fingers.　

"Not welcome? Oh dear, what an awkward situation." Maleficent turned, as if to leave.　

Behind her, Queen Leila spoke up, her royal upbringing getting the best of her. She knew who Maleficent was. She had heard the stories from her father and then from Stefan. They had called Maleficent cruel and evil. But she seemed almost agreeable at the moment. "And you're not offended?"　

Maleficent turned back. "Oh, why, no, Your Majesty," she said, her long fingers fluttering at her heart as she moved closer to the bassinet. "And to show you I bear no ill will, I, too, shall bestow a gift on the baby."

Stepping in front of Maleficent, Stefan tried to block her. But Maleficent moved past him easily.　

"Stay away from the princess!" Knotgrass said, standing protectively in front of the bassinet.　

Maleficent laughed. "Gnats," she said. One by one she flicked them out of her way. Then she leaned over and looked into the bassinet. Baby Aurora smiled at her, her cherubic face as adorable as anything Maleficent had ever seen. In that instant, anger and jealousy swirled inside her like a tempest. She would never have a baby that beautiful. She would probably never have a baby at all. No one to care for. No one to carry on her mother's wings or her father's eyes to a new generation. She could have, but that option had been taken away from her when Stefan betrayed her.

Whipping around, Maleficent angrily threw up her arms and addressed the crowd. "Listen well, all of you," she intoned. "The princess shall indeed grow in grace and beauty, beloved by all who know her..."

"That's a lovely gift," the queen said, still oblivious to what was really going on. Oblivious to the true history of Maleficent and Stefan.　

Putting a finger to Leila's lips, Maleficent shook her head. She wasn't finished. Not quite yet. There was one final part to her gift. "But before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, she will ..." She paused and looked around the room for inspiration. Her eyes landed on one of the presents brought for the baby. She continued. "... prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a sleep like death. A sleep from which she will never awaken."

As Maleficent's words lingered in the air, the gathered crowd let out a collective gasp. Ignoring them, she turned to go. But Stefan's voice stopped her.

"Maleficent," he said, stepping forward. "Don't do this. I'm begging you."　

At the word begging, Maleficent raised one eyebrow. Groveling was so unlike Stefan. Slowly, she turned back around to face him. Her expression was cold as she eyed the only person she had ever loved. His eyes pleaded with her and she saw genuine fear and pain in them. But it mattered not at all. Her heart was frozen. There was irony in the situation. The pain she caused him now was so much like the pain he had caused her ... over and over again. Finally, she responded. "I like begging," she said. "I do. Do it again."　

Stefan peered around the room, aware that his subjects watched his every move. Aware that Maleficent was humiliating him. While he wanted to deny her, he had no choice. His infant daughter's future was at stake. "I beg you," he said through clenched teeth.　

"All right," Maleficent replied, shrugging as she threw the king a bone. "The princess can be woken from her death sleep, but only by"—here she paused and narrowed her gaze so that the next words she spoke pierced Stefan to the core—"True Love's Kiss."

She almost laughed when she said the words. She had learned from Stefan that things like true love did not exist. "This curse will last until the end of time. No power on Earth can change it." She turned and began to leave. Behind her, Stefan signaled his guards to attack. But the wind Maleficent had conjured picked up, keeping the guards and guests at bay. In front of her, the door to the throne room blew open. A moment later, Maleficent disappeared through it, leaving panic and chaos in her wake.　

As she made her way back to the Moors, she smiled. When she had entered the castle, she had been unsure of what she would do when the time came. She hadn't known about the gifts the pixies would bestow. Or even how she would feel when once more so close to Stefan. A small part of her had been worried she would be too frightened to do anything at all. But what happened in the end, Maleficent thought, couldn't have turned out better. It was priceless. An unbreakable curse that was sure to drive Stefan mad and throw the kingdom into mayhem. It was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Evening had fallen and the night sky was full of stars when Maleficent returned to the Moors. She was energized by the day's events, and an idea began to form in her head, one to keep the human aggressors out of their land for good. She turned and walked to the very edge of the Moors, where faerie land met human land. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the magic that flowed within her. She spoke to the trees nearby, asking them to lend their magic, to help her protect the Moors. Magic pulsed all around her, and the air shimmered. As she lifted her arms, dark twisted branches covered with sharp thorns began to rise out of the earth. They sped toward the sky and intertwined with each other, braiding their thick trunks together. As they did so, a wall began to form. The wall continued to grow until it was impossible to see from one side to the other. It grew until its thorns stuck out in all directions, their sharp tips gleaming black. It grew until it rose nearly forty feet in the air. It grew until it was impenetrable.

