**Sorry for making you guys wait so long, I've been really busy and haven't had a chance to update. Sorry to let you know but it maybe quite another long wait until next update. Sorry again guys**
Diaval guides Aurora back to the camp, reaching it just as it begins to get light. A few loud 'Awk' s from Diaval had everyone awake. Guards jumped from their slumbers and grabbed their weapons while Maleficent's bright green eyes scanned her surroundings.
"Aurora?!" She screams, running towards her. "You're here, you're aliv- Wherever have you been?! We've been so worried!"
"I think we should all calm down." Aurora says pushing Maleficent down into a chair. Maleficent was stunned at how royal, serious and mature Aurora sounded. Maleficent obeyed her orders and calmed herself down. Diaval, who was perched on Auroras shoulder, ruffled his feathers quietly before settling in the crook of her neck. She had everybody's undivided attention. Guards sat quietly, their jaws hanging slightly ajar. Philip came running out of his tent after hearing the commotion.
"Aurora. . . " He whispered as his eyes fell on her. Before he knew it, his feet were taking him towards her. He hit her at full force, engulfing her in an enormous hug placing light kisses to her hair. The hug sent Diaval tumbling to the ground and into a heap of black feathers. He got up and some what dusted himself off, 'Awk'ing in protest.
Once everyone was settled Aurora began to tell the story of what had happened.
"I went out to pick berries for the group when I heard footsteps. I thought it was you at first," She tilts her head towards Maleficent. "So I just kept picking berries. That's when I felt a hand over my mouth and Edgar's voice in my ear. He mumbled something and then gagged me, I only just managed to scream. Then he forced me to walk and held a knife to my back. We were walking for hours until we reached a cave high in one of those mountains." Her finger pointed to the silhouettes in the distance.
"He threw me into a cage in one of the caves and that's when I saw (f/n)."
"She's alive?!" Philip questions, guilt slowly creeping in.
"Just."
"Awk?! Awk?" The one thing Aurora hadn't mentioned was the baby.
"Does she know why they are keeping her there?" Maleficent pipes up.
Auroras throat becomes dry. "They. . . They have my father." Maleficent's jaw clenches. "They want her to bring him back. They must of heard about what happened to Diaval. . . She said she wouldn't do it, couldn't do it. She used what was left of her magic to send me here. She's doesn't have long left and the baby is due soon."
"She is still with child?!" Maleficent smiles.
"Yes."
"We must travel at once!" Maleficent's voice echoed. "We leave now!" Guards jump up and pack their belonging. The clanking of weapon against armor fills the air.
They travel all day, muttering to each other. Philip stays close to Auroras side at all times while Diaval perches on Maleficent's shoulder. Maleficent's nails gently caress his neck feathers as she whispers to him.
"Don't worry Diaval, we are going to find her."
Your voice was a whisper as Edgar's men push you against the wall. "I don't know where she is."You voice sounded pathetic and scared.
"Again!" Edgar shouted. On his command on of his men pounds their fist into your jaw. Still held up by your neck, your legs go limp. The man's hold on your neck tightens, bringing you back to your senses.
"Where did she go?! Where did you send her?!"
You close your eyes and flatten your lips into a straight line; preparing you for the next impact. Soon you feel another punch hit you in the gut. The man lets go of your neck and you double over clutching your rounded belly. Tears sting your eyes and bile stings your throat. The next thing you know, you are throwing up bile all over
the floor. The sound of the man's boot colliding with your back can be heard around the mountains. A howl escapes your lips as a pain like no other runs across you abdomen. Another scream erupts from your your throat. The men drag you by your hair into a sitting position. Your hands stay clutching your belly as more shooting pains rip through your body. Two more men carry an object into your cell that you can barely make out through the sheet of tears coating your eyes. The smell is the first thing that hits you. You feel more bile creep up your throat and for the second time you are hunched over, throwing up. When you are done, you wipe the tears from your eyes. When you next look over at the object you see that it isn't an object at all, it's what once was a person. King Stephan. You are pulled up to your feet by your hair and pushed down on top of the ex kings body.
"Bring him back!"
Crippling pains shoot through your body and only one thought is clear in your mind. The baby is coming.
Diaval's wings carry him towards the mountains. Maleficent leads the way, her colossal wings casting a shadow over the others. They were almost there, almost in reach.
Aurora looks up and scans the mountains carefully. "I don't know which one it is, they all look the same." A small whimper of disappointment escapes her lips.
Diaval and Maleficent reluctantly land. "They all look the same." She repeats.
"Diaval and I shall circle the top of the mountains, see what we can find." Maleficent's voice booms. "Everyone else search the bottoms, look for anything unusual like footprints. Do not leave any stone upturned."
With that Maleficent takes flight shortly followed by Diaval.
"We will find her!" Maleficent shouts over the sound of the wind howling in her ears. "I know we will!"
"Awk! Awk! Awk!"
Philip, Aurora and several guards make their way two the first mountain. Philip lets his left hand trail over the rock while his right holds tight to Aurora.
