𝐿𝑜𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝐿𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝑒𝒶

Chapter Four: Thee Unexpected

3rd Person POV

Without hesitation Maleficent traveled as swiftly and eagerly as she could.

Her wings, not faltering once, not even for a moment.

If her land was in peril...she desired to save it in time...but...what her eyes beheld and what she had saw...

It shattered her and lit a new candle of hate for Queen Ingrith.

She stepped over a line that Maleficent herself knew almost nothing about. She never thought she could hate someone so much.

She never even hated Stefan as much as she hated Queen Ingrith.

She had shot an arrow in such a delicate spot in Maleficnet's heart already, with taking her daughter from her...now this...

Her home, a place where the fairies and her had buried their dead to sleep peacefully.

To her terror....not even a flower that held their very essence of fairy life was left.

All that was abandoned and discarded was the dirt.

The dirt in which those inconceivable humans had trampled upon with no respect to the land of the Moors.

Dirt that the humans had intoxicated with their very presence of being in such a place they weren't permitted.

A place they were never welcomed.

As she perched herself on a branch, hidden from any human that may have still lingered in the Moors, she finally noticed the tag along.

The Dark Fey did not want Borra and Conall here.

It wasn't safe.

They had followed her and she wished they didn't.

She had preferred that they should have stayed where they had come from.

But understanding that there was a possibility they might've not agreed to her recommendation, she gave them a warning instead.

"Be cautious they may still be here." Her voice was steady as her eyes scanned the area of forest they were in.

Neither her or Borra noticed what Conall had seen.

He, himself, had little time to act, guarding Maleficent from the inevitable.

Maleficent gaurded both Conall and herself from the danger Conall had seen.

She had no time to guess what it was but she knew it most certainly involved iron, and she did not wish for a Fey like herself to have died so instantly in front of her.

Especially, not one who only wished for peace between the two species of human and Fey.

She knew she couldn't save everyone...but she wanted to do what she could with what power she had.

An unexpected wave of men shot straight for the three mysterious figures in the tree.

It all happened so fast that the next moment Conall had shielded Maleficent, once again from the hits as they both fell from the tree on the second round of shots.

Conall was heavily hurt but not to where he was to die.

But even when Maleficent knew this...she was still afraid of what would befall him if he didn't get medical attention soon.

She kept Conall in her arms...keeping him from anymore wounds as Borra fought them off.

Once they had cleared the forest of armored men, a human-like figure appeared from the bushes.

Borra was suddenly launching himself at who he thought was most likely a man but Maleficent, as if an internal instinct, stopped him right before he could land a blow.

"He's with me!" And as soon as the figure had fully appeared her words were true.

And for the first time since her arrival here she felt relieved.

Diaval.

Her dear friend.

"You're still alive Mistress?" He spoke quite shocked to see his Mistress wasn't gone like he had feared. Fearing she might have left him and Aurora permanently.

Soon his eyes lit up, something he often did when he could finally be by her side again after being apart from her for a time.

Maleficent may have not shown the same missing affection but she was still glad to see him again.

Knowing he was ok warmed something she thought she'd never had until now, besides with Aurora...but this was different.

Like a fire's spark lighting wood on a cold and crisp night.

A different warmth she had not felt for a very long time.

It's been about twenty three years, and far too long it has.

"Who is this man?" A rough voice spoke.

"He is no man, his original form is that of a raven." Maleficent immediately corrected Borra, knowing it was a little insulting for Diaval.

He never cared much to be compared with the humans because he was not one of them.

He wasn't cruel nor greedy.

"He is my dear friend. Diaval has been my wings when they were stripped from me from a human until I regained them back."

Maleficent confessed a past wound that had been healing slowly, she almost regretted bringing it up.

But it was best they knew so they wouldn't judge as much. She didn't want Diaval to be too uncomfortable around them.

"I tell you, humans are to be killed. They do nothing but harm." Borra proclaimed in a silent tone.

"Not all." Diaval piped up.

"I mean, if I may speak freely." He referred back to Maleficent, asking for permission to speak.

To his liking, she had nodded so he continued to speak.

"Princess Aurora is one of many humans but she has shown she only wants peace with us, after all Maleficent practically raised her."

Maleficent knew that wasn't true. If anyone took proper care of her it was Diaval himself.

"Perhaps there is still hope for us to have peace then. If one, why not all? Humans are not all evil as Borra says. Even if what he says about them is true toward their actions, some hearts may be different from that and could even be persuaded on better terms." Conall expresses weakly as Borra helped him up to stand.

"What rubbish you spew Conall." Hatred for humans laced Borra's words.

But Conall knew deep down, Borra's heart was the same as his, they both wanted a solace, a peace, a place where they and the others could live freely again as Dark Fey.

"We must go before more men return." Maleficent finally spoke as they prepared their travels.

"Where are we to 'return to' Mistress?" Diaval asked, looking to her curiously and partly confused.

For Maleficent, finding he looked to her with no fear as others did... it was comforting and never failed to ease her mind, even if she herself didn't notice.

"Where others like me live." She spoke quietly as to say it just to Diaval.

"Sorry I couldn't...you know." He trailed off looking at the empty graveyard of clipped flowers that once held the essence of what was left of each fairy.

"I know." Was all Maleficent said, she did not wish to ponder too much on the matter.

She swayed her hand in the air.

"Into a raven."

And just like that Diaval transformed into his original form as they traveled into the night sky.

Maleficent knew that Diaval did all that he could of done, he had no power to change what had been at hand.

She was truly thankful for him.