When Maleficent opened her eyes, the magic stopped flowing from her. She stepped back and nodded. The wall wasn't pretty, but it would have to do.

Satisfied with her work, Maleficent went back to her throne on the Mound. She glanced at the landscape around her, reveling in the beauty and tranquility of the Moors, which had been restored in her time as ruler there. The other Fair Folk even seemed more comfortable around her, going on with their daily activities without shuddering or flying away whenever she was close by. However, her old friends continued to stay away. Maleficent strangely understood this. She'd lost her friendships as soon as she'd lost her wings and her old sense of self. She was a new faerie now.

In the peaceful silence of the Faerie Mound, she found her mind wandering outside of life at the Moors. She now had time to reflect upon the day's events. It had felt oh so nice to see Stefan suffer. And casting this curse would help the Moors, too. A weakened human kingdom meant less threat to them, and there was no way Stefan hadn't been weakened by the curse placed on his only daughter.

Feeling a judgmental gaze, Maleficent looked to her side. Diaval, in his human form, stood there, staring at her. She ignored him and went back to relishing her revenge. But Diaval continued to glare at her, silently chastising her for what she had done. A part of her wanted to try to explain to him that she wasn't being mean to the baby. She wanted to tell Diaval how badly Stefan had hurt her and how much it still ached, every day, and that that was why she had done what she did. But she couldn't admit that to him. And she certainly couldn't wait for him to start expressing his disapproval. So instead, she simply waved a hand and transformed him into a raven. He could caw all he wanted but he wouldn't be able to reprimand her.

终于到了洗礼当天，城堡内忙成一团，佣人们来回跑着，装点大厅，打扫久未使用的房屋。城堡顶端飘着许多庆祝彩旗，号兵们已经在城垛上集结，昭告着新生儿的到来。城下，马车绵延数英里，车上的乘客都是派来参加这个盛大庆典的。

在大殿里，斯戴芬国王和莱拉皇后站在宝座前。皇后低头看着摇篮内熟睡的婴儿，脸上满是自豪。出于习惯，她抬手摸向颈间散发着耀眼光芒的宝石吊坠，这是斯戴芬当初结婚的时候送给她的。她从没见过这么漂亮的宝石，亮得就像是从太阳上取下来一样。注意到她在把玩宝石，斯戴芬微笑着侧身在她的耳旁轻声低语。

玛琳菲森藏身在房间里拥挤的人群后面，看着斯戴芬对莱拉又是微笑又扮鬼脸。虽然她听不见他们在说什么，但是她看得足够清楚。她还看到了皇后颈间来自珍宝湖的宝石—又是一件斯戴芬从摩尔森林偷走的宝贝。他竟敢这么做！玛琳菲森的双手止不住地颤抖着。

她正看着，只见红叶仙子、蓝果仙子和绿蕨仙子向婴儿飞去。她们看起来比以前更老了，也许还胖了一些，不过其他地方倒是一点都没变。

玛琳菲森心想，原来斯戴芬并不是唯一那个愚弄了整个王国的人。真是单纯的人类啊。这么怕魔力，却又喜欢魔法。他们大概是觉得魔法仙子很可爱吧，她们有着小小的翅膀和无伤大雅的魔法。她厌恶地摇了摇头，等着看她们接下来要做什么。

红叶仙子第一个开口了。她说：“亲爱的爱洛，我愿你拥有绝世美貌。”她俯身摸了一下睡婴金色的卷发。

爱洛？玛琳菲森想着，那就是这个人类婴儿的名字吧。肯定不是斯戴芬取的。其实这是个好名字，意思是“黎明”，是玛琳菲森一天中最喜欢的时刻。她摇了摇头，现在可不是纠结名字含义的时候。她将注意力放回摇篮内。

接着，蓝果仙子送出了祝福，她说：“我愿你，远离烦恼，天天开心。”

最后，绿蕨仙子上前说：“亲爱的宝贝，我愿你……我 愿你……”