A man runs into the cell in a fluster. "They're here."
"Kill them." Edgar orders, looking down at your shaking, crying form. "Kill them all."
Your hands drag along the floor as the pains become worse. Your throat burned from the bile; your head spun from lack of food, water and sleep. "No!" You manage to spit, dragging yourself up to look Edgar in the eyes. "You leave them alone!"
"Now, now dearie, no need to shout." He says placing a hand to your sweaty forehead. "It will be over before you know it." His voice was calm and soothing but his eyes were cold and menacing.
"Please. . . Let them live." You sob in a final attempt to stop everything.
". . . No." He grabs the cell door and locks it shut before leaving you. Your screams filled the cave as you felt more pain shoot through your body.
He didn't know what he was looking for. A secret passage? Philip kept his hand pressed to the rocks. This was the second mountain they had searched and still there was nothing. The second group on the ground consisted of castle soldiers. They stumbled around the bottom of the third mountain helplessly.
In the back a tall skinny boy no older than seventeen dragged his feet behind the rest. He wasn't even a guard, only a volunteer from the enchanted forest. His knife hung loosely from his grip while his ill fitted armor draped off of his skinny form. He took his time to look around while the others barged around. His eyes land on an oddly shaped rock, it was covered in moss markings and just looked out of place. He quickly dismisses it. Shortly they hear the sound of footsteps heading their way. Soon King Stephan's men had reached the guards. The young boy backed away in terror as they killed more than half of the men. The fighting had gained the attention of the other groups and before they knew it, it was a blood bath. Maleficent's wings dragged across the ground as she fought Edgar. Diaval pecked at his head, serving as a distraction.
The young boy hid against the rock covered in moss he had found earlier. He wipes his forehead with the back of his hand before sliding to the ground. Why did he have to be such a coward? He leans against the rock and closes his eyes. Then, the rock moves. His whole body falls back and he finds himself lying face first in a tunnel. He sits up and looks at the hole above him. Puzzled, he scratches his head. What in the hell just happened? When his eyes adjust to the dark he can just make out what appear to be steps. Cautiously he begins to scale them. Once he gets deeper into the mountain he can hear muffled whimpers. He follows the sound until he gets to a clearing with wooden torches hanging on the wall. He grabs one and turns the corner. Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw next...
There stood a cage with a dead rotting body, a motionless queen and a baby inside.
"Oh my God!" He runs to the cage and yanks open the door. He runs to the baby first, picking it up gently and checking it's okay before running to the you. He places a hand above your mouth and to his relief you are still breathing. He sees the wedding dress in the corner of the cage and instinctively wraps the baby in it. He runs down the stairs and climbs through the hole, still carrying the baby. When he gets back to the place of fight, half of the men are dead and the others are injured. Maleficent is lent against the rocks; Diaval perched on her shoulder.
"I found her!" The boy shouts holding the baby to his chest."Hurry!" He says leading them to the hole in the earth.
Maleficent holds the baby in her arms while three of the guards carry you out of the cave. Her wings kept her from going down the hole so she opted to look after the baby.
Diaval circled the mountain unable to bring himself to look at the baby. He had failed it, he had failed you. He could never bring himself to look you in the eye, not after this.
The guards carry out your limp body. Maleficent's throat becomes dry as the worst possible thought passes through her brain.
"I-is she?"
"No, shes still breathing." Philip says rushing over to Maleficent. He carefully lifts the baby out of her arms and looks down at it, cooing slightly in his arms."Prince or Princess?"
"Princess."
Aurora runs towards Maleficent."Godmother?"
"Yes?"
"Did (F/n) ever teach you a levitation spell?"
"Briefly..."
"Can you maybe levitate (f/n)? She's unconscious."
"I can try."
Within a few tries Maleficent succeeds and they are on their way to the castle. Diaval hangs back looking down on his family, guilt clouding his thoughts.
You lie motionless on the bed apart from the slow rise and fall of your chest. The quiet steady wheezing of your breath gave everyone hope. You had survived everything that had been thrown at you. To your left a small pile of daisies had begun to gather. Half had shriveled up while the others were fresh. Diaval picked on a day for you. He made it his mission. The sound of his wings fluttering across the room echoes through the air. He lands on the bedside table and opens his beak, releasing yet another freshly picked daisy. Diaval had not yet laid eyes on his child. He knew he had a daughter. He had overhead Aurora and Philip talking about it in the castle. Every now and the he got the urge to go and see her, a sudden burst of joy and happiness propelling his bird body towards the crib in the corner of the room but then, all at once, it is diminished. Squashed by the overpowering guilt of what had happened.
He hops onto the pillow beside your head and huddles in beside you. As his eyes begin to close he hears a faint whisper that almost sounds like his name. His eyes shoot open immediately as his ears listen intently.
"Awk!"
"Diaval?" Your throat is dry and sore when you speak. Within seconds Diaval is perched on your chest looking deeply into your eyes, beak pressed gently to your chin.