玛琳菲森再也不能袖手旁观了。她魔杖一举，大殿内阴风四起，头巾和衣服被吹得到处都是，人们都吓得大喊起来。一时间电闪雷鸣，深灰色的烟雾弥漫了整个大殿。等烟雾散去，玛琳菲森现身了，她高昂着头站在那里，犄角也高高扬起。迪艾瓦停在她的肩上。

一时间，屋内私语窃窃，聚集在宫殿中的人们都想要弄清这个奇怪生物的身份。不过有一个人是再清楚不过了。

斯戴芬叫了出来：“玛琳菲森！”他的手捂着喉咙。

她一挑眉：“瞧啊，瞧啊，真是个耀眼的聚会，斯戴芬国王。”她冷笑着说，“皇室，贵族，绅士，还有，多稀奇啊……”她停下来，指了指三个小仙子，“甚至连乌合之众都来了。”她转过身来看向皇后，“这项链可真是漂亮呀。我对于没有收到邀请这件事，还真是感到十分痛心呢。”

“你在这不受欢迎，”斯戴芬挺身说道，莱拉则在他身旁用手指摩挲着颈间的宝石。

“不受欢迎？哦，天哪，这可真是令人尴尬呢。”玛琳菲森转过身，像是准备离开。

在她身后，莱拉开口了，她那良好的皇室教育此时占了上风。她知道玛琳菲森是谁。她从父皇和斯戴芬那听了不少关于玛琳菲森的故事。他们说玛琳菲森既残酷又邪恶。但是此刻看来，她也没有那样令人讨厌。“你不会生气吧？”

玛琳菲森回过头：“喔，怎么会呢，皇后殿下。而且为了向你证明我并无恶意，我也要给那孩子送上一份礼物。”她走向摇篮，长长的手指在胸前动来动去。

斯戴芬走到玛琳菲森面前，试图拦住她。但是她轻而易举地就从他面前走过去了。

红叶仙子摆出保护的架势站在摇篮前：“离公主远点！”

玛琳菲森笑着说：“小虫子。”说完就把她们一个个都弹走了。她弯下身子，低头看着摇篮。小爱洛正对着她笑呢，那天使般的面庞比玛琳菲森之前见过的任何东西都要可爱。在那一刻，愤怒和妒忌的漩涡在她心中汹涌澎湃。她再也没有机会拥有一个那样漂亮的宝宝了。她可能连宝宝都不会有了。她的关心无处可施。她妈妈的翅膀和她爸爸的眼睛也无人继承。她本来是可以有的，但是从斯戴芬背叛她的那一刻起，她的希望就被夺走了。

她猛地转过身，愤怒地举起双臂，对着人群庄重地说：“你们，都给我听着，公主的确会长得美丽而优雅，每个认识她的人都会爱上她……”

“那真是一份慷慨的礼物。”皇后说，仍然对眼下真正发生的事情一无所知，对玛琳菲森和斯戴芬之间真实的过去也同样一无所知。

玛琳菲森伸出一只手指点在莱拉的唇上，摇了摇头，示意她还没有说完。还差得远呢。这个礼物还差一个结尾。“但是，在她十六岁生日那天的日落之前，她将……”她停顿了一下，在屋内环视着寻找灵感。她的视线落在了宝宝的一件出生礼上，于是继续说道：“被纺车轴针扎伤手指，然后陷入沉睡。一场永不苏醒的沉睡。”

玛琳菲森的话在空气中回荡，在场所有的人都倒吸一口凉气。玛琳菲森视而不见，转身准备离开，但是斯戴芬的声音拦住了她。

“玛琳菲森。”他上前一步说，“别这样，我求你了。”

听到“求”这个字，玛琳菲森挑起了眉毛。这般卑躬屈膝可一点也不像斯戴芬的作为。她慢慢转过身来面对着他，冷冷地看着眼前这个她唯一爱过的人。他的眼神中充满了乞求，她可以从中看出他真切的恐惧和痛苦。但是她已经完全不在乎了，她的心已被冰封。此情此景真是讽刺啊。她现在带给他的痛苦和他之前带给她的一次又一次的痛苦是多么相像啊。终于，她回答说：“我喜欢你的乞求。很喜欢。再求我一次。”

斯戴芬扫视了一圈，发现他的子民都在关注他的一举一动，也意识到玛琳菲森是在羞辱他。可就算他想拒绝，也别无选择。他女儿的未来正岌岌可危。他从齿间挤出来几个字：“我求你了。”

玛琳菲森耸了耸肩，好似施舍给国王一根骨头那般答应道：“好吧，公主可以从永久的沉睡中被唤醒，不过能唤醒她的只有”—她又停了下来，眯起眼睛，以便让接下来的话直刺斯戴芬的心底—“真爱之吻。”

她说到这几个字的时候，几乎要笑了出来。她从斯戴芬那得知，真爱之吻是不存在的。“这个诅咒将与日月同在，世间没有任何力量能改变它。”她转身准备离开。身后，斯戴芬示意卫兵发起攻击。但是，在玛琳菲森的魔力下，殿内狂风大作，卫兵和宾客都被拦了下来。在她面前，正殿的大门随风而开。片刻之后，玛琳菲森就消失在门口，留下了一片狼藉和惊恐之声。

在回摩尔森林的路上，她笑了。刚进入城堡时，她不确定自己到时候会做出什么事来。她不知道魔法仙子们会向宝宝送出礼物。她也不知道再次如此近距离面对斯戴芬的时候，自己会是什么感觉。她有些担心，自己会害怕得做不成任何事情。不过玛琳菲森觉得，最终的结局真是再好不过了。这简直有趣极了，一个无法打破的魔咒注定会让斯戴芬陷入疯狂，再带着整个王国陷入混乱。真是太完美了，完美至极。

玛琳菲森回到摩尔森林时，夜幕已经降临，天空中挂满了星星。白天的事情激发了她的能量，有个想法在她脑海中渐渐形成，一个可以一劳永逸地将人类侵略者赶出国土的想法。她转身走向摩尔森林的边界，那是精灵之国和人类之国接壤的地方。她深吸一口气，闭上了双眼，全神贯注于她体内涌动的魔力。她请求附近的大树们借给她魔力，帮助她一起保卫摩尔森林。魔力在她的周围跳跃，空气也散发着微光。当她举起手臂，盘绕扭曲、布满棘刺的深色树枝破土而出。它们向天空蔓延、生长，相互缠绕，再拧结成更粗壮的枝干。如此这般，荆棘墙已经初具模样。它们继续生长，直到从墙的一边无法看到另一边，直到四面八方都是尖端闪烁着黑光的利刺，直到它们离地四十英尺，直到它们坚不可摧。

玛琳菲森睁开双眼，魔力也停止了涌动。她向后退了几步，点了点头。这堵墙不太漂亮，但是它们足够有用。

玛琳菲森对自己的作品十分满意。她回到了精灵丘的宝座，巡视着周围的景色，沉浸于摩尔森林的美丽和宁静，这里在她统治下恢复了以往的样子。其他精灵似乎也没有那么怕她了。她靠近时，他们还能继续日常的活动，也不会瑟瑟发抖或是吓得飞走了。然而，她的老朋友们依然躲着她。奇怪的是，玛琳菲森竟然对此表示理解。当她失去双翅、迷失自我的时候，她已经失去了她的朋友。现在，她是一个全新的精灵了。

在精灵丘的宁静中，她发现自己的思绪飘在了森林之外。她现在有时间来回味白天发生的一切了。看到斯戴芬受尽折磨的样子，真是痛快。而施下的魔咒对摩尔森林也有好处。一个力量被削弱的人类王国对他们的威胁会变小，而且在斯戴芬唯一的女儿身上施了魔咒必将让他变得脆弱不堪。

感受到审视的目光，玛琳菲森看向身侧。变成人形的迪艾瓦站在那，盯着她看。她不予理会，继续回味着她的复仇。可是迪艾瓦仍继续盯着她，无言地惩罚着她的所作所为。她有点想和他解释，其实她并不是有意要伤害孩子的。她想要告诉迪艾瓦当初斯戴芬伤她有多深，时至今日她现在的每一天又有多痛，而这就是她这样做的缘由。但是她无法对他坦言。她当然也不可能等着他说出些不以为然的话。所以，她只是挥了挥手，将他变回了鸟身。他爱怎么叫都行，但是他无法谴责她。